Installing and Using the Intercom Messenger App

With the HelpDocs Intercom Messenger app installed your customers and your support team can harness powerful self-service capabilities right inside the Messenger.

Installing the HelpDocs Intercom Messenger App

Before adding searchable cards on the Home screen or sending article cards to customers you'll need to install the HelpDocs app from the app store. It's super easy and shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

1. Head to the Intercom App Store and search for HelpDocs (or click here)
2. Click Install Now
3. Click Connect to grant permissions then follow the instructions to connect to HelpDocs
4. Head to Settings in the left navigation
5. Under Channels click Messenger
   1. Click Customize Home with apps
   2. Scroll down and click Add an app
   3. Click HelpDocs and choose which type of card you'd like to add
      1. Add a Searchable Card to the Messenger Home
      2. Add a Specific Article Card to the Messenger

Add a Searchable Card to the Messenger Home

Empower customers to help themselves before they get in touch with your support team. With the searchable card customers can search your HelpDocs Knowledge Base without leaving the Intercom widget.

1. Head to Messenger in the left navigation
2. Click Add Messenger home apps
3. Click + Add an app
   1. Select HelpDocs from the list
   2. Click Add a searchable widget
4. Hit Save and set live

Add a Specific Article Card to the Messenger Home

Point visitors or customers to specific articles that might help them succeed with your product.

1. Head to Messenger in the left navigation
2. Click Add Messenger home apps
3. Click Add an app
   1. Select HelpDocs from the list
   2. Search for the article
   3. Click the article you want
4. Hit Save and set live

Share Articles to Customers from the Composer

Helping out a customer but need to point them towards a specific article? We've got good news—you can search for it and send it to them in a lovely little card. It'll include the short version and a button to the article.

Within the composer click the Add a Messenger App button

1. Select HelpDocs
2. Search for the article you want to send
3. Select it and hit Send when you're ready 🤩

This is how customers will be able to interact with the article card:

Insert Article Cards into Outbound Messages

You can insert lovely little article cards into your auto messages—great for campaigns to educate customers on using your software.

When in the text editor click the + button to add a new element

1. Select Insert App
2. Choose HelpDocs
3. Search for an article
4. Select the article you want to include

Customize Strings Inside the App

There are four strings of text within the HelpDocs Intercom Messenger app. They're all customizable based on your i18n strings. Here's more information about where you can find the matching strings:

Searchable widget card

1. i18n -> Welcome
2. i18n -> Help me with...
3. i18n -> No articles found

Individual article card

4. i18n -> Custom 2

Showing Extra Content to Agents and Logged In Users

By default users in the Intercom Messenger App only have access to public articles. That's articles that are Published and aren't assigned to any permission groups.

If you use Permissioning to show different articles to logged in users of your app you can use that with the Intercom Messenger App too. These extra articles will be available when users are identified (i.e. logged in) to your Intercom Messenger rather than anonymous users or leads. They'll also be available to your support team who can send them individually to any customer.

Head to Settings > Integrations

1. Find Intercom Messenger App and click More > Configure
2. Select any user groups you'd like to be available to your logged in users from the Logged In User Permission Groups dropdown
3. Hit Save Changes

Best Practices for Intercom Messenger App