Zendesk

Overview

This integration imports Support Tickets from your Zendesk account into Birdie. Below are key details about what we need to set up the integration and how tickets and data are imported.

Requirements

For Birdie to authenticate with the Zendesk API and import data, you'll need to generate an API token (an auto-generated password). The token, together with your Zendesk email, is used to authenticate API requests. Provide the Birdie team with the following:

• Subdomain of your Zendesk account (ex.: subdomain.zendesk.com)

• Valid email with admin access to Zendesk (this will only work for API requests)

• API Token

If identification of agents and customers is necessary, Birdie can request additional access to the Sunshine Conversations API.

Setup in Zendesk

Managing API tokens

API token access is disabled by default. To enable it, navigate to the Admin Center and go to the API settings. Make sure to enable API token access before users can start using API tokens for authentication.

Enable token access and manage tokens

1

Enable token access

1. In Admin Center, click Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select APIs > API Configuration.

2. In the Settings tab, enable token access.

2

Generate an API token

To generate an API token, you must be an administrator and have API token access enabled in your account.

1. In Admin Center, click Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select APIs > API tokens.

2. Click the Add API token button in the top-right corner.

3. Enter a description for your API.

4. After clicking Save, the token will be displayed only once — copy it and store it securely.

5. Click Save to go back to the Zendesk API page.

6. If you click on the token again, only a truncated version will be displayed.

3

Delete an API token

Since an API token functions like a password, any verified user on the account or anyone with the email address associated with the account can use it to authenticate API requests. If you suspect a token has been compromised, delete it immediately. Deleting a token will deactivate it permanently.

1. In Admin Center, click Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select APIs > Zendesk API.

2. In the list of active tokens, find and select the token you wish to delete.

3. Click the Delete button located on the right side of the screen.

Sunshine Conversations API

The Zendesk Sunshine Conversations API (Sunshine) provides more robust access and improved data presentation. For Birdie to use this API, an administrator must provide or create credentials within the Zendesk account.

1

Create Sunshine Conversations credentials

1. In Admin Center, click Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select APIs > Conversations API.

2. Click the Create API key button in the top-right corner.

3. Enter a name for your API key and click Next.

4. The App ID, Key ID, and Secret Key will be displayed. The Secret Key is shown only once — copy it and store it securely.

5. Click Next again to go back to the Zendesk API page.

6. If you view the credentials again, the secret key will be displayed in a truncated version.

Connect to Birdie

Once you have generated an API token (and, if required, Sunshine Conversations credentials), share the following securely with the Birdie team:

• Zendesk subdomain

• Admin email used for API authentication

• API token

• (Optional) Sunshine Conversations App ID, Key ID, and Secret Key if you want Birdie to use the Sunshine Conversations API

The Birdie team will configure the connector and confirm once the integration is active.

Data in scope

Removal of private comments

By default, Birdie only imports tickets with at least one public comment from Zendesk. Public comments are visible to both the end user and the company's agents. Private comments are ignored by default, but the integration can be configured to import private tickets/comments as well.

Note: If your team needs to include private or internal tickets in Birdie, this behavior can be configured — contact Birdie to modify the import settings accordingly.

Ticket import process and update frequency

Birdie imports Zendesk tickets by checking the updated_at field, ensuring the latest modifications are reflected in Birdie. This captures only recent changes without re-importing old data. Birdie also supports imports through Zendesk's Incremental API for cases when ticket content may be updated but the updated_at field isn't. Note that the Incremental API method does not allow pre-filtering through custom query filters.

Additional entities for enhanced segmentation

Birdie supports importing additional entities associated with tickets to improve segmentation. These imports are disabled by default but can be enabled as needed.

• Groups — captures team or department details associated with each ticket (see Zendesk's Groups documentation: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/ticketing/groups/groups/).

• Users — includes:

  • Agent: agent identifiers, roles, or other agent-specific data.

  • Author: detailed info about the ticket requester (e.g., name, contact details). (See Zendesk's Users documentation: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/ticketing/users/users/)

• Organization — captures company-specific fields, allowing tickets to be linked to specific organizations (See Zendesk's Organizations documentation: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/ticketing/organizations/organizations).

Custom fields

If your Zendesk setup includes custom fields for tickets, these fields can be mapped directly into Birdie, preserving your unique data structure. Zendesk custom fields support a variety of data types and allow you to store additional data within tickets beyond standard fields (see Zendesk’s Ticket Fields documentation: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/ticketing/tickets/ticket_fields/).

Once imported, Zendesk custom fields appear as Birdie custom fields, maintaining consistency across both platforms and enabling enhanced segmentation, filtering, and custom workflows in Birdie.