Zendesk bought Ultimate. Here’s what the ultimate Zendesk platform means for your support team
Kenneth Pangan
Last edited August 29, 2025
On March 13, 2024, Zendesk announced it was buying Ultimate, a big name in AI service automation. This wasn’t just another boring tech merger; it turned a lot of heads in the customer experience (CX) world. It’s a clear sign that the major players are going all-in on "AI agents," moving past simple chatbots to handle a much bigger chunk of support work.
Zendesk’s goal is to build a complete AI package. They’re aiming for AI agents that can think, act, and solve tricky problems on their own, not just spit out pre-written responses.
If you run a support team, this news is probably a mixed bag. On one hand, it’s exciting to see AI getting this powerful. On the other, it brings up some tough questions about how complicated, expensive, and controlling these new systems might be. This article will cut through the hype and look at what the new Ultimate Zendesk platform actually means for you and your team.
What’s under the hood of the new Ultimate Zendesk AI platform?
By combining their powers, Zendesk and Ultimate are trying to create a single, massive platform for AI-driven customer service. The whole thing is built on a couple of core promises that are definitely shaping where the industry is headed.
Better AI agents and more automation
The big promise here is the advanced AI agents. Zendesk says the new setup will let them automate up to 80% of support requests. These aren’t the clunky, rule-based bots of yesterday. They’re running on what’s called "agentic AI," which is just a fancy way of saying they’re designed to be proactive problem-solvers, not just script-followers.
What that means for you is an AI that can handle more complex situations, adapt to how a conversation is going, and solve problems faster and with a more personal touch. To manage all this, the platform gives you a no-code tool to build out conversation flows, which is meant to give your team more say in how the AI deals with specific scenarios.
Connects directly to your other systems
Another major selling point of the Ultimate Zendesk platform is its ability to plug into your backend systems. This is a pretty big deal. An AI agent that can do more than just answer FAQs is incredibly useful. If it can check an order status, process a refund, or update a user’s account info, it can handle an entire issue from start to finish without ever needing a human agent.
This kind of end-to-end automation is what many support teams are striving for. The platform also comes with a bunch of analytics and reporting tools to keep an eye on how the AI is doing, so you can track resolution rates and see where you can make improvements.
what are the limitations of the Ultimate Zendesk model
While the vision sounds great on paper, the reality of using a huge, all-in-one system like this comes with some real headaches. Before you even think about signing up, it’s worth understanding the hidden downsides that could trip up your team.
Your Ultimate Zendesk AI is only as smart as your knowledge base
Like most built-in helpdesk AIs, the Ultimate Zendesk agent needs a perfectly clean, always-up-to-date knowledge base to work properly. The AI has to pull its answers from a single source of truth, and if that source has gaps or outdated info, your AI will be just as useless.
As one person pointed out in a Reddit thread about the tool, the AI "will of course only ever be as a good as your knowledge base." The thing is, nobody has a perfect knowledge base. Real-world company knowledge is a mess. It’s scattered across internal Google Docs, Confluence pages, and the brains of your most experienced agents. To get any value from an AI that only reads a knowledge base, you often have to kick off a massive, soul-crushing content cleanup project just to get started.
Get ready for a steep learning curve and a long setup
Powerful tools are often complicated tools. According to people who’ve used it, the Ultimate dialogue builder has a "pretty steep learning curve." It might be able to handle complex workflows, but it’s not something you can just switch on and use.
Getting it running usually means spending a lot of time on it, training your team, and maybe even paying for consultants to get it configured right. For busy support teams that need to show results fast, this long setup time can be a dealbreaker. You can’t afford to pull your best people off the front lines for weeks just to get a new tool working.
The trouble with the pay-per-resolution model
Zendesk’s AI pricing is based on "automated resolutions" (AR), which they explain in their AI Agents FAQ. Paying for results sounds fair enough, but this model can quickly lead to costs that spiral out of control. As your ticket volume increases or as the AI does its job better, your bill goes up. You’re basically paying a penalty for being successful.
There’s also some fuzziness around what they count as a "resolution" versus a simple "deflection," which is a worry some potential customers have raised. This gray area makes it almost impossible to budget properly, leaving you open to some nasty surprises when the invoice arrives.
The danger of being locked into Zendesk
Let’s be honest, Zendesk is known for locking customers into multi-year contracts. When you build something as important as your AI automation strategy directly into their platform, you become even more tied to their system.
By putting all your eggs in the Zendesk basket, you lose the freedom to change things up later. If you ever decide to switch helpdesks or bring in a better tool for a specific job, you’re looking at a painful and expensive "rip and replace" project. You’re stuck, and your ability to pick the right tools for your business is gone.
There’s a better way: How eesel AI avoids these headaches
The drawbacks of the Ultimate Zendesk model really show why a more nimble and straightforward solution is needed. That’s exactly what eesel AI is. It’s built to work with the tools and knowledge you already have, delivering real value in minutes, not months.
You can go live in minutes
Unlike platforms that make you sit through sales calls, demos, and long onboarding sessions, eesel AI is built to be completely self-serve. You can sign up, connect your helpdesk (like Zendesk, Freshdesk, or Intercom), add your knowledge sources, and launch your AI agent all by yourself.
The one-click integration means you don’t need any complex API work or help from developers. It just slots into your current workflow, so you can start seeing results almost immediately without turning your team’s world upside down.
Train on all your knowledge, not just a perfect KB
This is where eesel AI is completely different. Instead of making you build a flawless knowledge base from scratch, it instantly connects to all your scattered information, wherever it is. eesel AI learns from your past tickets, macros, Google Docs, Confluence, Notion, and more.
It picks up your brand voice, understands the context of different issues, and finds solutions based on how your team has actually solved problems in the past. This means it gives accurate, relevant answers from day one, without you having to spend months on a huge content project.
Test it safely, then roll it out when you’re ready
Worried about letting an AI loose on your customers? You should be. That’s why eesel AI has a powerful simulation mode that lets you safely test your setup on thousands of your own past tickets.
You can see exactly how the AI would have answered real customer questions, get accurate predictions on your resolution rate, and tweak its behavior before a single customer ever talks to it. Once you feel good about it, you can roll it out slowly, maybe starting with certain types of tickets or channels, and expand from there as you see it working.
Clear pricing with no hidden fees
eesel AI uses a simple, predictable pricing model based on features and how much you use it. There are no fees for every resolution it handles. Your bill won’t suddenly jump during a busy month or as the AI gets better at its job.
You get a clear price that you can actually budget for. With flexible month-to-month plans you can cancel anytime, you’re always in control and not locked into a long-term contract.
A quick comparison of Ultimate Zendesk vs. eesel AI
To make the choice a little easier, here’s a straightforward comparison of the two approaches.
| Feature | Ultimate Zendesk | eesel AI |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Time | Weeks or months; involves sales demos and onboarding. | Minutes; completely self-serve with one-click setup. |
| Knowledge Sources | Mostly relies on one perfect, curated knowledge base. | Connects to everything: past tickets, Confluence, Google Docs, etc. |
| Pricing Model | Pay-per-resolution, which can lead to unpredictable bills. | Predictable, tiered plans. No per-resolution charges. |
| Implementation | Requires deep integration that can change your workflows. | Plugs into your existing helpdesk and tools without disruption. |
| Testing | Hard to know how it will perform before you go live. | Powerful simulation mode lets you test on your own historical tickets. |
| Flexibility | Locks you into the Zendesk ecosystem. | Works with Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, and more. No lock-in. |
The future of support automation is flexible, not forced
The Ultimate Zendesk acquisition proves what we’ve all been thinking: AI agents are the future of customer support. But it also represents an all-or-nothing approach that just doesn’t work for every team.
Forcing teams to build a perfect knowledge base, learn overly complex tools, and swallow unpredictable pricing creates huge roadblocks. The future of AI in support isn’t about throwing out all your tools for one giant platform. It’s about adding a smart, flexible layer that works with the systems and knowledge you already have.
Your AI partner should adapt to your business, not the other way around. By connecting to your existing knowledge and offering a safe, transparent, and self-serve way to get started with automation, you can start providing better customer experiences right away, without the headaches.
Ready to see how an AI support agent can work with your setup, not against it? Start your free eesel AI trial today and go live in minutes.
Frequently asked questions
The setup time can be significant, often taking weeks or even months. It typically requires dedicated time from your team for configuration and training, and some companies hire consultants to get it right.
Yes, the pay-per-resolution model can lead to unpredictable costs that grow as your ticket volume or automation rate increases. This makes budgeting difficult and can effectively penalize you for successfully automating more support.
Largely, yes. The AI’s effectiveness is tied directly to a clean, comprehensive, and up-to-date knowledge base. If your information is outdated or scattered across different places, the AI will struggle to provide accurate answers.
Switching can be very difficult and expensive. Building your core AI automation directly into a single platform creates deep integration, and moving away later often means a complete "rip and replace" project that disrupts your operations.
The dialogue builder is known to have a steep learning curve, so your team will likely need substantial training. Unlike simpler, self-serve tools, it’s a powerful but complex system that isn’t designed for immediate, out-of-the-box use.
