Adding a new ticket deflector

A ticket deflector is a multi-step form in your Knowledge base site that searches your knowledge base as readers describe their issue and suggests relevant articles before they submit a support request. This article walks through creating a ticket deflector from scratch — from the form title through to notification settings.

Before you begin

How to create a ticket deflector

1. Navigate to Settings in the left navigation bar of the Knowledge base portal.
2. In the left navigation pane, go to Knowledge base site > Ticket deflectors.
3. Click New ticket deflector. The ticket deflector form opens with a default title.

Step 1: Title, slug, and description

4. Click the default title and enter your own. Titles cannot exceed 150 characters including spaces.
5. The slug is auto-generated from the title but can be edited. Slugs cannot exceed 150 characters.

6. Add a short description to tell readers what the form is for.
7. Ensure the Online toggle is on for the deflector to appear on the knowledge base site. You can leave it off while you're still configuring the form.

Step 2: Context questions

Context questions are the options readers select to describe their issue. Their selection determines the next step in the flow — whether that's a knowledge base search, an additional question, or the contact form.

8. Click Questions. Two default questions are provided as a starting point.
9. For each question:
   • Enter the question or prompt text. There is no character limit.
   • Turn on Enable search to require readers to search the knowledge base before they can proceed.
   • Select Make search optional if you want readers to be able to skip the search step.
   • In the If user selects this option, go to… dropdown, choose the next step (for example, a suggestion block or the contact form).
10. To remove a question, hover over it and click Delete .
11. Click Add questions to add more options.
12. Use the Reorder icon to drag questions into the right order.

Step 3: Suggestions (optional)

Suggestions are intermediate steps between the initial question and the contact form. Use them to narrow down the issue further or direct readers to a specific article. Suggestions are optional — you can route readers directly to the contact form from a context question if you prefer a simpler flow.

13. In the Suggestions section, click Add to create a block step. Choose one of three types:

Additional question — adds another set of options to narrow the query further, using the same structure as context questions.

Answer — provides a direct text answer with basic formatting (bold, italics, underline, hyperlink, code view). Use this for simple one-step resolutions.

Answer from your knowledge base — links to a specific article:

• Select the Workspace from the dropdown.
• Search and select the article in the Article field.
• The default next step after this block is the contact form.

Step 4: Help request (contact form)

The contact form is the final step readers reach if the knowledge base doesn't resolve their issue. You can customize which fields appear and whether they are mandatory.

Step 5: Ticket submission settings

14. In the Email subject field, enter the subject line for notification emails sent to your team. Maximum 100 characters.
15. In Send notification email to, add one or more project users as recipients.
16. In These emails, add any additional individual or group email addresses as extra recipients. This field is optional and has no recipient limit — enter each address and press Enter.

Connecting a helpdesk

17. Expand Create helpdesk ticket and turn on the Create helpdesk ticket on form submission toggle.
18. Click Connect a helpdesk.
19. Select Freshdesk or Zendesk.
20. Enter the required credentials and click Validate & save.

When a reader submits the contact form and a helpdesk is connected, a ticket is created automatically in your helpdesk. An acknowledgment email is sent to the reader from your helpdesk's configured email address. If no helpdesk is connected, the acknowledgment is sent using your project's mapped support email address.

Localizing ticket deflector text

You can translate the default UI labels in the ticket deflector (such as "Solved my issue" and "Change answer") into any project language.

1. Navigate to Settings > Knowledge base portal > Workspace & localization.
2. Go to the Localization variables tab and expand the Ticket deflector accordion.
3. Update the variable text for each language as needed.
4. Click Save.

Best practices

• Write context questions from the reader's perspective, not your team's internal categories. "I have a billing question" works better than "Billing & payments."
• Enable the knowledge base search step for at least your most common question options — it's the primary mechanism that deflects tickets.
• Use "Answer from your knowledge base" blocks to link directly to the most relevant article for a specific issue rather than sending all readers to the contact form.
• Map each deflector to a dedicated notification email address so the right team receives the right tickets without manual triage.
• Keep the contact form as short as possible. Only make fields mandatory if you genuinely need that information to resolve the issue.

FAQ