Zendesk launches next generation knowledge solution 'Guide'

Zendesk, Inc. (NYSE

Guide empowers customer service agents to resolve inquiries with contextual insights and gives customers ML-powered self-service customer support. The result for both agents and customers is faster support resolution and outcomes from anywhere.

"Customers like the convenience of self-service and automation, but they still want answers tailored to their unique situation," said Adrian McDermott, President of products at Zendesk. "Zendesk Guide meets this need by helping companies deliver knowledge to customers and employees with personalization through machine learning technology and context based on the customer's journey."

Through the use of a combination of the Zendesk API, Web Widget, and Mobile SDK as Zendesk Embeddables, Guide allows companies to deliver in-context support anywhere - apps and websites - meeting customers where they already are. And for customers who would prefer self-service, Guide makes self-service quick and convenient.

Zendesk Guide introduces two new capabilities to deliver faster resolution and better customer service: the Knowledge Capture app and Answer Bot.

The Knowledge Capture app converts customer interactions into an opportunity for agents to capture and share information that enriches the knowledge base. Answer Bot utilizes information from the knowledge base, combined with advanced machine learning technology, to automate responses to customer inquiries for better service outcomes.

Knowledge Capture App

There are multiple challenges customer service agents face. For example, wasting time repeating themselves, providing the wrong answer to customers' inquiries due to out-of-date knowledge articles, and losing product and client know-how every time a peer leaves the team. With the Knowledge Capture app, agents can share their collective knowledge with their customers and peers more effectively, reducing the errors caused by outdated information and improving the quality of the self-service content over time.

Companies can use the Knowledge Capture app to

Increase Efficiency of Capturing Know-How: Now, customer interactions are an opportunity to capture new content, flag outdated content, and search for articles to hyperlink within tickets - all directly within Zendesk Support.

The continuous feedback loop increases efficiency by creating a knowledge resource for both new and seasoned agents to use and improve their productivity and experience.

Improve Insights on Knowledge Usage: With insights from the Knowledge Capture app, customer support managers can see which teammates are contributing to the company's knowledge assets and which pieces of content are the best at resolving issues.

Answer Bot

Forrester reports that 76 percent of customers prefer self-service support to find their own answers as opposed to speaking with a customer service representative. For the growing numbers of customers who would rather help themselves, Answer Bot makes self-service quick and convenient.

Answer Bot uses deep learning technology -- the most advanced machine learning capabilities -- to improve self-service efficiency by responding to customers' questions with relevant knowledge base articles before they ever reach an agent. Answer Bot provides more informed answers automatically and gets smarter with every answer delivered.

Companies of all sizes can benefit from using Answer Bot to

Improve the Customer Experience: Give customers the information they need to resolve issues themselves, for faster resolution.

Allow Agents to Focus on Complex Tasks and Customer Relationships: Automate answers to simple, repetitive questions so service agents can focus on more complex or interpersonal tasks.

Answer Bot will be first available for email and extended to other channels such as Web Form, Web Widget and Chat over time.

Zendesk Guide was developed by Zendesk's Copenhagen product team, who previously brought the Help Center product to market. Answer Bot was developed by Zendesk's Melbourne data team, who previously brought Satisfaction Prediction to market.