Everyone’s talking about AI in customer support these days, and “agentic AI” is definitely a hot topic. It’s basically about building AI systems that can do more than just follow a script – they can actually think, plan, and act on their own to solve problems. Zendesk, a big name in the helpdesk world, is certainly exploring these possibilities.
While Zendesk has various AI features sprinkled throughout its platform, their big push towards agentic AI is mostly found in their premium plans. This post is here to give you a clear picture of what Zendesk’s agentic AI features are, where they might not quite hit the mark, and how other solutions compare. Because let’s be honest, figuring out the right AI tool for your business can be tricky, and sometimes the built-in options aren’t the perfect fit.
Understanding Zendesk’s AI approach
So, what exactly do we mean when we talk about an AI agent or agentic AI? Think of a standard AI agent like an automated system designed to handle specific, straightforward jobs, such as answering common questions or helping someone reset a password. They’re good at sticking to predefined paths.
Agentic AI, on the other hand, is the next level. These systems are built to be more independent. They can look at complicated requests, figure out the steps needed, make decisions, and even change their approach during a chat without needing a human watching over them constantly. It’s like giving the AI the ability to figure things out and plan its own way to a solution, instead of just running a program. What makes them stand out is their ability to be proactive, take action, and remember what you talked about earlier in the conversation.
Zendesk uses AI across its platform, but the more advanced, independent capabilities often called “agentic” behavior are typically part of their Advanced AI add-on. While their standard AI might offer basic generated responses or suggest help articles, Zendesk agentic AI, powered by that Advanced AI add-on, aims for deeper automation and getting involved in your workflows.
Key Zendesk agentic AI features for support teams
Zendesk has introduced several features designed to use AI and help support teams work more efficiently. These tools are meant to automate tasks and give agents a productivity boost right within the platform.
Here are some of the key features:
- Automated responses and suggestions: Zendesk AI can automate responses and suggestions. Their generative replies can create bot answers based on the content in your help center, offering more detailed information than just linking to articles. There’s also an auto-assist feature that suggests draft replies or macros to human agents, which can save them time when writing responses.
- Intelligent triage: This feature, available with the Advanced AI add-on, uses AI to automatically look at incoming tickets, figuring out what the customer needs, how they’re feeling (their sentiment), and the language they’re using. This really helps route tickets to the right agent or team faster, cutting down on the manual work of sorting.
- Agent assist tools: Zendesk also provides tools to help human agents work smarter. Features like article and ticket summaries give agents a quick overview of the issue and relevant info. Plus, similar ticket suggestions can point them towards how problems like this were solved before.
Limitations and challenges of Zendesk agentic AI
While Zendesk’s agentic AI features sound promising, they do have limitations that can affect how flexible, affordable, and truly useful they are for different businesses.
Here are some limitations to consider:
- Training and knowledge sources: A big area where you might hit a wall is with training and knowledge sources. Zendesk’s AI primarily learns from the content in your help center. While generative procedures are part of their agentic offering, they don’t currently let you use search rules across multiple knowledge sources within those procedures. This means the AI might struggle to find relevant information if your important knowledge is spread out across various internal documents, past support tickets, or external wikis, instead of being perfectly organized in the help center. For AI to be really effective, it often needs to learn from a much wider range of places, like historical conversations and internal guides.
- Testing and rolling out: Testing and rolling things out can also be tricky. Zendesk’s platform offers limited ways to thoroughly test AI workflows in a safe space before they go live for customers. This lack of strong testing before you deploy means you risk launching workflows that might give wrong answers, send tickets to the wrong place, or act unexpectedly. That can end up frustrating both your customers and your support team.
- Integration limits: On top of that, there are integration limits. While Zendesk connects with many tools, getting its AI features to perform complex actions outside of Zendesk – like starting a refund in your online store system or updating a user’s account in a custom CRM – might need a more complicated setup or might not be as flexible as solutions built with broader connections in mind. It’s also worth noting that Zendesk’s agentic AI isn’t currently available for email support, which limits its use for businesses that rely heavily on email.
- Customization: Customization can also feel a bit limited. Zendesk offers some preset tones for AI responses, like “Professional” or “Friendly.” But if you need to really fine-tune the AI’s voice to perfectly match your unique brand personality or handle specific ways people talk, you might find the options too basic. Getting a truly distinct, on-brand voice can be tough within these fixed settings.
Understanding Zendesk agentic AI pricing
Cost is always a huge factor when you’re looking at new technology, and Zendesk’s pricing for their agentic AI can get a bit complex, especially as you use it more.
While some basic AI features are included in the standard Zendesk Suite plans, the main “agentic” capabilities, like intelligent triage and the more advanced generative procedures, require you to buy the Advanced AI add-on. This add-on costs an extra $50 per agent per month if you pay annually. That’s on top of your base Zendesk Suite plan cost. For the Professional tier (which you often need for Advanced AI), the base plan is already $115 per agent per month when billed annually.
Here’s a quick look at how the costs add up:
| Plan | Base Cost (Annual, per agent/month) | Advanced AI Add-On (Annual, per agent/month) | Key AI Features Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suite Team | $55 | Not Available | Autoreplies, Basic Generative Replies |
| Suite Professional | $115 | $50 | Autoreplies, Basic Generative Replies, Intelligent Triage*, Macro Suggestions*, Agent Assist* (*Requires Advanced AI add-on) |
| Suite Enterprise | $169+ | $50 | All Professional features + more advanced options |
| Advanced AI Add-On | N/A | $50 | Intelligent Triage, Macro Insights, Advanced Generative AI |
Beyond the per-agent costs for the base plan and the Advanced AI add-on, Zendesk also charges based on automated resolutions. This is priced at $1.50 to $2 per resolution, depending on whether you commit to a certain volume. This per-resolution model has caused some confusion for users. Some have mentioned being charged for interactions where the bot got involved, but the customer didn’t necessarily have their issue fully solved – maybe they just ended the chat instead. For businesses with lots of tickets, these costs can add up fast and become unpredictable.
A smarter alternative: eesel AI for agentic workflows
Given the potential limits and costs you might run into with Zendesk’s built-in agentic AI, many businesses look for other options that offer more flexibility, better control, and clearer pricing. eesel AI is built to work smoothly with your existing Zendesk setup and tackle these exact challenges.
Why might you consider an alternative? Well, if you’re seeing high costs (especially those per-resolution fees), finding that Zendesk’s training is mostly limited to help center content, wanting more detailed control over how your AI responds, or needing better ways to test things before they go live, an alternative might be a better fit for you.
Here’s a little peek at how eesel AI stacks up:
- Pricing: Instead of Zendesk’s per-agent and per-resolution model, eesel AI uses pricing based on interactions. This means you pay based on how much the AI is used, offering clear and predictable costs without surprise fees or per-agent charges. You can find more detailed pricing on our website **https://eesel.ai/pricing**.
- Training: eesel AI is really good at learning from lots of different knowledge sources. You’re not stuck with just your help center. You can teach your AI using past tickets, internal documents like Google Docs, Confluence pages, PDFs, external wikis, and over 100 other integrations. Plus, with automatic syncing, your AI’s knowledge stays fresh without you having to manually update it. Training on past tickets is a big help, letting the AI learn from how real problems were solved.
- Testing: We know how important it is to test before launching. eesel AI offers strong simulation and fine-tuning tools right in the dashboard. You can test how the bot would respond to past tickets to see how it would do and spot any gaps in its knowledge. When you’re ready, you can roll out the AI gradually to a small group of agents or for specific types of tickets. This lets you test things out carefully before a full launch.
- Customization: Forget basic preset tones. eesel AI gives you detailed control over your AI’s tone, personality, and how it answers specific questions through detailed prompting and customizing its actions. You can truly make the AI sound and act like a part of your brand.
- Actions and Automation: eesel AI does more than just answer questions. You can set it up to actually do things using custom API calls, like starting refunds, updating user accounts, or checking order statuses. It also handles intelligent triage, automatically routing and tagging tickets based on rules you set up, and manages escalations smoothly, making sure the human agent gets all the context they need.
Getting eesel AI working with Zendesk is pretty straightforward. It’s built to fit right into your existing helpdesk setup. The setup is simple: connect your Zendesk account, add your different knowledge sources, customize how your bot sounds and what it does, and then start using it, maybe with a small group first if you like. We also have an AI Assistant browser extension to help human agents directly within their workflow.
Testing before going live
Launching a new AI workflow can feel risky without proper testing, especially when errors can lead to misrouted tickets or inaccurate responses. Testing ensures your AI behaves as intended before it interacts with customers, but the ability to test effectively depends on the tool you choose.
Zendesk AI
Zendesk AI’s testing options are limited. While you can configure workflows and monitor performance after launch, there’s no way to fully test your AI workflows in a controlled environment before they go live. This means bots could respond inaccurately or escalate issues unnecessarily, leading to confusion for agents and customers alike.
Once live, you can track performance using Zendesk’s analytics tools and refine workflows over time. However, the lack of robust testing options means your first few days of deployment might involve trial and error.
Testing with eesel AI
Testing ensures your AI behaves as intended before it interacts with customers. Here’s how eesel AI simplifies this step:
- Controlled Testing with Defined Conditions:
With eesel AI, you can limit deployment to a small group of agents or specific tickets. For example, test the bot only on certain ticket types, such as password resets or refund requests, or restrict deployment to specific times or agents. This ensures the bot engages only under approved scenarios, allowing you to observe its performance in real but controlled interactions.
- Browser extension:
eesel AI’s browser extension provides another layer of testing flexibility. Teams can simulate customer interactions and fine-tune workflows, responses, and tone before going live.
- Iterative improvements:
By observing how the bot performs in a controlled environment, you can tweak its training data, improve its responses, and configure workflows for better accuracy without exposing customers to potential errors.
Unlike Zendesk AI, which demands immediate deployment, eesel AI empowers users to conduct thorough, controlled testing before widespread implementation. This proactive approach, facilitated by triggers and browser tools, minimizes issues and ensures a smoother, more efficient rollout.
Best practices and tips for setting up your AI agent
When it comes to AI agents, the tools are only as good as the strategies you use to implement them. Whether you’re using Zendesk AI or eesel AI, following these best practices can help you get the most out of your setup.
1. Customize how your AI agent sounds
A well-designed AI agent should reflect your brand’s personality—whether that’s professional, friendly, or casual. This helps customers feel like they’re engaging with an extension of your team, not just a robot.
- Zendesk AI: While Zendesk offers preset tones like “Professional” or “Friendly,” these options are basic and don’t allow for much fine-tuning. If you need a bot that feels highly personalized, this can be a limitation.
- eesel AI: With eesel AI, you can fine-tune the bot’s tone to perfectly align with your brand voice. Whether you need empathetic replies for customer complaints or conversational responses for casual inquiries, eesel AI lets you define the tone and even tweak responses for specific use cases. You can find more info on how to customize your AI in Zendesk with eesel here.
2. Build a strong knowledge base
Your AI agent is only as good as the knowledge it’s trained on. A poorly maintained or incomplete knowledge base can result in inaccurate or unhelpful responses, leaving customers frustrated.
- Zendesk AI: Training is primarily limited to your help center articles, so it’s essential to keep these updated, well-organized, and comprehensive.
- eesel AI: With eesel AI, you can train bots on multiple knowledge sources, including past tickets, FAQs, SOPs, and even external platforms like Google Drive or Confluence. This broader training scope enables your AI to provide context-rich, accurate answers that go beyond just article recommendations.
3. Avoid common pitfalls
When setting up an AI agent, a few mistakes can undermine its performance. Here’s what to watch out for:
- Neglecting testing: Deploying without testing workflows can lead to poor customer experiences. With eesel AI, take advantage of pre-launch testing to refine workflows before going live.
- Inconsistent tone: A bot that doesn’t align with your brand voice can feel out of place and impersonal.
- Failing to plan for escalation: Your AI agent won’t handle everything. Ensure there’s a clear path for escalating complex issues to human agents.
Which AI agent is right for you?
Picking the right AI agent or agentic AI solution for your support team really comes down to what you need, your budget, and what you’re trying to achieve. Zendesk AI, especially with the Advanced AI add-on, offers built-in features like intelligent triage and generative responses. These might be a good starting point if you’re already heavily using Zendesk and most of your knowledge is neatly organized in the help center.
However, if your business needs the AI to learn from a wider range of knowledge (like past tickets and internal documents), wants detailed control over the AI’s tone and behavior, needs solid testing options before going live, or is worried about the costs adding up with per-agent and per-resolution pricing, then looking at alternatives is definitely worth your time.
You can find more information about how AI fits into the Zendesk platform by browsing our guidebook blog for Zendesk or just flicking through our other Zendesk blogs.
Elevate your support with smarter AI
Zendesk agentic AI, mostly available through the Advanced AI add-on, offers features like intelligent triage and generative responses aimed at automating support tasks. But, limitations in where it can learn from, how much you can customize it, the options for testing before launch, and a potentially expensive per-resolution pricing model can be significant downsides for many teams.
Choosing the right AI partner is really important if you want to grow your support operations efficiently and affordably. eesel AI offers a powerful, flexible, and clearly priced alternative that works alongside your existing Zendesk setup. With advanced training from lots of different sources (including past tickets), strong testing, detailed customization, and the ability to actually perform actions, eesel AI is a flexible solution for teams looking to automate more without spending a fortune. If keeping costs under control, having smarter workflows, and getting advanced, customizable features are big priorities for your business, eesel AI delivers on all fronts.
Ready to see the difference for yourself? Why not start a free trial of eesel AI today (no credit card needed) or book a demo to see how eesel AI can change your Zendesk support workflow?
