August 28, 2024 #
What’s Shipped #
Features and updates released to Production
Gladly Sidekick is our AI and automation platform.
Introducing Answer Threads
Answer Threads is a generative AI system that delivers conversational experiences to Customers by utilizing information stored in your Gladly knowledge base as Public Answers to respond to their questions
For example, when a customer engages with an Answer Thread in chat, they can ask questions just as they would with a human agent.
Answer Threads respond fully and naturally, even recognizing and addressing follow-up questions the customer might ask.
Customers engage as they would with a human through channels like SMS and chat, receiving responses that reflect your brand’s voice and tone. If the AI cannot provide an answer, it promptly hands over the Customer to a human agent.
Answer Threads uses Public Answers
Answer Threads leverage information stored as Public Answers, which you can manage directly in Gladly or through the Answer Management API 
, to learn and respond to customer questions. Since all knowledge is stored within Gladly, the risk of “hallucinations” and incorrect responses is significantly reduced.
Enriching the Service Experience
- Effortless Efficiency: Lightening fast, human-like responses to routine inquiries gives your team the freedom to focus on high-value tasks
- Continuous Improvement: Automatic knowledge gap detection and answer suggestions make your AI smarter with each use
- Brand Integrity: Keep your AI-powered responses aligned with your brand standards
Easy to implement
Answer Threads is easy to implement and manage. There’s no need to set up lengthy flows to teach the AI new information — simply create a Public Answer, and it will learn automatically.
Get started
- Are you using Sidekick today? Review the setup process, then contact Gladly Support to start using Answer Threads.
- Not on Sidekick? Contact the Gladly Sidekick Team
to learn more. - Attend the Answer Threads webinar on September 12 at 9 AM | 12 PM for a live overview of this feature.
Contact the Gladly Sidekick team if you have questions and are interested in learning more.
Updated Sidekick Dashboard
We have updated the Sidekick Dashboard to provide greater visibility into how Sidekick is performing in the specific areas and for the Contact Reasons where your company has decided to implement AI and Automation.
Don’t Miss Out #
Events, notices, and Gladly news
CLASSROOM
Cross-Channel Conversations Classroom
Join our Senior Manager of Technical Support, Alex Webber, on August 29 at 9 AM PT | 12 ET who will help you and your team understand how cross-channel Conversations behave, real-world applications, and how they benefit Agents. Gladly is designed to take the guesswork out of how Customers are routed to Agents through email, chat, SMS, social media, or phone calls. This ensures that Customers can simultaneously reach your business via neighboring channels in the most convenient way for them.
WEBINAR
Discover How FTD Flowers Gets Ready for Peak Season
Join John McCahan, VP of Customer Care at FTD Flowers, on August 29 at 11 AM PT | 2 ET as he reveals the tools, strategies, and processes used to ensure FTD service teams are equipped to thrive during the busiest time of the year. Waiting until the last minute to prepare your service team for the holidays — and other demanding times throughout the year — can cost you time, money, and resources. Starting early with peak season prep will help set your business up for success and separate your call center from the competition, leading to satisfied, loyal Customers.
LEARNING
Onboarding and Training Resources for Seasonal Staff
Check out this week’s recommendations for your new hire training program.
Gladly Training
- How to Provide Radically Personal Service – Discover the strategies and mindset that drive the concept of offering remarkably personalized service.
- Support Hero Certificate Course – This is the gold standard training for all Agents and Customer-facing service members who will be using Gladly. You may also use this training to supplement your company-specific training.
Once your new team members learn how to use Gladly, help them develop additional skills to better serve your Customers.
Service Training
- Phone Support 101: Creating a Positive First Impression – This course focuses on the necessary preparations before making a customer service call to ensure that you are ready to provide high-quality service. It will equip you to make a great first impression through effective vocal and verbal communication.
- Communicate With Confidence – Effective communication makes you a better communicator. When you speak confidently, you earn your team’s trust, motivating them to follow your lead and fostering a culture where everyone feels valued and knows what’s expected.
- Attitude in Customer Service: Character and Integrity – Character shapes how others see us through our personality, appearance, and actions. Integrity aligns our words with reality and about keeping promises. Discover why integrity and honesty are the foundations of trust and the essence of great service.
We’ll continue providing course suggestions found in Gladly Connect Learning over the next couple of release weeks. In the meantime, feel free to browse hundreds of free CX courses.
REVIEWS
You’re In Good Company
We’d love to hear from you! Please share your insights on Gladly and leave us a review on G2 Crowd
August 21, 2024 #
What’s Shipped #
Features and updates released to Production
Gladly Hero is our customer-centered platform for delivering personalized Agent-assisted Customer service.
Phone Numbers Automatically Marked as SMSable in the Customer Profile
If using the Automation API to send an SMS to mobile numbers, Gladly will automatically mark the phone number in the Customer Profile as Mobile (type) and add the SMS (tag) to allow outbound SMS communications through the Customer Profile.
In addition, if the Send SMS API is used to generate outbound SMSes or when a Customer calls from a mobile number and Mobile Identification is active, Gladly also marks the phone number as MOBILE and adds the SMS tag automatically. This enhancement may save Agents time and avoid confusion when needing to SMS/text a Customer.
As a reminder, ensure your SMS communication practices comply with SMS rules and regulations. Your ‘Privacy Policy’ and ‘Contact Us’ pages should include language regarding your communication policies, including how you may contact Customers via SMS if they call and how they can opt-out anytime.
Resolved Issues #
Issues and bugs we squashed
Gladly Hero is our customer-centered platform for delivering personalized Agent-assisted Customer service.
Unusable Webhooks Appeared in Webhooks UI
Fixed – The AUTOMATION/SESSION_ENDED and AUTOMATION/SESSION_STARTED webhook options incorrectly appeared in the UI and have been removed.
Missing ‘parentId When Using Export API
Fixed – Nested topics were missing their parentIds when exported using the Gladly Export API .
Glad App Froze After Receiving Quick Reply Input
Fixed – Glad App sometimes froze when receiving a reply from a user through Quick Reply buttons and if automation, such as Sidekick or an Agent, failed to reply immediately.
Sidekick Dashboard Help Guide Not Opened in New Tab
Fixed – Sidekick Dashboard “Read our guide for this report” link opened within the same browser tab as Gladly Hero instead of opening a new tab to open the external link.
Don’t Miss Out #
Events, notices, and Gladly news
CLASSROOM
Cross-Channel Conversations Classroom
Gladly is designed to take the guesswork out of how Customers are routed to Agents through email, chat, SMS, social media, or phone calls. This ensures that Customers can simultaneously reach your business via neighboring channels in the most convenient way for them. Join our Senior Manager of Technical Support, Alex Webber, on August 29 at 9 AM PT | 12 ET to help you and your team understand how cross-channel Conversations behave, real-world applications, and how they benefit Agents.
WEBINAR
Discover How FTD Flowers Gets Ready for Peak Season
Waiting until the last minute to prepare your service team for the holidays — and other demanding times throughout the year — can cost you time, money, and resources. Starting early with peak season prep will help set your business up for success and separate your call center from the competition, leading to satisfied, loyal Customers. Join John McCahan, VP of Customer Care at FTD Flowers, on August 29 at 11 AM PT | 2 ET as he reveals the tools, strategies, and processes used to ensure FTD service teams are equipped to thrive during the busiest time of the year.
LEARNING
Onboarding and Training Resources for Seasonal Staff
Holiday preparations start well in advance of when you think they should. Although there are many aspects to consider in the preparations, we can support your training and onboarding efforts to ensure smooth training and expedite your Agents’ ability to deliver highly personalized service. Below are this week’s course suggestions to help with your training efforts.
Gladly Training
- Gladly Routing for Agents – With this new course, you can help your team understand how Gladly’s routing engine is designed to route inbound Customer requests so, you and your Agents can focus on providing the best service instead of spending time on who should be assisted first. This is also a great group learning activity for you and your team!
- Support Hero Certificate Course – This is the gold standard training for all Agents and Customer-facing service members who will be using Gladly. You may also use this training to supplement your company-specific training.
Once your new team members learn how to use Gladly, help them develop additional skills to better serve your Customers by taking additional service courses.
Service Training
- Customer Service 201 – This is a great follow-up to last week’s Customer Service 101 course. The course explains the importance of delivering excellent service. It is essential for everyone in the organization to provide great service to all, both external Customers and internal such as colleagues.
- Effective Verbal Communication and Listening – Internal communication is just as important as external communication. The course discusses the importance of effective listening alongside excellent verbal skills, including clarity of speech, remaining calm and focused, being polite, and following some basic rules of etiquette.
- Improving Customer Rapport – When developing Customer rapport, prioritize being friendly, genuine, and honest to earn trust and loyalty, and assist Customers beyond your role. Nurturing relationships with colleagues is also crucial for success. Hard work, teamwork, and strong rapport with Customers and co-workers are key to success.
We’ll continue providing course suggestions found in Gladly Connect Learning over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, feel free to browse hundreds of free CX courses in the Connect Community.
REVIEWS
You’re In Good Company
We’d love to hear from you! Please share your insights on Gladly and leave us a review on G2 Crowd
August 14, 2024 #
What’s Coming #
Coming soon to Sandbox and product news
Gladly Routing Course for Agents
We recently released the Gladly Routing Logic Certificate Course, designed to equip Administrators with a deep understanding of our routing engine. Building on this success, we’re excited to share that a new Gladly Routing course explicitly tailored for Agents is coming next week! This course will give Agents valuable insights into how Gladly routes Customers and its impact on CX.
Resolved Issues #
Issues and bugs we squashed
Gladly Hero is our customer-centered platform for delivering personalized Agent-assisted Customer service.
Settings Page Not Loading for ‘Team Manager’ Roles
Fixed – ‘Team Manager’ roles couldn’t access the Settings page.
Apply Current Handle Time Calculation in the Contact Summary Report
Fixed – The Contact Summary report used outdated calculations for the Handle Time and Occupancy calculations shown below. The calculations for these metrics have been updated to use the current metric definitions and will now align with the definitions used in other Contact-based reports, such as the Contact Export report.
- Avg. Inbound After Contact Time
- Avg. Inbound Contact Handle Time
- Avg. Outbound After Contact Time
- Avg. Outbound Contact Handle Time
Don’t Miss Out #
Events, notices, and Gladly news
LEARNING
Onboarding and Training Resources for Seasonal Staff
Preparations for the busy holiday season start well in advance of when you think they should. Although there are many aspects to consider in the preparations, we can support your training and onboarding efforts to ensure smooth training and expedite your Agents’ ability to deliver highly personalized service.
Gladly Training
- Support Hero Certificate Course – This is the gold standard training for all Agents and Customer-facing service members who will be using Gladly. You may also use this training to supplement your company-specific training.
Once your new team members learn how to use Gladly, help them develop additional skills to better serve your Customers by taking service-oriented courses.
Customer Service Training
- Customer Service 101 – This is a great course to introduce new Agents to the basics of great and memorable service.
- Handling Confrontational Customers – The holidays can be a stressful time for some. This course will help your team better handle uncomfortable situations with Customers.
- Listening With Empathy – Help your team learn the power of listening and providing empathetic service.
We’ll provide several suggested Gladly Connect Learning courses over the next few release weeks. In the meantime, feel free to browse hundreds of free CX courses in the Connect Community.
REVIEWS
You’re In Good Company
We’d love to hear from you! Please share your insights on Gladly and leave us a review on G2 Crowd
August 7, 2024 #
What’s Shipped #
Features and updates released to Production
Gladly Hero is our customer-centered platform for delivering personalized Agent-assisted Customer service.
Answer ID Included in API Response
The API, /api/v1/answers (Add Answer API) now includes any duplicate answer id to improve the developer experience when adding/updating Public Answers in bulk. When attempting to add an Answer that has a name already present on another Answer, the metadata in the response will now include the conflicting snippet ID.
example response:
```{
"errors": [
{
"attr": "name",
"code": "taken",
"detail": "duplicate answer name",
"meta": {
"existingAnswerId": "GXYeDiVURh60PuqN5Jqg3A",
"name": "Closing"
}
}
]
}What’s Coming #
Coming soon to Sandbox and product news
Help Us Shape the Future of Flexible Cards
We’re looking for your valuable input! We’re conducting customer research for Flexible Cards, a feature that displays information and offers self-service options for Agents from the Customer Profile and through Chat for Sidekick customers. You can see general information about Cards here.
This 45-minute session will give you a deeper dive into Flexible Cards and an opportunity to share how you’d ideally use them. By participating, you’ll have a significant impact on the development of Flexible Cards and gain exclusive access to our innovation partner program.
If you’re interested in helping shape the future of Flexible Cards, reply to this email or contact [email protected]. Thank you to those of you who already reached out to participate.
Gladly Routing Course for Agents
We recently released the Gladly Routing Logic Certificate Course, designed to equip Administrators with a deep understanding of our routing engine. Building on this success, we’re excited to share that a new Gladly Routing course tailored specifically for Agents is in the works. This course will provide Agents with valuable insights into how Gladly routes Customers and its impact on CX. Stay tuned!
Resolved Issues #
Issues and bugs we squashed
Gladly Hero is our customer-centered platform for delivering personalized Agent-assisted Customer service.
Same-day SLA Percentage Intermittently Displayed as Greater Than 100%
Fixed – The percentage of Inbound Contacts responded to within the defined timeframe (SLA %) displayed as a percentage greater than 100% for some customers. Learn more about this metric.
Gladly Sidekick is our AI and automation platform.
‘Days Ago’ Incorrectly Appeared as a Selector
Fixed – The Exists and Does Not Exist Conditions in Threads incorrectly made the Days Ago option available when configuring a Rule in the Thread Builder.
Don’t Miss Out #
Events, notices, and Gladly news
LEARNING
Listening Skills – The Ultimate Workplace Soft Skills
Listening is the often-overlooked superpower. Have you ever felt the frustration of repeating yourself multiple times or wondered if someone was truly engaged in the conversation? The truth is, that effective listening is a rare and invaluable asset in the workplace so learn how you can be that person that listens best.
REVIEWS
You’re In Good Company
We’d love to hear from you! Please share your insights on Gladly and leave us a review on G2 Crowd
