A new Google Chrome extension, Deskun, is bringing customer service and support task management right into Gmail. The new tool promises to streamline communications by enabling customer support teams to tackle customer emails as well as incoming messages from multiple social channels directly within Gmail.
In addition to straightforward email, the solution also integrates with live chat tools on websites as well as with messenger bots, such as Facebook Messenger. Agents can also use Deskun to turn emails directly into support tickets and set up auto responses that will deliver canned messages to customers.
Deskun provides task management functionality as well—for example, once one agent picks up a support ticket, others can no longer claim it. At the same time, the tool is collaborative, so that when agents do need to hand off tickets, they can leave comments for their colleagues to facilitate quicker transitions.
The technology is scalable and can suit bigger businesses’ needs, but will likely be most appealing to small and midsize businesses that still rely heavily on Gmail for communicating with customers. And the more channels consumers use, the better for Deskun’s clients—the tool is designed to organize and prioritize messy multichannel inboxes.
It’s still early for the company, and according to Iuriy Grechko, CEO of the start-up, more capabilities and integrations will soon be rolled out. “At the moment we are implementing the Deskun cross-platform web-based version as well as full support for other popular content platforms, such as for instance Instagram,” he said in a company statement.
The introduction of the extension comes on the heels of Google’s launch of Gmail add-ons last week, which opened the application to integrations with business tools and services like Dialpad, RingCentral, ProsperWorks CRM and others. The move demonstrates Google’s understanding of the importance of a not only email, but also the inbox specifically as a central location for business tasks.