Zendesk
AI-powered customer service platform
#1 of 44 in Live Chat & AI Support80,000 customers (per zendesk.com)34% positive in AI answers
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 98.8%·next run
- Zendesk ranks #1 of 44 in Live Chat & AI Support with an AI visibility score of 49.3 (SlateIndex, Nov 3, 2026).
- Zendesk's visibility rose 0.3 points since the previous weekly run.
- Zendesk is most visible on Google AI Mode (51.9) and least on Perplexity (45.2).
- AI engines name Zendesk in 96 of the 209 Live Chat & AI Support buyer prompts SlateIndex tracks.
- livechat.com is the source AI engines cite most in answers about Zendesk, with 33 citations.
About
Company details for Zendesk
Zendesk is a cloud customer service platform that combines ticketing, messaging and live chat, voice, a knowledge base and reporting in one workspace. It includes AI agents that resolve customer requests autonomously, a Copilot assistant for human agents, quality assurance and workforce management. It also offers employee service (including IT service management) and a contact center product. It ranks #1 of 44 in Live Chat & AI Support on SlateIndex and has a visibility score of 49.3 in the latest weekly run.
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, the company employs 5,000+ people. Its differentiator: aI agents priced per automated resolution, built into a unified ticketing, messaging and voice platform.
- Website
- zendesk.com
- Categories
- Live Chat & AI Support, Help Desk, Contact Center, Knowledge Management, CRM, AI Agents, Sales Engagement
- Company size
- 5,000+ employees
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Founded
- 2007
- Company type
- Private, PE-backed (Hellman & Friedman and Permira)
- Funding
- Take-private (Hellman & Friedman, Permira)
- Customers
- 80,000 · per zendesk.com
- Pricing
- $19 per seat / mo · per seat
- Free trial
- —
- Deployment
- Cloud (SaaS)
- Platforms
- Web
- Integrations
- 1800+ native
- Languages
- 80 supported
- Compliance
- SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001:2022, ISO 27018:2019, ISO 27701:2019, ISO 27017:2015, ISO 42001:2023, FedRAMP LI-SaaS, Cyber Essentials Plus
- Support
- Help Center, Community, Partners
Read from linkedin.com, zendesk.com, getmacha.com, sec.gov, prnewswire.com, getlatka.com · refreshed Nov 2, 2026.
AI visibility
Latest weekly run · Nov 3 · next run Nov 9
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days, with up to 7 competitors. Click a name to hide or show its line.
Zendesk gained 0.3 points over 1 weekly run in Live Chat & AI Support. Zendesk leads the category at 49.3%.
Media
Website and product screenshots for Zendesk
AI mentions & citations
Recent answers that name Zendesk
What features matter most in a live chat tool?
Unified Agent Workspace : A clean, intuitive dashboard where agents can see a customer's chat history, past purchases, and CRM data in one place without jumping between tabs.
How do companies answer customers in real time without a dedicated tool?
When companies don’t have a dedicated live chat widget, helpdesk software (like Zendesk or Intercom), or automated AI chatbots, they rely on a mix of lightweight native integrations, internal channels, and repurposed…
How long does it take to roll out a live chat tool?
Mid-Market / CRM Integrated (4 to 8 Weeks): Requires connecting live chat to existing systems like Zendesk , Salesforce, or HubSpot so user data and past conversation history pull up automatically when a chat starts.
Best live chat tool for enterprise
Zendesk — Best for Unified Omnichannel Support
Which Live Chat & AI Support vendors do analysts recommend?
Zendesk : Consistently positioned as an industry leader for scaling support.
Official website of the top live chat tool vendors
Zendesk – Industry leader for omnichannel enterprise and mid-market customer support.
How do I choose a live chat tool for a mid-market team?
Best live chat tool for enterprise
Zendesk is the best overall choice for most enterprises that need live chat integrated with robust ticketing, SLAs, routing, reporting, and omnichannel support.
Products & features
What Zendesk sells
Customer Service
Omnichannel ticketing, messaging, live chat, voice and help center for resolving customer inquiries.
Employee Service
Service management for internal requests, including IT service management.
Contact Center
AI-powered contact center across voice and digital channels.
AI agents
Autonomous agents that resolve issues on any channel, billed per automated resolution.
Copilot
AI assistant for agents and admins that suggests next steps and drafts responses.
Quality assurance
Automatic scoring of human and AI agent interactions.
Workforce Management
Forecasting, staffing and scheduling of agents.
Forethought AI agents
Self-improving standalone AI agents that work in Zendesk or other service platforms.
Strengths engines cite
- Industry leader in omnichannel customer support
- Scalable platform for large enterprise teams
- Mature ticketing operations and SLA management
- Extensive marketplace and broad integrations
- Free trial available for 14 days
Target market & buyers
Businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises, across industries
Notable customers include Liberty Tax, BritBox, Docebo, Babbel, Dunlop Sports, TeamSystem, Fortnum & Mason, LATAM Airlines.
| Industry | Primary use case |
|---|---|
| Financial Services | Scaling seasonal support with AI agents (Liberty Tax) |
| Media & Entertainment | Maintaining high-touch CX with Zendesk AI (BritBox) |
| Retail | Omnichannel customer service (Dunlop Sports, Fortnum & Mason) |
| Technology | Automating repetitive queries with AI agents (TeamSystem) |
| Education | AI-assisted student and customer support (Babbel) |
| Transportation | Employee service (LATAM Airlines) |
Funding & recent developments
Funding
| Round | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Seed | 2008 | $1M |
| Series B | 2009 | $6M |
| Series C | 2010 | $19M |
| Series D | 2012 | $60M |
| IPO (NYSE) | 2014 | — |
| Post-IPO | 2020 | — |
| Debt II (HPS Investment Partners) | 2022 | $5000M |
| Take-private (Hellman & Friedman, Permira) | 2022 | $10200M |
| Latest known round | Total raised |
|---|---|
| Take-private (Hellman & Friedman, Permira) | — |
Recent developments
- Oct 2026ProductEmployee Service AI Agents introduced
Zendesk introduced AI agents for employee service.
- Sep 2026ProductSpecialized AI agents introduced
Zendesk introduced specialized AI agents.
- May 2026Company$100M commitment to AI startups
Zendesk committed $100M to help startups build with AI and expanded its VC program.
- Mar 2026CompanyForethought acquisition completed
Zendesk completed its acquisition of AI agent platform Forethought.
- Dec 2025CompanyUnleash acquired
Zendesk acquired Unleash to strengthen its AI-first employee service business.
Competitive landscape
How Zendesk compares with its top three alternatives
Zendesk most often appears alongside Freshworks, Salesforce, HubSpot in AI answers.
| Brand | Visibility | Share of voice | vs last week | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk | 49.3% | 11.2% | up+0.3% | $19 / seat / mo |
| Freshworks | 61.5% | 12.9% | up+1.7% | Pricing not available |
| Salesforce | 46.2% | 9.6% | New | Pricing not available |
| HubSpot | 73.1% | 13.1% | New | Free plan |
| Intercom | 46.2% | 10.1% | up+2% | $29 / seat / mo |
What AI answers say
Sentiment and themes from the answers that mention this brand
Positive 34% · Neutral 50% · Mixed 16% of 316 engine answers that mention Zendesk
Praised for
- Industry leader in omnichannel customer support
- Scalable platform for large enterprise teams
- Mature ticketing operations and SLA management
- Extensive marketplace and broad integrations
- Free trial available for 14 days
Criticised for
- Heavy, slow deployment compared with lighter tools
- High per-agent costs
- AI add-ons billed separately on top of base fee
Pricing
Per seat pricing
Cite as: SlateIndex, “Zendesk AI visibility profile”, https://slateindex.ai/brand/zendesk, data of Nov 3, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.