Announcing assisted messaging activation for select customers

Announced on | Rollout starts | Rollout ends
August 15, 2025 | September 22, 2025 | November 14, 2025

We are announcing assisted migration from live chat to Zendesk messaging for selected customers currently using Agent Workspace.

This announcement includes the following topics:

What's changing and why?

Am I impacted?

What do I need to do?

How can I delay messaging activation if I'm not ready?

What new features are available after upgrading?

What's changing and why?

Zendesk messaging provides a modern, efficient, and scalable way for businesses to connect with customers, enhance support, and foster better customer engagement.

Messaging is the future of Zendesk's conversational experiences, offering capabilities that extend beyond what Zendesk Chat currently provides.

Access to AI agents. Zendesk-powered bots that automate resolutions to your customers' issues across service channels, allowing your support operations to meet growing customer demands.

Flexible conversation experience. Messaging provides you with the option to maintain your session-based live chat experience or update your workflow to accommodate multiple sessions.

A unified channel experience. Your agents can more efficiently manage requests from your website, help center, mobile app(s), and third-party apps in a single workspace, giving your customers a consistent experience across channels.

Omnichannel management: Access to capabilities like omnichannel routing and unified agent status that allow you to centrally manage and deploy your agents across support, talk, and messaging channels.

Am I impacted?

This migration only applies to a small subset of current Chat customers. You'll receive an email if your account is included in the upgrade. All shortlisted accounts for migration will also see in-product banners to keep them informed about the upcoming migrations.

What do I need to do?

Zendesk will complete the initial step required to begin using messaging by turning it on at the account level on your behalf, and admins will be prompted to complete a series of tasks to finalize the move from Chat to messaging and make it available to end users and agents.

To streamline the migration effort this year, customers will have different migration experiences depending on their chat activity and the complexity of their chat configuration.

Inactive Chat accounts

Inactive Chat or Web Widget (Classic) accounts with no tickets in the last 30 days will have messaging turned on at the account level, with no impact to the current support operations.

Affected customers will be notified of this update by an in-product banner and email notifications 30 days before the change. It will not have any impact on the customers' support operations.

Active Chat accounts

Active Chat or Web Widget (Classic) customers with at least one ticket in the last 30 days will be categorized into the following segments:

Segment 1: Single-brand customers with high traffic and low complexity. Low complexity is defined as customers not using operating hours, pre-chat and offline forms, or authentication.

Segment 2: Single-brand or multi-brand customers with high traffic or high complexity. High complexity is defined as customers who are using these features.

For accounts in both segments 1 and 2, Zendesk will also turn on messaging at the account level. Admins will need to complete the setup and will have the autonomy to decide exactly when to launch the messaging Web Widget, thereby minimizing the impact on their operations.

Preparing for activation

Active Chat customers will receive a notification email and see an in-product banner about 60 days in advance of their activation date.

There are no required pre-activation tasks; however, customers will be encouraged to familiarize themselves and their agents with the differences between Chat and messaging, review the capability comparison, and try messaging in advance of the change.

During activation

In messaging settings, select Turn on messaging for your account. This turns on messaging at the account level and migrates a number of Chat settings, such as triggers and business hours, to their equivalent messaging settings to replicate your Chat configuration as much as possible.

For both customer segments, Zendesk will also turn on messaging at the account level for customers. Admins will need to complete the setup, and will have the autonomy to decide exactly when to launch their messaging Web Widget in order to reduce impact on their operations.

After activation

Account admins will receive in-product and email confirmations once activation is complete.

Segments 1 and 2 will be encouraged to complete the setup and activate messaging on individual brands. Customers should close out any active live chats and launch their messaging Web Widget during off-peak hours to avoid data loss.

Segment 1 has minimal setup tasks, as admins only need to review the migrated settings before launching their messaging Web Widget.

Segment 2, given the greater complexity of their Chat configuration, will be guided through a series of steps to complete their messaging setup before launching their messaging Web Widget. This guide will be customized for each customer's account configuration, displaying only the relevant steps.

How can I delay messaging activation if I’m not ready?

This account-level activation is just the first step required to move from live chat to messaging. However, if you feel you are not ready by the targeted timelines, you can request a delay in the activation by completing this form, which will be linked from the in-product and email notifications account admins receive.

What new features are available after upgrading?

Messaging is built natively into Zendesk, and by migrating to messaging, customers will gain access to all Zendesk AI capabilities, along with Omnichannel routing and WEM. New capabilities include:

Zendesk AI agents- Essential. Access to AI agents - Essential or enhanced Bots that resolve and automate customer issues

Proactive messages. You can have a bot reach out to customers before they initiate a conversation.

Multiple channel availability. You can initiate and conduct conversations across various channels, including web, mobile, and social messaging.

Persistent conversations. Both agents and customers can have multiple interactions over a period of time in a single conversation, and can refer to earlier interactions for better context.

Portable communication. Customers can start a conversation from home using the Web Widget, then continue it on WhatsApp while in line at the grocery store, for example.

Ticket creation. Agents can follow up on more complex support requests through Zendesk Support tickets.

Integration in the Agent Workspace. Messaging conversations are handled alongside traditional channels, such as email, web forms, and APIs, by agents in Agent Workspace for increased productivity.