It's easy to set up eDesk's Agent Assist and HandsFree AI features - revolutionizing the way your customer support works. 


This help file explains how to enable, set up and manage templates and settings for Agent Assist and HandsFree.

Before you start

 
  • To use eDesk's AI, you need to be on a ticket-based plan. Learn about our plans here.
  • Read this help file for an introduction to eDesk's Agent Assist and HandsFree AI features.

01 What are AI Templates?

When a ticket first appears in the Mailbox, eDesk's AI will recognize if it contains a customer message that it can support using AI. It does this by reading the message, and then if the content and customer sentiment matches one of 34 eDesk AI Classifications, eDesk can generate an AI-powered response for that message. An AI Classification is a common query such as Refund Order, Where's my Order?, Cancel Order etc. ​​​​​​

Each AI Classification has at least one template assigned to it, and each AI-powered response is generated from one of those templates. For each Classification, eDesk AI will already have a ready-to-go template that you can use or customize to meet your requirement.
 

Pro tip: You can personalize your AI-powered Responses by including snippets in the templates. Learn about snippets here.


For example, you can have an template that contains snippets that pull in the customer's shipping date and tracking number, and assign this template to the Where's my order? Classification. Then, when eDesk AI classifies an incoming customer message as Where's my order?, an AI-powered Response generated from this template will be sent automatically if in HandsFree mode, or you’ll be able to select it manually in Agent Assist mode. 

There are 2 kinds of templates that can be attached to an AI Classification:

1. Primary template
 
  • Every Classification has one and only one Primary template.
  • eDesk provides a ready-to-go Primary template for each Classification, which you can edit if required.
  • The Primary Template for a Classification is used to generate the AI-powered Response that is sent automatically if HandsFree is enabled for that Classification and a customer ticket arrives that falls under that AI Classification.
  • The Primary Template for a Classification is also used to generate the AI-powered Response that is shown in the preview that's displayed when the Agent clicks on the Sparkle icon for that message in the Mailbox if Agent Assist is enabled for that Classification and a customer ticket arrives that falls under that AI Classification. Click here to find out about the Sparkle icon and other Agent Assist features in the Mailbox and ticket.
     
2. Secondary template
 
  • Every Classification has zero or more Secondary templates. They are optional but are useful if you want to set up AI-powered Responses for a very specific category within a Classification.
    • For example, the Classification is Shipping Policy but if you have a different shipping policy for each region, then you can create dedicated Secondary templates for UK shipping and for US shipping.
  • eDesk doesn't provide any ready-to-go Secondary templates. All Secondary templates are created by you if required.
  • The Secondary template for a Classification is never used to generate AI-powered Responses for HandsFree.
  • The Secondary template for a Classification is only used to generate AI-powered Responses for Agent Assist. AI-powered Responses based on Secondary Templates are shown in the Reply Box inside the ticket and are not shown in the message preview that's opened when an agent clicks the Sparkle icon in the Mailbox listing. An agent will need to click the ticket in the Mailbox listing to open it in order to see the suggested AI-powered Responses from Secondary templates. Click here to find out about the Sparkle icon and other Agent Assist features in the Mailbox and ticket.

02 How do I set up Agent Assist or Handsfree?

It's important to note that if you have HandsFree enabled, its automatic responses will be prioritized over any auto-responses set up by Message Rules that you may have set up before and fits the same criteria. To find out more about Message Rules, click here.

To enable Agent Assist, HandsFree or switch off all AI assist:



1. Go to Settings → Smart Tools → Artificial Intelligence
A list of all AI Classifications, their templates, and whether AI Assist, HandsFree, or No AI is enabled for each Classification.



Important note: HandsFree will always be turned OFF by default when you first start using AI. You will have to deliberately enable it for a Classification before it can be used to answer queries automatically.


2. Select the Templates column and then select a primary template for each Classification. 
3. Select one of the following radio buttons to enable the AI feature you prefer:
 
  • Off
    AI-powered responses will not be displayed. This is the default.
  • Agent Assist
    Suggested AI-powered Responses will show on the ticket list in your Mailbox and inside the ticket.
  • HandsFree
    AI-powered Responses based on the Primary template for that Classification will be sent automatically in response to the first incoming customer message.

Important note: HandsFree and Agent assist cannot be enabled at the same time.


Next, review the templates and if needed, you can edit eDesk's ready-to-go Primary templates and create your own Secondary templates.

To edit an existing template:

1. In Settings → Smart Tools → Artificial Intelligence, select edit a template in the row for a Classification.
2. Edit the text in the template as needed.
3. You can also change the classification of this selected template from the same place by going to the AI Settings tab and choosing an option from the dropdown menu.
4. When you're done editing, don't forget to Save changes.




To create a new Secondary template:

1. Go to Settings → Smart Tools → Templates.
2. Select Add Template and then Manual Usage to create a new blank template.
3. Enter the text, adding formatting, hyperlinks, and snippets as desired.
4. Select the AI Settings tab and and assign the template to a Classification by selecting the same Classification that was used for the primary template from the AI Category menu.
5. Make sure you save your changes!
6. You can see the new template assigned to the Classification by selecting the AI Settings link in the same AI Settings tab to open a list of all AI Classifications, their templates, and whether AI Assist, HandsFree, or No AI is enabled for the Classification.


Note: If you add more than one template to a Classification, you will have to choose a Primary template that will get sent automatically in HandsFree mode, or to appear in the message preview when using Agent Assist and clicking on the sparkle icon.

 

Further Readings

 

For an introduction to eDesk's AI, click here. 

To learn how to use eDesk's Agent Assist and HandsFree, click here.