Customers write in their own language, and they often ask questions you have already answered in a help article. The Helpdesky inbox has three tools for exactly that: message translation, Ask AI and Insert Article. This guide shows how to translate a conversation, how to reply with AI help and how to drop a link to the right guide without leaving the reply box. If you are new to the inbox, start with Working the Shared Inbox.
Translating conversations
Translation is switched on per conversation. Helpdesky never translates on its own, so what you see in the thread is always the original text until you ask for a translation.
Turn translation on
When a conversation contains a language that differs from your dashboard language, a banner appears above the thread: A different language was detected in this conversation, with a Translate button and a Dismiss link. Click Translate to switch it on for that conversation.
You can also use the Translate button in the toolbar above the reply box at any time. Next to it is the Target language picker, where you choose the language you want to read in. Fourteen languages are available: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. The picker defaults to your dashboard language.
Once translation is on, the most recent messages in the thread are translated first. As you scroll back and load older messages, those are translated too. Private notes are never translated because they were written by your own team.
Reading translated messages
Each translated message carries a notice such as Translated from Greek to English. Click Show original under any message to compare it with the source text, and Show translation to switch back. Translations are stored, so reopening the conversation later is instant and does not cost another translation.
Two things can appear when a translation is not perfect:
- Translation may be approximate means the model returned text that could not be fully checked. The message is shown so you are not left waiting, but it is not saved. Click Retry to run it again.
- Couldn't translate this message means the request failed. Retry runs it again, and the original text stays visible in the meantime.
To stop translating, click the toolbar button again. It reads Turn off translation while translation is active. Your choice is remembered per conversation, so other conversations stay untouched.
Translating your replies
Translation affects what you read, not what you send. Write your reply in the language you want the customer to receive. If you prefer to answer in your own language, visitors have their own Translate option in the widget and the ticket center, so they can read your reply in theirs.
Translate a single message
You do not have to switch on translation for the whole conversation. Open the menu on any visitor message and choose Translate to translate just that one into your target language.
Replying with Ask AI
Ask AI answers a question using only your published help center articles, the same knowledge that powers Ask AI in the widget. It is useful when a customer asks something you know is documented but you cannot remember where.
- Click Ask AI in the toolbar above the reply box. A panel opens with the prompt Ask about your articles.
- Type the question in your own words. Questions need at least 3 characters and can be up to 1,000 characters long.
- Click Ask. Helpdesky shows Searching your knowledge base while it works, then returns an answer followed by a Sources list of the articles it drew from.
- Read the answer. If it fits, click Paste to Reply to copy it into the reply box, where you can edit it before sending.
If nothing in your articles covers the question, the panel says No answer found instead of guessing. Answers are drafted in English, so translate or rewrite before sending if the customer writes in another language.
Ask AI uses the AI key configured under Settings > AI, the same one the widget uses. Without a key the button reports that no AI API key is configured. It reads only articles that are currently published in this help center. Drafts and articles unpublished by a plan limit are not included. See Plans, Limits and Billing for how article limits work.
Ask AI drafts are a starting point. Check the answer against the customer's situation before you send it, and add anything specific to their account.
Inserting help center articles
When the full answer already exists as an article, link to it instead of retyping it.
- Click Insert Article in the toolbar above the reply box.
- Start typing in Search articles. Results update as you type. The search understands meaning rather than exact words, so "refund" also finds an article titled "Getting your money back".
- Click the article you want. A link with the article's title is inserted at the end of your reply.
The link points to the article on your help center, so the customer opens it with your branding and custom domain. If the search returns No articles found, the article may still be a draft, so check it is published. Insert Article needs the Articles permission in addition to Messages, see Inviting Teammates and Managing Roles.
Putting it together
A typical flow for a question in another language looks like this: turn on translation from the banner, read the question, ask Ask AI for the documented answer, paste it into the reply, add an Insert Article link for the full steps, and send. The customer receives a reply in the language you wrote, and can translate it on their side if they need to.
Open a conversation in Messages and try the Translate and Ask AI buttons on a real question from your queue.