Zendesk integration with Pendo Listen

This article covers setup instructions for the Zendesk integration for Pendo Listen, what to expect after setup, and how to use Zendesk ticket data within Listen. This integration is separate from the Zendesk integration for support teams that shows Pendo data in Zendesk.

Note: This feature is currently available to customers using the AI features in Listen Explore.

Overview

The Zendesk integration connects Zendesk with Pendo Listen and automatically analyzes support tickets using AI, to help product teams identify and understand issues raised by users—without having to manually read every ticket.

Key benefits

• Automatically extract insights from Zendesk support tickets
• Understand what’s driving support volume
• Analyze support data alongside feedback from other sources

Prerequisites

To set up this integration, you need:

• Access to the Zendesk integration.
• Listen Explore set up for your subscription. See Set up Listen Explore.
• The Embedded integrations powered by Tray.io setting enabled for your subscription.
• Admin permissions in Pendo.
• Admin access to Zendesk.
• Authentication with both Pendo and Zendesk.

Step 1. Access the integration

Open the Zendesk integration for Listen in Pendo.

1. Go to Settings > Integrations.
2. Search for Zendesk for Listen by typing Zendesk in the search bar.
3. Select the integration, then select Set up and activate in the sidebar.

Step 2. Authenticate with Zendesk

Connect Pendo to your Zendesk account.

1. Select New authentication.
2. Enter your Zendesk subdomain, leaving out the https:// prefix and zendesk.com suffix. For example, for https://yourcompany.zendesk.com, enter yourcompany.
3. Leave the other fields blank and select Create.
4. In the pop-up, select Allow to allow Tray.io access to your Zendesk account.
5. After the pop-up closes, select Next.

Note: If you're not logged into Zendesk when completing this step, this step will display an authentication error and fail. In this case, close the pop-up and select Create again.

Step 3. Map Zendesk fields to Pendo metadata

Mapping tells Pendo how to match each ticket to an account and a visitor. Pendo uses the values in the fields you select as the account ID and visitor ID.

1. Account mapping:
   • In the Zendesk Field dropdown, select the Organization or Ticket field that should be mapped to an account in Pendo.
   • In the Pendo Account Field dropdown, select the metadata that should be mapped to the Zendesk field you selected.
   • Select Next.
2. User mapping:
   • In the Zendesk Field dropdown, select the User field that should be mapped to a visitor in Pendo.
   • In the Pendo Visitor Field dropdown, select the metadata that should be mapped to the Zendesk field you selected.
   • Select Next.

Step 4. Configure import filters

Choose which tickets Pendo imports.

1. Time filter:
   • In the dropdown Analyze historical data from, choose the starting date for importing tickets.
   • If you don’t have any historical data to import yet, or you want to start the import on future tickets only, select Analyze future tickets only.
2. Tag filter (optional):
   • In the text field Tag Exclusion List, optionally enter any tags (comma-separated) for tickets you want to exclude.
3. Brand filter (optional):
   • In the text field Brand Inclusion List, optionally enter the subdomains (comma-separated) for the brands you want to include.
   • To find the subdomain for your brand, in your Zendesk instance:
     1. Go to Admin Center > Account > Brand management > Brands.
     2. Select the brands you want to include.
     3. Find the subdomain. It is either specified under the subdomain header, or is what comes before .zendesk.com in the brand URL.
   • Select Next.

Step 5. Finish setup

You’ll see a confirmation message. Select Finish to begin importing tickets.

The initial import usually takes several hours, but could take over 24 hours for large data sets. The status of the import can be viewed on the Feedback sources page in Listen.

When the import finishes, the sync status displays Connected. A daily sync then pulls tickets closed in the last 24 hours.

The sync status displays Error if the import failed. The system retries once per day. If errors persist, contact Pendo support.

Use Zendesk data in Listen

After the import finishes, Zendesk tickets appear in Listen as feedback items that you can filter and analyze alongside your other feedback sources.

Imported data

Zendesk tickets are imported as feedback items if all of these conditions are true:

• They weren’t excluded by data range, or tag exclusions, applied during the setup.
• They were in the “closed” status in Zendesk.
• They were found to contain insights by the AI classifier.

There are four types of insights the AI is looking for: Requests, Bugs, Pain points, and Compliments.

Each imported feedback item includes the ticket subject, description, and comments.

Filter by source

Once Zendesk is connected, it's available as a feedback source. To analyze Zendesk ticket data:

• Use the Source filter and select Zendesk.
• If no filter is applied, Zendesk tickets are included by default.