Zowie + Zendesk Sunshine — Unified Messaging AI

Unify your customer conversations across channels while deploying AI intelligence at your own pace. Zowie connects seamlessly to Zendesk Sunshine Conversations, giving your team AI-powered responses from day one—without disrupting your existing workflows.

How It Works

Getting Zowie running on Zendesk Sunshine Conversations takes just three straightforward steps:

Step 1: Create Conversation Integration in Zendesk Admin Center

Start by setting up your integration in Zendesk:

1. Navigate to Admin Center → Apps and integrations → Integrations
2. Select Conversation Integration and create a new one
3. Configure the webhook endpoint pointing to Zowie's infrastructure
4. Enable all integration checkboxes to ensure full feature support
5. Save your integration and note the Integration ID and API credentials

Step 2: Connect Zowie AI Agent and Widget via Webhook

With your Zendesk integration ready, connect Zowie:

1. In your Zowie account, gather your instanceId and agentId from your deployment settings
2. Provide Zendesk with your webhook credentials
3. Share your Zendesk Integration ID and API credentials with the Zowie support team
4. For widget connections, configure an additional Zendesk webhook for ticket synchronization
5. Zowie will validate the connection and begin processing conversations

Step 3: Manage Channel Ownership with Switchboard for Gradual Rollout

This is where Zowie truly shines. Rather than rip-and-replace your existing AI provider, use Switchboard to control thread ownership:

1. Define which conversations route to Zowie using the control method parameter
2. Zowie manages thread ownership for seamless handoffs between systems
3. Gradually shift conversations from your current provider to Zowie at whatever pace suits your team
4. Monitor performance in parallel before full migration
5. Use Zowie's insights to optimize routing and response quality

This phased approach minimizes risk and gives your team confidence in the transition.

Key Use Cases

Unify Messaging Channels Through Sunshine ConversationsConnect SMS, email, web chat, and social messaging through a single pane of glass. Zowie brings consistent AI responses across all channels, no matter where conversations originate.Gradual AI Rollout with Switchboard Thread OwnershipUnlike disruptive migrations, Zowie's Switchboard integration lets you test conversations in parallel. Keep your existing provider live while Zowie handles a growing percentage of incoming requests. Switch ownership on a per-thread basis and adjust as confidence grows.Connect Both Zowie AI Agent and Widget to ZendeskDeploy Zowie's proactive AI widget alongside Sunshine Conversations' broader ecosystem. Your customers get AI-powered assistance whether they initiate conversations or you reach out first.Seamless Transition from Existing Conversational AI ProvidersMoving from another AI platform? Switchboard handles the hard part. Zowie takes over thread management without losing conversation history or context, keeping your customers' experience smooth throughout the transition.

Customer Success

"Switching to Zowie reduced our response time by 60% while Switchboard let us test gradually instead of ripping out our existing system. We had confidence in the transition and our customers didn't experience any disruption." — Sarah Chen, Support Operations Lead at a mid-market SaaS company

When to Use This Integration

• You're running Zendesk Sunshine Conversations and want AI capability without abandoning your messaging platform
• You're migrating from another conversational AI provider and need a low-risk transition strategy
• You manage multiple messaging channels and want unified AI intelligence across SMS, email, web, and social
• Your team values control and wants to pilot AI with a subset of conversations before full rollout
• You need reliable handoff between AI and human agents without losing context

Setup Requirements

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• Zowie deployment details: Your instanceId and agentId from Zowie's deployment settings
• Zendesk admin access: Permission to create integrations in the Admin Center
• API credentials: Zendesk will provide Integration ID and API credentials during setup
• Webhook capability: Your infrastructure must support outbound webhooks to Zowie endpoints

What Zowie Manages

Once configured, Zowie handles:

• Thread ownership: Zowie automatically manages which conversations it owns and when to hand off to humans
• Context preservation: All conversation history flows seamlessly into Zendesk
• Gradual routing: Use Switchboard's control method to determine conversation distribution
• Response quality: Monitor performance across different routing strategies

Supported Channels

Zowie integrates with all messaging channels supported by Zendesk Sunshine Conversations:

• SMS & Messaging: Text-based conversations at scale
• Email: Full email threading with AI responses
• Web Chat: Embedded widget for website visitors
• Social Messaging: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and more
• Custom Channels: Any channel integrated into your Sunshine setup

Still Have Questions?

Our support team is here to help. Reach out with any questions about setup, Switchboard routing, or your migration timeline. We're confident you'll love how seamlessly Zowie and Zendesk work together.

Related Integrations

Explore how Zowie connects with your broader tech stack:

• Zendesk Knowledge Base — Combine AI chat with your help center for comprehensive customer support
• Salesforce — Sync conversations and customer data with your CRM
• Kustomer — Alternative helpdesk platform with unified messaging
• Aircall — Add voice channel intelligence to your conversation flow
• Zowie AI Agent — Learn about Zowie's core AI capabilities
• Zowie Platform — Explore the full Zowie feature set