Zendesk Support connector

Your Silux Chat bot verifies customers against Zendesk Support, then answers questions about their support tickets and cases from your live data.

API key and secret Documented-API tested 2 capabilities Read-only

Start free Set-up guide Zendesk Support API docs

What your bot can do with Zendesk Support

Recognise and verify customers

Finds the customer in Zendesk Support by the email address or mobile number they give, checks their name and one more detail, then sends a one-time code to the contact details Zendesk Support holds. Nothing personal is shared until the code is entered.

Customers ask: “I want to check my account — it’s Jane Smith, jane@example.com”

Record IDNameEmail addressPhone / mobile

Support tickets and cases

Reads the verified customer’s tickets, cases or tasks in Zendesk Support — subject, status and when each was last updated.

Customers ask: “Is there any update on my case?” · “Has my request been closed?”

Record IDSubjectStatusLast updated

Set it up

Most businesses finish in under ten minutes. You need to be able to sign in to Zendesk Support as an administrator to create the key.

Step 1 — in Zendesk Support

1Zendesk Admin Center
2Apps and integrations
3Zendesk API
4enable token access
5Add API token; enter it with an agent's email address.

Least access: grant only the read permissions named above (customers, orders, invoices, bookings or tickets — whichever this connector uses). Never use an owner or full-admin key where Zendesk Support lets you create a restricted one.

Step 2 — in Silux Chat

1Open Dashboard → Integrations → Connectors and search for “Zendesk Support”.
2
Fill in:
Field Example Stored
Zendesk subdomain yourcompany Setting
Agent/admin email •••••••• Encrypted
API token •••••••• Encrypted
3Press Connect & test. The platform makes a real, read-only call to Zendesk Support with a made-up customer and shows a tick or a cross for each capability, with Zendesk Support’s exact error if something is refused.
4If this is your first way of verifying customers it is switched on automatically; otherwise press Use to verify customers. The platform then runs its chained test (verify → code → account → orders → invoices) with the built-in test customer — no real person is contacted.

Field	Example	Stored
Zendesk subdomain	yourcompany	Setting
Agent/admin email	••••••••	Encrypted
API token	••••••••	Encrypted

Zendesk Support identifies API users with a key-and-secret (or username-and-key) pair, sent with HTTP Basic authentication over HTTPS.

How customer verification works

STEP 1
Customer asks
They ask about their own account. The bot asks for their full name and their email or mobile, plus one more detail such as their postcode.
STEP 2
Found in Zendesk Support
The customer is looked up in Zendesk Support by email, then mobile. The surname must match exactly and the first name must match or start with the same letter, plus one more detail.
STEP 3
Code sent
A 6-digit code goes to the mobile Zendesk Support holds (by text, when your plan has SMS) or otherwise to the email it holds. The chat never chooses where it goes.
STEP 4
Verified
The customer types the code. It is valid for 10 minutes and five wrong attempts cancel it. The verified session lasts 30 minutes.

If the details don’t match, the customer is told only that they couldn’t be matched — never which detail was wrong. If Zendesk Support can’t be reached, the bot says it can’t check accounts right now rather than “no account found”. The bot is blocked in code from reading orders, invoices or bookings until verification succeeds. Full details: Customer identity verification & OTP.

What the bot can and cannot see

Can see (after verification)

Record ID
Name
Email address
Phone / mobile
Subject
Status
Last updated

Only these standard fields are mapped from Zendesk Support’s responses. Everything else in the response is discarded before the bot sees it.

Never sees

passwords, security answers or login details
records belonging to anyone other than the verified customer
anything outside the fields listed alongside

Security

Keys encrypted at rest
Credentials are stored encrypted, shown only masked after saving, and destroyed — not just hidden — when you disconnect.
Read-only look-ups
Every capability is a look-up. The connector cannot create, change or delete anything in Zendesk Support.
HTTPS only
Calls go to the vendor’s HTTPS address, redirects are not followed, and private network addresses are refused.
Injection-safe
Values a customer types are cleaned before they are placed in Zendesk Support’s search, and URL-encoded in addresses.
Other customers filtered out
A row that names a different customer’s email is dropped, whatever the vendor’s search returned.
Checked daily
Connections are re-tested every day, and the owner is emailed if a working connection starts failing.

More: Security & data protection.

Technical details

For developers and IT teams: the Zendesk Support endpoints this connector reads, relative to https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2. Values in braces come from the settings you enter.

Capability	Request	Standard fields returned
Recognise and verify customers	GET`/users/search.json`	id, name, email, phone
Support tickets and cases	GET`/users/{customer_id}/tickets/requested.json`	id, subject, status, updated

Test level: Documented-API tested. Each capability is run automatically against Zendesk Support’s documented example responses and must produce the standard fields; your own connection is then tested with a real call when you connect. The bot receives these through the standard Account Connect endpoints, exactly as if you had built them yourself.

Troubleshooting

What you see	Likely cause and fix
“the vendor refused the credentials (401)” or (403)	The key was revoked, has expired or was copied incompletely, or it lacks a read permission this connector needs. Create a fresh read-only key in Zendesk Support and reconnect.
“That Zendesk subdomain doesn’t look right”	Enter it in the form shown, e.g. yourcompany — without https:// or a trailing slash.
Customers are “not matched” although they exist	Customers are looked up by email or mobile, not postcode. Check the customer’s email or mobile is saved on their Zendesk Support record, and that the surname matches.
A capability shows a cross but others work	That permission wasn’t granted in Zendesk Support, or your Zendesk Support plan doesn’t include that part of the API. Grant it and press Test.
“the vendor kept rate-limiting the request”	Zendesk Support returned “too many requests” three times in a row. The platform already waits and retries automatically (up to 10 seconds, as Zendesk Support asks); if it persists, ask Zendesk Support about your API quota.
Results are empty for a verified customer	The records exist under a different email or customer record in Zendesk Support, or none are recent. Check the customer’s record in Zendesk Support directly.

Full error reference: Troubleshooting & error reference.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Zendesk Support connection read-only?

Yes. Every request Silux Chat makes to Zendesk Support is a look-up; none creates, changes or deletes anything in Zendesk Support. Give the key or sign-in read-only permissions wherever Zendesk Support offers them.

Do I need a developer to connect Zendesk Support?

No. You paste the details listed in the set-up steps in Dashboard → Integrations → Connectors and press “Connect & test”. The platform makes a real call to Zendesk Support straight away and shows exactly which features work.

How does the bot know it is really my customer?

It finds the customer in Zendesk Support by the email or mobile they give, checks their name and one more detail, then sends a one-time code to the mobile or email held in Zendesk Support — never to one typed in the chat. The code lasts 10 minutes, five wrong attempts cancel it, and a verified session lasts 30 minutes.

What happens if my Zendesk Support key is revoked or expires?

The bot tells customers it can’t check their account right now — it never pretends there are “no orders”. Connections are re-tested daily and the account owner is emailed when a working connection starts failing. Reconnect it in Dashboard → Integrations → Connectors.

How has the Zendesk Support connector been tested?

It is Documented-API tested: every capability is run automatically against Zendesk Support’s documented example responses and must produce the standard fields. When you connect, it is tested again with a real call to your own Zendesk Support account before your bot uses it.