Discussions from Ask The Experts 19: Inside Zoho Desk Spring Release 2025 : Zia in Focus

Hello everyone,  
We had insightful discussions in both the sessions of Ask the Experts(ATE) 19, diving deep into engaging conversations around Zia and the spring release. Your enthusiastic participation and thought-provoking questions brought the sessions to life!  
In this post, we’re spotlighting the Q&A highlights focused exclusively on Zia.

1. Why are Zia Answer bots not performing as intended after integrating them with the internal Knowledge Base (KB)? Why is the bot unable to provide relevant answers when questions are asked in natural language?

Zia's Answer bot's response is based on how closely the user's query matches the content of your Knowledge Base(KB) articles. Zia operates using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology, which combines AI search and AI-generated responses. For AI search, we use AI training models specifically implemented for your knowledge base, while ChatGPT/Zia is used for generating the responses based on the service you select. Refer Setting up Generative AI Services: Zia or ChatGPT.

A. To improve this, we recommend following our best practices for training Zia Answer Bots. These include:
      i. Use simple and commonly-used phrases rather than jargons/isolated keywords in your help documents.
      ii. Include clear headings or sub-titles within your help documents to improve searchability and matching accuracy.
B. If you still do not receive relevant answers, we offer an improved Zia search powered by a new training model. If you would like to use it, please drop your request to support@zohodesk.com.

Additionally, we have introduced Generative AI powered by Zia, that is powered by open-source and run in Zoho's environment. To enable this, go to Setup(S) >> Zia >> Generative AI >> Services >> select Zia, under Choose service.  This is hosted entirely within Zoho's environment and is included at no additional cost and works with the Enterprise edition or Zoho bundles supporting Enterprise features.

 

2. How to optimize and incorporate the Zia bot within the Professional Edition?
Zia offers its complete range of functionalities exclusively within Zoho Desk Enterprise Edition and Zoho's bundle services.
However, there are specific Zia features available on the Professional Edition:
  a. Zia powered by ChatGPT: This integration is accessible within Zoho Desk, enabling responses based on open-domain data. In the Professional edition, Zia will  respond using information from the public domain, and the "Reply with Knowledge Base" feature is not available.

Additionally, Zia supports enhanced ticket handling through features like Ticket Summary, Zia Insights, Writing Assistance, and AI-generated content.
  b. Content Analysis: Launched in the recent spring update, this feature improves upon the existing spell-check capability and is accessible across all paid editions..

 

3. Is it possible to train Zia to provide answers based on resolutions from closed tickets rather than solely relying on the Knowledge Base?
Currently, Zia can only be trained using your Knowledge Base and not from tickets or their resolutions.
Tickets often contain sensitive customer data and personally identifiable information (PII), which should not be accessible to all agents or customers. Due to this privacy constraint, we currently do not train Zia using ticket data.
However, there's an option to add information from the Resolution under the Ticket tabs. While creating a resolution, the agent can select "Save And Add Article" to add the resolution to the Knowledge Base thereby giving Zia an option to train on the article. 
 

We plan to introduce a feature allowing agents to generate replies based on similar tickets. In this approach, Zia will reference similar tickets and their corresponding responses to suggest an answer. Instead of directly training Zia on potentially sensitive ticket data, this reply assistance feature will help agents by leveraging responses from comparable tickets.

4. Will Zoho offer additional AI models beyond Zia and OpenAI?  

Yes, we plan to introduce more AI models, primarily those hosted and managed by Zoho, considering the B2B nature of our services and ensuring data security and privacy.

5. How is data currently handled with OpenAI and Zia?  

Currently, when using OpenAI, fields marked as PII  are masked on the User Query or KB articles before sending them to Open AI for response generation alone and not for training. Similarly, Zia, powered by open-source models like Lama 3.1, uses data strictly for generation purposes. We've fine-tuned Lama 3.1 specifically for Zoho Desk requirements.

6. Which additional open-source models does Zoho plan to support in the future?  

Besides Llama, we plan to soon support additional models such as Qwen, and Mistral.

7. Will Zoho Desk allow users to integrate their own AI models?  

Yes, we are working towards creating a platform within Zoho Desk that allows users to bring their own open-source models or custom LLMs for various features.

 

8. How do we use the Zia GenAI-powered chat? Do we need to set it up with predefined answers?
To create an Answer bot, navigate to Setup > Zia > Answer Bot.The Answer Bot operates by learning from your existing knowledge base data. The Answer Bot leverages generative AI, which can either be powered by Zia using open-source technology or through OpenAI's ChatGPT integration, for which you would need an API key. In our recent spring release, we extended the availability of the Answer Bot across instant messaging (IM) channels. You can now deploy the generative AI-powered Answer Bot, trained specifically on your knowledge base, across IM channels such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Line, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, and your own website. You can also deploy the Answer Bot through ASAP within your Mobile App (SDK). The AI-powered Self-Service with Answer Bot can be powered with Zia(Llama) or ChatGPT.

9. I'm using Zia to predict the"Issue Theme" field automatically, and it shows as successful. However, when I open a ticket, it doesn't suggest any value for me to confirm. Why is this happening?
Regarding Zia's field predictions, there are two available options:
     i. Auto-update predicted value.
     ii. Allow agents to confirm the predicted values manually ("Let me confirm predicted value manually" option).
        To enable Field predictions, navigate to Setup (S) >> Zia >> Field Predictions >> Create A Field Prediction. In the Field Update mode field, you can choose to  predict the field automatically or confirm the predicted value manually.
If you're using the "Let me confirm" option, you need to manually confirm the predicted values. To do this, navigate to the Field Prediction section within the Ticket Detail View. You'll find a wand (star) icon in the sidebar (ibar). Click this icon to view the predicted values from Zia. Here, you can either confirm or reject the suggested value, and your choice will help improve Zia's training data.
We're actively working on integrating this feature directly into the ticket properties, so that Zia's recommended values will appear directly within the field itself.

 

10. Does Zia learn from our responses to tickets as well?
Currently, Zia does not learn from the responses you send. It does not have the capability to learn from the messages you type and send. We are working on expanding the capability for Zia to respond in the business tone based on the custom instructions added by agents for each feature.

11. Do I need to upgrade all licenses to Enterprise to use the new Zia LLM if I'm currently on Zoho One?
Yes, you have to upgrade Zoho Desk to the Enterprise edition to use Zia powered by open-source models. Zia is available by default in the Enterprise plan and all Zoho bundles supporting the Enterprise edition of Zoho Desk.
 

12. How does Zia determine that an agent needs to intervene in a ticket? Does it instruct the user to contact support, or can it notify agents to own the ticket?
Currently, Zia cannot request an agent to intervene in a ticket.
However, we have a feature called Field Predictions, which uses your historical ticket data to predict and assign ticket ownership. When a customer replies, Zia analyzes the customer's message and, based on its training data, assigns the ticket to an appropriate agent who has previously handled similar conversations. Currently, we do not have a feature that proactively prompts an agent to intervene.

13. While managing multiple departments, can we enable Zia Reply Assistance for just one department?
Currently, the Zia Reply Assistance is configured at the organization level, meaning it applies to all the departments. However, we are actively working on making it department-specific.

14. As I understand, does Zia use ChatGPT for translation purposes?
No, Zoho uses its own translation model. In our recent spring release, we introduced a feature called Writing Assistance. This feature allows you to draft replies in your preferred language (for example, English) and translate them into other languages like Spanish or Italian using Zia. In this scenario, Zia does not utilize ChatGPT. However, for summarizing content or providing reply assistance, we rely primarily on ChatGPT to generate responses directly in languages such as Spanish or Italian.
Additionally, Zia uses open-source models without any associated charges.

 

15. How can we utilize AI to analyze data and generate reports?
Currently, Zia is not available for the Reports module. We do have Zia dashboards to monitor Zia's performance, however, we are developing a feature that will allow you to interact with Zia conversationally to create reports on the go.
If you have a subscription to Zoho Analytics, you can already leverage AI to generate reports. Zoho Analytics integrates with Zoho Desk, allowing you to ask questions in natural language and receive AI-generated reports.

16. Can we obtain customer tone reports from Zia Insights?
Currently, Zia Insights, powered by open-source models, is in its initial phase and does not yet support sending insights directly to reports.
Another way to obtain customer tone reports from Zia insights is using Zia API. Identify the tone and record it on a custom field. Generate reports based on the custom field to get insights on customer tones. We are working on this capability to send Zia Insights results from individual tickets to reports and dashboards. 

17. Could you please clarify how Zoho ensures the protection of personally identifiable information (PII) in relation to data retention and Zia’s learning processes?
Regarding data retention, Zoho does not retain your data for training the generative AI models. Zia and ChatGPT utilize your data temporarily for generating responses. For other features, such as field predictions, all data remains within our Zoho ecosystem and does not share data externally for training purposes. Zoho complies with GDPR and HIPAA and sends data to Open AI only after masking Personally Identifiable information.

18. What permissions can be configured when creating knowledge base articles for use with the Answer Bot?  
The Answer Bot operates on two channels: one for agents and the other for customers, and uses permission-based generation. When creating knowledge base articles, you can set permissions such as "All Users," "Agents Only," or "Registered Users." Agents accessing the Answer Bot through the Ticket Detail view will have access to all articles, while end-users accessing via ASAP will only see articles marked for "All Users." Currently, the "Registered Users" permission is supported only for agents. Based on these permissions, the Answer Bot determines which articles it can use to generate responses.
We also have a private beta available for a new AI training model: New Retrieval System. If you're interested, please email us your details, and we can enable this feature to further enhance your Answer Bot's accuracy.

 

19. I currently have Generative AI enabled. What is the difference between ChatGPT and Zia? Should I switch to Zia under Generative AI?
ChatGPT is an integration with OpenAI, where you need your own API key and add credits to your wallet. With ChatGPT, your Zoho Desk data is sent outside Zoho servers to OpenAI for generating responses. On the other hand, Zia is powered by open-source language models, such as Llama, and your data remains within Zoho's servers.
If you switch to Zia under Generative AI, it will be included in your existing Enterprise plan without any additional cost. Zia also offers greater contextual intelligence regarding your data. For example, ChatGPT supports summarizing only up to five conversations per ticket, whereas Zia can summarize up to 30 conversations. Refer here for details. 

Here are the recordings from our Ask the Experts 19 sessions: 

ATE19 Zoho Desk Spring Release 2025 Session 1 | ATE 19 Zoho Desk Spring Release 2025 Session 2

Stay tuned on the Ask the Experts Community for more updates as we gear up for the upcoming sessions focussed exclusively on Zia and AI in Zoho Desk. 
Regards, 
Lydia | Zoho Desk

• Topic Participants

• Lydia | Zoho Desk

  

• Sticky Posts

• Ask the Experts 10: A 5-hour online Q&A on Zoho Desk Best Practices

  Welcome to Zoho Desk's Ask the Experts session! This is a monthly discussion on our forums; wherein a panel of experts will take on questions specific to topics related to Zoho Desk. The panel will be available for a 5-hour period and will answer any

• Ask the Experts 7: A 5-hour online Q&A on Telephony and Call Module

  Welcome to Ask the Experts session! This is a monthly discussion in forums; each session, a panel of experts will take questions on specific topics related to Zoho Desk. The panel will be available for a 5-hour period and answer any questions posted here.

• Ask the Experts 5: Online Q&A on Zoho Desk Extensibility

  Welcome to Ask the Experts session! This is a monthly discussion in forums; each session, a panel of experts will take questions on specific topics related to Zoho Desk. The panel will be available for a 5-hour period and answer any questions posted here.

• Ask the Experts 4: A 5 hour online Q&A on agent productivity

  Welcome to Ask the expert session! This is a monthly discussion in forums; each session, a panel of experts will take questions on specific topics related to Zoho Desk. The panel will be available for a 5-hour period and answer any questions posted here.

• Ask the Experts 3: A 5 hour online Q&A on reports and dashboards

  Welcome to Ask the expert session! This is a monthly discussion in forums; each session, a panel of experts will take questions on specific topics related to Zoho Desk. The panel will be available for a 5-hour period and answer any questions posted here.

• Recent Topics

• Importing Invoices

  Dear Team I used the enclosed csv file to import some invoices and it worked fine. I had to delete the file and when I am trying to re-upload it, I am getting the error for invoice number and branch "Resource does not exit." I tried a number of different

• Enhance "Send Cliq Notification" Action in Zoho Desk Workflows (and also add Happiness Rating Support)

  ello Zoho Desk Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request regarding the “Send Cliq Notification” action available in Zoho Desk workflows — specifically in workflows triggered by Happiness Ratings, but also relevant to all workflows

• Treatment of Non-Refundable Income after cancelling an Invoice

  A customer made part payments of 30,000 for an invoice 0f 100,000, and then he is unable to pay up the remaining and has asked for a refund. As per company policy, he can only get 75% of the amount paid, which is 22,500. The remaining 7,500 is non-refundable

• I need refund

  I have purchased the Zoho Book standard plan; I had the impression that I would get the purchase > Bill feature. After purchasing, I found that billing is not included in the Zoho standard plan. I immediately canceled the subscription. I love the product,

• Handling identifiers during an import

  Importing your data When importing data into an application, it is crucial to prevent data loss or duplication. These types of errors can hinder the development of a clean and well-organised database, which is essential for effective data management and

• Creating Deposit Invoices

  Hi, we are a company that does project based work with a request at the begining of each project for a deposit payment. At the moment we are creating invoices for the deposit and an invoice for the completion of the project, however they are completely

• Marketer’s Space - WhatsApp Pricing Update: What Marketers Need to Know and Do

  Hello Marketers, Welcome back to Marketer’s Space! WhatsApp made changes to their pricing model on July 1, 2025, moving from conversation-based pricing to a per-message pricing model. This week’s post focuses on what these changes mean for your WhatsApp

• It's time to say goodbye to Zoho Recruit for me.

  Hello, I have been a Zoho Recruit user since 2013. The tool has evolved, with a better UI, new features and so on. The pricing is still a great asset too. BUT, that being said, important features are not coming fast enough. I tried to share my point of

• change subscription within customer portal

  Would be great for the customer to be able to change their own subscription (or restart existing one) within the customer portal. Also, would like to be able to have early termination fee on subscriptions if canceled early.

• How to make the add-on optional at the time of subscription?

  The scenario is this, we have a service which has optional add-ons. Like the customer who purchased the subscription may or may not want to get the add-on. In our case if the customer choose the addon we have monetary benefit. In case the user does not

• Unable to add attachments to knowledge base anymore

  I have been adding articles to knowledge base in Zoho Desk (as part of Zoho One). Today suddenly i found that I am unable to upload and attachments to the articles. I get the following error: "Attachment couldn't be added." I have uploaded the screenshot

• Advanced factors for multiple scoring rules: Now with Zia scoring automations for all modules

  Greetings all, We're happy to offer improved scoring features by adding extra scoring factors, including Zia Scores, in our multiple scoring rules (MSR) feature. These new factors—which empower existing traditional scoring factors—include criteria for

• Sortie de Zoho TABLE ??

  Bonjour, Depuis bientôt 2 ans l'application zoho table est sortie en dehors de l'UE ? Depuis un an elle est annoncée en Europe Mais en vrai, c'est pour quand exactement ??

• Restrict Agents from Editing Shared Custom Views in Zoho Desk

  Hello Zoho Desk Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request regarding the custom views functionality in Zoho Desk. 🎯 Background We’re actively using custom views to filter and display tickets for different teams based on specific

• Introduction Dario Schiraldi Deutsche Bank Executive

  Hello Everyone, Dario Schiraldi serves as a key leader at Deutsche Bank, where he plays a crucial role in shaping the bank's strategic direction and driving operational success. With a solid foundation in finance and leadership, Dario is committed to

• Is Zoho Shifts included in the Zoho One plan?

  In case the answer is no: there's any plan to make it available via One? Thank you

• Feature Request: API Access for Managing Deluge Functions (with OAuth & Change Tracking)

  Hi everyone, I wanted to share a thoughtful request that came in from one of our Zoho clients this week. I believe many of us as partners and developers might relate to it. “One quick item to flag: we’d love an official way to manage Deluge functions

• Moving Subscriptions from one Customer to another

  We frequently need to move subscriptions from one Customer to another Customer in Zoho Billing and the only way we have figured out to do this is to cancel it in the old owner's profile and manually recreate in in the new owner's profile. In doing this,

• how to add new line in Deluge?

  I want to make string with line separation like this: this is the first line second line third line I have tried to use \n <br> or </br> inside the string but I can't achieve the result like the example above. I want to create a task by using custom function

• How to pause a subscription/recurring order ?

  Hello, I'm evaluating Zoho Subscriptions for a food co-op where members order a box of produce every week. The software that we're currently using allows members to set up a recurring order. Members can pause the recurring order when they don't want a box for a while and then resume it later. Is it possible to pause/resume a subscription ? Thanks John

• Hosted Payment Pages - how to update the address in zoho billing

  I"m playing around with the muti-page hosted payment pages which have places for customers to enter their addresses when paying. Why does this not update their address in Zoho Billing after payment? What can I do to make this happen?

• Tracking training certification expirations

  Hi Zoho Community! I'm looking for some input on the best and most efficient ways to track training expirations in Zoho CRM. I have a very specific workflow that I am looking for - my company offers trainings, and the certification expires every 2 to

• Kaizen #164 : Client Credentials

  Hello everyone, Welcome back to Kaizen. In this post, we will discuss Client Credentials Flow and when it can be used. What is Client Credentials Flow? According to RFC6749, the official specification for the OAuth 2.0 authorization framework, "The client

• CRM Email Template Align Left Instead of Center

  Is there a way to make a basic template align to the left instead of center? I know I'm likely forced to the 600px wide with the basic templates but I would REALLY like to set the email to the left instead of center. The basic templates make all the emails

• Client Script - "Click' Button on Purchase Order - Specify "To Contact" or "To Supplier"

  The send email button is unique on the purchase order in that is has an additional submenu to send email "To Contact" or "To Supplier" It appears that the "click" event in Client script doesn't work correctly, probably because the button click didn't

• Add Client Credentials Flow to Python SDK

  The Zoho CRM API supports a client credentials flow to automatically generate ephemeral access tokens, and this can be done programatically. The Python SDK however requires you to provide a grant token, refresh token, or access token when initializing

• Conditional display of fields in Zoho Books Custom modules based on another field

  We're currently working with a Custom Module in Zoho Books and have a question about improving data entry efficiency and user experience. Our module includes a "Client Type" dropdown field, which determines the type of information to be collected. Each

• Background Image for page in Zoho Creator

  Is it possible to use an image as the background in a page in Zoho Creator? I see it is possible to use an image as the background within a panel, but about about the page itself?

• Zoho IP address blocked by Microsoft

  Today I tried to send emails to Outlook email addresses and all of them failed. The log displays like this: Reporting-MTA: dns; mx.zohomail.jp Arrival-Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2025 12:52:30 +0800 Original-Recipient: rfc822; ######@outlook.com Final-Recipient:

• Request to Enable Full DNS Management Access for My Domain

  Hello Zoho Support Team, I have purchased the domain "digimarts365.online" through Zoho, and I need to add A and CNAME records to connect it with my Shopify store. However, DNS Toolkit is not allowing me to edit or add any records. Kindly enable full

• Backup flow, see change log / history

  Hello, I would like to know, how flows can be saved, copied and tracked. If I work on a Flow with multiple other colleagues we need to see the Changes made by others. Is there a history, changelog or something else? Also we need to backup/import flows

• Problème de validation du domaine spelam.ma

  Bonjour équipe Zoho, J’ai l’honneur de vous contacter car je rencontre un problème technique au niveau de la validation de mon compte ou de mon domaine spelam.ma. En effet, j’ai déjà acheté le domaine, mais la validation ne semble pas être correctement

• Critical:- Eneble TDS filing for 26Q from the zoho book

  We currently extract TDS data from Zoho Books and manually input it into a separate TDS software to generate the FUV file and file returns. Previously, while using Tally, we benefited from an integrated feature that seamlessly recorded transactions and

• Add a way of clearing fields values in Flow actions

  It would be great if there was an option to set a field as Null when creating flows. I had an instance today where I just wanted to clear a long integer field in the CRM based on an action in Projects but I had to write a custom function. It would be

• Writer loads as a blank page.

  Hi, I'm new to zoho but I liked the idea of an online wordprocessor that I can use from multiple computers. I signed up a few hours ago while at work where our computers use Linus Ubuntu and a Firefox browser and the Writer came up fine. Now I'm home and using my Windows machine with Norton Firewall and Firefox and the writer opens as a blank page. I've checked my security options in both Firefox & Norton and I have received all the cookies from Zoho. What gives?

• Ensure Consistent Service Delivery with Comprehensive Job Sheets

  We are elated to announce that one of the most requested features is now live: Job Sheets. They are customizable, reusable forms that serve as a checklist for the services that technicians need to carry out and as a tool for data collection. While on

• JOB Sheet can not send PDF as service rapports and more info needed other topic

  Goedendag, - Jullie hebben nu job sheet erin gedaan en dar is echt super goed, enkel kunnen we de werkbon ( JOB sheet) nu niet verzenden als PDF als een service rapport naar onze hoofdaannemer hoe we dat nu doen als bewijs van de levering van het werk

• Publish a single Sheet stopped working

  I used to have a published sheet on my Zoho Spreadsheet and that stopped working. If I want to publish it again, I only get the message that says "Published externally", but that does nothing, and if I change tabs and come back, the sheet gives me the

• Does Zoho Contracts support white-labeling?

  As the title says, do you provide us white-labeling solution?

• Constantly getting error 429 "Too Many Requests" despite not sending many requests.

  I am currently working on developing an integration between our company's app and our zoho books setup using the api. When testing new functionality, I am very often having the calls fail with Error 429 'You have made too many requests continuously. Please

• Next Page