Zendesk Escalations

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Overview

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Requirements

• Active Zendesk account
• Zendesk integration connected (see Integration Setup below)
• API token with ticket creation permissions
• Appropriate support group assignments

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Setup Instructions

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Step 1: Connect Zendesk Integration

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Step 2: Create Escalation Path

1. Navigate to Agents → Your Agent → Escalations
2. Click “Create Escalation Path”
3. Fill in the basic information:
   • Name: Descriptive name (e.g., “Zendesk Support Tickets”)
   • Platform: Select “Zendesk”
   • Platform Integration: Choose your connected Zendesk account

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Step 3: Configure Zendesk Settings

• Default Priority: normal, low, high, or urgent
• Default Type: question, incident, problem, or task
• Tags (optional): Auto-apply tags (e.g., “ai-escalation”, “chatbot”)
• Group ID (optional): Assign to specific support group
• Subject Template (optional): Custom ticket subject format

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Step 4: Set Up Triggers (Optional)

• Manual Only: Only when customer requests or AI determines need
• Message Count: After specific number of messages
• Keywords: When certain words detected

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Step 5: Save Configuration

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Configuration Options

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Priority Levels

• Low: General inquiries, non-urgent questions
• Normal: Standard support requests (default)
• High: Important issues needing prompt attention
• Urgent: Critical issues requiring immediate response

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Ticket Types

• Question: General customer inquiries
• Incident: Service disruptions or errors
• Problem: Root cause of multiple incidents
• Task: Work items or requests

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Subject Template

[AI Escalation] {{customer_name}} - {{escalation_reason}}

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Available Variables

• {{customer_name}}: Customer’s name or identifier
• {{channel_name}}: Communication channel
• {{escalation_reason}}: Why escalated
• {{agent_name}}: AI agent name
• {{timestamp}}: When escalated

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Ticket Content

• Escalation Reason: Why the conversation was escalated
• Channel: Where the conversation took place (Live Chat, SMS, etc.)
• Full Transcript: Complete conversation history
• Customer Information: Name, email, identifier
• Timestamp: When escalation occurred
• Link to Conversation: Direct link in Support Unicorn

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Tags

• ai-escalation: Identifies AI-escalated tickets
• chatbot: Originated from chatbot
• channel-livechat / channel-sms: Indicates channel
• billing, technical, sales: Topic categories

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Group Assignment

1. Find your group ID in Zendesk:
   • Go to Admin → People → Groups
   • Click on a group
   • Group ID is in the URL: .../groups/[GROUP_ID]/edit
2. Enter the Group ID in escalation settings

• Tier 1 Support: 123456
• Billing Team: 234567
• Technical Support: 345678

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Escalation Triggers

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Manual Only

• Customer explicitly requests human help
• AI determines it cannot assist

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Message Count Trigger

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Keyword Trigger

• Billing: “refund”, “charge”, “billing”
• Technical: “error”, “broken”, “not working”
• Escalation: “manager”, “complaint”

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How It Works

1. Ticket Created: New ticket created in Zendesk
2. AI Pauses: AI agent stops responding
3. Agent Assigned: Ticket routed per Zendesk rules
4. Context Included: Full conversation in ticket description
5. Notification Sent: Agent receives Zendesk notification
6. Human Response: Agent responds through Zendesk

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Managing Zendesk Escalations

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Test Connection

1. Navigate to Agents → Your Agent → Escalations
2. Find your Zendesk escalation path
3. Click “Test Connection”
4. Verify test ticket appears in Zendesk

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Activate/Deactivate

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Edit Settings

1. Navigate to Agents → Your Agent → Escalations
2. Click the Zendesk escalation path
3. Update configuration
4. Click “Save Changes”

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Best Practices

1. Clear Tagging: Use consistent tags for reporting and filtering
2. Appropriate Priority: Set realistic default priorities
3. Group Assignment: Route to appropriate teams
4. Subject Templates: Include key information in subject
5. SLA Monitoring: Track response times for escalated tickets
6. Regular Review: Analyze escalation patterns to improve AI

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Example Use Cases

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Use Case 1: Billing Issues

• Priority: High
• Type: Question
• Tags: ai-escalation, billing, urgent
• Group: Billing Team (ID: 234567)
• Trigger: Keywords (“refund”, “charge”, “billing”)

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Use Case 2: Technical Problems

• Priority: Normal
• Type: Incident
• Tags: ai-escalation, technical, bug
• Group: Technical Support (ID: 345678)
• Trigger: Keywords (“error”, “broken”, “not working”)

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Use Case 3: General Escalations

• Priority: Normal
• Type: Question
• Tags: ai-escalation, general
• Group: Tier 1 Support (ID: 123456)
• Trigger: Message count > 5

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Using in Procedures

For billing issues:
{{escalate:escal_zendesk_billing}}
I've created a support ticket for our billing team. They'll contact you within 24 hours.

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Troubleshooting

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Tickets Not Being Created

• Verify Zendesk integration is connected and active
• Check API token has ticket creation permissions
• Ensure escalation path is activated
• Test connection using “Test Connection” button
• Review Zendesk API logs for errors

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Tickets Created in Wrong Group

• Verify Group ID is correct
• Check that group exists in Zendesk
• Ensure API user has permission to assign to group
• Review Zendesk automation rules (may override)

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Tags Not Applied

• Verify tag syntax (comma-separated, no special chars)
• Check Zendesk tag permissions
• Ensure tags don’t conflict with Zendesk triggers

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Missing Conversation Context

• Verify escalation template includes transcript
• Check webhook configuration
• Review escalation service logs

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Next Steps