A complete guide to Zendesk custom apps

Your support team is doing great work, but you keep hitting the same annoying roadblocks. You know you could be more efficient if you could just automate a specific task, connect to that one internal tool, or give your agents more context right inside Zendesk. It feels like you've pushed the out-of-the-box features as far as they can go, and you're wondering what's next.

For a long time, the go-to answer has been Zendesk custom apps. They’re designed to stretch the platform’s capabilities to fit your specific needs. In this guide, we'll walk through what these apps are, how to get them, and some of the common frustrations they can cause. Most importantly, we'll look at a more modern approach that gives you all the power without the usual headaches.

What are Zendesk custom apps?

At their core, Zendesk custom apps are small applications built with standard web tech (like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) that run directly inside the Zendesk agent interface. Their whole job is to add new features, pull in information from other systems, or connect to external services to make your team’s life easier.

These apps generally come from two places:

1. Public Apps: These are ready-to-go solutions you can grab from the Zendesk Marketplace. With over 1,500 apps from Zendesk and other developers, you can find a tool for just about anything.

2. Private Apps: These are apps built by a company just for its own teams, or by a developer for a specific, non-public workflow. You won't see these listed on the Marketplace.

These apps don't just float around randomly; they have designated spots in the Zendesk UI so they feel like part of the platform. You'll usually see them in the:

• Ticket sidebar

• User sidebar

• Top navigation bar

• Running in the background (for automated tasks)

All of this is made possible by the Zendesk Apps framework (ZAF), a toolkit that lets these apps safely talk to Zendesk data like tickets, users, and customer info.

How to get Zendesk custom apps: The build vs. buy dilemma

Once you know you need to extend Zendesk, you hit a classic fork in the road: do you buy a solution someone else has already built, or do you build one yourself? Both options have their upsides and downsides.

Buying Zendesk custom apps from the Zendesk Marketplace

Heading to the Marketplace is definitely the fastest way to get started. It’s full of apps that solve common problems, from adding AI chatbots to connecting with tools like JIRA or Shopify.

This route is fantastic for getting a specific fix in place quickly. The upside is that installation is fast, you can often try before you buy, and it solves a single, clear problem immediately.

The catch? The costs can add up fast. Many apps have a per-agent monthly fee. If you need five or six different apps to create the workflow you want, your bill can get surprisingly high. You’re also limited to the features the developer decided to include. If it’s not a perfect fit for your process, you’re out of luck. This can also lead to a cluttered interface, with agents having to click through multiple app windows to get one job done.

Building your own Zendesk custom apps

If you can't find what you need on the Marketplace or your workflow is truly one-of-a-kind, building your own app is an option. This gives you complete control, but it's a much heavier lift.

To go this route, you’ll need developers who are comfortable with web technologies and the Zendesk Apps framework (ZAF). If you don't have that expertise on your team, you can always hire a development agency to build it for you.

The benefit here is clear: you get an app that is tailor-made for your exact process. Every button and feature is built just for you.

But the downside is significant. It's an expensive and slow process. There's the initial cost of development, but it doesn't stop there. You'll have to budget for ongoing maintenance, bug fixes, and updates every time Zendesk changes something. It's a major project that can easily get derailed without careful management.

Key limitations of traditional Zendesk custom apps

Whether you build or buy, relying on a collection of separate apps often creates a whole new set of problems that can slow your team down.

• Every app is an island: Most apps are built to do one thing well. Your time-tracking app has no idea what your JIRA integration is doing, and neither of them talks to your AI chatbot. This means teams are left trying to stitch together a patchwork of tools, creating a clunky experience for agents who have to constantly switch contexts and jump between different app windows.

• The hidden costs and upkeep: That $10-per-agent app seems like a bargain, but multiply that by five apps for a team of 50, and you're looking at a hefty recurring bill. If you built your own app, the real cost isn't just the initial build; it's the never-ending cycle of maintenance and updates that eats up your budget and developer time.

• A lack of shared smarts: Because these apps don't communicate with each other, they can't share information or insights. They each operate in their own little bubble instead of as a single, smart system. This stops you from creating truly intelligent automation where what you learn in one area could improve another.

• Getting started is a gamble: Building a custom app is a big technical project with no guarantee it will work out as planned. Even buying a marketplace app can be tricky, often requiring a lot of setup and training. Worst of all, there’s usually no good way to see how an app will perform in the real world before you roll it out to everyone, making each new addition feel like a shot in the dark.

The modern alternative to Zendesk custom apps: A unified AI platform

Instead of juggling a dozen single-purpose apps, many support teams are taking a simpler approach: using a unified AI platform that plugs right into their helpdesk. This is where a solution like eesel AI comes in. It acts as a single, intelligent layer that does the work of many different apps.

Here’s how this approach tackles the old problems head-on:

• One platform, many solutions: eesel AI combines an AI Agent, a Copilot for your team, and AI-powered Triage all in one place. It handles the work that would normally require a handful of separate apps, like a chatbot app, a reply-drafting app, and an automation tool.

• Go live in minutes, not months: Forget about long development projects or tricky setups. eesel AI’s one-click Zendesk integration means you can be up and running in minutes without needing a developer. It's built to be self-serve, which is a world away from the months it can take to build a custom app.

• Bring all your knowledge together: Unlike apps that work in silos, eesel AI connects to all your company knowledge, wherever it lives. It can pull from past tickets, help centers, Confluence pages, Google Docs, and more. This creates one central brain, making sure the AI gives consistent, accurate answers everywhere.

An infographic demonstrating how eesel AI unifies knowledge from various sources like past tickets, help centers, and internal documents to provide consistent answers, a key advantage over siloed Zendesk custom apps.

• Test with confidence: This is huge. eesel AI has a simulation mode that lets you test your entire AI setup on thousands of your past tickets without affecting a single customer. You can see exactly how the AI would have responded, get solid forecasts on how many tickets it will resolve, and even see the potential cost savings before you turn it on. It takes all the guesswork out of the process.

eesel AI's simulation mode allows you to test the AI on past tickets, providing clear performance forecasts before going live, a level of confidence not available with traditional Zendesk custom apps.

Zendesk pricing and plan requirements for Zendesk custom apps

It’s worth noting that your ability to use Zendesk custom apps can depend on your subscription plan. Access to certain features is tied to specific tiers, which might influence your decision.

Here’s a quick look at what’s required:

Moving beyond single-purpose Zendesk custom apps

Zendesk custom apps are a familiar way to add features to your helpdesk. But they often lead to a support setup that’s disconnected, expensive, and hard to manage as you grow. Juggling a dozen different tools that don't talk to each other just isn't efficient.

The smarter approach is to consolidate. By using a single, intelligent platform that works with your helpdesk, you can accomplish more with a lot less hassle.

eesel AI is built for teams who want powerful, custom automation without the pain of building it themselves or managing a fleet of separate apps. It's about giving your team one smart system that helps them work better, not just harder.

Ready to see what a unified AI platform could do for your Zendesk support? Simulate eesel AI on your past tickets for free and see your automation potential in minutes.