Overview of the migration workflow

<div class="col-md-9">
<div class="body">
<p class="p">
This article provides an overview of how to plan, test, and
launch the migration from
Zendesk Chat to messaging. Each step includes a brief description
of the recommended
actions, along with links to resources with more detailed
information. Some of the
resources are sections in this guide; others are published
elsewhere in Zendesk
documentation.
</p>
<p class="p">
Use this article if you’re an administrator planning a migration
from Zendesk Chat to messaging and want to understand the
overall workflow before you begin.
</p>
<p class="p">This article includes the following steps:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_overview_migration_workflow__ul_migration_workflow_steps">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="#topic_review_technical_readiness">Step 1: Review your technical readiness</a>
</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="#topic_learn_messaging_plan_migration">Step 2: Learn how messaging works and prepare your migration</a>
</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="#topic_migrate_chat_settings_to_messaging">Step 3: Migrate your Chat settings to messaging</a>
</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="#topic_prepare_your_agents">Step 4: Prepare your agents</a>
</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="#topic_test_messaging_configuration">Step 5: Test messaging in a sandbox</a>
</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="#topic_test_in_production_low_traffic">Step 6: Test messaging in production during a low traffic period</a>
</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="#topic_launch_messaging">Step 7: Launch messaging</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_review_technical_readiness">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Step 1: Review your technical readiness</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">
Reviewing your Chat configuration can help to identify
any potential problems before the migration and guide
the decisions you make in your messaging setup.
</p>
<p class="p">Consider the following questions:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_review_technical_readiness__ul_technical_readiness_questions">
<li class="li">
What customizations have you implemented in your
Chat setup?
</li>
<li class="li">
Are you using any Chat APIs or webhooks that you
need to replace or rebuild for messaging?
</li>
<li class="li">
Do you have any compliance or security requirements
specific to your industry?
</li>
<li class="li">
Do you have internal teams, such as developers or
security reviewers, who need to be involved before
launch?
</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">
See the
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10893189125018-Technical-readiness-assessment" target="_blank">Technical readiness assessment</a>
for a more
thorough list of questions and actions to consider before
migrating to
messaging.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_learn_messaging_plan_migration">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Step 2: Learn how messaging works and plan your migration</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">
Before you migrate, you should learn how messaging works
and review any new features you plan to use.
</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_learn_messaging_plan_migration__ul_learn_messaging_plan">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Review the basics of messaging</strong>.
Start with the article
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408846454682-About-conversational-support-with-messaging" target="_blank">About conversational support with messaging</a>,
which describes many of the options for designing
your messaging channel.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Learn about omnichannel routing</strong>
in
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514" target="_blank">About omnichannel routing</a>.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Consider alternative conversational styles (optional)</strong>:
In addition to the
live chat style, you can configure messaging to manage
returning customers, or
you can set it up to act as a longer, ongoing conversation,
like you’d have in a
social channel. Read
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6088892450586-Conversational-styles-in-messaging#topic_mjk_r3t_pyb" target="_blank">Conversational styles in messaging</a>
for
detailed information about the advantages of these
styles.
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Consider turning on AI Agents</strong>.
AI agents can automatically resolve many
customer issues, freeing your human agents to handle
more difficult support
requests.
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6970583409690" target="_blank">About AI agents</a>
is a good starting
point.
</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">
Even if you’re not ready to migrate, reading the articles
in this guide can give you
a clear idea of what the migration process entails and
help you identify additional
information you may need before Chat deprecates on January
31, 2028.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_migrate_chat_settings_to_messaging">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Step 3: Migrate your Chat settings to messaging</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Beginning in September
2026, Zendesk will be offering voluntary migration
assistance to Chat customers.
</div>
<p class="p">
When you’re ready to begin setting up a messaging configuration,
you can migrate your Chat
settings into
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>.
</p>
<p class="p">
If you’re currently using a Chat or legacy Web Widget
to deliver conversational
support, follow the steps outlined in our
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9435865466906" target="_blank"><span class="ph u wysiwyg-underline">self-migration guide</span></a>
to create a messaging setup
that closely matches your Chat configuration. The migration
process reviews your
current Chat configuration and recreates those settings
in Admin Center so you can
configure, test, and practice working with messaging.
These migration steps don’t
move your active conversational support to messaging,
and they don’t turn off or
replace your live chat channel.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_v1f_zrg_bkc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Step 4: Migrate to omnichannel routing (recommended)</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">
Start using omnichannel routing during the transition
from live chat to messaging.
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6249962577690-Using-omnichannel-routing-while-migrating-from-chat-to-messaging" target="_blank">Using omnichannel routing while migrating from
chat to messaging</a>
walks you through the steps for recreating, as much as
possible, your chat routing setup in omnichannel routing.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_prepare_your_agents">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Step 5: Prepare your agents</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">
Messaging changes how agents receive, manage, and resolve
conversations and tickets. Review the following resources
to help your agents prepare for the new workflow.
</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_prepare_your_agents__ul_prepare_agents_resources">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/11063573393690" target="_blank">Training your agents</a></strong>
provides
an overview of some key changes.
</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408821905434-Agent-Workspace-for-messaging" target="_blank"><strong class="ph b">Agent Workspace for messaging</strong></a>
introduces agents to their main screen, where they’ll
be interacting with customers in real time, as well
as working with Support tickets.
</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408832500506-Understanding-live-conversation-translation" target="_blank"><strong class="ph b">Understanding live conversation translation</strong></a>
is a must-read for agents working with multiple languages.
This article explains the automatic translation feature,
how it works, and how agents can manage it.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested1" id="topic_test_messaging_configuration">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title7">Step 6: Test your messaging configuration</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">
Set up messaging in a restricted test environment to
preview how it functions. Use your own testing environment,
or transfer your messaging settings to
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408844075930" target="_blank">your sandbox</a>
(available for Enterprise and Enterprise+ accounts).
</p>
<p class="p">
During testing, verify that your widget behavior, routing
configuration, agent workflows, and any AI agent or automation
flows work as expected.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title8" class="topic nested1" id="topic_test_in_production_low_traffic">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title8">Step 7: Test in production during a low-traffic period</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">
Before you fully launch, test the configuration in your
production environment during a period of lower activity.
This helps you confirm that everything works as expected
with real traffic. Have your agents test it, so you can
correct errors before customers run into issues so you
can identify and fix issues before a broader rollout.
</p>
<p class="p">
Consider limiting the initial rollout to a low-volume
brand, a small group of agents,
or a low-risk use case. Use that rollout to refine your
process and correct any
errors, then migrate higher-volume brands gradually to
ensure everything functions
as desired.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title9" class="topic nested1" id="topic_launch_messaging">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title9">Step 8: Launch messaging</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">
Once you’ve completed testing and made your final updates,
you’re ready to turn off Chat and start using messaging
in your live Web Widget or mobile app. As with your final
production test, it’s recommended that you launch messaging
during a low-traffic period, or for a brand that isn’t
heavily used.
</p>
<p class="p">
After launch, monitor agent feedback, routing behavior,
and customer experience closely so you can make adjustments
quickly.
</p>
</div>
</div>
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