Understanding and installing the Slack for Zendesk Support integration

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Slack for Zendesk Support is a Built-by-Zendesk integration that can connect one or more Zendesk subdomains to multiple Slack workspaces. It allows you to interact with Zendesk Support tickets in your Slack channels.

This article covers the following topics:

• About the Slack for Zendesk Support integration
• Considerations when connecting multiple accounts
• Installing the integration to add a connection between Slack and Zendesk
• Removing a connection between Zendesk and Slack

Related articles:

• Creating and managing triggers for Slack
• Using the Slack for Zendesk Support integration
• Using the Answer Bot for Slack integration

About the Slack for Zendesk Support integration

Note: The Slack for Zendesk Support integration is not part of the Slack Direct Messages channel, which allows end users to create tickets by sending a direct message to a handle within Slack.

The Slack for Zendesk Support integration includes the following features:

• Ticket event notifications in Slack: Slack users can see information about Zendesk Support ticket events in specified Slack channels. Using triggers, Zendesk administrators can configure which conditions will send notifications, the Slack channels to send them to, and the information included in the notification message.
• Create new tickets directly from Slack: This feature is designed to cater to an internal use case where Slack users want to raise a new Support ticket directly from Slack. See Creating tickets in Slack.
• Side conversations: Agents can use side conversations in a ticket to initiate and participate in Slack threads.
• Answer Bot for Slack: The Answer Bot for Slack integration is included in the Slack for Zendesk Support integration and utilizes Answer Bot to listen on selected Slack channels. It resolves questions by providing article suggestions from your Guide knowledge base.
• Support for multiple connections: You can connect multiple Zendesk accounts to one or more Slack workspaces.

Considerations when connecting multiple accounts

It's common for organizations to have internal teams with their own Zendesk accounts but share a single Slack workspace. Similarly, a company can have just one Zendesk account and collaborate in several Slack workspaces.

The good news is that the integration is flexible and allows you to use one or more Slack workspaces to respond to customer inquiries sourced from multiple Zendesk accounts.

Things to consider when adding multiple connections:

• When installing the integration, you add one Slack-to-Zendesk connection at a time.
• When adding new connections between Zendesk and Slack, create triggers for the Slack ticket notifications you want to send.
• If you're using Answer Bot for Slack and a question is posted in a channel, users will receive article suggestions from all your help centers. Article suggestions aren't combined into a single response from Answer Bot—users will see multiple Answer Bots responding.
• If you plan to use Slack in side conversations, you must turn on side conversations for each Slack workspace.
• The integration supports multi-workspace channels, which are shared among multiple workspaces in an Enterprise Grid organization. However, it does not support organization-shared channels, which are configured to be shared among all workspaces in an Enterprise Grid organization (applies to Slack Enterprise Grid plans only).

Installing the integration to add a connection between Slack and Zendesk

To install the integration, you must have administrative privileges in Zendesk Support and have permission to install apps in the Slack workspace. Additionally, the integration cannot be installed on a shared Slack workspace (a workspace you don't own but have been invited to as an external user).

The installation adds a connection between one Zendesk account and one Slack workspace. To add multiple connections, run the installation for each connection. For example, if your company uses one Slack workspace with three Zendesk accounts, run the installation three times to make these connections.

After the integration is installed, tickets can be created from any Slack channel, but the app needs to be added to each channel that requires notifications and Answer Bot.

To connect Slack and Zendesk

1. In Admin Center, click Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Integrations > Integrations.
2. Click the options menu icon () next to Slack, then click View.
3. Click Connect workspace.
4. If your company uses multiple Slack workspaces, make sure the drop-down list in the upper right corner displays the name of the workspace you'd like to connect to Zendesk, then click Allow.

   

5. Enter the subdomain of the Zendesk account to connect to the workspace, then click Continue.

   

   You can connect additional Zendesk accounts to the workspace after you finish setting up this connection. Connections are added one at a time.

6. At Allow Slack to access your Zendesk account?, click Allow.

   The installation is complete.

7. Click Set up in Zendesk Admin Center to configure this connection, or repeat this procedure to add more connections.

Note: If your Slack Approve apps permission setting is off, you can potentially break the integration when another instance is installed. We recommend turning on the Approve apps setting in Slack or advising your Slack users not to reinstall the integration.

Removing a connection between Zendesk and Slack

If you no longer want to use the Zendesk app in a Slack workspace, disconnect the integration for that workspace. You can disconnect from Admin Center or Slack; the result is the same. It's important to note that you won’t receive ticket notifications in your channels for that workspace or be able to create tickets from Slack.

Your configuration settings will not be lost even if you reinstall the app. However, you will have to re-add the app to Slack channels.

To disconnect using Admin Center

1. In Admin Center, click Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Integrations > Integrations.
2. Click the options menu icon () next to Slack, then click View.
3. Click Configure under the name of the Slack workspace to disconnect.
4. Click Actions, then click Disconnect from the drop-down menu.

   

5. Click Disconnect in the confirmation message.

To disconnect using Slack

1. Sign in to your Slack workspace.
2. Under Apps, click Zendesk.
3. Under Connected Zendesk accounts, click Disconnect for the account you'd like to disconnect.