Zendesk AI security: What you need to know about data privacy and control

It feels like AI is everywhere in customer service these days, and it’s not just talk anymore. When you think of big names in customer support, Zendesk is probably one of the first that comes to mind. They’ve rolled out a bunch of AI tools to help support teams automate tasks and get more done, and honestly, it’s pretty tempting to dive in.

But before you hit "enable," you’re likely asking the same questions any savvy business leader would: "Is this thing secure? Is my customer data safe? And how much say do I actually have over how it works?"

Those are exactly the right questions to be asking. This article is here to cut through the marketing jargon and give you a straight, balanced look at Zendesk’s AI security, their data privacy policies, and the real amount of control you get. We’ll get into how your data is used and what you can (and can’t) customize, so you can make a decision with your eyes wide open.

What is Zendesk AI?

First off, let’s quickly clear up what "Zendesk AI" actually means. It’s not one single product but a set of AI features built directly into their platform. You’ll mainly hear about these three:

• AI agents: Think of these as autonomous bots designed to handle customer chats from start to finish. They work across different channels to automatically resolve common questions.

• Copilot: This is the AI assistant for your human agents. It sits alongside your team, helping draft replies, summarize long ticket histories, and offer other real-time support.

• AI for Quality Assurance (QA) and Workforce Management (WFM): These tools use AI to scan support conversations for quality checks and to help predict staffing needs, making team management a bit easier.

Since these features are baked right into the Zendesk ecosystem, they promise a pretty smooth experience if you’re already a customer. It’s marketed as a powerful, all-in-one solution for big companies, which is great, but that scale often brings a lot of complexity with it.

A deep dive into Zendesk’s security measures

Let’s get one thing straight: Zendesk takes security seriously. As a massive enterprise platform, they’ve built the kind of solid security foundation you’d expect from a company their size. Before we get into the specifics of their AI, it’s fair to say their traditional security is top-notch.

Their approach, which you can read about in their Trust Center, is built on a few key pillars:

• Infrastructure security: Zendesk runs its services mostly on Amazon Web Services (AWS). These data centers are world-class and meet a whole alphabet soup of certifications, like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS.

• Data encryption: Your data is protected whether it’s being sent over the internet or just sitting on a server. They use industry-standard HTTPS/TLS for data in transit and AES-256 encryption for data at rest. This is standard stuff, but it’s good to know they have it covered.

• Network security: They use multiple layers of defense, from firewalls and intrusion detection systems to DDoS protection through their work with Cloudflare. They’re always watching for and blocking sketchy traffic.

• Compliance and certifications: Zendesk has a pretty impressive list of certifications. They regularly get audited for SOC 2 Type II reports and are certified for ISO 27001, 27018, and 27701. They’re also FedRAMP authorized, which is a huge deal if you work with the U.S. government.

So, when it comes to the basic security of the platform itself, Zendesk has done its homework. They tick the boxes that large organizations need.

How Zendesk uses your data for AI

Okay, this is where it gets a little more complicated. The security of the platform is one thing, but the privacy of your data when it’s being used to train AI models is a whole different ball game. For most businesses, this is the main worry: what exactly is happening with my data?

According to Zendesk’s own documentation on AI Trust, they use a couple of different methods:

1. Account-specific models: They can build machine learning models trained only on your account’s data. This model is just for you and isn’t shared with or used by any other Zendesk customer.

2. Generic, cross-account models: This is the part that makes some people pause. Zendesk also says they use aggregated and sanitized "Service Data" from many different customers to train their general, global machine learning models. The idea is to make the product smarter and better for everyone.

While they promise this data is sanitized so it can’t be traced back to you, the fact remains that your service data is being used to train a global model. For any company that needs total data isolation, this can be a deal-breaker.

A different approach to data privacy

This is where you see a fundamental difference in philosophy among AI providers. Some believe your data should be just that: yours. It should never be used to improve a product for another company.

For instance, platforms like eesel AI take a much stricter stance. They guarantee that your data is never used to train generalized models for other customers. Everything the AI learns from your help center, past tickets, and internal documents stays within your account, powering your bots and no one else’s. This gives you true data isolation and real peace of mind.

On the compliance side, Zendesk supports major regulations like GDPR and CCPA, and they offer HIPAA compliance, though it’s often part of their pricier plans or sold as an add-on. They also let you choose where your data is stored (like the EU or US), which is a standard feature for enterprise software these days.

How much control do you really have?

Security is about keeping things safe, but control is about being able to make the AI do exactly what you need it to. So, how much of a say do you actually get with Zendesk AI?

What you can control:

• You can set up roles and permissions to decide who on your team can access what.

• You can create business rules and triggers to steer the AI’s behavior in specific situations.

• You can tweak some things, like the persona and tone of voice for your AI agent.

Where control can feel limited:

• Complexity and setup: Let’s be honest, Zendesk is a massive platform. Getting its AI configured and fine-tuned isn’t a simple task you knock out in an afternoon. It often takes specialized knowledge, a dedicated administrator, or even paid professional help. It’s definitely not a "go live in five minutes" kind of tool.

• Rigid workflows: While you can customize certain aspects, enterprise platforms often have their own ideas about how you should work. If you need the AI to do something truly custom, like check an order status in an internal system using an API, you might need a developer or have to upgrade to a more advanced plan.

• Lack of a good simulation tool: This is a big one. Before you unleash an AI on your customers, you want to know how it’s going to perform. Will it answer your most common questions correctly? What percentage of issues can it actually resolve? Without a strong simulation environment, you’re pretty much forced to test it on live customers, which can be risky.

For teams that want more direct and immediate control, platforms like eesel AI offer a different experience. You can get started entirely on your own in a few minutes, not a few months. With a visual workflow builder, you can map out exactly which tickets the AI should handle and what custom actions it can take, like looking up an order in Shopify or creating a task in Jira Service Management.

Most importantly, eesel AI has a powerful simulation mode. You can safely test your setup on thousands of your past tickets in a sandbox environment. This shows you precisely how the AI will behave, what it will say, and what your return on investment will look like before it ever talks to a real customer. That level of insight gives you complete confidence and control.

A look at eesel AI's simulation mode, which provides detailed insights and control before deployment, addressing key questions around Zendesk AI security.

Understanding Zendesk AI pricing

Zendesk’s pricing can be a bit of a maze. Their AI features aren’t typically sold separately; they’re bundled into their "Suite" plans or offered as add-ons. This often means you’re paying for a lot of other tools, whether you need them or not.

Here’s a quick look based on their current pricing page, with prices billed annually:

Plan	Price (per agent/month)	Key AI Features Included
Suite Team	$55	AI agents (Essential), Generative replies, Knowledge base with generative search
Suite Professional	$115	Everything in Team + more advanced features
Suite Enterprise	$169	Everything in Professional + advanced workflows and security

On top of these plans, you might need to buy add-ons like "Advanced AI agents" or "Copilot" for more powerful features, which come at an extra cost.

The main thing to notice here is the per-agent pricing model. This can get expensive, fast, especially as your support team grows. The complicated plans and various add-ons can also make your monthly bill feel a bit unpredictable. This is a big difference from platforms like eesel AI, which offer clear, usage-based pricing (you pay for the number of AI interactions, not the number of agents), with no hidden fees for resolutions.

This video explores the importance of responsibility and transparency in AI, which is central to the discussion on Zendesk AI security.

The final verdict on Zendesk AI security

So, what’s the bottom line? Zendesk offers a secure, enterprise-level platform with a long list of impressive compliance certifications. For large companies that are already heavily invested in the Zendesk ecosystem and have the resources to manage it, it’s a solid and powerful option.

But that security and power come with trade-offs. The practice of using customer data to train cross-account models might not sit well with businesses that demand total data privacy. On top of that, the platform’s complexity, high per-agent costs, and lack of a robust simulation mode can limit your control and make getting started a slow, expensive process.

If your business values a self-serve setup, complete data isolation, and detailed control over your AI’s workflows, it’s worth exploring some of the more agile and transparent alternatives out there.

Get total control over your support AI without compromising security

You shouldn’t have to choose between enterprise-grade security and user-friendly control. eesel AI integrates with your existing Zendesk account in one click, giving you a powerful, fully customizable AI agent that you control. Simulate its performance on past tickets, go live in minutes, and rest easy knowing your data is never used to train other models.

Try eesel AI today.