Connecting an AI agent to email (AI agents - Advanced only)

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">After youcreate an AI agent, you need to connect it to Zendesk Support before the AI agent can begin responding to customers by email. Email responses sent by the AI agent are sent as thesystemuser, meaning no agent seat is required for an email AI agent.</p>
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<div class="note attention" id="topic_ujq_hsk_m2c__note_wmx_5lp_2jc">
<span class="attentiontitle"></span> This article applies only to customers who bought
AI agents - Advanced before March 10, 2026. For other customers, AI agents for email are
automatically connected when they're <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10488757995034#topic_lng_c1c_2jc" target="_blank">created</a>.</div>
<p class="p">After you <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357749415066" target="_blank">create an AI agent</a>, you need to connect it to Zendesk
Support before the AI agent can begin responding to customers by email. Email responses sent
by the AI agent are sent as the <em class="ph i">system</em> user, meaning no agent seat is required for an
email AI agent.</p>
<p class="p">You should connect only one AI agent to email. For advice on how to handle brand-specific
information within a single AI agent, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9828611484826" target="_blank">Can I connect multiple AI agents to a single Zendesk account?</a></p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note" id="topic_ujq_hsk_m2c__note_sv5_5tr_hjc">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Performing the setup in this article will connect an AI agent to
the email channel only, not web form or API. However, you can <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9985221852954#topic_hxh_vgt_khc" target="_blank">add support for the web form channel</a> and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9985221852954#topic_mt1_lgt_khc" target="_blank">add support for the API channel</a>.</div>
</div>
<div class="p">This article covers the following topics: <ul class="ul" id="topic_ujq_hsk_m2c__ul_whz_rsk_m2c">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_sp2_3sk_m2c">Connecting an AI agent to your subdomain</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_j5r_psk_m2c">Creating the automation trigger and turning on the automation engine</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_jm3_qsk_m2c">Disconnecting an AI agent from email</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_sp2_3sk_m2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Connecting an AI agent to your subdomain</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The first step in connecting an AI agent to email is to connect to your production or
sandbox environment.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To connect an AI agent to your subdomain</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_sp2_3sk_m2c__ol_vx4_c2t_khc">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In the AI agents workspace, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756913178#topic_t25_qvj_tdc" target="_blank">select the AI agent</a> you want to work
with.</span></li>
<li class="li"><span class="ph">Click <img class="image" id="topic_sp2_3sk_m2c__image_hj2_sxf_y3c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ai_agents_settings_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">CRM integration</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Select your CRM</strong> and select <strong class="ph b">Zendesk Support</strong>. </li>
<li class="li">Select the <strong class="ph b">Integration</strong> tab.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Choose subdomain</strong> and select the subdomain for either your production or
sandbox environment.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_sp2_3sk_m2c__image_ugq_bnv_g3c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_email_ai_agent_choose_subdomain.png" width="400"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Under <strong class="ph b">Sender</strong>, click the drop-down field and select the user that appears in
tickets as the sender of the AI agent response.<p class="p">This user appears as the sender only
when the ticket is viewed in the Agent Workspace. When a customer receives an AI agent
email response in their inbox, the sender appears as the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5279521301914#topic_ahs_l1f_bwb" target="_blank">brand name and support address you’ve selected</a>
in Admin Center. </p>
For more information on this setting, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9985221852954#topic_ofm_pxd_m3c" target="_blank">Configuring the sender of AI agent email
responses</a>.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_sp2_3sk_m2c__image_vr5_ctk_m3c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_email_ai_agent_configure_sender.png" width="300"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">In the confirmation dialog, click <strong class="ph b">Continue</strong>.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_sp2_3sk_m2c__image_fj2_jnv_g3c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_email_ai_agent_continue_subdomain.png" width="400"></p>
</li>
</ol>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_j5r_psk_m2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Creating the automation trigger and turning on the automation engine</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">After you connect to your subdomain, you need to create the automation trigger and turn on
the automation engine. This allows the AI agent to send replies to customer requests on the
email channel. </p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note important" id="topic_j5r_psk_m2c__note_iq1_pxd_c3c">
<span class="importanttitle">Important:</span> If you don't set up the automation trigger, any
replies made by human agents during conversations in which the email AI agent also
participated don't appear in the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357749580186" target="_blank">conversation logs</a>. As a result, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5352026794010" target="_blank">automated resolutions</a> might be consumed for conversations they
shouldn't be.</div>
</div>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To create the automation trigger and turn on the automation engine</strong><ol class="ol" id="topic_j5r_psk_m2c__ol_hxp_nxk_m2c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In the AI agents workspace, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756913178#topic_t25_qvj_tdc" target="_blank">select the AI agent</a> you want to work
with.</span></li>
<li class="li"><span class="ph">Click <img class="image" id="topic_j5r_psk_m2c__image_hj2_sxf_y3c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ai_agents_settings_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">CRM integration</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Select the <strong class="ph b">Integration</strong> tab.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Create automation trigger</strong>.<div class="p">
<div class="note important" id="topic_j5r_psk_m2c__note_hy3_q5j_lkc">
<span class="importanttitle">Important:</span> If you skip this step and then later
remove and re-add the email integration for this AI agent, the <strong class="ph b">Create automation
trigger</strong> button becomes unavailable, preventing the AI agent from connecting to
the subdomain. If this happens, you must create a new AI agent and
integration.</div>
</div>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_j5r_psk_m2c__image_gj3_4ft_khc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_connecting_email_create_trigger.png" width="400"></p>
<p class="p"> The trigger is automatically created.
You can view the details of the JSON in a read-only text window, and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9985221852954#topic_ahn_kgt_khc" target="_blank">edit the trigger</a> if needed.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_j5r_psk_m2c__image_qqt_4ft_khc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_connecting_email_create_trigger_default.png" width="400"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Edit automation trigger</strong> to be taken to Admin Center and activate the
trigger.<p class="p">For help, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408882237722#topic_vcz_cfy_2lb" target="_blank">Activating ticket triggers</a>.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Return to the AI agents workspace and select the <strong class="ph b">Overview</strong> tab.</li>
<li class="li">Select <strong class="ph b">Automation engine</strong> to toggle it on.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_j5r_psk_m2c__image_rq1_qft_khc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_connecting_email_automation_engine.png" width="400"></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p">Your AI agent is now connected to email. At this point, you may want to: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_j5r_psk_m2c__ul_wdy_gft_khc">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9985221852954" target="_blank">Manage the automation trigger</a> to reorder it in your list of
triggers or edit its default configuration. </li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357758714906" target="_blank">Import ticket data</a> to populate the AI agent’s conversation logs
with historical data from Zendesk Support.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_jm3_qsk_m2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Disconnecting an AI agent from email</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">If you no longer want an AI agent to be connected to email, you can turn off the automation
engine and deactivate the trigger.</p>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To disconnect an AI agent from email</strong><ol class="ol" id="topic_jm3_qsk_m2c__ol_ilx_ykm_m2c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In the AI agents workspace, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756913178#topic_t25_qvj_tdc" target="_blank">select the AI agent</a> you want to work
with.</span></li>
<li class="li"><span class="ph">Click <img class="image" id="topic_jm3_qsk_m2c__image_hj2_sxf_y3c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ai_agents_settings_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">CRM integration</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Select the <strong class="ph b">Overview</strong> tab. </li>
<li class="li">Select <strong class="ph b">Automation engine</strong> to toggle it off. </li>
<li class="li">In the confirmation dialog, select <strong class="ph b">Turn off</strong>.<p class="p">At this point, the AI agent is
still technically connected to the email channel, but it won’t respond to customer
requests. </p>
</li>
<li class="li">Select the <strong class="ph b">Integration</strong> tab. </li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Deactivate automation trigger</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Select the <strong class="ph b">Overview</strong> tab again, click <strong class="ph b">Remove integration</strong>, and
then click <strong class="ph b">Confirm</strong> in the confirmation dialog.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p">Your AI agent is no longer connected to email.</p>
</div>
</div>
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