Price7 of 18
Channels and integrations11 of 18
What it learns from4 of 6
Actions and control21 of 24
Data protection12 of 14
Independent testing0 of 20
AI customer service agent · Zendesk
Zendesk AI Agents
Zendesk's AI agents, included in its plans and billed from $1.50 per automated resolution.
Zendesk's help article says its older AI agents - Essential and bot builder features are being retired, and Essential stops working on December 10, 20263.
In short
- Zendesk charges $1.50 per automated resolution on committed volume and $2.00 pay-as-you-go1.
- 500 resolutions at $1.50 cost $750 a month, plus at least one agent seat from $19 a month billed yearly1,8.
- Support Team and Suite Team seats include 5 resolutions a month and Suite Professional seats include 10; the 14-day free trial needs no credit card1,2.
- Zendesk names SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001:2022, signs a data processing agreement, and offers a choice of data region9.
- G2's Customer Experience evaluations page lists Zendesk for Customer Service at 78, marked G2 tested13. Its General CX leaderboard lists Zendesk as under evaluation14.
Zendesk AI Agents suits teams that already run Zendesk and want to pay only for resolved requests1,2. Testing, procedure version history and reporting are documented5,6,7. The catch: the agent comes with a Zendesk plan rather than on its own, Zendesk says it uses service data to train its own cross-account models, and a business associate agreement needs an add-on2,9.
Best for: Teams already on Zendesk that want to pay per resolution.
Where the points come from
Price 7 of 18 points
| Rule | What is published | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan or free trial | trial14-day free trial, no credit card required. Includes Suite Professional features1,2. | 2 / 3 |
| Cost of 500 AI resolutions a month | $769/mo500 x $1.50 = $750 plus one Support Team seat, $19 yearly rate, as AI agents need a Zendesk plan1,3. | 2 / 12 |
| Pay only for resolved conversations | YesBilling is per automated resolution: $1.50 committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go1. | 3 / 3 |
Channels and integrations 11 of 18 points
| Rule | What is published | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Channels the agent answers on | Email, Live chat, WhatsApp, Voice calls, Facebook Messenger or InstagramWeb and mobile messaging, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, email and voice; voice needs Zendesk voice1,2,10. | 10 / 12 |
| Sold without the vendor’s own help desk | NoNative AI agents are included in Zendesk Suite and Support plans. Forethought agents for other platforms are sold through sales2. | 0 / 2 |
| Works with named help desks | ZendeskRuns in Zendesk. Other platforms are mentioned only for the separate Forethought product, with none named2. | 1 / 4 |
What it learns from 4 of 6 points
Actions and control 21 of 24 points
| Rule | What is published | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Takes actions in connected systems | YesAgents take action in connected tools; procedures can insert API integrations2,5. | 7 / 7 |
| Hands over to a human | Not publishedAn escalation block routes to a human, but passing conversation history is not stated2,4. | 0 / 3 |
| Guardrails on answers | YesZendesk says you set policies for how AI agents operate and review their behaviour2. | 3 / 3 |
| Test before going live | YesA Test AI agent widget lets you try an agent before making it live6. | 5 / 5 |
| Versioning or approval of changes | YesProcedure changes are kept in version history and earlier live versions can be restored5. | 3 / 3 |
| Reporting on the agent | YesAdvanced analytics shows automated resolutions, contact reasons and total AI agent conversations7. | 3 / 3 |
Data protection 12 of 14 points
| Rule | What is published | Points |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 | YesZendesk undergoes SOC 2 Type II audits and is ISO 27001:2022 certified9. | 6 / 6 |
| HIPAA agreement | YesTrust page says Zendesk AI is eligible for coverage under Zendesk's BAA; signing a BAA needs the Advanced Compliance add-on9. | 2 / 2 |
| GDPR data processing agreement | YesThe Zendesk DPA can be reviewed and signed on its website9. | 2 / 2 |
| Choice of data region | YesCustomers who buy the Data Center Location add-on can select the region that hosts their service data9. | 2 / 2 |
| Customer data not used to train models | NoZendesk uses service data to train generic cross-account ML models; third-party LLM providers may not train on it9. | 0 / 2 |
Independent testing 0 of 20 points
| Rule | What is published | Points |
|---|---|---|
| G2 AI CX evaluation | Not testedG2 did not include it in the October 2026 test15. G2 lists Zendesk as under evaluation. | 0 / 20 |
The rule behind each line: how we score AI customer service agents.
Plans and prices
As the vendor lists them, before tax. Prices are in US dollars unless the plan shows euros; the points use US dollars, with euros converted at the ECB rate.
| Plan | Price as listed | Per month | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support TeamPer agent | $19/agent/month billed yearly1 | $19 | $25 monthly; includes 5 automated resolutions per agent |
| Suite TeamPer agent | $55/agent/month billed yearly1 | $55 | $69 monthly; adds social messaging channels; 5 resolutions per agent |
| Suite ProfessionalPer agent | $115/agent/month billed yearly1 | $115 | $149 monthly; 10 resolutions per agent |
| Automated resolutionsAny plan | $1.50 committed, $2.00 pay-as-you-go1 | – | Charged per resolved request, on top of seats |
Seat prices are per agent. Committed usage means buying 100 or more resolutions in advance; extra usage bills at the pay-as-you-go rate1,8.
Strengths
- A price per resolution is published, with committed and pay-as-you-go rates1.
- Works across email, web and mobile messaging, social messaging and voice2,10.
- Procedures keep a version history, and the help centre documents testing flows before going live5,6.
- Reports show automated resolutions, contact reasons and conversation journeys7.
- Zendesk states a third-party AI provider never trains on customer data9.
Limits
- AI agents are included with Zendesk plans, so you need Zendesk's own help desk2.
- Zendesk uses service data to train generic ML models across accounts9.
- A HIPAA agreement needs the Advanced Compliance add-on, and a data region needs the Data Center Location add-on9.
- Committed pricing needs 100 or more resolutions bought in advance8.
Concerns on record
- SecurityWeek reported on October 3, 2019 that Zendesk disclosed unauthorized access in 2016 to roughly 10,000 Support and Chat accounts, including expired trial and inactive accounts; usernames, email addresses, phone numbers and hashed, salted passwords were accessed12.
What Zendesk says
Vendor claims. We show them, but they earn no points.
- Zendesk says its AI agents support 80 languages2.
Other AI customer service agents
- 1
Lyro AI AgentSmall stores that want a priced-by-conversation AI agent71/100$291.67/mocost of 500 AI resolutions a month - 2
Fini AITeams that want per-resolution billing and the agent working inside their existing help desk65/100$370.83/mocost of 500 AI resolutions a month - 3
Fin AI AgentTeams that already run a help desk and want to pay per outcome62/100$495/mocost of 500 AI resolutions a month - 4
Freddy AI AgentTeams on Freshdesk who want an AI agent inside their help desk61/100$264/mocost of 500 AI resolutions a month
Sources
- Zendesk pricing, Zendesk. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- Zendesk AI agents, Zendesk. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- About AI agents, Zendesk. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- Dialogues for AI agents, Zendesk. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- Generative procedures for AI agents, Zendesk. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- Testing conversation flows in AI agents, Zendesk. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- AI agents advanced analytics, Zendesk. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- About automated resolutions, Zendesk. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- Zendesk Trust Center, Zendesk. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- Zendesk messaging, Zendesk. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- Getting started with AI agents, Zendesk. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- Zendesk discloses old data breach affecting 10,000 accounts, SecurityWeek. Accessed 9 Oct 2026.
- Customer Experience agent evaluations, G2. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- AI CX Agent Evaluations: General CX leaderboard, G2. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- AI CX Agent Evaluations, General CX leaderboard, G2. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Website: www.zendesk.com · Markdown version · We are not affiliated with Zendesk.