Knowbler-Zendesk: Configuration in Zendesk

Creating an article with Knowbler is faster than starting from scratch.

Configuring Knowbler in Zendesk means mapping cases to articles and making knowledge creation easier.

The image given below shows what happens when a case subject is mapped to an article title. The case subject is used as the article title, which an agent can edit. Editing a title is easier than creating a new one.

Zendesk Console case subject has been mapped to Zendesk Guide article title in KCS Enabler.

The default Zendesk Guide article template comes with pre-mapped fields.

When an agent launches Knowbler to create a Zendesk Guide article, they see an article template with data pre-populated into the mapped fields from the opened case.

Prerequisites

Add Connection(s)

Knowbler's password management system simplifies authorization by storing the passwords associated with your Zendesk role. You can use these stored passwords to install Knowbler on multiple Zendesk instances. We recommend using this system instead of taking a detour when configuring Zendesk, so let's add a Connection first.

  1. Log into Knowbler from Marketplace or from your Knowbler instance.

  2. Expand Administration, open Connection, and click Add Connection.

  3. Select "Zendesk" from Choose Your Platform.

  4. In Connection Name, insert a descriptive label. Labels help you distinguish passwords from one another when you have stored several of them.

  5. In Client URL, enter the web address of your Zendesk instance.

  6. Enter client ID and client secret.

  7. Click Connect & Save.

You have successfully connected Knowbler with Zendesk. If the credentials for your instance change, you can use the edit function to reauthenticate.

NOTE.

Editing impacts mapping. If you have edited a Connection, don't forget to review mapping.

Deleting a Connection is easy. Simply press .

Configure Knowbler for Zendesk

A Service Desk Management Tool is where support agents work and a Knowledge Management Tool is where support articles are published. Zendesk fulfills both functions.

  1. Log into Knowbler either from Marketplace or from your Knowbler instance.

  2. Go to Clients, and click Add Client.

    NOTE. First time users can click Get Started.

  3. Select Zendesk.

  4. Each client has a unique label. Please provide a label for your installation in the Name field.

  5. Select a Connection from the Connections dropdown. If you haven't linked Zendesk to Knowbler yet, click Add New.

  6. Click Next.

  7. Give your Knowledge Management System a label in the Name field and click Next.

The Mapping Screen is displayed. There are two configurations here: Article Sharing Settings and Field Mapping.

Article Sharing Settings

NOTE.

Without this configuration, articles cannot be shared with customers through a public URL.

Zendesk Knowledge articles have public URLs in the format https://[domain]/hc/[lang-code]/articles/[id]-[slug].

Admins can use article sharing settings to configure the data in the last part, [slug]. For example, if an admin maps the title field to the slug, the new public format will be https://[domain]/hc/[lang-code]/articles/[id]-[title].

To start, click Article Sharing Settings.

The first setting is Reference or Resolution (Article Type Input). It is inactive by default. When you enable it, agents composing articles in Knowbler will see a pop-up each time they share an article. The pop-up will ask if the article is a reference or a resolution. Enabling this setting is not required.

The next configuration is Create Base HREF, which displays all the article fields in the gray box. Drag and drop them to the white box below to create a public URL. Everything in the white box will be included in the slug. Based on the dragged fields in the following image, the URL will be https://[domain]/hc/[lang-code]/articles/[id]-[comments].

Click Save.

Map Fields

The article templates in Zendesk are reflected on the Map Fields screen. Click Refresh Template List after adding or deleting a template in Zendesk. The button reflects the templates list. You can use a all the templates, or a few of them. To deactivate a template, use the toggle in the Actions column.

NOTE.

  • For Knowbler to function, map Title, URL and other fields essential in your org.

  • Custom Zendesk fields cannot be mapped.

  • When Auto-generation is on, then the text is appended at the end of the template.

The templates cannot be deleted, but you can edit them. If the templates in Zendesk have been changed, then use the Refresh button to get the latest version into Knowbler. Next is explained the process of editing a Zendesk template.

  1. The required have already been mapped. Next is a short description of each field.

    • Author. The agent working on a case becomes the article author. You can change the field's label.

    • Description. Admins can map one or more case fields, such as Comments, Tags, and Description, to this field.

      NOTE. Read about Title and Summary Mapping in the next step.

    • Language is where you can select the default language for Knowbler articles. Support agents can use the default language, or change it when they write articles.

      NOTE. Only use this field when all Zendesk sections and categories have been translated. Translate all sections and categories first, then map the field. Otherwise, the agent will receive a warning each time they try to save articles.

    • Labels. Like Description, this is an optional field that can be used to categorize knowledge articles in Zendesk.

    • Managed By. This field is enabled for all default and custom profiles in Zendesk. You can enter a value here. Each new article will be auto-populated with the entered value.

    • Sections. This field is used to assign articles a category.

    • Title. Case subject becomes the article title.

      NOTE. This setting assumes that you have mapped case subjects to article titles.

      NOTE. Read about Title and Summary Mapping in the next step.

    • Visible To This field is enabled for all default and custom profiles in your Zendesk instance. You can edit it to remove profiles that should not be able to see knowledge articles.

    • Related To This field allows support agents to create new tags and use existing tags while writing knowledge articles.

  2. For the subscribers on Knowbler Q3 '24 or a later release, a Include this field in Content Health Prediction field shows up on the Map Case Fields screen for text fields. When an admin checks the field, then Convent Reviewers can see Content Health score. The score is produced after an analysis of the data stored in the checked fields.

    To show Content Health Score to the agents working in Zendesk, check Preview Article Content Health in Advanced Settings. More information is on Configure Advanced Settings in Knowbler.

  3. Only for the title and description fields, you can either specify the fields for mapping or use AI to titles.

    Title is generated by an LLM when Knowbler is connected with a third-party LLM, such as OpenAI, or with a partner-provisioned LLM, such as Claude by AWS, or with Knowbler AI.

    Summary generation is currently in beta. Summaries can be generated when a partner-provisioned LLM or a third-party LLM is connected with Knowbler and activated.

    To use AI, drag title or description to the Field Mapping screen.

    Map up to two case fields to Title. Enter a label and, if there is a need, change the default maximum length from 60 to a number of your choice. For Summary, the maximum length is 250 characters. The maximum character limit can be changed for title and summary. Enter a maximum length supported in your platform.

    When the maximum character limit is in place, then Knowbler stresses that the titles and summaries received from the third-party LLM are within this limit. In the absence of a limit, the text can be arbitrarily long and not fit into the title or summary field of your platform. It means that the platform will crop the text at a random point, resulting in the loss of context and information.

    To use traditional mapping instead of AI for Title and Description, use Remove Auto-generation.

  4. Save the mapping.

  5. Activate the mapping and click Complete.

Now returning to Your Clients, activate the configuration.

Configure Knowbler in Zendesk

To start, download the Knowbler app created for Zendesk from Configuration. It downloads as a zip file.

  1. Navigate to Apps and integrations > Apps > Zendesk Support apps and click Upload private app.

  2. Enter a label in App Name and upload the zip file using App File > Choose File. Then, click Upload.

  3. When a warning appears asking you to confirm the upload, click Upload.

  4. Then, on the new dialog, click Install. (Setting up Role and Group restrictions is optional.)

  5. You can now spot Knowbler in Currently Installed.