Frontlines 2024 AMA: Your questions answered

Q: Can Connectors pull data from a Microsoft excel spreadsheet?

A: The spreadsheet would need to be available in an online setting like Google Sheets, for example. If it meets this requirement, then yes, Connector data can be pulled in from most 3rd party applications, depending on the APIs accessible to you. 

For more information on how to get started, check out the resources below: 

• Take our new Academy courses on how to build a Connector
• Check out our Help Center articles with detailed instructions

Please note that you will need to be on a Scale plan or above to build a custom Connector.

Q: Is it possible to connect our in-house solution to Front through Connectors?

A: Developers can build their own as long as your in-house system meets the below requirements: 

1. Accessible from Front's infrastructure (e.g: Not in a private/local network
2. Has an HTTP API that supports JSON

To get started building a Connector with an in-house system, check out the following resources: 

• Take our new Academy courses on how to build a Connector
• Check out our Help Center articles with detailed instructions

Please note that you will need to be on a Scale plan or above to build a custom Connector.

Q: Will the Jira Connector work with Jira Servicedesk? 

A: Our Jira Connector does not work with Jira Servicedesk. However, if you are on the Scale plan you can build a custom Connector with Jira Servicedesk. 

Here’s how to get started: 

• Take our new Academy courses on how to build a Connector
• Check out our Help Center articles with detailed instructions

Please note that you will need to be on a Scale plan or above to build a custom Connector.

Q: If you connect with Jira does that mean you can connect to Confluence too?

A: We don't have a native integration with Confluence at the moment. You could use Zapier to connect the Front and Confluence. We do also have an open Feature Request for a Confluence importer— vote here! https://front.ideas.aha.io/ideas/PRD-I-6253.

Q: Is there a pre-built Connector for [X product]?

A: Currently, we only have pre-built Connectors for Jira, Highway, and Tai. If you’d like to request a specific pre-built Connector, you can add it as a feature request right here in Community: https://community.front.com/ideas.

However, you can also build your own Connector with any third-party system. Just like pre-built Connectors, custom Connectors power workflows in Front triggered by rules and macros that execute actions or read data from external systems. 

Here’s how to get started: 

• Take our new Academy courses on how to build a Connector
• Check out our Help Center articles with detailed instructions

Please note that you will need to be on a Scale plan or above to build a custom Connector.

Q: Is ticketing available now, and on which plans? 

A: Yes, ticketing is available now on all current plans (Starter, Growth, Scale, and Premier!) Learn how to get started here. 

Q: How do I start using ticketing? 

A: To start using ticketing, you must be a workspace admin for the inbox you want to manage.

Here's how to enable ticketing in an inbox. 

• Step 1: Click the gear icon on the top right of Front and into the Company settings tab.
• Step 2: Click Inboxes in the left menu, then select the inbox you want to manage.
• Step 3: Click the Ticketing tab, then navigate to the Enable ticket statuses setting. Toggle the setting on to enable it.

More details in the Academy course and help article. 

Q: Can you customize the kind labels for each checkpoint in the ticketing process? I.e. rather than “waiting for approval” we may want “waiting for manager response”? 

A: Right now, we offer 3 statuses: Open, Waiting, and Resolved. In the next couple of months, you’ll be able to create customized statuses to match your processes. Stay tuned for the release!

Q: Will there be a way to send a “mass” email update? Example, if our app has an outage and more than 1,000 users email into us, how can we let them all know at one time that the outage has been resolved? Currently, we need to go through each email manually to do this.

A: This is definitely something we’ve heard about from customers. We’ve recently prioritized this for our Q4 roadmap for ticketing, and hope we can solve this problem soon!

Q: Can I summarize a single email that has a chain of multiple emails within it?

A: Even when a summary isn’t automatically generated (which happens after a few emails in the thread), you can always generate a summary manually by going to the 3 dots menu at the top of the conversation and then hit “Summarize.”

Q: Can suggested replies be generated based on an internal database not available for public view?

A: Yes, suggested replies can use an internal Front Knowledge Base so the content isn't visible externally. You can learn more about suggested replies here: https://help.front.com/en/articles/914304 

Q: Which AI features are available now and how can I start using them?

A: At Frontlines, we announced two new AI features are now available in open beta and ready to use: AI Translations and internal AI Answers. To start using them, a company admin will need to go to Company Settings> AI and turn them on. Internal AI Answers will also require a Front Knowledge Base be set up in English or French to source answers from.

You can learn more about these features and all of our AI features that are available to use now here:

• Help article summarizing all AI features
• Front Academy course on AI beta features
• Front Academy course on AI Summarize and AI Compose (officially launched, not in beta)

Please note that some of these features (AI Tagging, similar conversations, suggested replies, AI Translations, and internal AI Answers) are available in open beta for the latest Growth plan and above and are free to use through the end of 2024 but may be moved into a paid add-on in the future.

Q: When will AI Assist be ready?

A: AI Assist is in private beta now, but we hope to add more customers soon. We’ll share updates as they become available. You can also subscribe to Product Updates to keep up with all of our feature releases.

Q: Can I use an external knowledge source, like Notion, in AI Answers?

A: AI Answers supports Front Knowledge Base or third-party knowledge sources. As long as the external knowledge source, like Notion, is in English or French and ~3,000 pages or less, you can connect it to AI Answers by adding the URL. You can read more in this article: https://help.front.com/en/articles/788928.