Authenticating end users in messaging

Plan requirement

Subscription Any plan
Access Admin

Authentication tells Zendesk who the visitor is, so their history follows them rather than the browser they used.

What changes

  • The conversation is tied to a person, not to a browser. They see it on their phone as well as their laptop.
  • Agents know who they are talking to, with their tickets and organisation in the context panel.
  • History is private. Someone else on the same device does not see it.
  • You can restrict what they reach based on who they are.

How it works

Your website, which already knows the visitor is signed in, passes a signed token to the widget. Zendesk verifies it and treats the conversation as belonging to that user.

This is website work rather than a setting, and it needs a developer. The Zendesk side is enabling it and holding the key.

When it is worth the effort

  • Customers already sign in to your site or app. Then it is a small addition with a large benefit.
  • Conversations are personal or financial, where history on a shared device is a genuine risk.
  • Agents need to know who they are talking to before they can help at all.

When to skip it

A public site where visitors do not have accounts. Authentication there means asking people to sign in before they can ask a question, which loses more than it gains.

See also

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