Different methods of sending surveys in Zendesk Messaging

There are several ways to send SweetHawk surveys through Zendesk Messaging, depending on which channels you use and whether Sunshine Conversations is enabled. While Zendesk’s native CSAT offers only a simple satisfaction question, the SweetHawk Survey app allows you to collect deeper feedback using fully custom surveys with richer question types, custom branding, and more detailed reporting.

In this article, we’ll walk through all the available methods for delivering surveys in messaging, including automated sending via Sunshine Conversations, manual link sharing (particularly useful for channels like WhatsApp, which don’t support embedded buttons), and using standard Zendesk triggers when a customer provides an email address.

Topics covered in this article:

• Automated surveys using Sunshine Conversations
• Manual surveys using Sunshine Conversations
• Manual surveys using shortened link
• Automated surveys using an email trigger

Automated surveys using Sunshine Conversations

If you have Sunshine Conversations as part of your subscription, our Survey app can automatically embed a survey button into the messaging channel based on agent activity or messaging state. For a full run through, see our guide How to automate surveys in Zendesk Messaging using the SweetHawk Survey app.

Manual surveys using Sunshine Conversations

If you have Sunshine Conversations enabled, agents can manually send a survey button to customers in the messaging thread whenever they feel it’s most appropriate, such as after resolving an issue or at a natural break in the conversation. 

Enable Sunshine Conversations

Before agents can send survey buttons, your Zendesk account must be connected to Sunshine Conversations. To set this up:

1. Open the Survey app in Zendesk. 
2. Go to Settings and then select Integration. 
3. Click Add to Sunshine Conversations.

Your account is now connected.

After Sunshine Conversations is connected, agents can send a survey from the Apps panel on the right side of any ticket:

1. Select the appropriate survey from the drop down.
2. Click Send.

Sidebar app for agents:

Embedded button sent to messaging customers:

Agents can see the survey has been sent but cannot click on the button themselves.

Manual surveys using shortened link

If you do not have a Sunshine Conversations license, or are using the WhatsApp channel, you can send your surveys with a shortened link or URL. 

For a more professional-looking URL, we recommend that you connect a custom subdomain to the app, so the link will come from your own address. For example:
https://surveys.company.com/s/O3W53ySH

Agents can send the link directly from the Apps panel on the right side of the ticket by:

1. Select the appropriate survey from the drop down.
2. Click Copy link.
3. Paste the link into the comment and hit Send.

This method works in all messaging channels and is especially useful in channels where interactive buttons are not supported.
 

Automated surveys using an email trigger

If your messaging flow collects the customer’s email address, you can automatically send the survey using a standard Zendesk email trigger once the conversation has ended. This also acts as a useful fallback in case the survey button in the messaging channel is missed.

When creating the trigger to send out the survey, in this example we would recommend the following trigger conditions:

Trigger Conditions

Meet ALL of the following conditions

Trigger Actions

In the Actions section of the trigger, add:

In your Email body, add the email content and then include the snippet of the survey you want to send. Please see our guide on how to send surveys via Zendesk trigger.

Trigger example:

Because messaging buttons can sometimes be missed, this trigger ensures your survey is still delivered directly to the customer’s email. It’s the most reliable way to maintain consistent survey responses across all messaging conversations.