New specialized AI agents automate up to 80% of workflows and are tailored to the specific tasks of a company or industry. They combine industry expertise with company-specific knowledge and can act independently. The launch includes preconfigured Industry Agents for common tasks and Custom Agents built around individual processes. These agents make it possible to entrust complex tasks to AI from start to finish.
Zendesk Launches Specialized AI Agents for Company-Specific Problem Solving
The new specialized AI agents are tailored to the specific tasks of a company or industry. They combine industry expertise with company-specific knowledge, workflows, and the existing system landscape. They can act independently and automate up to 80 percent of workflows. The launch includes preconfigured Industry Agents for common, value-adding tasks in specific industries, as well as Custom Agents that companies build around their own processes, policies, and subject matter expertise. Together, they make it possible to entrust even more complex tasks to AI from start to finish.
“The era of generic, all-purpose AI agents is over. The best agents are specialists: they have a deep understanding of the work, the industry, and the company they serve”
says Shashi Upadhyay, President of Product, Engineering, and AI at Zendesk. “These specialized agents provide companies with AI that brings the necessary expertise and context to handle more complex tasks, build trust, and deliver measurable results.” With this launch, Zendesk is bringing to life its vision of the Autonomous Service Workforce, first announced at the Relate 2026 conference. The idea behind it: AI takes on more work, while companies retain control over how that work is done.
Industry expertise out of the box
Industry Agents are tailored to the typical tasks of a specific industry. Zendesk is launching initially in e-commerce. AI agents assist customers with shopping, manage orders, handle returns and exchanges, resolve delivery issues, and process refunds. Other industries will follow, including financial services, media, and technology. Industry Agents combine Zendesk’s AI with the systems, policies, and expertise needed to complete complex workflows from start to finish. In e-commerce, this means integrating with systems such as Shopify, Narvar, Stripe, and Riskified to understand customer inquiries, retrieve the right information, and take immediate action—without requiring customers or service teams to switch between multiple systems. Zendesk is also working with Riskified to integrate industry-leading risk intelligence directly into e-commerce workflows. This helps retailers make informed decisions about returns, refunds, and exchanges while reducing fraud and abuse.
“Zendesk Industry Agents are the AI solution that’s redefining retail customer service at scale”
said Jeff Otto, Chief Marketing Officer at Riskified. “We look forward to combining our specialized AI agents with our Identity Risk Intelligence so that every service representative—whether AI or human—can be certain of who they’re dealing with. This way, we create positive experiences for loyal customers while protecting retailers from losses due to fraud and abuse.”
Custom Agents for Personalized and Company-Specific Workflows
Not every workflow can be deployed out of the box. Every company has its own policies, approval processes, and procedures. With Agent Builder, a Zendesk no-code environment for creating, testing, and deploying agents, companies can develop Custom Agents that are precisely tailored to their business processes. Within seven weeks of launch, more than one million Custom Agent instances had already been recorded. Some customers report a 10 percent increase in the automated resolution rate following implementation. Companies define which tasks an agent handles, which systems it’s allowed to use, which actions it can perform, and where human approval is required. Agents can also respond proactively to business events or run on a schedule, extending automation beyond mere customer inquiries.
“We want to solve problems from start to finish so that consumers can use their devices again without restriction”
says Leora Machlis, Director of Global Customer Care at SodaStream. “Customizable integrations help us respond quickly when customer needs change.” “When a Toniebox isn’t working, it’s not just a technical problem. There’s a toddler waiting,” says Lauren Cooper, Director of Global Customer Happiness at Tonies. “Parents want answers right away—no waiting on hold or back-and-forth.”
One team. Every service platform.
Industry and Custom Agents can be deployed in Zendesk or in service environments such as Salesforce and ServiceNow, providing companies with specialized AI without having to replace existing systems. The more work the agents take on, the more Zendesk continuously learns from the results and helps companies understand what works, where agents need support, and how service can be improved in the future.
Exzellenter Service bedeutet, sich nie wiederholen zu müssen – egal, ob Kund:innen Hilfe suchen oder Mitarbeitende nach Antworten. Zendesk orchestriert jede Serviceerfahrung – überall dort, wo Arbeit stattfindet – und bringt dafür eine Autonomous Service Workforce aus KI-Agenten, Automatisierung und menschlicher Expertise zum Einsatz. So fühlt sich jeder Moment nahtlos und persönlich an – und ist auf die Lösung von Anfragen ausgerichtet. Die Zendesk Resolution Plattform vereint die Workforce in einem zentralen System, das mit jeder Interaktion besser wird. Zendesks Anspruch: KI ist das Mittel, Ergebnisse formen die Identität, dauerhafte Beziehungen sind das Resultat. Translate automatically
