How to integrate HubSpot with Zendesk

Let's talk about connecting your CRM and your customer support platform. Honestly, it makes a huge difference for your business. Think about it: your sales and marketing folks live in HubSpot, tracking leads, running campaigns, and figuring out who your most valuable customers are. Meanwhile, your support team is busy in Zendesk, a mature, reliable platform that powers customer service for thousands of companies, handling questions and solving problems every single day. When these two systems talk to each other, you gain a complete view of your customer lifecycle. Your sales team can see when an important customer has reached out for support, and your support team can see they're talking to a hot lead, allowing for a more personalized experience.

Connecting HubSpot and Zendesk pulls all that important customer information together. It gives everyone on your team a single, clear picture of the customer's journey, starting from that very first marketing email all the way through to getting help after they buy something. This kind of setup means support agents have better context about who they're talking to, teams can hand things off smoothly, and the customer ends up having a much better experience overall. Plus, it sets things up nicely for using smart automation, letting AI tools use this combined data for more intelligent conversations.

Tools like eesel AI can then tap into this rich, connected data. This helps power AI support agents and assistants, automating answers and workflows with a full understanding of the customer's history. If you want to learn more about how eesel AI works with Zendesk, check out our Zendesk integration page.

What you'll need

Before you jump into connecting HubSpot and Zendesk, you'll want to make sure you have a few things lined up. First off, you'll need active accounts for both HubSpot and Zendesk. And this is key: you'll definitely need admin access in both platforms to get everything set up properly. Depending on how you decide to integrate them, you might also need a subscription to a third-party integration platform, something like Zapier. Also, for some specific HubSpot features, like mapping custom fields in the Data Sync, you'll need at least a HubSpot Operations Hub Starter plan.

Understanding the different integration methods

It's good to know right away that there isn't just one single way to connect HubSpot and Zendesk. The best method for you really depends on what data you need to share, which way it needs to flow, and what kind of automated tasks you're hoping to set up.

Generally speaking, you've got three main ways you can go about integrating these two popular platforms:

• The native Zendesk support for HubSpot integration: This is a straightforward, reliable option that brings vital ticket information into your HubSpot contact timeline for better visibility.

• The HubSpot data sync integration: This offers a robust sync for contacts and companies, ensuring your core records are consistent across both systems.

• Third-party tools: Solutions like Zapier give you the flexibility to build highly specific custom workflows between the two platforms.

Let's take a closer look at each method so you can figure out which one makes the most sense for what you need.

Step 1: Setting up the native Zendesk support for HubSpot integration

Let's start with the integration built by Zendesk. It's a highly efficient way to get essential support data into your CRM.

What this integration does

This integration is built by the experts at Zendesk, and its main purpose is to provide immediate visibility into support interactions within your HubSpot CRM. It ensures that events related to your Zendesk tickets show up on the timeline of the matching contact record in HubSpot, creating a reliable stream of information from Zendesk to HubSpot.

What data syncs to HubSpot

When you get this integration running, you'll start seeing different bits of Zendesk ticket information pop up as events on a customer's timeline inside HubSpot. This includes things like the ticket's subject line and its current status, the conversation history, a direct link to the ticket in Zendesk, the CSAT rating, and which group or agent handled the ticket. You can find more details on the Zendesk help center.

Quick setup guide

Getting this native integration up and running is fast and user-friendly. Here are the basic steps to follow:

1. Head over to the specific setup page for this integration.

2. Type in your unique Zendesk subdomain.

3. Give the Zendesk app permission to connect.

4. Allow the HubSpot app to get access to your Zendesk data.

5. Authorize Zendesk to use your data within HubSpot.

6. In HubSpot, click on any contact, go to the Activities tab, hit "Filter activity," and ensure "Integrations > Zendesk" is checked.

Key considerations

This integration is designed for ease of use and focuses on providing a one-way flow of support context into HubSpot. This streamlined approach ensures that your CRM data remains organized and focused on customer interactions. While it focuses on contact-level visibility, it is an excellent choice for teams that want a reliable and simple way to keep sales and marketing informed of support status. You can learn more about the specific features in the Zendesk help center.

Step 2: Setting up the HubSpot data sync integration

Now, let's look at the integration built by HubSpot. This one is part of their data sync tool and is focused on keeping your core customer records aligned.

What this integration does

This integration from HubSpot's data sync feature aims to keep your core records, like contacts and companies, synchronized between HubSpot and Zendesk. It allows for a two-way sync for contacts in HubSpot and users in Zendesk, as well as companies in HubSpot and organizations in Zendesk.

Data synced

Here's a quick overview of how the HubSpot data sync integration aligns your records, based on information from the HubSpot App Marketplace:

Zendesk Object	HubSpot Object	Sync Direction
Users	Contacts	Two-way
Organizations	Companies	Two-way
Tickets	Tickets	One-way (HS to ZD)

It comes with effective default field mappings to get you started quickly. If you have specific custom field requirements, those can be addressed with a HubSpot Operations Hub Starter plan, as noted on the Mole Street blog.

Quick setup guide

Setting up the HubSpot data sync integration is done right within your HubSpot account:

1. Log in to your HubSpot account.

2. Click the Marketplace icon and choose App Marketplace.

3. Search for "Zendesk" and pick the app.

4. Click "Install app."

5. Log in to your Zendesk account and click "Allow."

6. Set up your sync preferences and field mappings.

Key considerations

This integration is a great way to ensure that contact and company information remains consistent across your tech stack. It's particularly useful for maintaining up-to-date phone numbers and contact details in both systems. For teams that require deep conversation history within the CRM, the native Zendesk integration remains a fantastic complementary choice. Ensuring your sync rules are well-defined will help you get the most out of this powerful tool.

Step 3: Exploring third-party integration options (like Zapier)

For teams with highly specialized workflow needs, third-party iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) tools like Zapier offer additional flexibility. These tools allow you to build custom syncs based on specific conditions, helping to automate even the most complex cross-platform processes.

How it works

Platforms like Zapier use "Triggers" and "Actions." You can set a trigger in one app (like a status change in Zendesk) to automatically kick off an action in HubSpot. These platforms are designed to be accessible, allowing you to build "Zaps" without needing deep technical expertise.

Common workflows

Using third-party tools can extend the capabilities of your integrated stack. Examples include:

• Automatically creating a Zendesk ticket from a HubSpot form submission.

• Updating HubSpot records when new tickets are created in Zendesk.

• Logging Zendesk tickets as deals in HubSpot to track potential sales opportunities.

You can explore a wide variety of triggers and actions on the Zapier HubSpot + Zendesk page.

Considerations

While iPaaS tools offer extensive customization, they typically involve a separate subscription. For support-specific automation, eesel AI can often simplify these workflows by providing intelligence directly within your helpdesk interface. By connecting eesel AI to your tools, you can automate complex support tasks while maintaining a streamlined setup.

Tips to follow and common mistakes to avoid

Let's wrap up with some practical advice for 2026.

Choosing the right method

If you want the most seamless and reliable way to see Zendesk ticket details in HubSpot, the native integration is the gold standard. For keeping core contact lists in sync, HubSpot data sync is a strong choice. If you have very niche, multi-step automation needs, an iPaaS tool might be the right fit. Always consider what will best empower your team to provide excellent service.

Common pitfalls to avoid

To ensure a smooth integration, it's helpful to decide which system serves as the primary "source of truth" for specific data points. Understanding the strengths of each integration method will help you choose the best tool for the job. Always perform a quick test with sample data to ensure your workflows are running exactly as expected.

How integration empowers AI support agents

Connecting HubSpot and Zendesk isn't just about making things smoother for your team. It also gives AI support agents a much better view of your customers.

By tapping into rich CRM data from HubSpot alongside the robust ticketing capabilities of Zendesk, AI tools can offer truly personalized help. They can understand what a customer has bought, their history with your company, and even if they are part of an active sales deal.

This allows AI to prioritize tickets intelligently and provide responses with a high degree of context. For example, an AI can flag a support request from a VIP customer, ensuring your team can act quickly to maintain that valuable relationship.

This kind of smart automation is what eesel AI is built for. It integrates seamlessly with Zendesk to learn from your help desk while utilizing additional context from tools like HubSpot. This ensures eesel AI agents can respond with clarity and help your team work faster.

Maximize your integrated data with eesel AI

Connecting your platforms is a great first step, and eesel AI helps you make that data work even harder. While integration links your systems, eesel AI adds a layer of intelligence to your support operations.

eesel AI offers smart automation and context-aware responses by learning from your various knowledge sources, including the data synced between HubSpot and Zendesk. With straightforward pricing and a focus on the Zendesk ecosystem, it's designed to help you assist agents and enhance the customer experience.

Ready to see how AI can transform your support in 2026? Experience the power of AI-driven automation for yourself. You can start a free trial today – no credit card needed! Or, if you'd like a personalized look at how eesel AI fits your workflow, book a demo.

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