Using communication guidelines to improve AI assistance for agent comments

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Communication guidelines allowauto assistand therewrite in your tone toolto adapt suggestions and responses based on the tone, topic, urgency, language, writing style, and context of an ongoing ticket conversation.</p>
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<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">Communication guidelines let you shape AI suggestions for agent comments and auto assist by setting rules for tone, length, formality, structure, greetings, closings, and wording. You can turn them on or off, apply them to brands, and tailor responses to match your support style and ticket context. If your guidelines conflict with the conversation, your rules take priority.</p>
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<p class="p">Communication guidelines allow <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8013454025114-Turning-on-and-configuring-auto-assist" target="_blank">auto assist</a> and the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5608712782362#topic_fn1_bkp_22c" target="_blank">rewrite in your tone tool</a> to adapt suggestions
and responses based on the tone, topic, urgency, language, writing style, and context of
an ongoing ticket conversation.</p>
<p class="p">To further refine the suggestions and responses that Copilot AI tools make to agents, you
can create your own communication guidelines that are specific to your business.
Creating your own guidelines helps cover a wider range of writing rules, such as general
communication principles, formatting, length, formality, structure, greetings, closings,
wording, and more.</p>
<div class="p">This article contains the following topics:<ul class="ul" id="zug_ai_gen_ai_admin__ul_tyk_gmp_22c">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_eck_hmp_22c">About communication
guidelines</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_krn_2xp_22c">Turning communication guidelines
on or off</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_arb_r43_zfc">Defining communication
guidelines</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">Related articles:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="zug_ai_gen_ai_admin__ul_dh1_1k1_xcc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9182110974746" target="_blank">Best practices for creating communication
guidelines to improve AI assistance</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5608712782362" target="_blank">Enhancing ticket comments using generative
AI</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_eck_hmp_22c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">About communication guidelines</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The communication guidelines feature is available for any languages supported by
OpenAI and works on any channel within Agent Workspace.</p>
<p class="p">When the communication guidelines feature is turned on, it rephrases the content of
agents' public comments or auto assist suggestions so that responses are adapted to
the overall writing style and tone of a conversation. The system rewrites text based
on past interactions between the end user and agent by analyzing certain
conversation variables within a specific ticket. Some of the conversation variables
that the system analyzes include:</p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_eck_hmp_22c__ul_rdc_bxp_22c">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Overall tone and language</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Greetings, closures and signatures</li>
<li class="li">Writing style and language complexity (for example, length and format)</li>
<li class="li">Use of specific words/eponyms and special characters</li>
<li class="li">Ticket conversation sentiment, topic, criticality and urgency</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">You can also define your own guidelines to cover a wider range of
brand-specific writing rules. For example, you may want to include words to use and
avoid and formatting instructions. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9182110974746" target="_blank">Best practices for defining communication guidelines</a> for
more information.</p>
<p class="p">If you’ve defined your own guidelines, the system follows your guidelines in addition
to analyzing the ticket context in an ongoing conversation. If there’s ever a
conflict between the tone or writing style inferred from the ticket conversation and
your guidelines, your guidelines take precedence.</p>
<p class="p">When the communication guidelines feature is turned on, the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5608712782362#topic_fn1_bkp_22c" target="_blank">Rewrite in your tone option </a> is added to
the enhanced writing tools menu in the Agent Workspace and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8013454025114#topic_dx3_rww_xcc" target="_blank">auto assist</a> adapts its suggestions to
match an ongoing conversation.</p>
<p class="p">Communication guidelines don’t change the core content of an AI-generated response.
For example, they won’t override the actual steps in an auto assist procedure.
Guidelines are applied to auto assist suggestions only after the system has
interpreted the user’s message, searched for relevant content, and generated an
initial draft.</p>
<div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> OpenAI will not use your data to train its models or improve its services. For
more information about how your data is protected, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5729714731290" target="_blank">Zendesk AI Data Use Information</a>.</div>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_krn_2xp_22c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Turning communication guidelines on or off</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Communication guidelines are turned on by default. Admins can turn this feature on or
off in Admin Center.</p>
<p class="p">If you turn this feature off, the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5608712782362#topic_fn1_bkp_22c" target="_blank">Rewrite in your tone option </a> is removed
from the enhanced writing tools menu in the Agent Workspace and auto assist doesn't
adapt its suggestions to match the ongoing conversation.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To turn communication guidelines on or off</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_krn_2xp_22c__ol_nr3_3xp_22c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_krn_2xp_22c__image_u44_bh1_s2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/icon_ai.png">
<strong class="ph b">AI</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Agent copilot &gt; Writing</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Select or deselect <strong class="ph b">Communication guidelines</strong>.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_krn_2xp_22c__image_ad4_3yp_22c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/copilot_writingtool_comm_guidelines.png" width="400"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.<p class="p">Next, you can optionally <a class="xref" href="#topic_arb_r43_zfc">define brand-specific guidelines</a>.</p>
<div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> If you
turn on communication guidelines but don’t define your own guidelines, the
rewrite in your tone and auto assist features will be adapted based on
context of the ticket conversation only.</div>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_arb_r43_zfc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Defining communication guidelines</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can define your own brand-specific communication guidelines to help refine the
tone, length, formality, structure, formatting, and word choice of AI-generated
replies and suggestions. </p>
<p class="p">For tips for creating effective guidelines, see <a class="xref" href="Best%20practices%20for%20defining%20communication%20guidelineshttps://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9182110974746" target="_blank">Best practices for defining communication guidelines</a>.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To define communication guidelines</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_arb_r43_zfc__ol_esg_v43_zfc">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_arb_r43_zfc__image_u44_bh1_s2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/icon_ai.png">
<strong class="ph b">AI</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Agent copilot &gt; Writing</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Make sure Communication guidelines <a class="xref" href="#topic_krn_2xp_22c">are turned on</a>, then click <strong class="ph b">Manage guidelines</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Create guidelines</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Enter a <strong class="ph b">Name</strong>.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_arb_r43_zfc__image_dhg_bp3_zfc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/comm_guidelines_creating_new.png" width="600"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Optionally, select one or more brands where these guidelines will apply.</li>
<li class="li">In the <strong class="ph b">Guidelines</strong> field, enter your writing rules.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_arb_r43_zfc__image_dgf_dp3_zfc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/comm_guidelines_create_example.png" width="400"></p>
<p class="p">See <a class="xref" href="Best%20practices%20for%20defining%20communication%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20guidelineshttps://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9182110974746" target="_blank">Best practices for defining communication
guidelines</a>.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save and close</strong>.<p class="p">If some of the brands you selected are already
connected to other communication guidelines, a message appears.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_arb_r43_zfc__image_p44_gp3_zfc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/comm_guidelines_brand_dialog.png" width="400"></p>
<p class="p">Click <strong class="ph b">Connect </strong>to
assign the brands to the new guidelines you created or <strong class="ph b">Go back</strong> to
edit the guidelines.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
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