Embedding customer service in mobile apps with the Support SDK

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">The Support SDKs foriOSandAndroidenable you to embed Zendesk Support options natively in your mobile app so your customers can get help directly in the app. The Support SDK lets users do any of the following:</p>
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<p class="p">The Support SDKs for <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/zendesk-web-widget-sdks/sdks/ios/getting_started/" target="_blank">iOS</a> and <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/zendesk-web-widget-sdks/sdks/android/getting_started/" target="_blank">Android</a> enable you to embed Zendesk Support options
natively in your mobile app so your customers can get help directly in the app. The Support
SDK lets users do any of the following:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_x1g_cdt_cq">
<li class="li">Browse and search your help center knowledge base in the app without using the mobile web
browser</li>
<li class="li">Create tickets in the app</li>
<li class="li">View and comment on existing tickets in the app without switching to email</li>
</ul>
<div class="p">This article covers the following topics:<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_chh_g3w_dq">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_m3f_v4p_dq">What does the Support SDK do?</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ngr_xhw_jdb">Adding the Support SDK to a mobile app</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_v4n_vgt_cq">Registering the mobile app in Zendesk Support</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_4vb_wgt_cq">Configuring the SDK in Zendesk Support</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_m3f_v4p_dq">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">What does the Support SDK do?</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">If the Support SDK is integrated in an Android or iOS app running on a mobile device, a
user can tap a button in the app to open a screen listing your help center articles:</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_m3f_v4p_dq__image_pyj_4hw_jdb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/android_emulator_help_center.png" width="250"></p>
<p class="p">The user can tap any article in the list to read it. </p>
<p class="p">The user can also search your knowledge base, then tap any article in the results:</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_m3f_v4p_dq__image_fl5_cqw_jdb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/android_emulator_search.png" width="250"></p>
<p class="p">Tapping an article opens it:</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_m3f_v4p_dq__image_fsn_wnw_jdb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/android_emulator_article.png" width="250"></p>
<p class="p">The user can tap the pencil icon on the lower-right to submit a ticket to your agents
working in Zendesk Support:</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_m3f_v4p_dq__image_qyj_4hw_jdb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/android_emulator_contact_us.png" width="250"></p>
<p class="p">If the user prefers not to use the keyboard, they can tap the microphone icon and describe
their problem out loud. The description will be transcribed and added to the ticket.</p>
<p class="p">The Support SDK lets you configure the options you want for the app: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_m3f_v4p_dq__ul_n4h_fkw_jdb">
<li class="li">You can provide users with only help center, only ticketing, or both. </li>
<li class="li">You can provide a filtered view of your knowledge base content. For example, you could
show only the categories or sections that are relevant to mobile users. </li>
<li class="li">You can brand the UI or build your own customized UI from the ground up in iOS or
Android.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ngr_xhw_jdb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Adding the Support SDK to a mobile app</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The first step is to meet with product managers and developers to decide how to integrate
the Support SDK in your iOS or Android app. Use the <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/classic-web-widget-sdks/support-sdk/working-with-the-support-sdk/support-sdk-integration-checklist" target="_blank">Zendesk SDK
integration checklist</a> for guidance.</p>
<p class="p">Once your organization has decided how to integrate the SDK, complete the following steps
to add the SDK to your app:</p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_ngr_xhw_jdb__ol_h4v_qrw_jdb">
<li class="li">Register the SDK in Support admin interface. See <a class="xref" href="#topic_v4n_vgt_cq">Registering the mobile app in Zendesk Support</a>.</li>
<li class="li">Configure the SDK in Support admin interface. See <a class="xref" href="#topic_4vb_wgt_cq">Configuring the SDK in Zendesk Support</a>.</li>
<li class="li">Ask your developer team to integrate the SDK in the app. You can refer them to the
developer documentation for <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/zendesk-web-widget-sdks/sdks/ios/getting_started/" target="_blank">iOS</a> or <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/zendesk-web-widget-sdks/sdks/android/getting_started/" target="_blank">Android</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_v4n_vgt_cq">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Registering the mobile app in Zendesk Support</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You must be a Zendesk Support administrator to complete these steps.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To register the mobile app</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_v4n_vgt_cq__ol_lls_ljd_bq">
<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_v4n_vgt_cq__d8e1019" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_channels_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Channels</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Classic &gt; Mobile SDK</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Add app</strong>.<p class="p">If this is your first time setting up the SDK, click <strong class="ph b">Get Started</strong>,
then click <strong class="ph b">Add app</strong>.</p>
<p class="p">The <strong class="ph b">Setup</strong> tab opens by default.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Enter a <strong class="ph b">Name</strong> for your app. <p class="p">The name is for your reference only and is not
shown to your customers.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Copy and save the <strong class="ph b">code snippet</strong> for Android or iOS or both, depending on the application
versions. <p class="p">Your app developers need the snippet to initalize the SDK in the mobile app.
If your developers are working on an iOS app, ask them if they need the Objective-C or
Swift version of the snippet.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">For <strong class="ph b">Authentication method</strong>, select <strong class="ph b">Anonymous</strong> or <strong class="ph b">JWT</strong>. This is required.<ul class="ul" id="topic_v4n_vgt_cq__ul_gmq_vdt_gq">
<li class="li">Select <strong class="ph b">Anonymous</strong> if you don't know, or don't need to know, the details of
the end user.</li>
<li class="li">Select <strong class="ph b">JWT</strong> if you want only trusted users to access your organization's help
center or to submit tickets. This option requires additional setup.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">For more information, see <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/classic-web-widget-sdks/support-sdk/working-with-the-support-sdk/support-sdk-integration-checklist" target="_blank">User identification decision</a> in the SDK integration
checklist.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">If you selected <strong class="ph b">JWT</strong> as the authentication method, enter a placeholder URL for
<strong class="ph b">JWT URL</strong>.
Example:<p class="p"><code class="ph codeph">https://yoursubdomain.com/api/zendesk-jwt</code></p>
<p class="p">You can only
enter a value for <strong class="ph b">JWT URL</strong> after a team in your organization builds a dedicated
JWT endpoint for the Zendesk SDK. They can't build it until you provide them with the
secret in the next step.</p>
<p class="p">You can't use an existing JWT endpoint with the SDK. The
endpoint must meet the requirements outlined in <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/classic-web-widget-sdks/support-sdk/working-with-the-support-sdk/building-a-dedicated-jwt-endpoint-for-the-support-sdk" target="_blank">Building a dedicated JWT endpoint for the Zendesk
SDK</a>.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">If you selected <strong class="ph b">JWT</strong>, copy and save the <strong class="ph b">JWT secret</strong>. The secret is only
shown once, so make sure you save it somewhere safe. </li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Send the code snippet or snippets to the application developers in charge of integrating
the SDK.</li>
<li class="li">If applicable, send the JWT secret to the team in charge of building the dedicated JWT endpoint.
Refer the team to <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/classic-web-widget-sdks/support-sdk/working-with-the-support-sdk/building-a-dedicated-jwt-endpoint-for-the-support-sdk" target="_blank">Building a
dedicated JWT endpoint for the Zendesk SDK</a>. Include instructions for the team to
send you the endpoint URL when they're done.<p class="p">When you receive the final URL from them,
return to the <strong class="ph b">Setup</strong> tab and update the <strong class="ph b">JWT URL</strong> field.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To deregister the mobile app from Zendesk Support</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_v4n_vgt_cq__ol_g5b_clq_kq">
<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_v4n_vgt_cq__d8e1019" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_channels_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Channels</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Classic &gt; Mobile SDK</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click the options menu on the right side of the app you want to edit, then click
<strong class="ph b">Delete</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">OK</strong> to confirm the deletion.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p">This removes the app from the Mobile SDK page but it doesn't remove the SDK from your app.
To remove the SDK from your app, an app update is required.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_4vb_wgt_cq">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Configuring the SDK in Zendesk Support</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can configure the Support SDK in the admin interface to provide only the customer
service options you want in the mobile app. For example, you can enable or disable help
center in the mobile app from the admin interface.</p>
<p class="p">There's no option to disable ticketing in the admin but your developers can disable it in
the SDK. Refer them to "Disable Ticket Creation" in the <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/embeddables/docs/ios_support_sdk/help_center#disable-ticket-creation" target="_blank">iOS</a> or <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/embeddables/docs/android-support-sdk/help_center#disable-ticket-creation" target="_blank">Android</a> developer docs.</p>
<p class="p">A chat option is provided by separate Chat SDKs for <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/classic-web-widget-sdks/chat-sdk-v2/working-with-the-chat-sdk/enabling-authenticated-users-with-the-chat-sdk-/" target="_blank">iOS</a> and <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/classic-web-widget-sdks/chat-sdk-v2/android/introduction/" target="_blank">Android</a>.</p>
<div class="p">Your configuration changes in Zendesk Support are automatically reflected in the mobile
app. However, you can't turn the SDK off completely from Support. To fully remove the SDK
from the app, an app update is required. Consult your developers.<div class="note" id="topic_4vb_wgt_cq__note_e4k_qb4_53c">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> You might see an error in your mobile app that references a "Never request email"
setting. For example:<p class="p"><code class="ph codeph">[ERROR]: Conversations are disabled, never request email
is enabled. With this configuration created tickets are unreachable by the user.
Dismissing Request creation</code></p>
<p class="p">The "Never request email" setting is no
longer available. If you see this error, review your app’s Support SDK configuration and
make sure your settings allow end users to access ticket conversations (for example,
enable <strong class="ph b">Conversations</strong> if you want users to view and reply to their existing
tickets). Then save your changes and test ticket creation again.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="p">You must be a Zendesk Support administrator to configure the Support SDK.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To configure the Support SDK</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_4vb_wgt_cq__ol_dtv_syw_jdb">
<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_4vb_wgt_cq__d8e1019" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_channels_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Channels</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Classic &gt; Mobile SDK</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Select the registered mobile app you want to configure from the list.</li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">Support SDK</strong> tab to display the configuration options.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_4vb_wgt_cq__image_str_qc1_hq" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/mobile_sdk_customization_tab_1.png" width="550"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Make your changes to the settings. <p class="p">See the descriptions on the page for details on
each setting. </p>
<p class="p">The <strong class="ph b">Enable Guide</strong> setting is disabled if you haven't
activated Guide. Click <strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> to open a page where you can activate Guide.
</p>
<p class="p">The <strong class="ph b">Conversations</strong> setting refers to ticket conversations – the back and
forth comments added by the ticket requester and the agent. When this option is
<strong class="ph b">Off</strong>, users can still create tickets in the app but they won't have access to
their existing tickets.</p>
<p class="p">The <strong class="ph b">Tags</strong> setting adds the specified tags to each
ticket, which is useful for creating a view to see all the tickets submitted from the
mobile app.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
</ol>
<p class="p">Enabling Guide lets you monitor help center usage initiated from the SDK. For information
on filtering help center analytics for SDK, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408830631962" target="_blank">Analyzing knowledge base activity with Explore</a> and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408818465562" target="_blank">Analyzing help center search results with Explore</a>.</p>
</div>
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