When are macro replies not enough?
A macro is a fast way to send a repeated answer. When the answer is information (“Invoices are issued on the 5th”) the macro is enough. When the answer is an action (“How do I change my billing address?”) the customer asks the follow-up “where do I click?”. That is where a visual step list next to the text helps.
Such a guide can also be a customer-facing help center article. The difference is that a macro keeps the reply short, while the guide carries the detail step by step.
Which questions deserve an illustrated guide?
- Account settings: password, email, billing details, notification preferences.
- First-time setup and configuration of the product.
- Common mistakes and how to fix them.
- Export, import and integration steps.
- Changing plan, getting to invoices, canceling.
Use your support history to choose: if you have typed a text answer to the same question three or more times, that question deserves a guide.
How do a macro and a guide work together?
| Criterion | Macro reply | Illustrated guide |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | A quick, personal answer to the customer | Shows the task step by step |
| Length | A few sentences | As many steps as the task needs |
| Visuals | Usually none | A screenshot for every step |
| Updating | Edit the text | Edit the affected step |
| Role in the reply | The body of the reply | A link inside the reply |
A suggested pattern: acknowledge the customer’s question in the first sentence, give the guide link in the second, and end with “write back if you get stuck”. The reply stays short and the detail lives behind the link.
How do you build the guide set?
- Find the five questions you get most. Count them in your support history rather than guessing.
- Record a guide for each. Use a test account that mirrors what the customer sees.
- Use the customer’s language. Spell out internal terms and abbreviations; use the word the customer sees in the interface.
- Add the link to the macro. Name the macro after the guide title so the team picks the right one.
- Watch the replies. If customers write back from the same point, the guide does not explain that step well enough.
- Scan guides on product releases. Ask the product team to tell support which screens a release affects.
What should you watch in guides that go to customers?
Anyone holding a link can open it. Screenshots must not contain other customers’ details, internal system names or real records. Use a test account and permanently redact what is left (see the redaction guide). Shared guide pages are marked so search engines do not index them; who may open a link is still your decision.
How do you name and organize macros and guides?
| Rule | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The macro name matches the guide title | Change billing address | The team finds the right one quickly |
| The guide title is the customer’s question | How do I change my billing address? | The customer recognizes what they are looking for |
| Plan or version differences appear in the title | Change billing address (Pro plan) | It does not send anyone to the wrong screen |
| Owner and date are visible in the macro | Owner: support team, October 2026 | An aging reply gets noticed |
How do you build customer support guides with Izly?
Support guides usually play out in the product’s web interface. With Izly you start the extension, do the task on a test account and edit the steps that come out.
- Each click becomes a step; the step text comes from the clicked element’s name and you adapt it to the customer’s language.
- Move the marker onto the target button and crop to the target area.
- Redact visible personal data by hand; shared links and PDFs use only the redacted copies.
- Add the link to the macro reply. When you update the guide, the same link shows its current state.
- If a link goes to the wrong person, revoke it; access closes within a minute.
Izly does not connect to a support platform or host a help center; you add the guide link to the macro yourself. Only Chrome is supported. Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Is sending the guide link to the customer enough?
Usually a short explanation and the link are enough. It helps to name the riskiest step in one sentence and add “write back if you get stuck”.
Does a guide replace a help center?
No. A help center brings search, categories and broad coverage. Illustrated guides are the step lists used inside help center articles or macro replies.
What do I do with screens that show customer data?
Use a test account first. Permanently redact anything left before you share, and open the link to only as many people as needed.
How many steps should a customer guide have?
Keep customer guides short. If one grows long, split it, for example into “setup” and “daily use”.
Related pages
Record it once and let the guide write itself
With Izly you do the task once in the browser. Clicks and screenshots become a step-by-step guide that you edit and share by link.