Customer Support
Zendesk
Connect Zendesk to automate customer support workflows and manage tickets with AI agents
Zendesk is a leading customer service platform that helps businesses manage support tickets, customer communications, and service operations. With the Zendesk integration in Relevance AI, you can automate ticket management, streamline support workflows, and enhance customer service operations using AI agents. The integration connects via OAuth, so tokens refresh automatically and there is no manual credential management required.
This integration is built by Relevance AI. For integration-specific support, contact Relevance AI support. For Zendesk platform issues, visit Zendesk Support.
Connect the Integration
Follow these steps to connect your Zendesk account to Relevance AI:
Navigate to Integrations
Go to the Integrations & API Keys page in your Relevance AI dashboard.
Select Zendesk
Find and click on Zendesk from the list of available integrations.
Add Integration
Click the Add Integration button to begin the connection process.
Enter your Zendesk subdomain
Provide your Zendesk subdomain — the part before .zendesk.com in your Zendesk URL (e.g., if your Zendesk URL is yourcompany.zendesk.com, enter yourcompany).
Authorize via OAuth
Click Authorize to be redirected to Zendesk. Sign in if prompted, then click Allow to grant Relevance AI access to your Zendesk account.
Confirm connection
You’ll be redirected back to Relevance AI. A confirmation message will indicate that your Zendesk account is successfully connected. Tokens refresh automatically — no manual management needed.
Setting Up Triggers
Enterprise Plan Required for Triggers - Zendesk triggers are only available on Enterprise plans. Tool steps (actions) are available on all plans. Contact sales to learn more.
Zendesk triggers allow you to automatically activate agents when specific events occur in your Zendesk account, such as:
- New ticket created
- Ticket status changed
- Ticket priority updated
- New comment added to ticket
- Ticket assigned to agent
To set up a Zendesk trigger (Enterprise plans only):
Navigate to Agent Settings
Open your agent and go to the Triggers tab in the agent settings.
Select Zendesk Trigger
Choose Zendesk from the list of available trigger integrations.
Configure Trigger Event
Select the specific Zendesk event that should activate your agent (e.g., “New Ticket Created”).
Map Variables
Map Zendesk ticket data (subject, description, requester, priority, etc.) to your agent’s input variables.
Test and Activate
Test your trigger to ensure it works correctly, then activate it to start automating your support workflows.
Tool Steps for Zendesk
Zendesk tool steps allow you to incorporate Zendesk actions into your agent workflows. These actions are available on all plans and can be used to automate ticket management and customer support operations.
Ticket Management
Create Ticket
Create a new support ticket in Zendesk with specified details including subject, description, priority, type, and assignee.
Get Ticket Info
Retrieve detailed information about a specific ticket using its ticket ID, including status, priority, assignee, requester, and all comments.
List Tickets
Retrieve a list of tickets from your Zendesk account with optional filtering by status, priority, assignee, or date range.
Search Tickets
Search for tickets using Zendesk’s search query language to find tickets matching specific criteria.
Update Ticket
Update an existing ticket’s properties such as status, priority, assignee, tags, or add internal notes and public comments.
Delete Ticket
Delete a ticket from your Zendesk account. Note that this permanently removes the ticket.
To find these tool steps when building your agent or tool, search for “Zendesk” in the tool step search bar.
Use the Integration’s API Tool Step (Advanced)
For advanced use cases, you can use the Zendesk API Call tool step to make custom API requests to any Zendesk endpoint. This gives you access to the full Zendesk API beyond the pre-built tool steps.
How to use the Zendesk API Call tool step
Add the Tool Step
In your agent or tool builder, add the Zendesk API Call tool step.
Select HTTP Method
Choose the appropriate HTTP method (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE).
Enter the Endpoint
Provide the API endpoint path (e.g., /api/v2/users.json or /api/v2/tickets/12345.json).
Add Request Body
For POST, PUT, or PATCH requests, provide the request body in JSON format.
Configure Response Handling
Map the API response to variables in your workflow for further processing.
Test the Request
Test your API call to ensure it returns the expected data.
Example: Adding Tags to a Ticket
{
"method": "PUT",
"endpoint": "/api/v2/tickets/12345.json",
"body": {
"ticket": {
"tags": ["urgent", "vip", "billing"]
}
}
}Common Zendesk API Endpoints
Ticket Operations
GET /api/v2/tickets.json- List all ticketsGET /api/v2/tickets/{id}.json- Get ticket detailsPOST /api/v2/tickets.json- Create a ticketPUT /api/v2/tickets/{id}.json- Update a ticketDELETE /api/v2/tickets/{id}.json- Delete a ticket
User Management
GET /api/v2/users.json- List usersGET /api/v2/users/{id}.json- Get user detailsPOST /api/v2/users.json- Create a userPUT /api/v2/users/{id}.json- Update a user
Organization Management
GET /api/v2/organizations.json- List organizationsGET /api/v2/organizations/{id}.json- Get organization details
Ticket Comments
GET /api/v2/tickets/{id}/comments.json- List ticket commentsPOST /api/v2/tickets/{id}/comments.json- Add a comment
Search
GET /api/v2/search.json?query={query}- Search across Zendesk
For complete API documentation, visit the Zendesk API Reference.
Example Use Cases
Automated Ticket Triage
Automatically categorize and prioritize incoming support tickets based on content analysis, customer history, and urgency indicators. Route tickets to the appropriate team or agent.
Intelligent Response Suggestions
Analyze ticket content and customer history to generate suggested responses for support agents, reducing response time and improving consistency.
Customer Sentiment Analysis
Monitor ticket sentiment in real-time and automatically escalate tickets with negative sentiment or frustrated customers to senior support staff.
SLA Monitoring & Alerts
Track ticket response and resolution times, automatically escalate tickets approaching SLA breaches, and notify managers of potential violations.
Knowledge Base Automation
Automatically suggest relevant knowledge base articles to customers based on their ticket content, or create new articles from frequently asked questions.
Multi-Channel Support Sync
Synchronize support requests from multiple channels (email, chat, social media) into Zendesk tickets and maintain consistent customer communication.
Customer Data Enrichment
Automatically enrich ticket data with information from CRM systems, previous interactions, purchase history, and customer profiles for better context.
Automated Follow-ups
Schedule and send automated follow-up messages to customers based on ticket status, resolution time, or customer satisfaction scores.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What permissions are required for the Zendesk integration?
The integration uses OAuth, so you authorize access through your Zendesk account directly. For full functionality, the Zendesk account you authorize with should have Admin or Agent permissions.
Can I access tickets from multiple Zendesk accounts?
Yes, you can connect multiple Zendesk accounts by adding separate integrations for each account. Each integration will appear with its account name in your integrations list.
How do I troubleshoot authentication errors?
If you encounter authentication errors, check the following: ensure your Zendesk subdomain is entered correctly (just the part before .zendesk.com), verify that the Zendesk account you authorized has Admin or Agent permissions, and try disconnecting and reconnecting the integration to trigger a fresh OAuth flow. If issues persist, contact Relevance AI support.
Can I use custom ticket fields?
Yes! When using the Zendesk API Call tool step, you can access and update custom ticket fields by including them in your API requests. Reference your custom field IDs from your Zendesk Admin Center.
Are there rate limits for Zendesk API calls?
Yes, Zendesk enforces API rate limits based on your Zendesk plan. The integration respects these limits automatically. If you encounter rate limit errors, consider implementing delays between API calls or upgrading your Zendesk plan.
Can I automate ticket creation from other sources?
Absolutely! You can use Relevance AI agents to monitor various sources (email, forms, chat, social media) and automatically create Zendesk tickets using the Create Ticket tool step. This enables centralized support management across all channels.
How do I handle ticket attachments?
Ticket attachments can be accessed and managed through the Zendesk API Call tool step. Use the appropriate endpoints to upload attachments when creating tickets or retrieve attachments from existing tickets.