@GitHub brought employee service across IT, HR, Security, Finance, and more onto @Zendesk. One adaptive form replaced 10 forms and 72 fields, and new-hire CSAT now exceeds 98%. A thoughtful use of AI and automation to make work easier for people. link
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Zendesk on X
Praise for Zendesk's AI and automation sits alongside complaints from people stuck in Zendesk-run support queues that send canned replies and close tickets unresolved. Alternatives come up one name at a time, with Helpin the only one named by more than one person.
First written 27 Oct · what changed · from 31 posts by 25 people
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as of Nov 3, 12:00 UTCWhat changed
as of 27 Oct · checked once a monthFirst written 27 Oct. When what people say changes, it shows here.
Tone· 6 posts· written 27 Oct
How do people feel about Zendesk?
Reception is positive: 4 of the 6 people here praise Zendesk's AI and automation as doing real work, and the other 2 are mildly warm. Nobody in this section criticises the product.
The upbeat theme is about AI and automation removing work rather than adding it. One user says an adaptive form replaced 10 forms and 72 fields for employee service across IT, HR, security and finance, and puts new-hire CSAT above 98%; another pairs Zendesk with a Claude API so a real person answers tickets in 15 to 30 minutes at ten times the volume and accuracy. A third likes AI that "actually solves stuff" instead of making more headaches, and a reply to Zendesk's own testing numbers says 600+ attack scenarios and 33,000 turns is far more thorough than the single-prompt tests they usually see.
The two milder posts don't praise the platform directly: a customer service rep holds Zendesk up as the example of why internal notes matter so the next agent doesn't repeat troubleshooting, and one says Zendesk "not that bad actually". The complaints live in the problems section, not here.
- Upbeat on Zendesk AI4
- Mildly positive2
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I use Zendesk and have a Claude API so that a real person can answer tickets in 15-30 min at 10x the volume and 10x the accuracy they used to be able to. Works well
600+ attack scenarios and 33,000 turns is way more thorough than most single prompt tests i see.
As a CSR, this just reminds me of how important writing an internal note in a ticketing system such as Zendesk or Freshdesk is so that the next agent can see what has already been done instead of asking the customer the same questions or repeating troubleshooting steps.
4 of the 6 posts behind this answer, one per person. The other 2, and every new one as it’s posted, come with tracking. Get early access
Pain points· 17 posts from 11 people· written 27 Oct
What do people complain about with Zendesk?
Support run through Zendesk that stalls is the biggest problem: 5 of the 11 people here describe canned replies, delay scripts and tickets closed without a fix. Automation and apps breaking, compromised accounts and price are level behind it, at 2 people each.
The leading theme is life on the other side of a Zendesk queue. One customer describes four weeks of emails with 9 different support representatives, generic canned responses, demands to wait up to 30 days and no refund documentation; another calls a company's Zendesk setup a loop that "issues delay scripts" and closes conversations unresolved, unchanged for a year. Others report support that ghosts them, an autoresponder unanswered after 24 hours, and a DM sent as asked with nothing back.
Automation and apps breaking gets more posts from fewer people. Zendesk discontinued 7 of its own apps, which stopped working on Oct 21 after support ended June 30; the replacements run from a setting to App Builder work on Professional and up, and the macros telling agents to open the retired app are what break. Conflicting triggers, duplicated actions and outdated conditions are the other warning, with native gaps in bulk printing and bulk ticket creation.
Two people raise security — one reporting a 2FA code they never added, one warning that Zendesk "got hacked" and user data leaked — and two weigh price, putting Zendesk at $1.50 to $2 per resolved ticket against Intercom at 99 cents and HubSpot at 50 cents.
- Canned replies and no answer8
- Automation and apps break5
- Hacked and compromised accounts2
- Price2
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3/7 Over four weeks, I exchanged endless emails with 9 different support representatives via @Zendesk. Instead of actionable help, I received generic canned responses and demands to wait up to 30 days, with zero official refund documentation provided.
This is the same loop for a year. Your legendary @Zendesk setup does not resolve issues. It generates delay scripts, gaslights and ends contact.
1/3 Zendesk is discontinuing 7 of its own apps. They stop working Oct 21. Support already ended June 30. If one's still installed, it stops too. Nobody remembering who installed it doesn't count as an exemption.
3/3 The ones that need a build: Proactive Tickets (bulk-create API or App Builder) and iFrame (App Builder, Professional and up). Assignment Control maps to private groups and roles on Enterprise. The macro telling agents to open the app is what breaks. link
To be clear: I never added a 2FA code to the zendesk account.
5 of the 17 posts behind this answer, one per person. The other 12, and every new one as it’s posted, come with tracking. Get early access
Alternatives· 6 posts· written 27 Oct
What are the alternatives to Zendesk?
No single rival dominates: 2 of the 6 people here talk about moving to Helpin, and the rest each name one other option — Chatwoot, n8n, Pylon, or one model replacing several vendors.
Helpin is the only alternative named by more than one person: it is pitched as self-hosted support sold to Zendesk shops, and the migration question people raise is what happens to tickets already in progress and the history a team still looks things up in. One person, disclosed as a CTO at a company building its own support product and calling the comparison untested, notes that Helpin lists Zendesk and Intercom import as coming soon, so a built-in import is not advertised today, and suggests treating a move as two jobs — piloting one intake path first, then the history.
The other options come up once each. Chatwoot is described as open-source and run-yourself, an alternative to Intercom, Zendesk and Freshdesk. n8n is named as what you'd wire yourself if you don't want to pay "the big ticket". Pylon is remembered for the "Zendesk Killer" framing. One post argues Grok Enterprise could "wipe out" Zendesk alongside Gong, Zapier, Notion and Agentforce, because companies pay 5 vendors for what one model does.
- Helpin2
- Chatwoot1
- n8n1
- Pylon1
- Dropping vendors for one model1
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If your SaaS support team is weighing a move from Intercom or Zendesk to Helpin, the first decision is how you'll handle tickets already in progress and the history your team still looks things up in. Disclosure: I'm CTO at ZTABS, which builds Chatsy, a support product. This is not a tested comparison. Helpin's self-hosting page lists Zendesk and Intercom import as coming soon, so a built-in import isn't advertised as available today. That doesn't rule out an API or custom migration. If you plan on one, confirm it works with your own data before you count on it. It helps to treat the move as two separate jobs. New tickets: pilot Helpin on one intake path, such as one support address or the widget on one page. Check that messages arrive, replies reach customers, and each new ticket has an owner. Test switching that path back before you widen it. Existing tickets and history: open tickets need to be resolved in the old tool or moved with a named owner. Closed history doesn't have to be imported if you've exported it to an archive your team can search without the old account. The new-ticket pilot can't tell you whether this part works, so check it on its own. If you self-host, there's a third job: name who operates the server, and restore from a backup once before customers depend on it. On Helpin Cloud, Helpin manages hosting and backups. Cancel the old tool when all of these hold: - every active ticket is resolved or transferred with an owner - your team can reach the history it needs, imported or archived - new intake and replies work, and switching back has been tested - if self-hosted, the server has an operating owner and a tested restore
@andrewdsouza Helpin is selling self-hosted support to zendesk shops
Chatwoot is an open-source customer support platform. It's an alternative to Intercom, Zendesk, and Freshdesk that you can run yourself. link
intercom and zendesk already do most of this. n8n is the one you’d actually wire yourself if you don’t want to pay the big ticket.
I disagree. I thought when @marty_kausas did this with Pylon as the "Zendesk Killer" it was genius.
5 of the 6 posts behind this answer, one per person. The other 1, and every new one as it’s posted, come with tracking. Get early access
Questions· 3 posts· written 27 Oct
What do people ask about Zendesk?
Only 3 people ask anything, one question each: whether Zendesk is down, whether a tool can import ticket history from it, and which part of the Zendesk API catches builders out.
The three questions are level — one person each. The outage check is a single line, "is zendesk dead for anyone else?", asked as people ask about any platform that seems unresponsive rather than about the product's direction.
The migration question is more specific: which parts of conversation history would come across, including attachments and internal notes, and whether an import path from Zendesk or Freshdesk exists yet or is still planned. It comes from someone weighing a move, so the answer is what stands between them and switching.
The third is for builders — how to learn the API fastest, and which corners surprise people. The one post naming specifics lists pagination, rate limits and token refresh as the messy bits that surface when you build something, then puts the question back to other developers. That is the only place in the conversation where the developer experience of the platform is discussed.
- Is Zendesk down?1
- Is there an import path from Zendesk?1
- Which part of the Zendesk API surprises builders?1
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is zendesk dead for anyone else?
Conversation history would be high on the migration list, including attachments and internal notes. Is there an import path from Zendesk or Freshdesk yet, or is that still planned?
Best way to learn them. Building one shows you the messy bits fast, like pagination, rate limits and token refresh. Which part of the Zendesk API surprised you most?
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