Working with messaging for your mobile channel

This article applies to Zendesk accounts using the messaging Web Widget. If
you are using the classic Web Widget, see Activating messaging when migrating from Web Widget
(Classic).

You can provide messaging functionality on your mobile app through Android, iOS, and
Unity SDKs. You can customize and configure an SDK's appearance and other settings in
the Admin Center, then provide your developer with the Channel ID they will need to
complete the integration following the
official developer documentation.
This article includes the following topics:


Creating a new mobile channel for messaging
Customizing and configuring the Zendesk mobile SDKs
Installing messaging on your mobile app




Creating a new mobile channel for messaging

Before configuring the Android, iOS, or Unity SDK, you'll need to create your mobile
channel in the Zendesk Admin Center and then assign it to a brand before you can
customize and configure it, as described below.
To create a new Android/iOS channel

In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
Click the
Add Channel
button, then select your channel:
Android,
iOS, or
Unity.
On the Add Android/iOS/Unity SDK page, configure each of the sections:


Start with the basics: Enter a channel name. If your
account has multiple brands, use the drop-down menu to select a brand.
Click
Next.

Install in your app: Copy the Channel ID that your
development team can use to install the mobile SDK into your app. Use
the provided link to view
detailed instructions
for
installing your selected SDK. Click
Next.

Make it your own: Select a Primary color using the
picker or by entering a hexadecimal number. Enter a channel title to
display in the messaging header. You can refine these selections later
in the configuration sections. Click
Next.
The channel's edit
page opens, where you can continue
configuring your mobile SDK's appearance and
messaging behavior.







Customizing and configuring the Zendesk mobile SDKs

Zendesk mobile SDKs include multiple components that you can customize to best represent your
business. The settings described in this section are used to configure how
messaging looks and behaves in your mobile app.
Note: You need to wait 10
minutes, then restart your mobile app for saved configuration changes
to appear .

To configure messaging for your mobile channel


In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
Click the mobile channel you want to update.
Click the tab with the components you want to customize. Use the links below
to view more detailed information on the options available on each tab:



Basics
(channel name)

Style
(SDK
appearance)

Responses(Business hours, first message,
and AI agent activation)

Notifications
(Push notification settings – Android
and iOS only)

Authentication
(Security settings)

Installation
(Channel ID and help center embed)







The Basics tab

The Basics tab includes an editable Channel name field.
The Channel name field is populated with the name used in the
initial channel setup. Update
this name if needed to make it easy to identify in your channels list.

Click
Save
after making any updates.



The Style tab

The Style tab includes the appearance-related components of the SDK.

You can update the following:



Primary color, the main color of the launcher button and SDK
header. Enter a hexadecimal number, or click the color swatch to open a
color picker.

Message color, the color of the bubble around customer messages.
Enter a hexadecimal number, or click the color swatch to open a color
picker.

Action color, the color of any buttons or tappable elements in
the conversation, such as Quick Reply messages. Enter a hexadecimal
number, or click the color swatch to open a color picker.

Title, text which appears at the top of the SDK's conversation
screen – usually your business or brand name.

Description (optional) a short piece of text under the title.
This can be information you want to share or a tagline, for example.
Enter the description in the text box.


Click
Save
after making any updates.



The Responses tab

The Responses tab allows you to customize the first message, which greets your customers when
they initiate a messaging conversation in your mobile app. You can
apply a support schedule to create
separate default responses for your working hours and add an AI agent.


Applying Support schedules to the channel

When you apply an established Support schedule to your mobile
channel, you can create different responses for customers based
on whether they contact you during or outside of your set office
hours. You can apply any of your Support schedules to the
responses.
If you do not apply a Support schedule, customers receive the same
response, regardless of the time or day they initiate a messaging
conversation.

Note: Support schedules are not available on all Suite
plans. If your plan does not offer schedules, you can use
out-of-office triggers
to
manage basic responses.


To apply a business hours schedule to your mobile
channel


In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
Click the name of the channel you want to edit. The Edit
channel page opens.
Click the
Responses tab.
Expand the
Business hours
section, and use the
drop-down to select a saved Support schedule. If you have not
created a Support schedule, you can skip this step.
Expand the
Response during business hours section
and update as described in
Customizing the default messaging response.
Repeat for the
Response outside of business hours section, if
applicable.
Click
Save.


If you remove the business hours schedule, the Response during business hours
settings are applied.



Customizing the default messaging response

Whether you are using the business hours option or not, you can
customize the response your customers receive when they launch a
conversation.
To customize your automated response


In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
Click the name of the channel you want to edit. The Edit
channel page opens.
Click the
Responses tab.
Expand the
Response during business hours section.
The default messaging response information is displayed in the text
boxes.
Update the following:



First message: Use the default message ("We're
offline right now. Leave your details so we can get back
to you later.”), or enter custom text that appears when
a customer initiates a messaging conversation in your
mobile app.

Customer details: Use the drop-down to select the
information (Name and/or Email) you want to request from
the customer before transferring them to an agent.
Customers must enter information into these fields
before being handed off to an agent.


Note:
These settings may be impacted by your
end-user
authentication configuration.




Follow-up message: Enter the text that appears
after the customer submits the requested details.



If you're using business hours, expand the
Response
outside of business hours section and update the information
as described in the previous step.
Click
Save.





Adding an AI agent

At the bottom of the section, you have the option to add an AI agent to your messaging
configuration, which allows you to offer highly customized and
automated support to your customers.

See Creating an AI agent for your web and
mobile channels.
If you have already created an AI agent, you have the option of deactivating it and returning to
the default messaging response.


Note: When you delete an AI agent, any
connected channels will revert to the default response settings
configured above.





The Notifications tab (Android and iOS only)

The Notifications tab is where you can set up push notifications for
the Zendesk Android or iOS SDK.
The required steps for configuring Android and iOS notifications differ. Choose
the procedure below that matches your setup.
To configure push notifications for your Android channel
First, create your service account key JSON file which contains your credentials
needed for the next steps.

In the
Firebase console, create a new project if you do
not already have one.
Click
Settings > Service Accounts.
Click
Generate New Private Key, then confirm by clicking
Generate
Key.
Save the JSON file to a secure location.

In most migration scenarios, the Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) v1 API is
enabled by default. If you encounter errors when trying to contact the
endpoint, ensure that Firebase Cloud Messaging API is enabled
in the list of APIs and services within the Google Cloud console.
Now configure the notifications in Admin Center.


In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
Click the name of the channel you want to edit. The Edit
channel page opens.
Click the
Notifications
tab.
Enter the following information using the contents of the
service account key JSON file you downloaded above:


project ID: A unique identifier for your Firebase
project.

Private key: A key that Firebase uses for
server-to-server communication.

client email: The client email address (also called a
service account email) associated with the Firebase
project.


Click
Save.
Complete the steps described in the Zendesk Developers guide
for
setting up push notifications for
Android.


To configure push notifications for your iOS channel, you'll need an Apple developer account and
a .p12 file from APNs. If you already have these, you can skip to
configuring push notifications for your iOS channel.
To create an Apple developer account, enroll
here.
After you're enrolled, you can generate the .p12 file using these instructions from the Apple
developer website.
To generate a .p12 file

Log in to the Apple Developer Member Center and navigate to the
certificates list.
Click the + button at the top of the page to create a new
certificate, and select Apple Push Notification service SSL (Sandbox &amp;
Production).
Select your app ID from the drop-down and click continue.
Follow the instructions to generate a Certificate Signing Request
(CSR) using Keychain Access, and upload it to generate your
certificate.
Once the certificate is ready, download it to your computer and
double-click it to open it in Keychain Access.
Right-click the certificate you created, and select Export "Apple Push Services:
{your-app-id}."
Choose a password and save the .p12 file to your computer.

Now, you're ready to configure your push notifications.
To configure push notifications for your iOS channel


In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
Click the name of the channel you want to edit. The Edit
channel page opens.
Click the
Notifications
tab.
Upload the .p12 file from APNs and enter the certificate password.

Click
Save.
Complete the steps described in the Zendesk Developers guide
for
setting up push notifications for
iOS.





The Authentication section

See
Authenticating end users in
messaging.




Installing messaging on your mobile app

To install messaging on your mobile app, your you'll need to give your developers a
Channel key. You can find the Channel key, along with a link to the Zendesk
developer documentation, in the Installation section.



To obtain the Channel ID


In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
Hover your cursor over the brand you want to update, click the options icon
(
), then click
Edit.
Click the
Installation
section.
Under
Channel ID, click the
Copy button to save the key to
your clipboard.
Send this information to your developers.




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