--- title: Customize Assessment Notifications description: Learn how to customize the email and in-app notification templates Zal sends during a review cycle or engagement survey. --- [Skip to content](https://help.zal.ai/customize-assessment-notifications#main-content) [![zal-logo-purple](https://help.zal.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/zal-logo-purple.png?width=160&height=60&name=zal-logo-purple.png)](https://help.zal.ai/en/zal-help-center?hsLang=en) Open main navigation Close main navigation How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Zal.ai Help Center](https://help.zal.ai/?hsLang=en) 2. [Reviews](https://help.zal.ai/reviews?hsLang=en) 3. [Setup & Configuration](https://help.zal.ai/reviews?hsLang=en#setup-configuration) # Customize Assessment Notifications ## Update the notifications Zal sends to participants at key points in a review cycle or engagement survey. Zal sends out default email and in-app notifications during the course of a review cycle or engagement survey. That said, we understand that sometimes admins want to customize the communications that go out to their team. This article walks you through how to access and edit in-app and email notification templates. **This article contains the following sections:** - [Before You Begin](https://help.zal.ai/customize-assessment-notifications#before-you-begin) - [How to Access a Notification Template](https://help.zal.ai/customize-assessment-notifications#access-template) - [How to Update the In-App Notification](https://help.zal.ai/customize-assessment-notifications#update-inbox-notification) - [How to Update the Email Notification](https://help.zal.ai/customize-assessment-notifications#update-email-notification) | **This article is relevant to:** Admins **Feature:** *Reviews *and *Engagement Surveys* | | --- | **Note 📝:** Replacing a default template will cause all future assessments to use your updated template — which is why our default templates are intentionally broad. If you customize a template, keep in mind that you'll need to revisit and update it each cycle to make sure the content is still relevant. **Warning ⚠️:** Customizing notifications involves working with template variables, writing rich text content for in-app notifications, and editing raw MJML code for email layouts. If you're not comfortable with any of these, we recommend reaching out to your CSM — they can handle the customization for you. ---   #### **Before You Begin** - **Create your assessment first.** There are many notification templates in Zal, and accessing the template directly from your assessment's Planning page is the easiest way to make sure you're editing the right one. - **Timing matters.** Notifications can only be updated before their associated milestone passes. Once a milestone date and time has been reached, the notification will go out automatically and can no longer be edited. Make sure to complete any customizations before your assessment begins.   ---   #### **How to Access a Notification Template** 1. Click **Reviews** in Zal's main navigation. 2. Click on the name of the assessment cycle you created. 3. Open the **Planning** tab. 4. Open the notification template. - **For engagement surveys,** click the email icon in the top right corner of the page and select the template you want to edit. - **For review cycles, **click the email icon to the right of the milestone *(e.g., "Appraisal Starts" or "Results Shared with Employees")* whose notification you want to edit. 5. You're now on the notification template page. This page has three sections — **General**, **In-App Notification**, and **Email** — which you can navigate between by clicking their names. 6. To see what the notification currently looks like before editing, use the **Send test email** and **Send test notification** buttons at the bottom of the page. 7. All sections support template variables, which are always visible in the left-hand sidebar. These variables (such as **kb-article-module-5** or **Zal.ai**) are automatically populated with participant data when notifications are sent — take care not to alter them when editing.   ---   #### **How to Update the In-App Notification** 1. Open the **In-App Notification** page in the left-hand sidebar. 2. In the **Inbox message title** field, update the notification title. This is what participants will see in their Zal inbox before they open the notification. 3. In the **Inbox message content** field, update the body of the notification. This is the full message participants see after clicking the notification title. Use the rich text toolbar to format your content as needed. 4. When you're done, click **Save **to apply your changes. 5. A confirmation pop-up will appear letting you know that saving will replace the existing template and affect future notifications. Leave the **Send preview email** toggle enabled to receive a test notification to your inbox — this is a good way to confirm everything looks right before the notification goes live. Then click **Save** to confirm.   ---   #### **How to Update the Email Notification** **Warning ⚠️:** This section requires editing raw MJML code. If you're not comfortable with markup languages, contact your CSM instead. 1. Open the **General** page in the left-hand sidebar and update the "Subject" field to change the email subject line. 2. Then, navigate to the  **Email** page to the email body. This page is split into two sections: the **MJML template** and the **Live HTML preview**. 3. Edit the content directly in the MJML template code editor. As you make changes, the Live HTML preview on the right side of the screen will update in real time so you can see how the email will render. 4. When you're done, click **Save**. 5. A confirmation pop-up will appear letting you know that saving will replace the existing template and affect future notifications. Leave the **Send preview email** toggle enabled to receive a test email to your inbox — this is a good way to confirm the layout and content look right before the email goes live. 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