About AI agents

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Zendesk AI agents are AI-powered chatbots that interact with your customers on messaging, email (including API and web form), and voice channels. They can have conversations with customers and perform actions in authorized systems autonomously, automating and resolving issues so that your human agents can focus on more complex work.</p>
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<div class="note attention" id="ai_agent_overview__note_unp_jgb_2jc">
<span class="attentiontitle"></span> Usage of AI agent functionality is measured
through <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5352026794010" target="_blank">automated resolutions</a>. Each account includes an
allowance of automated resolutions based on their plan. </div>
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<p class="p">Zendesk AI agents are AI-powered chatbots that interact with your customers on messaging,
email (including API and web form), and voice channels. They can have conversations with
customers and perform actions in authorized systems autonomously, automating and resolving
issues so that your human agents can focus on more complex work. </p>
<p class="p">This article contains the following topics: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="ai_agent_overview__ul_bb2_fgb_2jc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_kkn_bgb_2jc">About AI agent functionality</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_y13_cgb_2jc">Legacy AI agent functionality</a></li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Related articles: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="ai_agent_overview__ul_jmw_ggb_2jc">
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408834322842" target="_blank">AI agent resources</a>
</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408821281818" target="_blank">Understanding everywhere you can use AI agents</a>
</li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10492525532698" target="_blank">Understanding the customer experience with AI agents</a></li>
</ul>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_kkn_bgb_2jc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">About AI agent functionality</h2>
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<p class="p">Zendesk AI agent functionality covers all levels of automation, from quick, self-service
workflows to more complex workflows integrated with other platforms. You can start
automating in just minutes with AI agents that answer questions based on content from your
trusted knowledge sources for customer service or employee service workflows. </p>
<p class="p">From there, you can move on to more advanced features such as goal-oriented <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8979864563610" target="_blank">generative procedures</a>, scripted <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357749494810" target="_blank">dialogues</a>, authorized <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756651290" target="_blank">actions</a>, and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/8264334170906" target="_blank">API integrations</a> with systems you already use. Through it all,
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9510024609178" target="_blank">advanced analytics</a> are available to help you measure your
automation success. </p>
<p class="p">AI agents use <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8966284087066" target="_blank">agentic AI</a> to solve complex user requests with
limited direct human supervision. They’re capable of autonomous decision-making, planning,
and adaptive execution throughout the course of a conversation. AI agents interact with your
customers in a natural, human-like way, engaging in small talk and working through complex
or vague issues by identifying the necessary next steps and asking follow-up questions where
needed. </p>
<p class="p">Usage of AI agent functionality is measured through <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5352026794010" target="_blank">automated resolutions</a>. This means you pay only for customer
requests that were successfully resolved by an AI agent, without any escalation to a human
agent. Each account includes an allowance of automated resolutions based on their plan, and
you can buy more if needed. </p>
<p class="p">To get started with AI agent functionality, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8724978128282" target="_blank">Getting started with AI agents</a>.</p>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested2" id="topic_y1y_zsn_3jc">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title3">About Forethought AI agents by Zendesk</h3>
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<p class="p" dir="ltr">Forethought AI agents by Zendesk is an independent suite of omnichannel AI
tools designed for customer support teams, even those that don’t use the Zendesk platform.
Its capabilities help organizations handle support requests more efficiently by automating
common tasks, surfacing helpful insights, and improving the quality of both human and
AI-assisted support.</p>
<p class="p">For more information, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10659079322394" target="_blank">About Forethought AI agents by Zendesk</a>.</p>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_y13_cgb_2jc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Legacy AI agent functionality</h2>
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<p class="p">The following pieces of AI agent functionality are no longer current and are considered
legacy functionality: </p>
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<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">AI agents - Essential (Legacy)</strong></p>
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<div class="div panel">
<p class="p">AI agents - Essential was a level of AI agent functionality designed for quick,
self-service adoption, allowing you to create generative AI agents that answered customer
questions based on content from your knowledge sources. </p>
<p class="p">Important dates to know: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_y13_cgb_2jc__ul_f3d_3jb_2jc">
<li class="li">As of <strong class="ph b">May 11, 2026</strong>, AI agents - Essential is considered legacy functionality.
Only customers who had any drafted or published AI agents as of this date can access
this functionality. </li>
<li class="li">On <strong class="ph b">August 31, 2026</strong>, AI agents - Essential will no longer receive bug fixes or
technical upgrades. </li>
<li class="li">On <strong class="ph b">December 10, 2026</strong>, AI agents - Essential will no longer be available in
Zendesk. </li>
</ul>
<p class="p">For more information, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/8835044465178" target="_blank">Using essential AI agents (Legacy)</a>.</p>
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<div class="div accordion">
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">Bot builder, answers, and intents in AI agents (Legacy)</strong></p>
</div>
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<p class="p">Bot builder, answers, and intents in AI agents were pieces of AI agent functionality that
allowed you to create custom answer flows to address customer questions. </p>
<p class="p">Important dates to know: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_y13_cgb_2jc__ul_kjb_kjb_2jc">
<li class="li">As of <strong class="ph b">February 2, 2025</strong>, these features are considered legacy functionality.
Customers who had any drafted or published AI agents as of this date still retain access
to these features. </li>
<li class="li">On <strong class="ph b">August 31, 2026</strong>, Zendesk will stop technical development except for critical
bug fixes and supporting breaking changes. </li>
<li class="li">On <strong class="ph b">December 10, 2026</strong>, these features will no longer be available. </li>
</ul>
<p class="p">For more information, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/4610662189594" target="_blank">Using bot builder to create answers (Legacy)</a>.</p>
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<div class="div accordion">
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">Zero-training AI agents</strong>
</p>
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<div class="div panel">
<p class="p">Zero-training AI agents are a previous generation of Zendesk AI agents that used
generative AI–based <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9041901679130" target="_blank">use cases</a> to understand customer requests and link to scripted
dialogues. Much of the configuration performed for zero-training AI agents (such as use
cases) remains the same for the current, agentic AI generation of Zendesk AI agents. The
important distinction is that AI agents with agentic AI can also use <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8979864563610" target="_blank">generative procedures</a>. </p>
<p class="p">Important date to know: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_y13_cgb_2jc__ul_mxf_pjb_2jc">
<li class="li">As of <strong class="ph b">May 11, 2026</strong>, zero-training AI agents are considered legacy
functionality. These types of AI agents can no longer be created, but you may have
already created some that you continue to maintain. </li>
</ul>
<p class="p">For more information, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/8988994355994" target="_blank">Using AI agents</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="div accordion">
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">Autoreplies with articles (Legacy)</strong></p>
</div>
<div class="div panel">
<p class="p">Autoreplies with articles was a feature that sent automated responses to email and web
form support requests. These responses suggested up to three relevant help center articles
to help the customer resolve their issue.</p>
<p class="p">Important dates to know:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_y13_cgb_2jc__ul_mjz_gzg_2jc">
<li class="li">As of <strong class="ph b">July 31, 2025</strong>, autoreplies with articles are considered legacy
functionality.</li>
<li class="li">On <strong class="ph b">August 31, 2026</strong>, Zendesk will stop technical development except for critical
bug fixes and supporting breaking changes.</li>
<li class="li">On <strong class="ph b">December 10, 2026</strong>, autoreplies with articles will no longer be
available.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">For more information, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/8835077107098" target="_blank">Using autoreplies with articles (Legacy)</a>.</p>
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