Understanding and setting light agent permissions

<body>
<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Light agents have limited permissions but can stay informed about tickets and, when needed, provide subject matter expertise and advice by adding private comments to the ticket. Ticket comments by light agents are private, including the first comment of any tickets they create. However, when alight agent is the ticket requester, and they're not a member of the group or brand, their private comment will be converted to public.</p>
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<p id="docs-ai-summary-toggle">Summary: <span id="up-triangle">◀</span><span id="down-triangle">▼</span></p>
<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">Light agents let you give selected team members limited ticket, Help Center, reporting, and app access so they can add private comments, share expertise, and work on approved tasks without full agent permissions. You can control what they can view, edit, export, and assign, including tickets, brands, custom objects, suspended tickets, and analytics, based on your plan.</p>
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<div class="p">
<div class="note" id="topic_amy_yjh_yq__note_cmg_yj1_s2c">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Most Zendesk Suite plans automatically include a default number of
light agents based on your plan type, but you can <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6510562911770#topic_dzr_hf5_5zb" target="_blank">buy more light agents</a> if needed. These restrictions
do not apply to legacy plans or add-ons.<ul class="ul" id="topic_amy_yjh_yq__ul_shy_5w2_n4b">
<li class="li">Suite Team plans offer light agent seats as an add-on.</li>
<li class="li">Suite Growth plans include up to 50 light agents. </li>
<li class="li">Suite Professional plans include up to 100 light agents.</li>
<li class="li">Suite Enterprise plans include up to 1000 light agents.</li>
<li class="li">Suite Enterprise Plus plans include up to 5000 light agents.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<p class="p">Light agents have limited permissions but can stay informed about tickets and, when needed,
provide subject matter expertise and advice by adding private comments to the ticket. Ticket
comments by light agents are private, including the first comment of any tickets they create.
However, when a <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10702126155674" target="_blank">light agent is the ticket requester</a>, and they're not a
member of the group or brand, their private comment will be converted to public.</p>
<p class="p">To assign a light agent role, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824375450" target="_blank">Setting roles and access in Zendesk Admin Center</a>. </p>
<p class="p"> This article contains the following sections: </p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_amy_yjh_yq__ul_uwz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_vwz_qm1_blb">Understanding what light agents can do</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_mxz_qm1_blb">Configuring light agent permissions</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="note important">
<span class="importanttitle">Important:</span> You are prohibited from using the API or any
Software to effectively provide light agents with access, functionality, or permissions that
they are not otherwise permitted to use or access in the Zendesk Support Agent user interface
(as set forth below).</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Understanding what light agents can do</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Light agents have the following access and permissions.</p>
<div class="tablenoborder">
<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="table" frame="border" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__table_wwz_qm1_blb" rules="all" summary="">
<colgroup>
<col style="width:20%">
<col style="width:40%">
<col style="width:40%">
</colgroup>
<thead class="thead" style="text-align:left;">
<tr class="row">
<th class="entry nocellnorowborder" id="d88e115" style="vertical-align:top;">Area</th>
<th class="entry nocellnorowborder" id="d88e118" style="vertical-align:top;">Light agents can...</th>
<th class="entry cell-norowborder" id="d88e121" style="vertical-align:top;">Light agents can't...</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody class="tbody">
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e115" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">Tickets</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e118" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_xwz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">View either tickets assigned to groups they're in or view all tickets</li>
<li class="li">Make private comments. <p class="p">On Enterprise plans and above, if they're the ticket
requester and lose access to the ticket because they're not a member of the
group or brand, their private comment will be converted to public.
</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Be the ticket requester</li>
<li class="li">Edit ticket properties at the time of ticket creation</li>
<li class="li">Be CC'd on tickets.<p class="p">End users won't be able to see light agents who are CC'd
on a ticket</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Be added as a follower and add other agents as
followers</li>
<li class="li">Create tickets on behalf of existing end users. <p class="p">The end user won't be able
to see the ticket until an agent adds a public comment.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Edit ticket properties for tickets they're requesters on after the ticket is
created</li>
<li class="li">Add, access, and download attachments</li>
<li class="li">Create, reply to, close, and reopen email-based side conversations</li>
<li class="li">Add and remove tags from tickets where they're the requester. <p class="p">They can also
bulk add tags where they're the requester but cannot bulk remove
tags.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Use <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408836514202" target="_blank">agent email forwarding</a> to forward an
email to your support address, creating a ticket with a <em class="ph i">private</em> comment.
</li>
<li class="li">Reassign tickets to another agent in any of the light agent's groups, if they
are the requester.</li>
<li class="li">Respond to an approval request if designated as the approver</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d88e121" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_ywz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">Be assigned to tickets</li>
<li class="li">Change the ticket status, unless they're the ticket
requester</li>
<li class="li">Reassign tickets to another group, unless they are the ticket requester</li>
<li class="li">Edit ticket properties, unless they're the ticket requester</li>
<li class="li">CC agents or end users other than themselves, except for when they create a
ticket on behalf of someone else via email</li>
<li class="li">Use the @mention feature</li>
<li class="li">Respond to CSAT surveys</li>
<li class="li">Create, send, or be assigned side conversation child tickets</li>
<li class="li">Use <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408836514202" target="_blank">agent email forwarding</a> to forward an
email to your support address, creating a ticket with a <em class="ph i">public</em> comment
</li>
<li class="li">Create or withdraw approval requests</li>
<li class="li">View highlighted <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6711181959194" target="_blank">entity values</a> or <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6669399593882" target="_blank">redaction suggestions</a>
</li>
<li class="li">View the pages viewed by the requester in the customer context panel</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e115" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">People</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e118" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_zwz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">View user profiles</li>
<li class="li">View the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828129946" target="_blank">Customers page</a>, regardless of their
ticket access (Suite Growth and Professional plans only)
</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d88e121" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_axz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">Edit user profiles</li>
<li class="li">Assume a user's identity</li>
<li class="li">Change a user's password</li>
<li class="li">Create new end users</li>
<li class="li">View a user's device information</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e115" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">Help center (not available in Team plans)</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e118" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_bxz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">View areas of the help center knowledge base and community that are restricted
to agents</li>
<li class="li">Add and edit articles in the knowledge base <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408827952538" target="_blank">where agents have permission</a>
</li>
<li class="li">Add and edit posts in the community <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408821305498" target="_blank">where agents have permission.</a>
</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d88e121" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_cxz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">Be a Knowledge admin<p class="p">On Growth and Professional, it's possible to make a
light agent a Knowledge admin but doing so uses a seat.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">View article revisions</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e115" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">Reports</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e118" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_dxz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">(Professional and Enterprise plans only) View dashboards that have been shared
with them in Zendesk.<p class="p">External link sharing is available only on Enterprise
plans.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Create, edit, and delete reports and dashboards.</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d88e121" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_exz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">Manage administrative settings and permissions for analytics.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e115" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">Views</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e118" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_fxz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">See views</li>
<li class="li">Filter views</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d88e121" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_gxz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">Create or edit views</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e115" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">Business rules</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e118" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_hxz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">Apply macros<p class="p">Light agents can't use a <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408844187034#topic_zh2_4nw_4y" target="_blank">shared macro</a> that applies an action
that they don't have permission to do. Light agents can access the macro, but
if they try to apply it, it won't work.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">(non-Enterprise plans) View triggers and automations</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d88e121" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_ixz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">Create, view, edit or delete macros.</li>
<li class="li">Create, edit, or delete triggers and automations. <p class="p">On Enterprise plans,
light agents also can't view triggers or
automations.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Typically be used as conditions in business rules <p class="p">For example, you can't
create a ticket trigger that notifies the assigned agent when a light agent
adds a comments to a ticket. However, you can define trigger conditions that
identify when the ticket requester is a light agent.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e115" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">Channels</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e118" style="vertical-align:top;"> </td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d88e121" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_jxz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">Serve a chat or messaging conversation </li>
<li class="li">Respond to calls</li>
<li class="li">Manage channels</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e115" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">Mail API</p>
</td>
<td class="entry nocellnorowborder" headers="d88e118" style="vertical-align:top;"> </td>
<td class="entry cell-norowborder" headers="d88e121" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_kxz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">Use the Mail API</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry row-nocellborder" headers="d88e115" style="vertical-align:top;">
<p class="p">Apps</p>
</td>
<td class="entry row-nocellborder" headers="d88e118" style="vertical-align:top;">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_vwz_qm1_blb__ul_lxz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">Use most installed Zendesk apps within Support</li>
<li class="li">Perform permitted actions on their tickets in the Zendesk Support Mobile
app</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d88e121" style="vertical-align:top;"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_mxz_qm1_blb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Configuring light agent permissions</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">After you understand <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829504154#topic_cvn_xxq_4fb" target="_blank">when to use the light agent role</a> and what they can
do, you can configure some of the permissions. The permissions available depend on your
Zendesk plan. If a permission can't be edited, it appears as read only (grayed out) when
editing the role.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To configure light agent permissions</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_mxz_qm1_blb__ol_txz_qm1_blb">
<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_mxz_qm1_blb__d8e689" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Team &gt; Roles</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click the options menu (<img class="image" id="topic_mxz_qm1_blb__image_ynn_xr3_j1c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/options_menu_icon_verticle_sm.png">) next to the <strong class="ph b">Light agent</strong> role, then click
<strong class="ph b">Edit</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Under <strong class="ph b">Tickets</strong>, select an option for <strong class="ph b">Tickets they can access</strong>:<ul class="ul" id="topic_mxz_qm1_blb__ul_vxz_qm1_blb">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Requested by end users in their organizations</strong> for light agents to access only
tickets requested by end users in their organization. This also means the light agent
won't be able to update organization fields for end users or lookup relationship
fields that point to organizations.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Within their groups</strong>
</li>
<li class="li">(Enterprise plans only) <strong class="ph b">Within their groups and all public groups</strong>
</li>
<li class="li">(Non-Enterprise plans only) <strong class="ph b">All tickets, including suspended tickets</strong>
</li>
<li class="li">(Enterprise plans only) <strong class="ph b">All within their brand membership, including those in
private groups</strong>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Select an option for <strong class="ph b">Brands they can assign tickets to</strong>:<ul class="ul" id="topic_mxz_qm1_blb__ul_ukv_syx_jkc">
<li class="li"><strong class="ph b">Only assign tickets to brands they belong to</strong></li>
<li class="li"><strong class="ph b">Assign tickets to any brand</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">(Enterprise plans only) Select an option for <strong class="ph b">Manage suspended tickets</strong>:<ul class="ul" id="topic_mxz_qm1_blb__ul_yqr_wyx_jkc">
<li class="li"><strong class="ph b">Not allowed</strong></li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Recover or delete</strong>, which includes exporting the suspended tickets list</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Under <strong class="ph b">Custom objects</strong>, define light agent permissions for each custom object:
<strong class="ph b">View</strong>, <strong class="ph b">Edit</strong>, <strong class="ph b">Add</strong>, or <strong class="ph b">Delete</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">(Enterprise plans only) Under <strong class="ph b">Agent workflow</strong>, set <strong class="ph b">CSV Export</strong>
permissions.<p class="p">When selected, light agents can export CSV files, which contain an entry
for each ticket in the view, along with its associated ticket information.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Select an option for <strong class="ph b">Analytics</strong>:<ul class="ul" id="topic_mxz_qm1_blb__ul_d42_tzx_jkc">
<li class="li"><strong class="ph b">No access</strong></li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">View dashboards</strong> for light agents to view dashboards shared with them.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Manage reports and dashboards</strong> for light agents to create, edit, and delete
reports and dashboards.</li>
<li class="li">(Enterprise plans only) <strong class="ph b">Manage reports, dashboards and dataset permissions</strong>
for light agents to manage administrative settings and permissions for Explore</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
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