Allowing multiple conversations for your end users




What's my plan?







All Suites

Team, Growth, Professional, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus







Verified AI summary ◀▼

Enable multiple conversations to let end users handle several messaging threads at once, enhancing their support experience. This feature is available on Web Widget, iOS, Android, and Unity SDKs, but not on social channels. Consider the irreversible changes to user experience and ticket management before activation. Manage settings to control conversation creation and prevent reopening closed threads in the Web Widget.





Multi-conversations let your end users conduct multiple messaging conversations
simultaneously with the click of a button, providing faster resolutions to their support
issues and a more satisfying customer experience. This feature is available on the Web
Widget, iOS SDK, Android SDK, and Unity SDK channels. Multi-conversations are not
available for social messaging channels.
Zendesk customers who have access to the Sunshine Conversations API can set custom titles and avatars for
multi-conversations.
This article includes the following topics:


About multi-conversations
Turning on multi-conversations
Removing the New conversation button
Preventing end users from reopening closed conversations in the Web Widget




About multi-conversations

This topic includes the following sections:


Considerations when turning on multi-conversations

Active and inactive messaging tickets

Requirements and limitations
Understanding the agent experience




Considerations when turning on multi-conversations



Important: Turning on multi-conversations changes the end-user experience and how the
Agent Workspace manages conversations. These updates can’t be rolled
back.

Before activating multi-conversations for your account, consider the
following:


All web, iOS, and Android messaging channels are updated when you turn on
multi-conversations for any messaging channel. Channels that aren't selected
to display the New conversation button perform as described in Removing the New conversation
button. Consider turning on multi-conversations for all available
messaging channels to align the end-user experience.

You can't fully revert to the single conversation experience for end
users after you turn on multi-conversations. You can prevent end
users from starting additional conversations by removing the New conversation
button, but end users will continue to have access to all
conversations in the conversations list. End users can raise new
issues by continuing any conversation in the conversations list.

Merging authenticated users no longer combines conversations into a
single history. By default, before turning on multi-conversations,
authenticating an end user after starting a messaging conversation
merges that end user with the matching authenticated user profile, and
conversations under the authenticated user profile are combined into a
single conversation history. When you turn on multi-conversations,
authenticating an end user after starting a messaging conversation still
merges them with the authenticated user profile. However, the conversation
isn’t merged with prior conversations. This change is irreversible. If you
are authenticating your end users you
should work with your developers to ensure the authentication occurs before
starting messaging conversations. Delaying authentication may result in
duplicate tickets for the same issue. See Configuring multi-conversations
for more information.




Active and inactive messaging tickets

Multi-conversation behavior in messaging conversations depends on whether the
tickets associated with those conversations are active or
inactive.
A messaging conversation is active when any of the following are true:


An AI agent is in the conversation.
The related ticket's status is New, Open, On-hold, Pending, or
Solved.
An agent has not ended the messaging
session.


A messaging conversation is inactive when either of the following are
true:


The related ticket's status is Closed, or in the closed state if custom ticket statuses are
activated.
An agent has ended the messaging
session.





Requirements and limitations

Multi-conversations are available on accounts that meet the following
requirements:
Messaging is activated.
Zendesk iOS or Android SDK version 2.10.0 or later. For the best user
experience, version 2.25.0 or later is recommended. Older SDK versions
do not support this feature and default to a single conversation
experience.
Zendesk Unity SDK version 3.4.0 or later. Older SDK versions do not
support this feature and default to a single-conversation
experience.


Currently, the following functionality is not supported for
multi-conversations:

Third-party social messaging channels connected to your account.
V1 SunCo APIs.
Social channel linking (allowing an end user to move the conversation from
the Web Widget to a social channel) in subsequent conversations on social
channels. Social linking is available for only the first conversation
started by the end user. End users can't continue subsequent conversations
on social channels.

See our Developer documentation for more
information, including additional Sunshine Conversations API capabilities and
limitations.



Understanding the agent experience

In the Agent Workspace, your agents likely support more than one conversation
simultaneously. In this sense, turning on multi-conversations does not impact
how they work with and view incoming conversations.
Even though each new conversation created by an end user and handed off to an
agent results in a new ticket, agent interaction with these tickets and end-user
profiles in the Agent Workspace remains unchanged.




Turning on multi-conversations



Important: Read and understand these considerations before turning on
multi-conversations.

You can turn on multi-conversations for Web Widget, Android SDK, or iOS SDK in Admin
Center.
To turn on multi-conversations


In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
At the top of the page, click Manage settings.
Under Web Widget and Mobile SDKs, expand
Multi-conversations.
Click Set up multi-conversations.
Click Turn on multi-conversations for your account, then
select the channels on which you want to offer multi-conversations.

Note: Turning on
multi-conversations for one messaging channel updates all web, iOS,
and Android messaging channels. Any channels not selected during
this step perform as described in Removing the New conversation
button.


Click Save settings.


After you have turned on multi-conversations for a channel, you can manage the
configuration on the Manage multi-conversations settings page or from the Basics tab
configuration for Web Widget or mobile SDKs.



Removing the New conversation button

You can remove the New conversation button from a channel to prevent end
users from creating new conversations.
However, when you remove the New conversation button, it’s important to
understand that end users will not completely revert back to the single-conversation
experience.
After the New conversation button is removed, end users:


Won’t be able to create additional conversations.
Will see the conversations list when clicking or tapping the launcher
button, if they have started multiple conversations.
Will be able to access all conversations from the conversations list.
Will raise new issues in their existing conversations from the conversations
list.


End users will continue to receive push notifications (for mobile channels),
and proactive messages (for web channels) will
be appended to the latest updated conversation.
To remove the New conversation button from a channel

In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
At the top of the page, click Manage settings.
Under Advanced, expand Multi-conversations.
Click Manage multi-conversations settings.

Deselect the channels where you want to remove the New conversation button.
Click Save settings. The New conversation button is removed from those
channels.




Preventing end users from reopening closed conversations in the Web Widget

By default, end users can reopen closed conversations in the Web Widget by adding a
new comment. You can prevent end users from doing this by hiding the composer (the
text field for adding comments to a conversation).


Note: You must turn on this setting as a prerequisite for allowing end users to end
conversations.

To hide the composer on closed conversations


In Admin Center, click
Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social >
Messaging.
At the top of the page, click Manage settings.
Under Advanced, expand Multi-conversations.
Click Manage multi-conversations settings.
Under Reopening conversations, select Require users to start a new
conversation instead of reopening.
Click Save settings.





//
const ai_summary_style = document.createElement('style');
ai_summary_style.innerHTML = `#styled-article-body{padding:0 0 0}#article-body #docs-ai-summary{background-color:#f3f3f3;border:1px solid #d3d3d3;padding:10px 10px 6px;margin-bottom:16px}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle{font-size:.9em;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:4px;cursor:pointer;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle #up-triangle{margin-left:auto;padding-right:10px;display:none}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle #down-triangle{margin-left:auto;padding-right:10px}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-content{font-size:.9em;padding-left:25px;padding-right:25px;margin-bottom:12px}`;
document.head.appendChild(ai_summary_style);

const toggleAISummary = () => {
const summary = document.getElementById("docs-ai-summary-content");
const upTriangle = document.getElementById("up-triangle");
const downTriangle = document.getElementById("down-triangle");
if (summary.style.display === "none") {
summary.style.display = "block";
upTriangle.style.display = "none";
downTriangle.style.display = "inline";
} else {
summary.style.display = "none";
upTriangle.style.display = "inline";
downTriangle.style.display = "none";
}
};

document.getElementById("docs-ai-summary-toggle").addEventListener("click", toggleAISummary);
//

