Zendesk AI agents

Summary

Zendesk AI agents are customer-service agents that resolve messaging, email and voice requests end to end inside the Zendesk Resolution Platform. They ground answers in a help centre and connected sources, then take actions across business systems through action flows.

Best for: Support teams already committed to (or actively evaluating) Zendesk as their core helpdesk who want the AI agent to come from the same vendor and billing relationship, rather than layering a third-party agent on top.
Not for: Teams that want a single, flat, vendor-agnostic per-resolution price they can run over their existing helpdesk (see Intercom Fin), or buyers who need a single stable per-resolution rate that has not changed twice in a single year for long-term cost modeling.

Captured 2026-09-08 · theagentsindex.com

From: €25/seat/month€25 monthly · €19 billed annually
Free trial: Partly14-day trial on Suite Professional with Copilot included, no credit card; qualifying startups can apply for a 6-month Suite trial for up to 50 agents. No permanent free plan.

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What it does

Done-for-you service: PartlyYou run the software; Zendesk sells a separate AI Expert subscription service to scale automation, plus professional services.AI Expert for AI agents is the first-of-its-kind, end-to-end subscription service designed to help Zendesk customers scale intelligently,…zendesk.com/service/ai/ai-agents

How much it does unattended

Runs autonomously: YesVendor states the agents resolve inquiries and execute multi-step workflows without a live agent; escalation to humans is a configured fallback.AI agents are autonomous systems that resolve customer service inquiries across channels like messaging, email, and voice.zendesk.com/service/ai/ai-agents
Multi-agent: PartlyAdmins can build many task-scoped custom agents alongside the channel AI agents, but Zendesk does not describe several agents coordinating on one task.Admins can create a maximum of 100 custom agents per account.support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1…
Agent permissions: YesAdmins set policies and guardrails, review the decision path, and every interaction is scored by built-in QA; Enterprise adds approval workflows.Maintain full visibility and control over how AI agents operate - set policies, review behavior, and evaluate every interaction with built-in QA.zendesk.com/service/ai/ai-agents

Which models it runs on

Claude: PartlyClaude is not what powers the agent; it is reachable as an external action in action flows using your own Anthropic key.By connecting the action builder to external systems, such as Claude, admins can integrate Zendesk with external systems in automated workflowssupport.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1…
GPT: YesGenerative features run on OpenAI via zero-data-retention endpoints; Zendesk names the provider, not a model version.Generative AI features are currently powered by OpenAI (using zero data retention endpoints) or models hosted on Microsoft Azure, Amazon Bedrock, or…zendesk.com/trust-center
Open models: NoEvery generative path the vendor enumerates is a managed hosted API; no open-weight or customer-supplied model is offered.Generative AI features are currently powered by OpenAI (using zero data retention endpoints) or models hosted on Microsoft Azure, Amazon Bedrock, or…zendesk.com/trust-center
Model choice: NoZendesk selects the models: generative LLMs plus its own proprietary intent models. No model picker is documented.AI agents use Generative AI and Zendesk proprietary intent models. When combined, they provide the most accurate, high-functioning, human-like…zendesk.com/service/ai/ai-agents

Where you use it

In a browser: YesConfigured in the web Admin Center and deployed to web, mobile and social messaging surfaces.Handle multi-intent conversations across web, mobile, and social. AI agents clarify intent, orchestrate across systems, and complete complex…zendesk.com/service/ai/ai-agents

Whose machine it runs on

Self-hosted: NoHosted SaaS on AWS; the only locality control is choosing a Zendesk region.We host Service Data primarily in Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers that are certified as ISO 27001, PCI DSS Service Provider Level 1, and SOC 2…zendesk.com/trust-center
Open source: NoThe customer agreement forbids seeking access to the source code, which is the opposite of source availability.reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or seek to access the source code or non-public APIs to the Serviceszendesk.com/company/agreements-and-term…

What it costs to run

How it meters: YesTwo meters at once: per agent seat per month for the plan, plus per automated resolution beyond the plan allowance ($1.50 committed, $2.00 pay-as-you-go).Automated Resolutions: Are the unit of measurement used for calculating and billing your account for AI agent usage.zendesk.com/pricing
Free tier: Partly14-day self-serve trial with no card; there is no permanent free tier, and startups can apply for a longer free program.14-day free trial. No credit card required.zendesk.com/service/ai/ai-agents
API access: YesAPI access is a checkmark on every self-serve plan in the comparison table; extra API volume is a paid add-on on Suite Professional.Custom integrations: Supported via APIs for building tailored workflows and data connections.zendesk.com/pricing
MCP server: PartlyZendesk is an MCP client: AI agents can call tools on external MCP servers from Suite Growth / Support Team upward. No vendor-documented MCP server exposing the AI agents to other agents.When used in action flows, the MCP server tools can be used by AI-powered features, such as auto assist, AI agents, and custom agents (EAP)support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1…
Bring your own key: PartlyNo bring-your-own-LLM-key or own-cloud inference. BYOK exists only as encryption-key control in a paid privacy add-on.The Advanced Data Privacy and Protection add-on offers Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) encryption, customizable retention policies, and PII masking.zendesk.com/trust-center

Buying it for a team

A company can buy it: YesSelf-serve card checkout for small teams, sales-assisted with invoicing for larger organisations and Enterprise plans.Sales-assisted: Best for larger organizations, complex requirements, or enterprise plans.zendesk.com/pricing
Seat model: YesPriced per agent seat per month with no published seat floor; the resolution allowance is also derived per seat (5 ARs/agent/month on Team and Suite Team, 10 on Professional).Base subscription: Pricing is determined by your selected plan tier and the number of agent seats needed.zendesk.com/pricing
Pooled budget: YesResolutions are funded from one account-level pool, not per-seat balances, even though the allowance is sized per seat.Your resolution allowance is a flexible currency pool used to pay for the cost of automated resolutions.support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1…
Admin controls: YesReasoning controls on every plan, automated QA scoring of each interaction, and Enterprise approval workflows.Evaluate every interaction with automated QA controls to audit outcomes, enforce policies, and maintain quality at scale.zendesk.com/service/ai/ai-agents
Audit log: PartlyAccount audit logs are Enterprise-only: the comparison table shows an em dash for Support Team, Suite Team and Suite Professional.Enterprise plans include detailed logs of account changes, user activity, and configuration updates.zendesk.com/trust-center
Single sign-on: YesSAML, OIDC and JWT are supported, and the plan comparison shows SSO among user authentication options on every self-serve plan.Support for Enterprise SSO (SAML, OIDC or JWT) and Social Login (Google, Microsoft, etc.).zendesk.com/trust-center

What happens to your code

Opt out of training: PartlyThird-party LLMs never train on customer data, but Zendesk does train its own generic cross-account classification models on Service Data and publishes no opt-out.models are pre-trained and Zendesk customer data will never be used by the third-party LLM providerzendesk.com/trust-center
Data residency: PartlyRegion choice (US, EEA, UK, Japan, Australia) comes with the Data Center Location feature, free from Suite Professional upward and not on by default.The Data Center Location add-on is available and free of charge for Zendesk Suite Professional or higher plans, but it is not automatically activated.support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4…
Getting out: PartlyUnused resolution allowance expires each usage period; account data exports to JSON/CSV/XML exist off Team plans, and Zendesk's docs state AI agent tickets cannot be exported.Automated resolutions don’t roll over to the next usage period.support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1…
Certifications: YesSOC 2 Type II (under NDA), ISO 27001:2022 plus ISO 42001 for AI management, GDPR via DPA and BCRs, HIPAA with a BAA.Zendesk is ISO 27001:2022 certified.zendesk.com/trust-center

26 sourced claims on this page. Checked 2026-09-03. How we check.

Alternatives

Where we would send a reader instead, in that listing's own words.

Fin
Intercom's customer agent that resolves support conversations across chat, email, voice and social channels.
Decagon
Enterprise platform for building and running AI customer-support agents across chat, voice and email.
Sierra
Enterprise platform for customer-service AI agents across voice, chat, email and messaging, priced by outcome.

Filed under

APIAutonomousClaudeEnterpriseGPT

Sources and updates

The pages we read22

Every fact below comes from the vendor. Nothing here is independently corroborated yet.

Coverage elsewhere3

Updates4

2026-09-03Capabilities · Commercial terms · Free tier · Price
2026-08-31Capabilities · Commercial terms · Free tier · Price
2026-08-23Alternatives · One-liner · Summary
2026-08-19One-liner · Summary