What's New
Capture knowledge from hotline conversations using AI
Feature Overview
AI Knowledge Capture in Zinc enables hotline staff to convert support chats into reusable knowledge articles. When an article is saved, it is automatically made available to the ServiceMax AI Knowledge Access agent. This supports reuse of answers and helps resolve future issues more consistently.
Business Value
Knowledge shared in conversations is not reused efficiently. Teams handle repeated questions and spend time searching past interactions. This feature converts conversations into structured knowledge articles. The AI Knowledge Access agent uses these articles to answer future queries. Field teams get consistent answers, and support workload reduces.
For Administrator
Administrators enable or disable knowledge capture per hotline from
Hotline Settings. The
AI knowledge capture toggle controls whether staffers can generate articles. The feature depends on existing ServiceMax AI access and authentication. For more information, see
Enabling AI Knowledge Capture for a Hotline.
For End User
Hotline staffers generate an article from the request banner. The system creates a draft from the conversation, which the staffer reviews and edits before saving. The saved article appears in the conversation panel. Staffers can update existing articles, and each save updates the version used by AI. Other participants can view articles but cannot modify them. For more information, see
AI Knowledge Capture in Zinc.
Embedded Zinc in Windows Go application
Feature Overview
Windows Go application now includes an embedded Zinc. Zinc opens inside the existing interface, removing the need to switch applications. Notifications continue to alert end users about new activity.
Business Value
Embedded Zinc in Go simplifies remote assistance and team collaboration by keeping messaging, hotlines, connected conversations, and broadcasts within a single application. Technicians access help and share information with coworkers while staying focused on service work, which reduces distractions. Context from Go records carries into conversations, which improves clarity and speeds up support. IT teams manage fewer applications, which reduces overhead and simplifies deployment.
For Administrator
Administrators continue to use existing configurations for communication features. No additional setup required. The experience is available within the current Go environment based on assigned access. For more information, see
Embedded Zinc Configuration.
For End User
End users access embedded Zinc directly within the application and continue their work without switching tools. Messages, conversations linked to work records, and broadcasts are available in the same interface. Notifications keep end users informed about new activity, which helps them respond quickly and stay aligned with their team.
Control messaging permissions in group conversations
Feature Overview
Group conversations now support restricted messaging. Only selected participants can send messages, while others have read-only access. The group shows an indicator when messaging is restricted, and participants with permission are identified.
Business Value
Group conversations require controlled messaging in certain scenarios. Without restrictions, participants can send messages without defined ownership. This feature limits message creation to designated participants while allowing others to view the conversation. Permissions are enforced to prevent unauthorized actions.
For Administrator
Administrators enable or disable restricted messaging from
Official Group Settings and assign messaging permission to specific users or roles. For more information, see
Managing Groups Settings.
For End User
End users see an indicator when a group has restricted messaging. Participants with permission can send messages. Others cannot send messages, reply, forward content into the group, or initiate calls. The message composer is not visible for these participants. The participant list shows who has messaging permission. All participants can view messages and access shared content. System messages notify members when messaging restrictions are enabled or disabled. For more information, see
Working With Groups.
Zinc support for RealWear devices with hands-free communication
Feature Overview
Zinc is now available on RealWear devices, giving field technicians hands-free access to live video calls and team communication directly from the headset.
Business Value
Field service work often requires real-time guidance from remote experts, but that support is hard to access when hands are occupied. Technicians can now connect with their team without switching devices or stopping work. Live video sharing gives remote experts clear visibility into field conditions, helping teams diagnose issues faster and guide actions more effectively.
For Administrator
Zinc can be extended to RealWear devices without any additional configuration. End users authenticate with their existing credentials and access features based on current permissions.
For End User
End users can log in to Zinc on a RealWear device and join ongoing calls to collaborate with their team in real time. The device streams what the technician sees, which allows remote experts to guide actions during service work. End users can view conversation activity during calls and stay informed without leaving the session. The interface is simplified for hands-free use, which helps maintain focus on the task while communicating. For more information, see
Zinc on RealWear.
Conditional routing with fork steps
Feature Overview
A new Fork step is available when building hotline bot flows. A Fork step is used only for routing logic. It does not send a message to the user. Based on configured conditions, the conversation is routed to the next appropriate step.
Business Value
Previously, administrators had to rely on workarounds or duplicate hotline flows to route conversations based on user context. Fork steps simplify this by enabling conditional routing within a single flow. This makes it easier to tailor the first message and the rest of the conversation to the user without maintaining multiple bot configurations.
For Administrator
Administrators can use Fork steps to route a hotline flow based on previous answers or configured context fields. Rules are evaluated in order, and the first match determines the next step. A default route is required, and Fork steps can be chained to support more complex branching. For more information, see
Configuring a Fork Step in a Hotline Chatbot.
For End User
There is no visible change for users. Fork steps run silently, without displaying a message or interrupting the conversation. The bot continues from the step selected by the Fork, allowing different entry points based on context.
Personalize hotline bot messages with context field values
Feature Overview
Zinc hotline chatbots support inserting values from configured ServiceMax context fields directly into bot message text. Bot messages can include context field placeholders, which Zinc resolves at runtime using the current session data. A single message can contain multiple placeholders, and the same context field can be referenced more than once.
Business Value
Previously, hotline bots sent generic messages that required users to restate information already available in ServiceMax, such as location, product, or work order details. With context field values included in bot messages, this information is presented automatically, reducing the need for repeated user input.
For Administrator
In the hotline bot configuration, administrators can insert context field placeholders into any bot message text. The available placeholders are determined by the context field configuration for that hotline. Placeholder values are resolved automatically at runtime based on the current user and session. No further configuration is required after setup. For more information, see
Configuring Hotline Chatbots.
For End User
Bot messages include relevant details such as the user’s site location or the product associated with the request. As a result, fewer clarification steps are required during the conversation, and bot messages provide clearer context.
Configure context retrieval fields for hotlines
Feature Overview
The new Context Retrieval section on the hotline settings screen lets administrators enable context-aware hotlines and select which fields to include as context data. Administrators can configure context fields from any supported object and its related objects.
Business Value
Setting up context-aware hotlines previously required contacting ServiceMax support. Administrators can now configure context data fields entirely within the Zinc admin console. Setup is faster, ongoing management is simpler, and the team no longer depends on external support to implement or adjust context-aware hotlines.
For Administrator
Administrators can configure context-aware hotlines entirely from the Context Retrieval section in Zinc hotline settings, without contacting ServiceMax support. The section requires a connected Salesforce or ServiceMax org and lets administrators toggle the feature on or off and select fields from Work Order and related objects. At least one field must be selected when the toggle is enabled. For more information, see
Configuring Hotline Chatbots.
For End User
There is no change to the hotline interaction flow.
Modernized Analytics reports in the Administrative console
Feature Overview
The Analytics section in the Admin console now includes a refreshed set of out-of-the-box reports. Administrators can save report views, schedule email delivery for report data, and review a detailed timeline of hotline request activity.
Business Value
Organizations often need clear visibility into hotline activity and messaging patterns but spend time rebuilding the same filters or exporting data to share with stakeholders. The refreshed Analytics reports reduce this effort by keeping key workflows inside the administrative console. Saved views prevent repeated filter setup, email subscriptions keep stakeholders informed on a regular schedule, and the hotline event timeline makes it easier to understand how each request progresses over time.
For Administrator
Administrators configure report filters and save the current configuration as a reusable view so that the same filter set is available later without manual re-entry. Administrators also set up email subscriptions for supported reports so that report data is delivered on a recurring schedule. For hotline-related reporting, administrators review a detailed timeline that shows message events and activity across the lifecycle of a hotline request. For more information, see
Working With Zinc Analytics.
Updates to new Analytics
• The Activity dashboard is now split into the Messages and Calls dashboards.
• The Real-Time Hotline Dashboard is replaced by Hotline Requests and Hotline Queue Overview.
• The Hotline Overview dashboard is replaced by Hotline Requests.
• The Request Parts dashboard is replaced by Hotline Queue Overview.
• The Broadcast Deliveries dashboard has been removed with no equivalent in the refreshed reports.
• All data export files are replaced by the data table in the corresponding dashboard.
• The Messages and Calls per User metric is available as raw records in the Messages and Calls data tables.
• Groups Created data is available in the Conversations Over Time chart in the Conversations dashboard.
• The user_export file is replaced by the Users data table.
• All _local and _localtime columns are removed; use the time zone selector in each dashboard to control timestamp display.
• All time-in-minutes columns are removed; calculate time intervals from the timestamp columns in the data table.
• Avg. Close Time (Minutes) is now Average Resolution Time in Hotline Queue Overview.
For full field and metric definitions, see
Zinc Analytics report fields and metrics.
For End User
End users do not work directly with the Analytics section.