Purpose: A letter from the author
If you’re here, you’re probably trying to figure out how to make Zendesk’s AI actually do something useful, and not just show up in your settings and collect dust.
We at eesel wrote this guide because Zendesk AI sounds exciting in theory, but the reality is… it’s not always clear what’s included, how much it will cost, or what it can really handle. If you’ve been on Zendesk’s help center, there are probably a million guides there and more questions left by users. Truth is, most of their guides are either too vague, too technical, or too focused on features without showing how to apply them in real support workflows.
This isn’t that, and we are not Zendesk.
This is for customer service leaders, support managers, or even unlucky agents who’ve been asked to “set up the AI thing” and are now wondering what they just signed up for (like me). We’ll break down every piece of Zendesk AI, show what it does and doesn’t do, walk you through the setup which includes pictures (because some people learn better through visual graphics), and give you real-word examples from support teams already using it.
Lastly, we’ve provided tools, documents, and honest insights along the way including where Zendesk’s AI excels, and where it falls short.
Chapter 1: A TL;DR to Zendesk AI features
Let’s start with the basics: what is Zendesk AI?
Zendesk AI isn’t a single tool. It’s a mix of automation features that can be bundled or purchased separately and all of them sit on top of your existing Zendesk plan. Unfortunately, the AI add-on isn’t available to everyone. Because not all Zendesk AI features come included with your subscription.
Here’s what Zendesk currently offers:
| Plan | Monthly Price (per user) | Annual Price (per user/month) |
|---|---|---|
| Suite Team | $69 | $55 |
| Suite Growth | $115 | $89 |
| Suite Professional | $149 | $115 |
| Suite Enterprise | $219 | $169 |
If you’re on Suite Professional or Enterprise, some features like triage, article suggestions, macros, and basic AI agents are already included. They’ll be available by default once you activate them in your dashboard.
The rest are locked behind the Advanced AI add-on. That includes advanced AI agents, copilots, and generative replies. You can’t access these tools unless you’ve already upgraded to a high-tier Suite plan.
So if you’re wondering why copilots or advanced bots aren’t showing up, it’s not a setup problem, it’s your plan.
Feature availabilities
Here’s an idea of what features there are and their availability based on plans.
| Feature | Description | Availability | Key Capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Agents | Bots that handle customer requests on their own (e.g., FAQs, order tracking). | Essential: Suite Team+ (limited) Advanced: Requires AI add-on |
– Simple workflows (FAQs, password resets) – Generative replies (Advanced only) – Triage, macros, routing (Advanced only) |
| AI Copilot | Assists agents during live tickets with reply suggestions and article recommendations. | Requires Advanced AI add-on | – Real-time reply suggestions – Recommends next steps and help articles – Integrates with macros and knowledge base |
| Intelligent Triage | Automatically tags and routes tickets based on intent, sentiment, and language. | Included in Copilot add-on (not standalone) | – Intent, sentiment, language detection – Automated tagging and routing – Operates behind the scenes |
| Article Recommendations | Suggests relevant help center articles to agents and customers. | Included in all Suite plans | – Shows articles mid-ticket or chat – Works via macros or Copilot suggestions |
| Auto-replies and Macros | Sends or suggests responses based on triggers; great for repetitive tickets. | Included in all Suite plans | – Sends pre-written replies – Auto-suggests based on triggers – Reduces manual response effort |
