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Zendesk AI Agent Advanced, previously known as Ultimate, represents a significant enhancement to Zendesk's customer service platform, offering advanced artificial intelligence capabilities as an add-on for Zendesk Suite and Support plans.
Designed to address the needs of organisations with substantial support volumes and intricate automation requirements, AI Agent Advanced provides a suite of powerful features. These include the ability to generate AI replies drawing from multiple content sources, utilise specific instructions to tailor AI responses, support a broad range of languages, deploy zero-training AI agents for rapid implementation, construct sophisticated conversation and hybrid flows for complex interactions, integrate with various external systems, and leverage enhanced reporting and analytics for continuous optimisation.
By implementing AI Agent Advanced, businesses can potentially achieve higher levels of automation, improved operational efficiency, and ultimately, a more streamlined and effective customer experience.
Zendesk AI Agent Advanced is a purchasable add-on designed to augment the native AI agent functionality available within all Zendesk Suite and Support plans. This advanced tier builds upon the foundation of the Essential level, incorporating a range of sophisticated features tailored for organisations facing high support ticket volumes or those requiring more intricate automation processes.
It encompasses all the functionalities present in the Essential level while introducing significant enhancements and additional capabilities. Notably, Zendesk AI Agent Advanced was previously known as Ultimate, indicating a continuation and evolution of its advanced AI offerings. The transition in naming might reflect a strategic move to better align the product with a tiered structure, clearly distinguishing it as a more capable solution compared to the entry-level Essential offering.
Organisations that implement Zendesk AI Agent Advanced can anticipate a number of key benefits. The platform is designed to significantly increase automation rates, even in complex customer service scenarios. It empowers businesses to automate the resolution of more complex customer queries that might typically require human intervention.
A core feature is the ability to create structured conversation flows, enabling the AI agent to guide customers through specific processes and gather necessary information effectively.
Furthermore, the integration capabilities allow for seamless connection with other business systems, facilitating end-to-end automation of various customer service requests. To ensure optimal performance, AI Agent Advanced provides in-depth reporting and analytics, allowing organisations to gain insights into AI agent usage and identify areas for improvement. In situations demanding rapid deployment, the zero-training AI agent functionality offers a quicker path to automation. For businesses with a global reach, the expanded language support caters to a wider customer base.
The focus on enhancing automation and handling complex situations suggests that Zendesk aims to equip organisations with tools to achieve substantial gains in efficiency and reduce reliance on manual agent involvement for a broader spectrum of customer interactions.
Zendesk AI agents are offered in two distinct levels: Essential and Advanced. The Essential level is included with all Zendesk Suite and Support plans, providing a starting point for automation with generative AI replies.
In contrast, the Advanced level is available as a paid add-on, unlocking a suite of more sophisticated functionalities.
The Essential level has limitations, such as generating replies from only a single content source and lacking advanced features like conversation flows, integrations with external systems, and comprehensive analytics.
The Advanced level overcomes these limitations by offering the capability to draw information from multiple content sources for its replies, incorporate specific instructions for tailored responses, support a significantly expanded range of languages, deploy AI agents without initial training, create structured conversation and hybrid flows, integrate with other systems, and provide detailed reporting and analytics.
A notable difference lies in the language support:
The following table summarises the key feature differences between the two levels:
|
Feature |
Essential |
Advanced |
|
Generative AI Replies |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Generative Replies on Messaging |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Generative Replies on Email |
Yes (autoreplies with articles only) |
Yes |
|
Multiple Content Sources |
No |
Yes |
|
Instructions |
No |
Yes |
|
Languages Supported |
30 (with automatic translations) |
79+ (requires translations) |
|
Zero-Training AI Agents |
No |
Yes |
|
Conversation Flows |
No |
Yes |
|
Hybrid Flows |
No |
Yes |
|
Integrations |
No |
Yes |
|
Conversation Journey Explorer |
No |
Yes |
|
Knowledge Gap Analysis |
No |
Yes |
|
Intent Performance Breakdown |
No |
Yes |
|
Automated Resolutions Tracking |
Yes |
Yes |
This comparison underscores that the Advanced level is designed for organisations that require a higher degree of automation, broader integration capabilities, and deeper insights into their AI agent's performance than what the Essential level provides. The expanded language support is particularly advantageous for businesses operating in diverse global markets.
A key differentiator of Zendesk AI Agent Advanced from the Essential level is its capacity to generate replies by drawing information from various content sources, extending beyond the limitations of a single source.
This allows the AI agent to access a broader knowledge base, potentially leading to more comprehensive and accurate responses.
In contrast, the Essential level is restricted in this aspect. These AI-generated replies are often concise and may include links directing users to the original source articles for further details.
The system generates these replies in scenarios where no specific customer intent is detected or when a recognized intent is explicitly configured to trigger a generative response. Importantly, the AI agent respects any restricted permissions set within the Help Center, ensuring that users only receive suggestions for articles they are authorised to view.
Further information on this feature can be found in the Zendesk help article "About generative replies in the AI agent". The ability to leverage multiple content sources significantly enhances the AI agent's ability to provide relevant and complete answers, potentially increasing the rate of self-service resolution.
Zendesk AI Agent Advanced provides a feature called "Instructions," which enables users to give specific guidance to the AI agent, resulting in more tailored and contextually appropriate responses.
These instructions act as rules that influence how the AI agent interacts with customers. For instance, organisations can instruct the AI agent to adhere to an internal style guide, ensuring consistent use of terminology and formatting.
Instructions can also dictate which phrases or responses the AI agent should avoid using. Moreover, specific instructions can be created to govern how the AI agent responds to particular user messages, such as always including a specific hyperlink when discussing a certain topic. The process of managing these instructions involves creating, testing, editing, and deleting them through the Zendesk interface.
To learn more about utilising this feature, refer to the help article "Using instructions to influence advanced AI agent responses". This level of control over the AI agent's behavior ensures that its communication aligns with the organisation's brand voice and specific operational requirements.
A significant advantage of Zendesk AI Agent Advanced is its expanded language support, encompassing over 79 languages.
This allows businesses to interact with a global customer base in their native tongues. However, it's important to note that while the platform supports this wide array of languages, users are responsible for providing the necessary translations.
This contrasts with the Essential level, which supports 30 languages with the benefit of automatic translations. For organisations utilising zero-training AI agents within the Advanced plan, the language support extends even further, covering any language supported by OpenAI.
A comprehensive list of the languages supported by AI Agent Advanced can be found in the Zendesk help article "Languages supported by AI agents - Advanced". This extensive language capability enables businesses to provide localised support experiences, though it necessitates an investment in translation efforts for the additional languages beyond the 30 offered with automatic translation in the Essential plan.
Zendesk AI Agent Advanced introduces the concept of zero-training AI agents, which can be deployed without the need for extensive initial training data in the form of expressions.
These advanced AI agents leverage generative AI-powered use cases to understand customer messages and either provide direct answers based on the organisation's Help Center content or guide them towards relevant conversation flows designed by administrators.
A key benefit of zero-training AI agents is their rapid setup and simplified maintenance compared to traditional expression-based AI agents. The process of getting started with these agents involves several key steps: creating the AI agent, configuring its settings (including persona and tone), defining use cases to understand customer intent, building dialogues for the AI agent to follow, and continuously monitoring its performance. For a more detailed understanding of this functionality, refer to the Zendesk help article "About zero-training AI agents".
The ability to deploy AI agents quickly without the initial hurdle of training data allows organisations to realise the benefits of automation more rapidly.
Zendesk AI Agent Advanced empowers users to create sophisticated conversational paths through its "Conversation Flows" feature.
This allows for more complex and guided interactions with customers, going beyond simple question-and-answer exchanges. Complementing this is the "Hybrid Flows" capability, which combines the power of generative AI with pre-scripted responses within a conversation flow.
This hybrid approach offers a balance between the flexibility of AI-generated text and the control of predefined scripts, allowing for a more nuanced and effective customer interaction. Both Conversation Flows and Hybrid Flows are constructed using the "Dialogue Builder," a tool within the Zendesk AI Agent Advanced interface that enables administrators to visually design and build these automated conversational pathways.
Notably, Conversation Flows can also be implemented for email interactions, enabling multiple exchanges between the AI agent and the customer to gather necessary information or resolve issues. For comprehensive guidance on using the Dialogue Builder, consult the Zendesk help article "Using the dialogue builder to create conversation flows for AI agents". These features enable organisations to automate more complex customer journeys, leading to higher resolution rates for intricate inquiries.
A significant strength of Zendesk AI Agent Advanced lies in its integration capabilities with other systems and tools.
This allows the AI agent to extend its functionality and become a more integral part of the overall customer service ecosystem. The "Integration Builder" is a powerful no-code tool that facilitates these connections, enabling users to link their AI agent to virtually any API or data source without requiring extensive technical or programming skills.
This opens up possibilities for personalising chat experiences with dynamic content retrieved from integrated systems.
For example, the AI agent can seamlessly access customer information from a CRM system 2, retrieve data from external databases, or interact with third-party applications, all in real-time during a customer interaction. This capability allows for tailored responses, recommendations, and solutions based on individual user needs.
For detailed information on leveraging these integration capabilities, refer to the Zendesk help article "About the integration builder for advanced AI agents". These robust integration features enable end-to-end automation, allowing the AI agent to not only answer questions but also perform actions and provide highly personalized support.
Zendesk AI Agent Advanced includes a suite of enhanced reporting and analytics tools designed to provide deep insights into the AI agent's performance and customer interactions. These features empower organisations to make data-driven decisions for continuous improvement.
Initiating the use of Zendesk AI Agent Advanced involves a few key steps. The first step is to acquire the add-on, which requires contacting Zendesk Sales to purchase it.
Once the add-on is secured, the Zendesk help article "Getting started with AI agents - Advanced" provides a comprehensive guide to the initial setup process.
For those opting to utilize zero-training AI agents, the basic setup tasks include creating the AI agent within the Zendesk interface, configuring its general settings (such as name, persona, and language), defining use cases that help the AI agent understand customer requests, building the corresponding dialogue flows, and establishing a process for ongoing performance monitoring.
It is also crucial to connect the AI agent to the organisation's Zendesk Support instance to enable seamless interaction with tickets and other relevant data.
The initial phase of implementation requires a coordinated effort between the teams responsible for purchasing the add-on and those who will be configuring and managing the AI agent within the Zendesk platform. At Gravity CX we specialise in supporting organisation setting up powerful AI agent, contact us if you'd like an initial consultation.
The pricing structure for Zendesk AI Agents is based on the concept of automated resolutions (AR), which represent customer inquiries successfully resolved by the AI agent without human intervention.
The Advanced level of AI Agent functionality is offered as an add-on to any Zendesk Suite or Support plan, incurring an additional cost on top of the base plan subscription. All Zendesk Suite and Support plans include a certain number of automated resolutions as part of the subscription. Should an organisation require more than the included ARs, they have the option to purchase additional volumes.
For detailed and up-to-date pricing information, it is recommended to consult the official Zendesk pricing page.
It's worth noting that the Advanced AI add-on typically has a per-agent monthly fee and is only available to customers on the Professional or Enterprise tiers of Zendesk Suite.2 Additionally, there are different rates for purchasing extra automated resolutions, with options for pay-as-you-go and committed volume discounts.
This pricing model, which links costs directly to the AI agent's successful outcomes, allows organisations to align their investment with the value derived from the automation capabilities.
Zendesk AI Agent Advanced offers a wide range of practical applications across various customer service scenarios. organisations can leverage its capabilities to handle frequently asked questions (FAQs), provide real-time updates on order statuses, guide customers through troubleshooting steps for common issues, and automate specific support processes through structured conversation flows.
Customers who have implemented AI Agent Advanced have reported significant benefits, including a reduction in overall ticket volume, faster response times to customer inquiries, higher rates of automation for customer interactions, and an overall improvement in customer satisfaction scores. Several customer stories and testimonials highlight the tangible impact of using Zendesk AI Agents, showcasing achievements like substantial annual cost savings, significant reductions in ticket handling times, and high customer satisfaction ratings.
The implementation of AI Agent Advanced can also lead to potential cost savings by reducing the workload on human agents, allowing them to focus on more complex or sensitive issues, and by increasing the overall efficiency of the support operations.
These real-world examples demonstrate the potential of AI Agent Advanced to transform customer service operations and deliver measurable business value.
For those seeking more in-depth information on Zendesk AI Agent Advanced and its features, the following official Zendesk help articles provide valuable resources:
In addition to these articles, users are encouraged to explore the broader Zendesk Help Center and the Zendesk Community Forums for further resources, including video tutorials, webinars, and discussions with other Zendesk users.
Zendesk AI Agent Advanced offers a robust set of advanced features designed to empower organisations to elevate their customer service operations. By providing capabilities such as generative AI replies from multiple sources, customisable instructions, extensive language support, zero-training deployment, sophisticated conversation and hybrid flows, seamless integrations, and comprehensive reporting and analytics, AI Agent Advanced presents a compelling solution for businesses seeking to achieve significant gains in automation and efficiency.
The potential benefits include substantial reductions in agent workload, faster response times, increased automation rates, and ultimately, improved customer experiences. organisations facing high support volumes or complex automation requirements are encouraged to explore the wealth of resources available and consider how Zendesk AI Agent Advanced can be strategically implemented to address their specific business needs and challenges