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

• Client Side Scripts for Meetings Module

  Will zoho please add client side scripting support to the meetings module? Our workflow requires most meeting details have a specific format to work with other software we have. So we rely on a custom function to auto fill certain things. We currently

• CRM APP

  So the crm can now have image uploads. Great for us doing site surveys and linking them to customers. Unfortunatley the crm app does not show the image fields.  Any ideas of must we create a form and then link that?

• Zia Summary for Account - What is its reach

  Hello! I've been working with the Zia summary feature and it's very useful. However, it seems to pull in notes and things directly "on" the Account. If I have a meeting or phone call and provided detailed summaries with the event associated to the account,

• Search a custom module record based on a date range

  Hi , I hope you can share some guidance. I need to look up a record from a custom module based on the Closing Date of a Deal (in the Deals module). Here’s the context: 1. I have a custom module that stores quarterly values (e.g., rates or thresholds).

• How do I associate an expense to multiple projects?

  How do I associate itemized expenses to multiple projects, like assigning each line to the respective project

• So what's the limit?

  Recently our team encountered an error popping out when sending a service report. Although the report was sent successfully to zoho desk but the site asset record isn't updated. We notice this error occur only when line items [subform record] exceeds

• Charge to add client users to a ZOHO Project?

  Is there a charge to add client users to access a zoho project portal?  An additional license charge or any other additional costs?  Thank You

• Zoho CRM Notifications API - Channel Expiry

  Has anyone built a reliable integration with CRM Notification API (https://www.zoho.com/crm/developer/docs/api/v8/notifications/overview.html)? Need to sync CRM data with my external system and prefer not to use CRM workflows which ist a nice low code

• Create Tasks in arbitrary Zoho Project triggered from CRM [Zoho CRM]

  Community, hello What I'm trying to do is to create a Zoho Project when a Deal is created in CRM and then to be able to add tasks to this Project also from Zoho CRM with the trigger (Blueprint/ Workflow). I succeeded in creating Project using Zoho Flow,

• job opening status is locked and and I cannot change it

  Dear Support I am using standard plan. The job opening status is locked and and I cannot change it.

• IDN domain

  Why I can't use my domain www.blažek.com I do not want use unfolded shape www.xn--blaek-wib.com in my mail. Can you help me please?

• Gmail - Error 553 Relaying Disallowed

  Hey Zoho, I have just set up my mail server and added a couple of email accounts. I've verified my domain and added the mx records with my registrar (namecheap.com) What I'm trying to do is to be able to send email from my domain through Gmail.  In Google

• Candidate status change

  I am trying to change candidate status from "interview scheduled" to "hired". Where do I do this at?

• How can I set up my contacts so that all users can have them on hand when they sign in?

  Hi.  For my business I would like to set up the Contacts so they are available for any user. 

• Sharing Knowledge Base articles across multiple departments

  It would be useful to share some Knowledge Base articles across multiple departments where they are applicable, rather than having to go into other departments to find the article you're looking for. For example. Our reception uses the 'Admin' desk whereas our IT guys use the 'Support' desk, however both divisions would find KB articles about our company intranet useful. Reception does not have access to the support desk, so cannot see articles created in the Support KB. Perhaps you could install

• Getting Project Template List using the REST API

  I am trying to confirm that I can use the REST API to create a project using a project template. The API documentation indicates this is possible by providing the Template ID, but it is not clear at all how to get a list of available Project Templates

• Where do we manage tags?

  Where is the page where we can view all tags and manage them (like change a tag name to something else or merge tickets under a particular tag with another)?

• Custom Return Path - Host Name

  Hi there, I've successfully set up SPF/ DKIM for Marketing Automation, but struggling to complete the Custom Return Path. I'm settting up on Wix. What should the host name be for the CNAME record? In Zoho Help it just says: "type your host name (sub-domain

• Trouble Connecting Zoho Mail via IMAP in n8n – Need Help

  Hi everyone 👋, I'm trying to connect my Zoho Mail account to n8n using the IMAP Email Trigger node, but I'm facing issues getting it to work fully. ✅ Here's what I’ve done so far: ✅ IMAP access is enabled in my Zoho Mail settings ✅ I’m using the correct

• How to send Messages to Leads/customers

  I’d like to inquire about the process for sending messages or follow-up communications to customers directly from Zoho CRM. Could you please guide me on the best way to do this—whether via email, SMS, or any integrated messaging feature? Additionally,

• Daily-rate for projects

  I am billing my client through daily billing rates; for Zoho Books projects, only hourly rates can be set up. Please enhance this. Thanks.

• AI feature in Zoho Desk suggesting answers based on past ticket threads

  Hi I would like to suggest something that would be very useful : instead of suggesting answers based on the Knowledge Base, I think it would be great if Zia could analyze the history of all customer and agents threads, to suggest answers in new tickets.

• Admin Console Email

  I can't remember the admin console email or password. How do I find that out?

• help me! the button "remove zoho ad" is not responding

  help me! the button "remove zoho ad" is not responding, kindly advice. please to check the follows : https://sitepreview-643549202.zohositescontent.com/previewsite https://sitebuilder-643549202.zohositescontent.com/builder thanks,best  regards

• Zoho Forms API

  Is there any way to get all form entry list using API? Looking forward to hear from you

• Free tier

  Does a completely free tier Zoho email still exists? If so why am I receiving email reminders that my account would expire in 2 days

• Disable "skip to content" in Help Center

  Our users used to be able to press the tab button to skip between fields when submitting a new ticket in the help center. Now it pulls up the "skip to content" button in the top left corner. I know this is an accessibility feature, but is there any way

• Mail Data Migration

  Hello Team, I have an issue with my organization mail data migration from Google to Zoho. We used Google Workspace before now but decided to change to Zoho to enjoy your service. I have successfully created an account and 1. Complete Domain verification

• Prompting email addresses when sending an email

  Hi, I was just wondering if it was possible to disable the prompt / suggestion of email addresses when you begin typing an email address into the TO or CC box? Some of the email addresses that are being suggested are people that no longer require the

• This is a HTML email and your email client software does not support HTML email!

  I have a small business, recently the email notification is coming like this to me, can anyone please help me? I am not so IT savvy -----=_NextPart_b4583c76c623900f59ad5b420c6da260 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_b4583c76c623900f59ad5b420c6da260_alt"

• How to insert a ZohoUser in a subform field?

  I am building an new external web app that uses the ZohoCRM REST API (v8) to push data to Zoho. How do I use the ZohoCRM REST API to insert ZohoUsers into a subform field? I've tried several approaches and none of them have worked - inserting the ID as

• Unable to receive emails

  Hello - I set up an email account for my domain. I can send emails but cannot receive them. I believe the issue might be with incorrect IMAP configuration (?) - but im not sure and cant find where this is on the platform. Im using Zoho hosting for the

• Zoho Account delete function

  Hello Zoho support team The issue is as follows: Step1: Created an account community@bisonenergy.net Step2: Deleted this account. Step3: Created the new group mail using the same mail address, but the data already exists. So I have to change the name

• help, 554 5.1.8 blocked

  got this blockade, i don't know why?

• Not Receiving Emails from Gmail, but Other Providers Work Fine

  Hello, I'm experiencing an issue where my Zoho Mail account does not receive any emails sent from Gmail addresses. However, I can successfully receive emails from other providers such as Hotmail and Yahoo. There are no problems with sending emails—I'm

• Basic String Search Not Possible in CRM Deluge – Feature Request or Workaround?

  Hi all, I’m trying to solve what should be a very basic automation task in Zoho CRM Deluge: Find the first 11-digit number anywhere in a string (specifically an email subject). In almost any programming language—even 1980s BASIC!—this is a trivial loop:

• Reencaminhamento de e-mails.

  Boa tarde, gostaria de saber se tem a possibilidade de realizar o reencaminhamento de um e-mail especifico. Ex. Eu recebo alguns e-mails de um remetente e gostaria que o meu amigo de trabalho também recebesse esse e-mail, somente deste destinatário, é

• Knowledge base articles is now available in the Zoho Desk mobile app!

  Hello all,   As a customer service agent, every day you might have to deal with many questions and issues reported by the users. With Knowledge Base, you can reduce the issue resolution life cycle for your organization.   We are delighted to announce that we have brought in support for 'Knowledge Base articles' in the Zoho Desk iOS mobile app.  This feature is already available for Android users.   KB articles are available to iOS users in the latest version of the app (v2.4.9). You can update the

• Set Default Payment Method & Default account

  Hi, I would like to know how to set the default payment method and default bank account when recording payments in zoho books. At present we have to change these fields everytime we record a payment, which leads to potential error and as we have a very

• More than one "Other" response in a Multiple Choice (Many Answers) question type?

  Is there a way to have more than one "Other (Please Specify)" with a short response as an option to a Multiple Choice (Many Answers) question? I understand there may be other ways, but I am looking for this way specifically as it would be best for the

• Next Page