Answer IT questions in the help channel
People get answers to everyday IT questions without a ticket.
IT and admin · When you ask · Updated
Works with
- Slack
SlackHow do you run an IT help desk in Slack?
To run an IT help desk in Slack, share your IT guides with Maito and let people mention it in the help channel. It answers from your documentation with the exact steps, warns about known pitfalls like retired settings, and says so when it doesn't know instead of guessing.
How it's done today
IT answers "how do I connect to the VPN" every day.
What Maito does
- Read the question
- Answer from IT guides
- Open a ticket when a person is needed
Example
@Maito how do I set up the VPN on my new laptop?
From the IT guide "VPN on a new laptop" (updated Sep 8): • Open Self Service and install Northstar VPN. It takes about 2 minutes. • Open it and choose the profile Northstar-Main. • Sign in with your Northstar email and approve the prompt on your phone. • Server is vpn.northstar.example. Connected shows a green dot. Catch: don't pick Northstar-Legacy. It was retired Sep 30 and fails with error 691, which is the most common mistake on new laptops. Reply here if it fails and I'll ask Ben to take a look.
@Maito still failing. Error 812, on a MacBook Pro.
812 isn't in the guide, so it needs a person. I've flagged Ben in this thread with your error, your laptop and the steps you tried.
Priya (9:20 AM):
how do I set up the VPN on my new laptop?
Maito (9:21 AM):
From the IT guide "VPN on a new laptop" (updated Sep 8):
• Open Self Service and install Northstar VPN. It takes about 2 minutes.
• Open it and choose the profile Northstar-Main.
• Sign in with your Northstar email and approve the prompt on your phone.
• Server is vpn.northstar.example. Connected shows a green dot.
Catch: don't pick Northstar-Legacy. It was retired Sep 30 and fails with error 691, which is the most common mistake on new laptops.
Reply here if it fails and I'll ask Ben to take a look.
Priya (9:36 AM):
still failing. Error 812, on a MacBook Pro.
Maito (9:37 AM):
812 isn't in the guide, so it needs a person. I've flagged Ben in this thread with your error, your laptop and the steps you tried.
How to set it up
- Set up
Nothing to set up. Ask in Slack or by email whenever you need it.
What it won't do
It's only as current as your guides, and it can't fix a device or change settings. Issues outside your documentation go to your IT team.
Questions
From your own IT guides and what the team has told it. It cites the guide it used so you can check it.
It says so and asks IT by Slack or email, then continues in the thread once they reply.
No. It replies only after someone mentions it, then keeps working in that thread.
