Using Claude actions in action flows

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">All Claude actions allow you to select from the following models:</p>
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<p id="docs-ai-summary-toggle">Summary: <span id="up-triangle">◀</span><span id="down-triangle">▼</span></p>
<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">You can connect action flows to Claude models to automate tasks like sending prompts, summarizing text, analyzing sentiment, and extracting keywords. Choose from different Claude models based on task complexity and speed needs. Use a dedicated service account for secure API key management. These actions help improve collaboration and streamline workflows by integrating external AI capabilities into your support processes.</p>
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<div class="p">By connecting the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8855513857306" target="_blank">action builder</a> to external systems, such as Claude, admins
can integrate Zendesk with external systems in automated workflows, improving
collaboration and maintaining a seamless experience across multiple platforms.<div class="note" id="zug_action_flow_external_Claude__note_i2z_jtz_v3c">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> The steps associated with external systems in action flows are
referred to collectively as <em class="ph i">external actions</em>.</div>
</div>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">All Claude actions allow you to select from the following models:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="zug_action_flow_external_Claude__ul_m4j_yll_cjc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">Claude Opus 4.6</strong>: Most capable model for complex reasoning
tasks</p>
</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">Claude Sonnet 4.6</strong>: Balanced performance and speed for most use
cases</p>
</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">Claude Haiku 4.5</strong>: Fastest model for simple tasks and high-volume
processing</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Choose the model that best fits your use case based on the complexity of the
task and required response time.</p>
<div class="p">This article contains the following topics:<ul class="ul" id="zug_action_flow_external_Claude__ul_ysp_sn4_zgc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_fcs_gtn_g3c">Connecting Claude to action builder</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_z1q_htn_g3c">Using Claude actions in action flows</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_fcs_gtn_g3c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Connecting Claude to action builder</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Before you can include external actions in your action flows, you must connect the
action builder to the external system.</p>
<div class="p">When connecting to external systems for use in action flows, the following best practices are recommended:<ul class="ul" id="topic_fcs_gtn_g3c__d8e13">
<li class="li">All external actions performed by an action flow are attributed to the user who connected the
external system. Therefore, it's a best practice to use a dedicated service
account rather than personal credentials when connecting to each external
system.</li>
<li class="li">All integrations request access to necessary scopes. However, it's important that you review and validate the scopes before authorizing the connection to the external system.</li>
<li class="li">When managing credentials for API key-based tools, such as OpenAI, it's best to store keys in a secure vault or credential manager.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To create a new API key from the Anthropic Console</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_fcs_gtn_g3c__ol_dbl_y3l_cjc">
<li class="li">Open the <a class="xref" href="https://console.anthropic.com" target="_blank">Claude Console</a>.</li>
<li class="li">Navigate to the API Keys section.</li>
<li class="li">Create a new API key with the appropriate permissions.</li>
<li class="li">Save the API key or keep the window open so you can copy and paste it into
Zendesk. You'll need it when connecting Claude to action builder.</li>
</ol>
<div class="note important" id="topic_fcs_gtn_g3c__note_mxz_gjl_cjc">
<span class="importanttitle">Important:</span> Keep your API key secure and do not share
it. The API key grants access to your Anthropic account and will be used for all
Claude actions in your action flows. For detailed information about creating API
keys and getting started with the Anthropic API, see the <a class="xref" href="https://docs.anthropic.com/en/api/getting-started" target="_blank">Anthropic documentation</a>.</div>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To connect action builder to Claude</strong><ol class="ol" id="topic_fcs_gtn_g3c__ol_psh_lk4_zgc">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_apps_integrations_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Apps and integrations</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Actions &gt; Action
flows</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8855601898266" target="_blank">Create</a> or <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9052312956570" target="_blank">edit</a> an action flow.</li>
<li class="li">Open the step sidebar.</li>
<li class="li">Under <strong class="ph b">External actions</strong>, click <strong class="ph b">Claude</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Connect</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Follow the prompts to enter your Anthropic API key and complete the
connection.<div class="note" id="topic_fcs_gtn_g3c__note_ilr_mtz_v3c">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> All external actions performed by
an action flow are attributed to the user who connected the external
system. Therefore, it is a best practice to use a dedicated service
account rather than personal credentials when connecting to each
external system.</div>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p">After you've connected to the system, you'll see an indicator that it's connected and
details about the instance you're connected to, as well as the actions available for
Claude.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_z1q_htn_g3c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Using Claude actions in action flows</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Claude action steps can be used to look up forms and search for survey responses.</p>
<div class="p">The following Claude actions are available:<ul class="ul" id="topic_z1q_htn_g3c__ul_jby_q44_zgc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_lck_r44_zgc">Send prompt</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_kdh_jvj_1jc">Summarize text</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_jck_nll_cjc">Analyze sentiment</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_tm1_rll_cjc">Extract keywords</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested2" id="topic_lck_r44_zgc">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title4">Sending a prompt</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Use the <em class="ph i">Send prompt</em> action to send a custom prompt to a Claude model and
receive a response.</p>
<p class="p">This action has the following inputs and outputs:</p>
<div class="p">
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<th class="entry cellrowborder" id="d89e266" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;"> </th>
<th class="entry cellrowborder" id="d89e268" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Variables</th>
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</thead>
<tbody class="tbody">
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<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e266" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Inputs</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e268" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Required: <code class="ph codeph">Model</code>,
<code class="ph codeph">Prompt</code>
</td>
</tr>
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<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e266" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Output</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e268" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Response content from Claude</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested2" id="topic_kdh_jvj_1jc">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title5">Summarizing text</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Use the <em class="ph i">Summarize text</em> action to generate a summary of provided text, such
as customer support conversations.</p>
<p class="p">This action has the following inputs and outputs:</p>
<div class="p">
<div class="tablenoborder">
<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="table" frame="border" id="topic_kdh_jvj_1jc__table_ywg_lll_cjc" rules="all" summary="">
<colgroup>
<col>
<col>
</colgroup>
<thead class="thead" style="text-align:left;">
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<th class="entry cellrowborder" id="d89e334" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;"> </th>
<th class="entry cellrowborder" id="d89e336" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Variables</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody class="tbody">
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e334" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Inputs</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e336" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Required: <code class="ph codeph">Model</code>,
<code class="ph codeph">Text</code>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e334" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Output</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e336" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Original text, summary, and analysis explanation</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested2" id="topic_jck_nll_cjc">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title6">Analyzing sentiment</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Use the <em class="ph i">Analyze sentiment</em> action to evaluate the sentiment of a given
text, helpful for understanding customer emotions.</p>
<p class="p">This action has the following inputs and outputs:</p>
<div class="p">
<div class="tablenoborder">
<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="table" frame="border" id="topic_jck_nll_cjc__table_kck_nll_cjc" rules="all" summary="">
<colgroup>
<col>
<col>
</colgroup>
<thead class="thead" style="text-align:left;">
<tr class="row">
<th class="entry cellrowborder" id="d89e402" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;"> </th>
<th class="entry cellrowborder" id="d89e404" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Variables</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody class="tbody">
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e402" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Inputs</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e404" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Required: <code class="ph codeph">Model</code>,
<code class="ph codeph">Text</code>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e402" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Output</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e404" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Original text, sentiment classification (positive,
neutral, or negative), and analysis explanation</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested2" id="topic_tm1_rll_cjc">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title7">Extracting keywords</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Use the <em class="ph i">Extract keywords</em> action to identify and extract meaningful
keywords from text content.</p>
<p class="p">This action has the following inputs and outputs:</p>
<div class="p">
<div class="tablenoborder">
<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="table" frame="border" id="topic_tm1_rll_cjc__table_um1_rll_cjc" rules="all" summary="">
<colgroup>
<col>
<col>
</colgroup>
<thead class="thead" style="text-align:left;">
<tr class="row">
<th class="entry cellrowborder" id="d89e471" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;"> </th>
<th class="entry cellrowborder" id="d89e473" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Variables</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody class="tbody">
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e471" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Inputs</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e473" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Required: <code class="ph codeph">Model</code>,
<code class="ph codeph">Text</code>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row">
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e471" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Output</td>
<td class="entry cellrowborder" headers="d89e473" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;">Original text, array of extracted keywords, and analysis
explanation</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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