Zendesk AI customers are building teams of super agents: 3 ways you can too

Agents have long battled overloaded queues, inefficient workflows, and the constant pressure to deliver fast, personalized service. But with advanced AI now taking the lead, these challenges are no longer inevitable—they’re solvable. And the timing couldn’t be more urgent.

With customer interactions set to increase fivefold and two-thirds of CX leaders expecting leaner teams, driving agent AI adoption isn’t just smart—it’s essential to succeed. Our most successful customers are already harnessing AI to build teams of super agents who handle three times the ticket volume compared to teams without AI. And our Benchmark data, drawn from over 99,000 organizations globally, provides a clear roadmap to guide your agent AI adoption, ensuring you stay ahead of the curve.

The three step roadmap for driving agent AI buy-in and adoption

The companies at the forefront of this transformation are driving agent AI engagement through three key steps:

1. Get agent buy-in from day one

Our top-performing customers are using AI on 3.4 times as many tickets as baseline performers—meaning they’re not just implementing AI; they’re deeply integrating it into agents’ workflows. Engage your agents early in AI discussions. They can pinpoint where AI can make their roles more efficient and improve customer outcomes, ensuring you don’t overlook critical areas in your CX. Incentivize participation with career growth and skill development opportunities. Provide training to maximize adoption and continuously ask for their feedback as your use cases evolve.

2. Start with tools that are purpose-built for agent success

Agent-facing tools purpose-built for their needs deliver near-instant value with minimal effort—agents leveraging our AI features resolve interactions 38 percent faster than those who don’t. Start with generative AI tools that summarize detailed conversations, make resolutions more comprehensive, and refine tone. These features enabled sports tech company Catapult to reduce agents’ first reply time by an impressive 50 percent—all while making their jobs more enjoyable. Agent copilots take performance even further, providing proactive suggestions and just-in-time information that enable agents to anticipate customer needs and deliver more personalized, accurate support.

3. Clear the clutter to let them focus on high-value tasks

Having agents handle repetitive requests isn’t cost-effective and can lead to burnout. Free up their time for more meaningful tasks by automating inquiries out of their queue and deflecting tickets to AI-powered knowledge bases.

Our AI customers are already achieving a self-service ratio 2.4 times higher than those without AI, harnessing generative AI to enhance help center offerings. They’re also leveraging AI-powered digital agents that can autonomously resolve 80 percent of customer issues, delighting customers with 24/7, multilingual support. And by combining these features, they’re eliminating more day-to-day clutter for agents than they ever thought possible—and it’s resulting in significant cost savings. Unity, the powerhouse behind Pokémon Go, for example, eliminated over 8,000 requests by connecting a Zendesk AI agent to its knowledge base, saving $1.3 million.

Build a team of super agents

In a world where poor experiences cost you customers, setting your agents up for success is critical. And we have our eyes set on the future where 100 percent of all CX interactions involve AI in some form, empowering agents to anticipate customers’ emotions and needs and deliver exceptional support every time.

But this future isn’t far off—CX leaders using our AI tools are already enhancing agent performance and achieving near-instant results. With our purpose-built AI tools and expertise, you can build your own team of super agents and transform your entire CX strategy.

Discover how we can help you succeed in the future of CX.