Use Zendesk's AI to Draft Ticket Responses

What This Does

Zendesk's built-in AI drafts a suggested reply for each ticket based on the customer's message and your ticket history — so instead of writing from scratch, you review, adjust, and send in a fraction of the time.

Before You Start

• You have Zendesk open and you're logged into your agent workspace
• Your center uses Zendesk (check with your supervisor if unsure which plan)
• You're handling an email or messaging ticket (not a live phone call)

Steps

1. Find the AI Copilot button

Open a ticket in Zendesk. In the reply composer at the bottom of the ticket, look for a small sparkle icon (✨) or a button labeled "Suggest a response" or "Copilot." It typically appears in the toolbar above or below the text field where you'd normally type your reply.

What you should see: A button or icon in the reply toolbar — it may also appear as a sidebar panel if your admin has configured it that way. Troubleshooting: If you don't see it, your plan may not include AI Copilot, or your admin may have it disabled. Ask your supervisor.

2. Click to generate a draft

Click the AI button. Zendesk reads the customer's message, your ticket history, and your knowledge base, then generates a suggested reply. This takes 3–5 seconds.

What you should see: A draft response appears in the reply box or a side panel, ready to edit.

3. Review and customize the draft

Read the draft carefully. The AI handles the structure and professional tone — your job is to:

• Confirm the facts are accurate (ticket numbers, dates, amounts)
• Add any specifics that only you know (outcome of a lookup, resolution you authorized)
• Adjust the tone if it's too formal or too casual for this customer

4. Send it

Once you're satisfied, click Send. The whole process takes 60–90 seconds instead of 5–10 minutes.

Real Example

Scenario: A customer emailed saying their order was delivered to the wrong address and they want a replacement sent urgently.

What Zendesk AI drafts: "Hi [Name], thank you for reaching out. I sincerely apologize for the delivery error. I've reviewed your order and have initiated a replacement shipment, which will arrive within [X] business days. You'll receive a tracking confirmation at this email address. Please let me know if there's anything else I can do."

What you do: Fill in the actual delivery timeframe, add the new tracking number once issued, and verify the replacement address with the customer.

What you get: A professional, complete response in 2 minutes instead of 10.

Tips

• The AI gets better results when the ticket has a clear subject line and the customer's message is specific — messy tickets produce vaguer drafts.
• If the draft misses the point, click "Regenerate" or add a note: look for a text input where you can give the AI guidance ("focus on the refund, customer doesn't want a replacement").
• Save your best manually-written responses as macros in Zendesk — the AI can pull from these as examples over time.

Tool interfaces change — if a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area.