How to create and edit Zendesk Guide article templates: A complete guide

If you have ever created a knowledge base article from scratch, you know the struggle. Staring at a blank page, wondering how to structure it, what sections to include, and whether you are following the right format. Article templates in Zendesk Guide solve this problem by giving your team a consistent starting point for every piece of content.

The challenge? Zendesk's template system works differently than you might expect. It relies on a special label called "KCTemplate" and a specific workflow that trips up many admins. In this guide, we will walk through exactly how to create, edit, and use article templates in Zendesk Guide, including ready-to-use templates you can copy and paste today.

What are Zendesk Guide article templates?

Article templates in Zendesk Guide are pre-structured articles that serve as starting points for new content. Unlike static templates you might find in a word processor, Zendesk uses a label-based system. Any article with the "KCTemplate" label becomes available as a template for your agents.

Here is how the system works:

• KCTemplate label: This is the magic keyword that tells Zendesk "treat this article as a template"
• Knowledge Capture app: Templates only appear in the Knowledge Capture app within Zendesk Support, not in Guide Admin
• Permissions matter: Agents can only use templates they have permission to manage
• Structure carries over: Headings, formatting, and placeholder text copy to new articles

The benefit is consistency. Every troubleshooting guide follows the same format. Every FAQ has the same structure. Your help center looks professional and customers find answers faster.

What you need before creating templates

Before diving in, make sure you have the right setup:

• Zendesk Guide Professional or Enterprise: Article templates require one of these plans
• Knowledge admin permissions: You need admin rights to create and manage templates
• Agent permissions: Agents need appropriate permissions to use templates when creating articles
• Clear template strategy: Decide which article types need templates (FAQs, troubleshooting, process guides)

Bottom line? If you are on a Team plan or lower, you will need to upgrade before you can use this feature.

How to create an article template in Zendesk Guide

Step 1: Create your template article

Start by building the structure you want to reuse.

Navigate to Guide Admin and click Add > Article. Give your template a clear, descriptive title like "Troubleshooting Article Template" or "FAQ Template" so agents can easily identify it later.

Structure your content with placeholder headings. Use brackets to indicate where agents should add their own content, like this:

• [Describe the issue here]
• [Add step-by-step instructions]
• [Include any relevant screenshots]

Keep the design simple. Avoid adding images or attachments at this stage since these will not carry over to new articles created from the template. Focus on implementing a repeatable structure that saves your editors time.

Step 2: Set permissions and placement

Once your structure is ready, configure who can use this template.

In the article settings panel, set the Managed by field to control which agents can create articles from this template. Agents can only use templates where they have management permissions, so set this carefully.

Choose the Visible to setting based on your needs. Most templates should be visible to agents only, not end users.

Select a default Section for articles created from this template. When agents use the template, new articles will automatically go into this section unless they manually change it.

Keep the Author field unchanged. When an agent creates an article from the template, they will automatically be set as the author.

Step 3: Add the KCTemplate label

This is the critical step that most people miss.

In the article settings panel, find the Labels field. Type exactly "KCTemplate" (case-sensitive) and add it as a label. This single label is how Zendesk differentiates a normal article from a template article.

Save your article. You do not need to publish it. Publishing would make the template visible to end users, which you typically do not want.

How to use templates when creating articles

Accessing templates from Zendesk Support

Here is where the workflow gets a bit unintuitive. You cannot access templates from Guide Admin. Instead, you need to use the Knowledge Capture app in Zendesk Support.

Open any ticket in the Zendesk Support interface. In the right sidebar, click the Knowledge icon (it looks like a book). Then click the + icon to create a new article.

You will see a list of available templates, including any you have created with the KCTemplate label, along with a blank article option. Select your template to get started.

Creating articles from templates

Once you select a template, it opens as a draft article with all your pre-filled structure and headings. The agent simply replaces the placeholder text with actual content, adds article-specific details, and publishes when ready.

The template structure carries over completely: headings, formatting, and any instructional text you included. The agent's name is automatically set as the author, and the article is placed in the default section you configured.

Ready-to-use Zendesk Guide article templates

Here are four copy-paste templates you can use immediately in your help center.