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.