Automation#23: Automate Guided Conversations in Zoho Desk with Business Hours

Automation#23: Automate Guided Conversations in Zoho Desk with Business Hours


Hello Everyone, 
This week's edition introduces a custom function designed to automate Guided Conversations in Zoho Desk, based on your business hours. With this feature, you can align the bot's behavior with your business schedule, ensuring a smooth and professional customer experience.

Self-service platforms are now a cornerstone of effective customer service, improving productivity for both customers and support agents. With the evolving nature of customer support, self-
service has become indispensable. It saves time and provides quick access to solutions, empowering customers to address their concerns efficiently.

Zoho Desk's Guided Conversations serves as a robust self-service tool, offering Tier-1 solutions to customers through an intuitive interface. For more complex or escalated queries, the bot seamlessly connects customers to a live agent, ensuring both self-service and human assistance for effective issue resolution.
However, businesses often have non-working hours, such as weekends or holidays, when agents are unavailable. In such cases, configuring your Guided Conversations based on your business hours is essential. During non-working hours, the bot can:
  1. Notify customers that your business is currently closed, along with your operating hours.
  2. Provide an option for customers to submit a ticket, ensuring their query is addressed promptly during working hours.Configure your Guided Conversations today and streamline your customer support process!

How to incorporate this custom function within your GC flow?
1. Go to Setup (S) >> Self-Service >> Guided Conversation. 
2. Choose the Department and click on Create Flow. 
(If you would like to add this to your existing flow, click on the ellipsis icon under Published Flows and click on the Edit button.)
3. Select the channels, give a Name and Description, and click Next. 
4. Click on the + icon, add the Webhook block, under Perform Actions. 
5. Enter the Block name as Business Hours, Choose Get under Method. 
NotesNote: In the Business Hours URL, replace .com with .in/.eu/.ca/.sa based on your DC

How to fetch the Business Hour Id? 
6.1 To fetch the Business Id, Go to Setup (S) >> Organization >> Business Hours.  
6.2 Click on the Business Hours configured within your Zoho Desk Account. Go to the URL of the specific Business Hours, and you can fetch the business Id from the URL.
https://zylker.com/agent/learningminds/learningminds/setup#setup/general/businesshours/edit/1380***********062 


7. After entering the URL, do not make changes to the Query Params and Headers. 
8. Under Connections, click on Add. 
To Create a connection
      8.1 Click Create Connection.
      8.2 Select Zoho Desk under Default Services.
      8.3 Give a connection name (let's say configureBusiness Hours).
      8.4 Disable the toggle for User Credentials of Login User.
      8.5 Under Scope, choose the below scope values:
               Desk.settings.READ
      8.6 Click Create and Connect.
      8.7 Click Connect and click Accept.
Connection is created successfully.


 9. After creating the connection, click on Refresh and then click on the drop down arrow and select the connection (configureBusiness Hours) created.
10. Click on the gear icon in the Formatter option and paste the below code in the Deluge window: 
  1. dayMAp = {"SUNDAY","MONDAY","TUESDAY","WEDNESDAY","THURSDAY","FRIDAY","SATURDAY"};
  2. businessTimes = response.get("businessTimes");
  3. timez = response.get("timeZone").get("id");
  4. response = Collection();
  5. createdTime = zoho.currenttime.toString("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss",timez).toDateTime();
  6. createdDay = createdTime.getDay();
  7. //get this from above created time
  8. createdHour = createdTime.getHour();
  9. //get this from above created time
  10. createdMinute = createdTime.getMinutes();
  11. //get this from above created time
  12. createdWeekDay = createdTime.getDayOfWeek();
  13. //get this from above created time
  14. createdWeekDay = dayMAp.get(createdWeekDay - 1);
  15. for each  businessTime in businessTimes
  16. {

  17. if(businessTime.get("day") == createdWeekDay)

  18. {

  19. businessTimeStartHour = businessTime.get("startTime").getPrefix(":").toLong();

  20. businessTimeEndHour = businessTime.get("endTime").getPrefix(":").toLong();

  21. businessTimeStartMinute = businessTime.get("startTime").getSuffix(":").toLong();

  22. businessTimeEndMinute = businessTime.get("endTime").getSuffix(":").toLong();

  23. if((createdHour > businessTimeStartHour || createdHour == businessTimeStartHour && createdMinute >= businessTimeStartMinute) && (createdHour < businessTimeEndHour || createdHour == businessTimeEndHour && createdMinute <= businessTimeEndMinute))

  24. {

  25. response.insert({"status":"true"});

  26. }

  27. else

  28. {

  29. response.insert({"status":"false"});

  30. }

  31. }
  32. }
  33. return response.get(0).get("status");

11. Click Save after pasting the code. 
12. Click on the gear icon in the Response icon. 
12.1 Click on the gear icon on the Status Code. 
12.2 Give Status Code as 200, Flow Variables as status, Response Value as /. 
12.3 Let the Type be single element and the Data Type be String. Click Save. Click Save for the Response List with the updated status. 
13. Disable the toggle for the Multi Path. 
14. Choose a Request timeout if required. This sets a response waiting time from the server. 
15. Set the Error message if required to display in case waiting time exceeds the response time. 
16. Click Save. 

This is the configuration for setting the business hours through a custom function. 

17. After the Webhook, click on the + icon and add the Fork block under the Perform Actions. 



18. Give the Block Name  as Check, Enter Path list : name it as Check. 
Under Criteria 1, click on the drop-down arrow, and enter choose Status under Block variables, from the drop-down menu.  Choose operation: contains and give the value : True. 

19. Do not add an else path. 
20. Click Save. 

In the Fork block, under Check, you can add the Transfer to agent block from the Zoho Desk Blocks. Under Else, you can add a text icon/ info card stating you are out of business hours. 
Notes
Note: This custom function does not include the Holiday Lists configured within Zoho Desk. 
You can seamlessly integrate this Guided Conversation flow into your self-service platform to ensure you never miss a customer, even during non-working hours. Keep your customer support running smoothly!

See you next week!
Regards,
Lydia | Zoho Desk

    • Sticky Posts

    • Register for Zoho Desk Beta Community

      With the start of the year, we have decided to take a small step in making the life of our customers a little easier. We now have easy access to all our upcoming features and a faster way to request for beta access. We open betas for some of our features

    • Share your Zoho Desk story with us!

      Tell us how you use Zoho Desk for your business and inspire others with your story. Be it a simple workflow rule that helps you navigate complex processes or a macro that saves your team a lot of time; share it here and help the community learn and grow with shared knowledge. 

    • Tip #1: Learn to pick the right channels

      Mail, live chat, telephony, social media, web forms—there are so many support channels out there. Trying to pick the right channels to offer your customers can get pretty confusing. Emails are most useful when the customer wants to put things on record. However, escalated or complicated issues should not be resolved over email because it's slow and impersonal.  When you need immediate responses, live chat is more suitable. It's also quick and convenient, so it's the go-to channel for small issues. 

    • Welcome to Zoho Desk Community - Say hello here!

      Hello everyone! Though we have been here for a while, it’s time to formally establish the Zoho Desk Community; we’re really happy to have you all here! This can be the place where you take a moment to introduce yourself to the rest of the community. We’d love to hear all about you, what you do, what company or industry you work for, how you use Zoho Desk and anything else that you will like to share! Here’s a little about me. I am Chinmayee. I have been associated with Zoho since 2014. I joined here

    • Webinar 1: Blueprint for Customer Service

      With the launch of a host of new features in Zoho Desk, we thought it’ll be great to have a few webinars to help our customers make the most of them. We’re starting off with our most talked about feature, Blueprint in Zoho Desk. You can register for the Blueprint webinar here: The webinar will be delivered by our in-house product experts. This is a good opportunity to ask questions to our experts and understand how Blueprint can help you automate your service processes. We look forward to seeing

    • Recent Topics

    • How to retreive the "To be received" value of an Item displayed in Zoho inventory.

      Hi everyone, We have our own Deluge code to generate a PO according to taget quantity and box quantity, pretty usefull and powerful! However, we want to reduce our quantity to order according to "To be received" variable. Seems like this might not even

    • Kaizen #211 - Answering your Questions | Using Canvas and Widgets to Tailor CRM for Mobile

      Howdy, tech wizards! We are back with the final post in addressing the queries you shared for our 200th milestone. This week, we are focusing on a couple of queries on Zoho CRM mobile configurations and custom payment gateway integration. 1. Mobile SDK

    • Remove "Invalid entries found. Rectify and submit again" modal

      Following up on a post from a few years back, but can the Zoho team consider either removing the 'Invalid entries found. Rectify and submit again' modal that displays for empty mandatory fields OR allow an admin to change it? I've built a custom error

    • Cadence reports as front-end reports

      Hello everyone, We have built a cadence which is connected to the Leads module. There are 11 steps in total, 7 are automatic emails and 4 are tasks for the Lead owners. As admins, we have access to this (very nicely made) 'View Reports' tab where we can

    • Show elapsed time on the thank-you page?

      Is it possible to display the total time a user spent filling out a Zoho Form on the thank-you? I’d like to show the difference between the `form submission timestamp` and the `start time` (currently have a hidden Date-Time field set to autofill the date

    • I need to do crud with snippet html

      I need to implement a form with an improved user interface. I would like to use snippets to build a CRUD that allows me to create and update records. How could I achieve this using snippets?

    • Incorrect “correct” password on email client apple mail

      I have troubleshot this account several times. I have deleted and re added account. It keeps saying incorrect password. Can you check that it is not locked on your end?

    • Is it possible to lock editing subform rows?

      Ideally editing would only be locked after the form has been updated but I still want them to be able to add new subform records at any time and they should be able to delete rows from the subform. It is a named subform if that's relevant however the

    • What is the maximum file size of a video upload in Zoho chat?

      Can I upload a 20 mb video file and share it with my colleagues? 

    • Update a field in ALL all calls under a contact

      HI guys! I have written some deluge code to update a field in my calls after i have comepleted the call, i need this field to update in all my scheduled calls as well that are comeing up. I just cant seem to get it to work, i have put teh code below,

    • Verifying Zoho Mail Functionality After Switching DNS from Cloudflare to Hosting Provider

      I initially configured my domain's (https://roblaxmod.com/) email with Zoho Mail while using Cloudflare to manage my DNS records (MX, SPF, etc.). All services were working correctly. Recently, I have removed my site from Cloudflare and switched my domain's

    • Fat Download of Ulaa Browser

      I just observed that Ulaa Browser is offering an one-capsule big download. These days it is a custom to offer a small bootstrap downloader and based on user customization options an appropriate download completes. And this is particularly common with

    • Billing Management: #8 Usage Billing in Logistics & Delivery Services

      The logistics and delivery industry thrives on movement and precision. Every delivery completed, every kilometre driven, and every ton transported is a measurable activity. However, billing often lags behind. Many logistics companies still rely on fixed-rate

    • Tags for New Tickets

      Hi there, When creating a new ticket, there is currently no way to choose a tag you would like to associate with the new ticket. Being able to associate a tag while creating a new ticket will be very beneficial as it will save time and flow well with

    • Zoho Desk: No Incoming email

      Is Zoho Desk services down? No incoming email reflect to desk tickets.

    • Zoho CRM - Widgets | Update #3 : Introducing SDK V1.5 along with new ZDK Methods and ZRC Support

      Hello everyone! Widgets in Zoho CRM just got a big upgrade! With the release of SDK v1.5, developers can now create more immersive widget experiences. This update elevates Widget development with new ZDK methods for easier interactivity and ZRC support

    • Unusual activity detected, account blocked

      I am unable to send emails and am getting the error "Outgoing blocked: Unusual activity detected. To unblock your account, please and submit a request. Learn more.". I am unsure as to why this is happening since all my activity is legitimate, mainly confirmation

    • Unable to Send Emails – Outgoing Mail Blocked (Error 554 5.1.8)

      Description: Hello Zoho Support Team, I am facing an issue with my Zoho Mail account ( admin@osamarahmani.tech ). Whenever I try to send an email, I get the following error: 554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked I would like to clarify that I have not done

    • Issue connecting Zoho Mail to Thunderbird (IMAP/SMTP authentication error)

      Dear Zoho Support, I am trying to configure my Zoho Mail account on Thunderbird, but I keep getting authentication errors. Account: info@baktradingtn.com Domain: baktradingtn.com Settings used: IMAP: imap.zoho.com, Port 993, SSL/TLS, Normal Password SMTP:

    • Payment issue with Mail Lite plan – personal NIF not accepted as payment info

      Hello, I have already contacted Zoho Support by email regarding this, but since I haven’t received any reply yet, I’m sharing it here as well to see if the community can help. I’m facing a payment issue for my Mail Lite plan. I have a personal account

    • Customer payment alerts in Zoho Cliq

      For businesses that depend on cash flow, payment updates are essential for operational decision-making and go beyond simple accounting entries. The sales team needs to be notified when invoices are cleared so that upcoming orders can be released. In contrast,

    • Figma in Zoho Creator

      Hi Team, I’m creating a form using Figma and would like to know how to add workflows like scheduling, custom validation, and other logic to it. Can anyone help me understand how to set this up for a Figma-based Creator UI form?

    • Not receiving Gmail confirmation email to send emails as Zoho account from Gmail

      Hello! I'm having an issue with the "Send mail as" option on Gmail. I am not receiving the confirmation email on my Zoho Mail account. A few days ago, it worked, then it stopped, and now when I try to fix it, I simply don't receive the confirmation email

    • Restore lost Invoice!

      Some time ago I tried to Upgrade from Invoice to Books. I not upgraded and staid n Invoice. Now i tried again and first i deleted the old trial of books. But now all is gone, PLEASE HELP!! i have no backup and i have to have at least 7 years data retention by law. 

    • Zoho Desk Down

      Not loading

    • lookup and integrated forms

      I might be misunderstanding things but I wanted to integrate our zoho crm contacts into creator. I imagined that when I used the integration it would mirror into creator. It did brilliant. BUT We have a ticket form in creator that we want to use a lookup

    • Partially receive PO without partial Bill?

      Most of our inventory is pre-paid. Let's say we purchase 30 pieces of 3 different items for a total of 90 pieces. It is common for our supplier to send us the items as they are ready. So we will receive 30 pieces at a time. How can I partially receive

    • 2 users editing the same record - loose changes

      Hello, I'm very new to Zoho so apology if this has been addressed somewhere i can't find. I have noticed the following: If we have 2 users put an inventory item in edit mode at the same time: say user1 click on edit and user2 while user1 is still in edit,

    • How to get the Dashboard page to be the first page when you open the app

      So when it opens on a tablet or phone it opens on the welcome page, thanks.

    • How I set default email addresses for Sales Orders and Invoices

      I have customers that have different departments that handle Sales Orders and Invoices. How can i set a default email for Sales Orders that's different than the default email for Invoices? Is there a way I can automate this using the Contact Persons Departments

    • Formula fields not refreshing until page is reloaded

      I need help/advice about the formula fields and how I can refresh the information in real-time. We have two formula fields on our deals page which show calculated prices: One formula is in a subform which calculates the subform total + 1 other field amount

    • How can I setup Zoho MCP with Chat GPT

      I can set up custom connections with Chat GPT but I cat an error when I try to set it up. The error is: "This MCP server can't be used by ChatGPT to search information because it doesn't implement our specification: search action not found" Thoughts?

    • API ZOHO CRM Picket list with wrong values

      I am using Zoho API v.8. with python to create records in a custom module named "Veranstaltung" in this custom module I've got a picket list called "Email_Template" with 28 Values. I've added 8 new values yesterday, but if I try to use on of those values

    • Group Emails

      I have synced Zoho CRM to Campaigns but there are certain email not synced. showing it is Group Emails, but this email ids belongs to different individuals. please provide a solution as i nedd to sync the same.

    • Enable Password Import option in ulaa browser

      Dear Ulaa Team, I noticed that the Ulaa Password Manager currently offers an option to export passwords, but not to import them. This limitation poses a challenge for users like me who have stored numerous credentials in browsers like Chrome. Manually

    • "Is Zoho CRM customer" vs "Is linked with Zoho CRM"

      Recently while building a Flow, I was setting up a Decision action following a Zoho Invoice Fetch record action. There were 2 choices that I had not seen as something I could manually action in Zoho Invoice: "Is Zoho CRM customer" and "Is linked with

    • Client Script | Update - Introducing ZRC: Simplified HTTP request library

      Hello Developers! Are you tired of juggling different methods to make API calls? Are you confused with multiple syntaxes and version restrictions? Have you ever wished for one simple way to make all API calls in CRM? We heard you :) Here comes ZRC (Zoho

    • Selection Filed for Data Export section

      Hi FSM Team, I hope you are all doing well. I would like to share an idea for future development based on my experience. Currently, in FSM, we can only download up to 5,000 records at a time. If the development team could add a selection option to choose

    • What if I dont see contacts on the left side list

      My CRM does not show the contacts tab. In order to create list this is needed and I cant find it.

    • Comments Vs. Replies

      I'm curious as to the difference between a "Reply" and a "Comment" on a ticket. It appears that "Replies" are what's used to determine response time SLA's and there are also used to automatically re-open tickets. I'm just trying to understand the key differences so I can educate both our clientele and our back-end users on which function/feature to use to better improve the ticket lifecycle. If anyone has any insight it would be appreciated. Thanks!

    • Next Page