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

• need a formula to return value as shown (zoho sheet)

  Hello folks, what should be the formula in B3, to get the value shown based on input sheet ranges. thanks in advance.

• Playground: An exclusive test environment to analyze Field Prediction accuracy

  Hello everyone, We are introducing Playground: an exclusive proactive testing environment for businesses to analyze Zia's prediction accuracy. This allows admins and agents to: Run predictions on actual tickets or specific content for realistic test conditions.

• Attention: Upcoming changes to Zoho Assist support for older windows versions

  At Zoho Assist, our goal is to provide you with secure, reliable, and feature-rich remote support experiences. To maintain this standard, we periodically align our platform with the latest technology and security updates from the broader software ecosystem.

• Send again email with link for signup

  Hello, I have a lot of problem to send contract my email, also missing the features "share link". How can I send again email to client and me wit link for signup a contract? Everytime it's a disaster!

• How do I synchronize a quote to an opportunity?

  Hi everyone, We don't quote anything via Zoho but we use it to track services/products so that I can see what was actually sold, vs an opportunity with just shows an amount.  We use the quotes for other purposes, mostly to request a quote from Salesforce but we don't invoice or do sales orders or anything. (Basically a user makes a quick quote in Zoho, adds items and pricing, and then exports to PDF which gets emailed to our Quote Desk who then enters the request into Salesforce). Just wondering

• Zoho Sprints Android app update: Tags and Epic search

  Hello everyone! We are excited to introduce tags and an option to search items within Epic module on the latest Android version(v2.0.2) of the Zoho Sprints mobile app. Let's take a look at these features: Tags You can now create, edit, and delete tags,

• Zoho CRM Webhooks - Dynamic URL

  Hi Zoho, We've noted a gap in the webhooks function that if improved would increase use cases significantly. The "URL to Notify" field in "Create a Webhook" only supports static information. We have a number of use cases where we could use webhooks more

• Work Order Creation Issue

  Dear Team, I would like to inquire about the daily limit for Work Order creation in Zoho FSM. Yesterday (02/05/2025) at around 6:30 PM GST, I attempted to create a Work Order, but I have been unable to do so since then. Please find the attached image

• Tracking on Zoho Booking

  Hi We want to use Zoho Booking for our appointment management. We're using Calendly as of now that lets us track sources of the appointments made including UTM parameters. Is there a way for us to do same with Zoho Bookings?

• Pre-created Popular Zoho Flows returns with 404 Error

  Your popular Zoho Flows are returning with a 404 page error. This applies to all work flows in your Gallery Space. See video here for further clarification. When will this be fixed? https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kDl4ni5EQeLHWeaoIDdtRqoUbW8FNLfO?usp=sharing

• CRM Feature Request

  When enabling Translation in Zoho CRM I would like to see the ability to remove the language "English (US)". I have encountered a user experience issue with a client recently. The client uses English (UK) but they are based in Spain, so they have activated

• Import your Google Docs Spreadsheets into Zoho Sheet

  You can now import your Google spreadsheet into Zoho Sheet. This will be useful if you want to switch to Zoho Sheet or if you want to simply try out Zoho Sheet.  If you don't have an account with Zoho, you can still try this by signing in with your Google account. Here is a video on how to do this.  Note: Existing charts won't appear in spreadsheets you import from Google Docs as the Export functionality of Google Docs doesn't give out the charts. Check out the announcement in our blog: https://blogs.zoho.com/general/import-google-docs-into-zoho-productivity-suite

• Support Mixed Visibility Settings in Knowledge Base Categories

  Hello Zoho Desk Team, We hope you're all doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request regarding visibility settings in the Knowledge Base module. 🎯 Current Limitation As of today, when a category is set to a specific visibility level (e.g., Public),

• Will a campaign send duplicates is same email is on two separate lists

  Hi I have two lists to which I want to send campaign. One list is ALL leads and other is list of opportunities and current students. There is overlap between the two lists My question is if I send one campaign to all, will zoho automatically know only to send the email once to the duplicate email?

• Time Based Report / Dashboard

  We measure our support agent's KPI based on their response time and resolution time from the time the ticket is assigned to them The time based dashboard should provide this information however there is a problem with us referring to this dashboard We

• Zoho Learn API Access?

  We love using Zoho Learn to manage our internal trainings and knowledge base. What we'd really love is to be able to query Learn via API so that in Zoho Projects, Zoho Creator, or Zoho Desk, we can recommend relevant Learn articles and manuals to team

• creating buttons in zoho site

  the connection between zoho site and zoho learn will be awesome and amazing feature so the user instead of registering himself twice just one time register on zoho site will be enough and creating accout on zoho learn instead of registering on zoho learn

• Two Problems with the Description Field

  Our ticket workflow is often like this. Client calls or emails (to a personal email address) reporting a problem. We create a ticket and enter a description. Problems: 1. By my way of thinking when we enter a description, that is an internal comment (unless we mark it public). Yet it seems there is no way to mark it internal, and Desk just starts inserting it into communications. 2. Additionally, in the conversation view it makes it appear it was emailed by the customer and inserts their name on

• Lookup Field limitations

  Good day all, Is anyone else frustrated with the lookup field limitation? I have an enterprise license, but I only get 10 lookups. Additionally, the custom module has been available for a while and is still in diapers. If you want good reporting, you

• Automation#36: Auto-create time-entry after performing the Blueprint transition

  Hello Everyone, This week’s edition focuses on configuring a custom function within Zoho Desk to streamline time tracking within the Blueprint. In this case, we create a custom field, and request the agent to enter the spending time within the single

• Dynamically Sync zoho.adminuserid with Current App Admin

  Hello Zoho Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to request an important enhancement to the Deluge sendmail task functionality. As per the current behavior, in most Zoho services (excluding Zoho Cliq, Zoho Connect, Zoho Mail, and Zoho Sheet), the

• "Improper Statement" Error on Deluge Loops (while/for) when Processing a Date Range

  Hello, Zoho Community, I'm facing a very specific issue with a Deluge script and would appreciate any insights from the community. The Goal: I have a form (ausencia_visitadoras) where a user inputs a start date and an end date for a period of absence.

• Zoho Meeting iOS app update: Hearing aid, bluetooth car audio and AirPlay audio support.

  Hello everyone! We are excited to announce the below new features in the latest iOS update(v1.7.4) of the Zoho Meeting app: 1. Hearing aid support: Hearing aid support has been integrated into the application. 2. Bluetooth car Audio, AirPlay audio support:

• Automating Daily Lottery Result Publishing with Zoho Creator or Flow – Any Best Practices?

  Hello Zoho Community, I run a results-based informational website in Brazil called CaminhoDaSorte.com, where we publish daily Jogo do Bicho results. Right now, we're doing this process manually every day — but we’re looking to automate the backend using

• issues with manually shipping sales orders - advise needed please

  we are new to zoho inventory. we are going to roll the program out to our company within a couple of weeks and during the implementation process we have come into a roadblock with manually packaging and shipping sales orders. its important to note important

• I do not see the “Lead Forms” option under Integrations

  Hi, I’m using Zoho Social on a Premium plan. I’ve connected LinkedIn Company Page and have a valid LinkedIn Ad Account with Lead Gen Forms. However, I do not see the “Lead Forms” option under Integrations, so I can’t enable LinkedIn Lead Generation. Please

• STOCK function showing #N/A! even thought the Stock symbol is valid

  Zoho Team, I use STOCK function on Zoho Sheet to fetch the recent Last Closing Price. Some stock symbols are valid but when the STOCK function is applied, it shows #N/A! Attaching an image for reference.

• What’s the Correct Integration Flow Between Zoho Inventory, ShipStation, and Multi-Channel Sales Platforms?

  Hi Zoho Community, I’m currently implementing Zoho One to manage all of my business processes, and I’d appreciate some guidance on the correct integration flow for the tools I’m using. Here’s my current setup: Zoho Inventory is my central system for managing

• Beyond Email: #4 Note taking done right with Notes

  With her favorite links now saved in Bookmarks, Sarah is feeling even more at home in Zoho Mail. As her day fills up with meetings and project discussions, she often finds herself scribbling quick ideas and reminders—only to lose track of them later.

• When will Sales Order and Invoice Synchronisation with Zoho CRM be Available?

  When will Sales Orders and Invoices, created in Zoho Books or Inventory be made available in Zoho CRM? John Legg Owner: The Debug Store

• Generate Unique Customer ID for Each for All Contacts

  Generate Unique Customer ID for Each for All Contacts

• Bookings to Books automation using Flow

  I'm using Zoho Flow to automate a process between Bookings and Books. When someone uses Bookings to schedule time with me I use Flow to automatically add the person as a customer in books, then create a Quote in Books for the type of consultation they

• Different Canvas for Different account type

  I would like to have a separate canvas for Customers and Resellers that auto-applies when I enter an ACCOUNT. Is this do-able?

• IMAP sync issues in Zoho CRM

  We are using the Zoho CRM for a while, and we sync (via IMAP) our Google Apps email system. The sync works properly when looking at emails per account, contact or deal, etc. However, it does not function well in the "Messages" and "SalesSigns" features.

• Reporting tags for custom modules

  Hi, it could be very useful. At field level and at sub table level. Thanks, Eduardo

• Can't pass Dates and use date filtered Charts in Pages?

  I don't mess with pages very much, but I'm trying to build a dashboard. I have a search element and several charts that need to be filtered. I also have a stateless form for a start/end date picker I am trying to use to filter data for the charts. Here

• ZOHO FSM Trial - Assets

  Hi I am currently using Zoho CRM and looking at adding FSM. I am trialing FSM at the moment, to potentially move away from my current programme (SimPro) but have a query on the Asset system within FSM It looks like you can only create 1 asset "type";

• Customize User Invites with Invitation Templates

  Invitation Templates help streamline the invitation process by allowing users to create customized email formats instead of sending a one-size-fits-all email. Different invitation templates can be created for portal users and client users to align with

• Sending Email with Attachment (PDF, Excel file)

  Hi, I'm new to Zoho CRM and I'm setting up a flow to send an Email with Attachment when user reaching a certain stage of a Deal. In detail, I've created a Blueprint which requires user to attach a PDF file when reaching a certain point of the stage and

• Based on the Assign To time task want to trigger also reminder for the task still move form fresh lead

  If the leads is assigned To 1 am to 10.55 am task want to create 11am Then reminder want to go the person at 4pm If lead status not moved from fresh lead. From next on wards Reminder want to go 11 Am and 4pm Every day still the person moved to fresh lead

• Next Page