Kristie Sweeney

When you connect your Exchange account to Zendesk, make sure you sign in to the Exchange account you want to connect to. If you sign in to a different Exchange account in the same browser as your instance of Zendesk Support, you will connect to the wrong account.

In addition, make sure the Exchange mailbox isn't used by any other connection method (such as email forwarding) or any agent or end user in your Zendesk account.

To connect your Exchange account to Zendesk

1. Sign in to the Exchange account you want to connect to Zendesk.
2. In Admin Center, click Channels in the sidebar, then select Talk and email > Email.
3. In the Support addresses section, click Add address, then click Connect external address.
4. Select Microsoft Exchange connector.

   

5. Click Continue with Microsoft.
6. Click Accept to approve access to the email account.

   You may need to sign in to Microsoft using your account credentials for that email address.

7. Click Done.

   

Your Zendesk Support account is connected to your Microsoft account. If you want to connect to multiple accounts, repeat these steps.

In Admin Center, admins can check the status of their Exchange connections, as well as disconnect or reconnect Exchange accounts as needed.

• If you see error messages regarding permissions (such as, "Couldn't verify your Microsoft account. Check your permissions and try again"), review the permissions on the Exchange account you’re connecting to Zendesk. The following permissions are required:
  • openid
  • offline_access
  • email
  • User.Read
  • Mail.Send
  • Mail.ReadWrite
• The Microsoft email address you’re connecting to Zendesk can’t be used by any other connection method, agent, or end user in your Zendesk instance. If the email address is in use, you’ll receive the following message and will be unable to connect: “This email is used by Support and can’t be added. Ensure the email address isn’t already connected or in use by an agent or end user.”

How do I switch from email forwarding to using the Exchange connector? If I have existing email channels, what's the best way to convert them to use the Exchange connector? Can I delete the channel and re-add it as an Exchange connector?

To switch from email forwarding to the Exchange connector, you must first remove all previous connections and configurations associated with the email address you wish to configure in the Exchange connector. Additionally, ensure that email forwarding is turned off on your email server.

What happens to existing emails in the Exchange mailbox when I connect that mailbox to Zendesk?

When the Exchange connector is set up, it begins fetching only new emails that arrive in the mailbox after the connection is established. Any older emails will not be converted to tickets in Zendesk.

How are duplicate emails managed?

Duplicate emails are managed by existing deduplication mechanisms, including those that may have reached Zendesk through different methods (for example, once through forwarding and again through the Exchange connector). However, due to the complexity of email protocols, deduplication may not always be possible. For more detailed information about the underlying mechanisms, see Understanding how incoming emails are matched to tickets.

What happens to emails after they are fetched?

All emails that are successfully fetched are marked as read and categorized under "Zendesk." These emails can be safely removed; however, Zendesk strongly recommends archiving them instead of deleting them.

Can I connect to a shared mailbox?

No. The Exchange connector does not support connecting with shared mailboxes.

Using an Exchange API, the Microsoft Exchange connector allows you to fetch email from an Exchange inbox and automatically convert email messages to tickets. The API is also leveraged to deliver outbound email from Zendesk to your Exchange mailbox.

Zendesk Support frequently checks for new email in your Exchange inbox. Only new, unread email messages in the inbox will be converted into tickets. Ticket notifications will be sent from your Microsoft email address.

• The Exchange connector uses the Microsoft Graph API for communication with Microsoft.
• All communication between Zendesk and the Exchange server is conducted through HTTPS calls.
• The Exchange connector uses OAuth for authorization access.
• During authorization, you are granting access to Zendesk's verified Azure application.
• Zendesk will request only the essential permissions required for the operations of the Exchange connector.
• Credentials used to access your Exchange mailbox are securely stored and encrypted at rest.

• The Zendesk Exchange connector is compatible with Microsoft Exchange Online only. Exchange Server on-premises versions are not supported.
• To connect your Exchange mailbox to Zendesk, you must be able to sign in (authenticate and authorize) as the account associated with that Exchange mailbox.
• The Microsoft email address cannot be used by any other connection method (such as email forwarding), agent, or end user in your Zendesk account.
• You must use OAuth to authenticate all Exchange API requests to Zendesk.
• You must set permissions on the Exchange mailbox to control who can access the mailbox and what actions they can perform.
• Your Exchange admin must have the ability to grant permissions to Zendesk during authorization.

Email headers (such as To, From, CC, and Reply-To) contain important data and metadata about an email message.

Your administrator may want to change email headers for several reasons. However, it’s important to note that some header fields should never be altered since they are critical for ensuring the correct delivery and integrity of the message. Changing standard headers at the account's email domain before outbound sending is not supported. Any issues that emerge as a result of this should be investigated and corrected at the external domain.

The below headers should persist throughout the outbound relay process:

Auto-Submitted: auto-generated
X-Auto-Response-Suppress: All
X-Mailer: Zendesk Mailer
X-Zendesk-From-Account-Id: ******
X-Zendesk-Email-Id: ************************

Changing your email header fields doesn’t change how Zendesk works; it only changes how you send your outbound messages and how you might receive responses. The relationships between the requester, agents, and CCs in the email and subsequent ticket should not change. 

You can create up to ten deletion schedules, but only one schedule can be active.

To create a deletion schedule for bot conversations

1. In Admin Center, click Account in the sidebar, then select Security > Deletion schedules.
2. Click Create deletion schedule > Bot conversations.
3. Enter the Schedule name.

   Use a consistent naming convention to help you recognize similar types of deletion schedules.

4. (Optional) Enter a Description for your deletion schedule.
5. For Last active, specify when the schedule should delete bot conversations based on when the conversation was last active. For example, to delete bot conversations that haven't had activity in 30 days, type 30 for Value and select Days in the Unit drop-down field.

   

6. Click Create.
7. Activate the deletion schedule.

Deletion schedules are inactive when you create them. You must activate a deletion schedule for it to start deleting bot conversations. Only one deletion schedule can be active at a time.

When you activate a new deletion schedule, there may be historical bot conversations to delete, so the schedule may take longer to run.

To activate a deletion schedule

1. In Admin Center, click Account in the sidebar, then select Security > Deletion schedules.
2. Click the options menu icon () for the inactive schedule, then click Activate.
3. In the confirmation dialog, select the checkboxes to confirm you understand that bot conversations will be deleted immediately and as scheduled moving forward.

   

4. Click Activate deletion schedule.

You'll find the Deletion schedules page in Admin Center.

To access the Deletion schedules page

• In Admin Center, click Account in the sidebar, then select Security > Deletion schedules.

  The Deletion schedules page opens.

  

Deletion schedules are inactive when you initially create them. You must activate deletion schedules for them to start deleting data.

One deletion schedule per type can be active at a time. If you have the Advanced Data Privacy and Protection add-on, up to 10 deletion schedules per type can be active.

To activate a deletion schedule

1. In Admin Center, click Account in the sidebar, then select Security > Deletion schedules.
2. Click the options menu icon () for the schedule, then click Activate.
3. In the confirmation dialog, select the checkboxes to confirm you understand what data will be deleted immediately and as scheduled moving forward.

   

4. Click Activate deletion schedule.

You can edit and clone deletion schedules. Cloning a deletion schedule creates a copy you can modify and use for other purposes.

To edit a deletion schedule

1. In Admin Center, click Account in the sidebar, then select Security > Deletion schedules.
2. Click the options menu icon () for the schedule, then click Edit.
3. Modify the schedule name, description, and conditions as needed.
4. Click Save.

To clone a deletion schedule

1. In Admin Center, click Account in the sidebar, then select Security > Deletion schedules.
2. Click the options menu icon () for the schedule, then click Clone.

   A copy of the deletion schedule is created and automatically opened for editing.

3. Modify the schedule name, description, and conditions as needed.
4. Click Save.

If you no longer need a deletion schedule, you can deactivate or delete it.

If you want to use a deletion schedule again in the future but don't currently need it, then deactivate it. You can reactivate it at any time. Deleting a deletion schedule means that it's gone and can't be retrieved. Deletion schedules must be deactivated before they can be deleted.

To deactivate a deletion schedule

1. In Admin Center, click Account in the sidebar, then select Security > Deletion schedules.
2. Click the options menu icon () for the schedule, then click Deactivate.
3. Click Deactivate deletion schedule.

   The status of the deletion schedule changes to Inactive.

To delete a deletion schedule

1. In Admin Center, click Account in the sidebar, then select Security > Deletion schedules.
2. Click the options menu icon () for the schedule, then click Delete.
3. Click Delete schedule.