Zendesk AI agents reviews: A 2025 deep dive into features and limitations

Zendesk is a huge name in customer support. For years, it’s been the default help desk for thousands of companies. So when they decided to get into AI, people definitely noticed. But with all the hype around AI, you have to ask: is their solution actually helpful, or does it feel more like a feature that was tacked on to keep up?

Lots of teams are finding that while Zendesk is a solid platform, its AI features don't always feel like they fit in. If you're looking at your options, you've probably wondered if you're missing something or if the experience really is as clunky as it seems. This post is a straightforward, in-depth review of Zendesk AI agents. We'll look at real user feedback, features, and pricing to help you decide if it’s the right tool for you, or if it’s time for a more modern approach.

What are Zendesk AI agents?

First things first, let's break down what "Zendesk AI" actually means. It’s not one single thing. It's a bundle of AI features, mostly from companies they've acquired like Ultimate AI, that have been added to the main Zendesk platform.

It’s basically broken down into two main pieces:

• AI agents: These are the bots that talk to your customers. You'll find them in chat and messaging, where they're supposed to answer common questions and free up your human agents.

• Copilot: This is the AI assistant for your internal team. It works inside the agent dashboard to help with stuff like summarizing long ticket threads, turning a short note into a full reply, or tweaking the tone of a message.

It’s worth noting that these features are almost always sold as add-ons, like the "Advanced AI" package. You have to buy that on top of their already expensive Suite plans. This little detail becomes a big deal when you start adding up the total cost and thinking about how well the AI will actually slot into your daily work.

A closer look at Zendesk AI features

An AI agent is only as good as the job it does. When you start reading through user reviews, you see a few common complaints and limitations pop up again and again with Zendesk's AI.

Knowledge sources: The single-source problem

Zendesk AI does its best work when it can pull from one, perfectly organized place: your Zendesk help center. But let's be real, whose knowledge base is ever that neat and tidy?

Many users have found that if their help center isn't perfectly curated, the AI has a tough time finding the right answers. This is a huge headache because company knowledge is rarely just in help articles. It's all over the place, in old ticket conversations, internal wikis, and who-knows-how-many different documents.

An infographic illustrating how eesel AI connects to multiple knowledge sources, a key topic in Zendesk AI agents reviews.

This is where a more modern tool can make a real difference. An AI agent should be able to learn from all your company's knowledge, not just one polished source. For instance, tools like eesel AI are built to connect to everything. It doesn't just read your help center; it learns from your past ticket data, Confluence pages, Google Docs, and more. This brings all your knowledge together so the AI actually understands how your team solves problems in the real world.

Workflow and user experience: The "bolted-on" feeling

A common gripe you'll hear about Zendesk's AI is that it feels "bolted on."

Instead of being a natural part of an agent's day, it often makes them open a separate side panel or click through what one user called 'the most annoying interface in the world.'

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That kind of friction just defeats the whole point of an AI assistant. If your team is constantly switching between screens and dealing with clunky menus, the tool isn't saving time, it's just adding another task to their list. It breaks their focus and slows down the very thing it's supposed to speed up.

The best AI tools should feel like they're supposed to be there. eesel AI, for example, is designed to fit right into your existing Zendesk workflow. There’s no new interface to learn and no reason to switch to a different platform. It just makes the tools your team already uses better, so getting everyone on board feels quick and painless.

Customization and control: Rigid flows vs. real flexibility

Lots of users get frustrated with Zendesk's "custom answer flow" builder. This is a classic issue with older AI tools: they make you use rigid, flowchart-style paths that are a pain to build and even worse to update.

The problem is pretty clear. If your AI can only stick to a script, it’s not going to be much help with slightly unusual questions or tasks that have a few steps. It ends up being just a fancier, more expensive FAQ page.

A screenshot of eesel AI's customization options, a flexible alternative discussed in Zendesk AI agents reviews.

A truly helpful AI gives you total control. With eesel AI, you can use a simple prompt editor to set the AI's exact personality and tone. Even better, you can create custom actions that give the AI real capabilities. You can set it up to look up live order information from Shopify, update ticket fields, or send a conversation over to a specific team in Slack, all without you needing to build a single complicated flowchart.

Getting started: The setup reality

How quickly you can get value from new software is a big deal, and this is an area where many teams get bogged down with Zendesk's AI. The promise of a quick and easy setup often doesn't line up with what actually happens.

The hidden time sink of a long setup

Zendesk might talk about a fast launch, but getting a high automation rate is rarely as simple as flipping a switch. User reviews and expert opinions point to a much longer process, often taking 4, 8 weeks. A proper setup means you have to spend a lot of time cleaning up your knowledge base, figuring out customer intents, and getting everyone on board.

This "hidden" time commitment can completely throw off your budget. Before you sign up for any AI platform, you should be asking for a clear timeline and a full list of the internal resources you'll need to set aside for the project.

Testing without the guesswork: A gap in the offering

One of the biggest worries about launching a customer-facing AI is that it might go off the rails and start giving out wrong or weird answers. Without a solid way to test the AI before it goes live, you're pretty much just crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.

This is a noticeable gap in Zendesk's offering. It doesn't have a good simulation mode, which makes it incredibly hard to guess how it will perform or to get your team comfortable enough to really trust automation.

A screenshot of eesel AI's simulation mode, a feature often missing in Zendesk AI agents reviews.

This is another area where eesel AI really shines. Its simulation mode lets you test your AI agent on thousands of your past tickets in a completely safe environment. You can see exactly how it would have responded to real customer questions, get an accurate forecast of your automation rate, and spot gaps in your knowledge base, all before a single customer ever talks to it. This lets you launch with confidence, not stress.

Zendesk AI pricing and value

Value is about more than just the sticker price, but a confusing pricing model can be a huge red flag. Unfortunately, that's what many users run into with Zendesk.

The confusing, multi-layered pricing

Trying to figure out what you'll actually pay for Zendesk's AI can feel like solving a math problem. It’s broken down into a few layers:

1. Base plan cost: The AI features are usually only in the more expensive Suite plans, like the Suite Professional plan, which starts at $115 per agent per month.

2. Add-on cost: The most useful features, like Copilot, are often stuck behind an "Advanced AI" add-on, which can cost an extra $50 per agent per month.

3. Usage cost: On top of all that, Zendesk charges for what it calls "Automated Resolutions." Some users have called this a "rip off" because your bill goes up the more the AI successfully does its job. It creates a strange situation where you get penalized for getting the most value out of the tool.

In contrast, modern pricing should be simple and predictable.

Is the promised return on investment realistic?

Zendesk partners often tell a good story: if the AI makes your team 30% more efficient, the high cost is worth it. But that math only adds up if the tool is actually adopted and used well.

Based on user feedback, that's not always what happens. The value disappears quickly if the AI is too clunky to use, can't find the right information, and just makes your team's workflow more difficult. For many, the high and unpredictable cost, paired with these usability problems, makes it a real struggle to see a positive return.

A tool like eesel AI flips this around. With transparent pricing and a setup that takes minutes, it’s designed to deliver a clear and immediate return on your investment.

This video offers a detailed review of Zendesk AI's features and value proposition for 2025.

A better alternative: An AI agent that just works

To put it simply, Zendesk AI's biggest problems come from being a closed-off system that feels disconnected. It takes a ton of manual work to set up and keep running, and its pricing is both expensive and confusing.

eesel AI was built to fix these exact issues. It’s a modern, flexible tool designed to work with the tools you're already using.

Here are the key differences one more time:

• Go live in minutes, not months, with a truly self-serve setup.

• Bring all your knowledge together, including past tickets, internal wikis, and docs.

• Test with confidence using a powerful, risk-free simulation mode.

• Get transparent, predictable pricing with no hidden per-resolution fees.

Move beyond bolted-on AI

Zendesk is a great help desk, but its AI often feels more like an add-on than a true upgrade. The issues with its knowledge sources, user experience, and pricing model mean that many teams have a hard time getting the value they were hoping for.

For companies that want a powerful, flexible, and easy-to-use AI solution that works with their existing tools, it's time to look beyond the default option. You need an AI that was built for the way your team actually gets work done.

Try an AI agent built for your entire knowledge base

Ready for an AI agent that plugs right into your workflow and learns from all your team's knowledge, not just a perfect help center?

Start your free eesel AI trial today and see how quickly you can automate support with confidence.