You know those handy Zendesk macros? They’re basically your superpower for tackling common support questions fast. Think of them as smart shortcuts that save you from typing the same answers over and over or manually clicking through ticket fields. They’re a big help for keeping your support team running smoothly, especially as more and more tickets come in.
But here’s something that happens: as your team gets really good and creates tons of macros, trying to manage them all inside Zendesk can start to feel a bit… much. You end up with a really long list, and it’s tough to quickly see exactly what a macro does or compare a few side-by-side.
This is why getting your Zendesk macro data out of Zendesk is so useful. Having this information elsewhere lets you really look at them, figure out what’s working, clean things up, and keep them organized. While there isn’t just one big, simple “export” button for macros, there are definitely smart ways to get it done. Learning how can help you tidy up your current macros and even show you where you could use more advanced automation, maybe even with AI.
Why getting your Zendesk macros out is a good idea
Having your macro details outside of Zendesk gives you a fresh look at how you’re automating support. It’s kind of like stepping back from a painting to see the whole picture instead of just focusing on one brushstroke.
Exporting makes it easy to:
- See all your macros next to each other quickly.
- Spot duplicates or find responses that are old news.
- Notice if things are being handled differently when they should be similar.
- See which macros your team uses the most (or the least!).
- Find macros that might not be doing their job or patterns that show you ways to make your processes better.
- Have a smart local copy just in case – they’re valuable!
- Share macro details with teammates or use the list when you’re bringing new agents up to speed.
- Plan effectively if you’re ever thinking about moving to a new system or changing how your support works.
So, while macros are great for saving time right now, managing them well outside the standard view is important for growing your support efficiently.
What you’ll need to export Zendesk macros
Ready to grab your macros? Here’s a quick list of what you might need, depending on how you decide to do it:
- Access to a Zendesk account: This is essential.
- Appropriate Zendesk permissions: Depending on the method, you might need to be an Admin or sometimes just a regular Agent is fine.
- Technical comfort or a third-party tool: If you’re going for a more technical approach, knowing a bit about APIs or scripting can be helpful, or you’ll need to be okay with using a tool built by someone else.
- API access/token (for the API method): For the API method, you might need API access turned on and possibly an API token or your Zendesk login details to prove who you are.
Ways to export Zendesk macros
It’s good to know upfront that Zendesk doesn’t have a simple, one-click button right in the main Admin area to export all your macros at once. This surprises a lot of people! The main ways to get this data out involve either using their technical access point (the API) or using apps that other developers have built, which use that API access for you.
We can illustrate these two main paths with a simple diagram.
Method 1: Using the Zendesk API
The Zendesk API is the official way developers can build things that talk to your Zendesk data, and yes, that includes your macros. There’s a specific spot in the API just for getting macro information.
Here are the steps involved in using the API for macro export:
- Identify the API endpoint: The specific address you’ll use is
/api/v2/macros.json. You can find all the nitty-gritty details about it in the official Zendesk API documentation. This address lets you pull both macros everyone can use and the ones that are just for you. - Send a request with authentication: You send a request to this web address, usually telling it who you are (like with your Zendesk login or a special API token), and Zendesk sends back the macro data. If you’re an Admin, you can see any macro on the account, no matter who made it.
- Receive JSON data: The data usually comes back in a structured format called JSON.
- Convert JSON to CSV: Turning this JSON data into something easier to work with, like a spreadsheet file (CSV), often means you need a little script or program (maybe something written in Python, which is a common choice) to read the JSON and convert it. The API also lets you add options, like saying how many macros you want to get back in each request (
per_page), which is handy if you have hundreds or thousands of them.
Method 2: Using apps built by others
Since using the API directly requires a bit of technical know-how, other developers have created applications specifically to make the macro export process much simpler. These apps handle all the tricky API communication for you and give you a much friendlier experience.
Here are the general steps for using a third-party app:
- Find and install an App: A good example is an app like Swifteq’s Macro Export app, which you can find on the Zendesk Marketplace. Install the app right from the Marketplace.
- Grant permissions: These kinds of apps connect to your Zendesk account securely using that same API we just talked about. You’ll need to give it permission to access your macro data (which is done securely).
- Click export: Click a button inside the app to start the export process.
- Download/Receive data: You’ll typically get the exported data, often nicely organized in a CSV file, either by downloading it directly or having it sent to your email.
The big win here is you don’t need to touch any code; the app does all the heavy lifting and gives you the data ready to go in a format like CSV. Some apps, like Swifteq’s, might even be free!
Screenshot of the Zendesk Marketplace page for a Macro Export app, highlighting the install button. alt text: Screenshot of the Zendesk Marketplace page for a Macro Export app, showing the install option for export macros Zendesk. alt title: Zendesk Marketplace Macro Export App – export macros Zendesk
What kind of data you get when you export macros
Once you’ve successfully exported your macros, whether you used the API or a helpful third-party tool, you’ll end up with a file that has detailed info about each macro. This isn’t just a simple list of names; it includes all the important stuff that makes each macro tick.
Typically, the export will include these key data fields:
| Data Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Macro Title | The name of the macro. | “Refund Request” |
| Description | A brief explanation of what the macro is for. | “Standard response for refund inquiries.” |
| Actions | A list of the specific steps the macro performs on a ticket. | Change Status: Solved, Add Tag: refund, Add Comment: [Pre-written text] |
| Dynamic Content | Indicates if the macro uses dynamic content placeholders. | Yes / No |
| Created At | Timestamp when the macro was originally created. | 2023-10-27T10:00:00Z |
| Updated At | Timestamp when the macro was last modified. | 2024-01-15T14:30:00Z |
| Availability | Defines who can use the macro (e.g., Shared, Personal, Group). | Shared |
Putting your exported macro data to work
Okay, awesome! You’ve got your Zendesk macros exported. Now what? Having this data in a spreadsheet or file opens up a ton of cool ways to make your support operations even better.
You can use your exported macro data to:
- Easily spot inefficiencies by sorting through your list.
- Find macros that do pretty much the same thing or see which ones hardly ever get used.
- Make sure everyone on your team is saying the same things by comparing the words and steps in different macros to keep your brand’s voice consistent.
- Create a super valuable tool when training new agents, helping them quickly figure out all the shortcuts and standard answers available.
- Understand how your team commonly handles different types of tickets by looking closely at the actions within your macros, pointing out areas where you could make workflows smoother.
- Identify repetitive tasks that could be handled even more efficiently with smarter automation tools, like AI.
Tips and tricky things about exporting Zendesk macros
While getting your Zendesk macros exported is super helpful, it’s not always a walk in the park. Be aware of these potential challenges:
- No simple built-in button: The main hurdle is that there isn’t just a simple button to export everything at once right in the Zendesk interface.
- Technical skills needed for API: If you go the API route, you’ll either need to be comfortable with technical stuff yourself or have someone on your team who can write and run the necessary code.
- Reliance on third-party apps: Relying on apps built by others means you’re depending on an external tool, which may have its own limitations or require updates.
- Limited native filtering: The ways you can filter things before you export them using the native options in Zendesk are pretty limited.
Taking your support to the next level with AI (beyond macros)
Exporting and managing your macros is a great first step toward making your current automation better, but AI can really push your support efficiency way, way further. While macros are limited to doing actions you’ve set up beforehand, AI can understand what’s going on, create responses that are personalized and change based on the situation, and handle much more complicated tasks all by itself.
This is where eesel AI comes into the picture. It’s a smart AI support agent platform designed to work smoothly with Zendesk, giving you capabilities that go way beyond what macros can do alone. eesel AI helps with the main things you want from good macro management – making things faster, keeping things consistent, and handling lots of tickets – but with a lot more smarts and the ability to grow with you.
Here’s how eesel AI goes beyond traditional macros:
- Intelligent ticket resolution: Automating basic (Tier 1) tickets from start to finish by giving personalized answers that understand the context, which is much more flexible than static macro text.
- Advanced triage & actions: Automatically sorting, tagging, and prioritizing tickets based on their content, how the customer is feeling, and rules you set up – in a much more dynamic way than basic macro conditions allow.
- Train on multiple sources: You can teach eesel AI using tons of your own information, including your past Zendesk tickets, help articles, internal guides, and over 100 other sources. This leads to automation that’s much smarter than macros alone.
- Cost-effective scaling: Offers clear pay-per-interaction pricing, giving you a straightforward alternative to potentially complicated or per-agent costs you might see elsewhere.
- Easy setup & testing: Getting eesel AI set up and testing it is also pretty easy, with quick integration and the ability to see how it would respond and test workflows before you make it live, which helps with the lack of strong testing options in some native tools.
Make your Zendesk workflows smoother and smarter
Exporting your Zendesk macros is a smart move for understanding and improving how you automate support. Whether you go the technical route with the API or take the simpler path with a third-party app, having visibility into your macros helps you clean things up, analyze performance, and keep your workflows efficient and organized.
But once you’ve got a handle on your macros, why stop there? Tools like eesel AI can take things further by adding intelligent automation on top of your existing processes. By connecting with Zendesk, eesel AI helps reduce ticket volume, draft smarter replies, and give your team more time to focus on what really needs a human touch.
Ready to see it in action?
Start your free trial of eesel AI and bring even more intelligence into your support workflow.
