Understanding Recipient, Follower, CC, & Third-Party Replies

In Zendesk, understanding the difference between Recipient, Follower, CC, and Third-Party Replies is key to managing ticket visibility and communication. Here’s a breakdown of each:

1. Recipient
   • Definition: The email address to which the original ticket was sent.
   • Purpose: Shows which Zendesk support email address received the request.
   • Where to see it: In the ticket events or the ticket header.
   • Example: If a user sends an email to help@company.com, then help@company.com is the recipient.
2. CC (Carbon Copy)
   • Definition: End users who are added to the ticket to receive replies.
   • Purpose: Keeps other people (e.g., colleagues or stakeholders of the requester) in the loop.
   • Visibility: They see the public comments and can reply to the email to update the ticket.
   • How to add: Agents or requesters can add CCs manually.
   • Important Note: End users can see other CC’d users.
      
3. Follower
   • Definition: Internal team members (agents or admins) added to a ticket to observe or assist.
   • Purpose: Allows internal visibility and collaboration without exposing them to end users.
   • Visibility: Followers receive notifications, can see the ticket, and can add internal notes.
   • Difference from CC: Followers are not visible to the requester or CCs; they are for internal use only.
      
4. Third-Party Replies (via Side Conversations)
   • Definition: Communications with someone outside of the Zendesk support instance, like a vendor, contractor, or another department, using side conversations.
   • Purpose: Used to get information or input from someone not part of the original ticket.
   • How it works:
     • Agents can start a side conversation via email or ticket.
     • Responses from the third party are logged separately and don’t show up in the main ticket thread (unless copied manually).
   • Visibility: Only visible to agents. End users don’t see side conversations.

Comparison Table:

Visual Diagram Flow

Here’s a visual diagram showing the difference between Recipient, CC, Follower, and Third-Party Replies in a Zendesk ticket flow:

Summary by Flow:

• Recipient: Who received the request (Zendesk support address).
• CCs: Additional end users looped into the thread.
• Followers: Internal team members, invisible to requester/CC.
• Third-Party Replies (via Side Conversation): Separate email threads for external collaboration, private to agents.

For additional information on understanding recipients, followers, CCs, & third-party replies, please review the following Zendesk Help support articles: 

• Understanding CCs and followers
• Using CCs and followers
• Why do the email addresses swap between the To and CC fields in some tickets?