What action builder is

Action builder defines things Zendesk can do in other systems, which AI agents, auto assist and flows can then call.

Action builder defines things Zendesk can do in other systems, which AI agents, auto assist and flows can then call.

The idea

An action is a named, reusable operation: look up an order, cancel a subscription, check a delivery. You define it once, with what it needs and what it returns, and then several things can use it.

That reuse is the point. Without it, every AI agent and every procedure would need its own integration code.

What can call an action

• AI agents, so a bot can actually do something rather than only answer.
• Auto assist procedures, so an agent-facing step can fetch or change something.
• Action flows, which chain several actions together.

Action or webhook

Both call another system, and they differ in who calls them and what comes back.

• A webhook is fired by a trigger, sends information, and does not use a reply.
• An action is called during a conversation or procedure, and its result is used in what happens next.

Notifying another system that a ticket exists is a webhook. Looking up an order to tell the customer where it is, is an action.

Start with reading

Actions that fetch information are low risk and immediately useful. Actions that change something in another system deserve considerably more care, particularly when an AI agent can invoke them on its own.

See also

• Creating an action
• Building an action flow
• What actions are and what an AI agent can do with them