Configure smart-routing to contact owner on a shared phone number to ensure callers are efficiently connected to their point of contact
📚 In this guide you will learn:
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How does using the Ring-to (via API) widget to configure smart routing enhance efficiency and customer experience?
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How to set up your smart routing to the Zendesk Contact Owner
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Step One: Creating the Custom Field in Zendesk & Generating an API Token
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Step Two: Setting up the Ring-to (via API) Widget in Aircall.
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⚠️ Please note - the Ring-to (via API) widget is only available to those on the Professional level plan. For those not on Professional, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager
How does smart routing enhance efficiency and customer experience?
Smart routing on a shared phone number offers a multitude of benefits, mainly enhancing efficiency, accuracy and customer experience. By intelligently directing incoming calls based on criteria from your CRM, smart routing ensures that each caller is swiftly connected to the most appropriate agent, reducing wait times and improving first-call resolution rates.
Using Aircall’s Ring-to (via API) widget in Smartflows, a popular implementation is the routing of inbound VIP callers to their dedicated Customer Support agent, which in this context is the Zendesk Contact Owner. This eliminates the whole team being interrupted by inbound calls from customers that are not theirs, and removes the possibility of the caller having to be placed on hold while being transferred to their dedicated point of contact.
🔨 How to set up your smart routing to the Zendesk Contact Owner
Step One: Creating the Custom Field and Generating an API Token in Zendesk
💡This section requires familiarity with Zendesk custom fields and authentication methods
Our first step begins in Zendesk, where we will have to create a custom property to store the Contact Owner’s email address on. In the Zendesk Admin Center, navigate to People → Configuration → User Fields and select Add Field.
- Field Type = Text
- Display Name = Owner Email
- Field Key = owner_email
The field will be automatically added to all end-user profiles. Once this has been created and is visible on the end-user profile, be sure to populate it with an email address, as you will need this later to test the path validity on the Ring-to (via API) widget.
You will now have to create an API Token in the Zendesk Admin Center, which we will be using in the next step to configure the request in the Ring-to (via API) widget. The API Token must be formatted to be a Based-64 encoded string. For more information on requirements and configuration, please see the Zendesk article How can I authenticate API requests?
💡API Token access is disabled by default in Zendesk. You must enable access in the Admin Center before being able to generate tokens.
Step Two: Setting Up the Ring-to (via API) Widget in Aircall
💡This section requires familiarity with Zendesk REST API and Smartflows
Now in the Aircall Dashboard, we have to configure the Smartflows number.
It is important to note, that the Aircall users who will have calls routed to them via the API do not need to be assigned to the Smartflows Call Distribution. If they are assigned, the user will receive any missed call notifications if they miss the transferred call. However, they will not receive these notifications if they are not assigned to the number.
With that in mind, navigate to the phone number you wish to configure the Ring-to (via API) widget on. Add your Ring-to (via API) widget to your desired spot in your Smartflows distribution which will open up the widget editor.
To begin, set the Authentication method as API Key and then click on Set Credentials. This will open the credentials pop-up form, which is to be completed as follows:
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Key =
Authorization: Basic - Value = the Base-64 encoded API Token created in the previous step
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Add to =
Header
Return to the widget editor. To finish the request configuration, the remaining fields must be populated as follows:
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URL =
http://MyDomainName.zendesk.com/api/v2/users/search.json?query={{callerNumber}}(enter your Zendesk domain name in the bolded section of the URL) - Method = GET
Now that we have finished the request configuration, we complete our set up by setting the response configuration as follows:
- Response type = User (ID or email)
- Path = users[0].user_fields.owner_email
To conclude, you must run a test on the response in the dedicated test field. To conclude, you must run a test on the response in the dedicated test field. Enter a valid phone number in the international E.164 format, and make sure there is a returned JSON payload and the Path (to find the value that will be used to transfer/route the inbound call) is valid.
Adjust the ringing settings directly beneath the test to suit your business operations
🎉 You should now be ready to start testing some inbound calls for smart routing to the Zendesk Contact Owner using the Ring-to (via API) widget!
Once you have conducted your tests and are ready to go live, ensure that you populate the Owner Email field in Zendesk on every end-user profile where you would like calls automatically routed.
Professional Services
If you need an extra hand with implementing this smart routing configuration, or would like to learn about similar automations to enhance your operations, check out our Professional Services page to book time with our Technical Consultants.