Zendesk: Unified Data Access & Automation

Our customer managed customer data in parallel across Zendesk and an internal service portal—leading to frequent system switching, manual searches for customer and card numbers, and sensitive content appearing directly in tickets. Together, we consolidated information within Zendesk, automatically masked sensitive data, and connected IVR flows so that activation signals are triggered without requiring tickets or manual intervention. Review requests are sent on a schedule, and an AI creates tickets directly from the phone channel—the result: fewer context switches, stronger security, and noticeably faster operations.
 

Initial situation: App, service portal & telephony disconnected

• Order, customer, and card-number data lived in Zendesk and in the internal service portal.

• Staff constantly switched between two systems to find and maintain information.

• Activations were handled manually.

• Sensitive details like IBANs could remain in solved tickets.

• Reviews were triggered irregularly and without a consistent process.

Objectives: Fewer handoffs, more automation

• Make data visible centrally: context data directly in Zendesk.

• Automate recurring tasks: activation signal without agent input.

• Strengthen data protection: automatically mask sensitive content.

• Scale reviews: standardised, scheduled requests.

• Use AI: understand intent early and pre-label tickets correctly.

Solution overview

1) Data enrichment: customer & card numbers auto-filled in the ticket

Using the requester’s email address, Zendesk automatically assigns the customer ID and active card number. All relevant information—products and history—is available in the ticket. Manual searches in the service portal disappear; handling time drops right at the start.

2) Data privacy: automatic masking of sensitive content

A procedure we implemented detects IBANs in solved tickets. Knots Studio then masks those details so sensitive data is not permanently visible in the ticket history—further strengthening customer data protection.

3) IVR-driven process automation (telephony provider)

In the IVR, callers say the keyword “activation signal” plus their customer number. Knots Studio connects to the backend and activates the new card automatically. No ticket, app, or portal interaction is needed—cutting lead time and error risk.

4) Proactively collecting reviews (e.g., Trustpilot)

A scheduled automation in Zendesk triggers Trustpilot review requests. Knots Studio connects to the Trustpilot API and sends a targeted request based on the email address—optionally supplemented by an agent action. This provides measurable, continuous customer feedback.

5) AI-powered ticket creation from the phone channel

The IVR asks for the customer/card number and a brief description. Knots Studio connects to ChatGPT, detects the intent based on predefined Zendesk rules, creates the ticket with the right fields/tags, and returns ticket info to the telephony system. Updates can be relayed via the telephony provider.

Results & benefits

• Fewer manual steps: identification and context are inserted directly into the ticket.

• Faster activations: an IVR trigger launches a backend action—no GUI, no ticket creation needed.

• Stronger data security: automatic masking of sensitive content in solved tickets.

• More actionable feedback: structured, predictable inflow of reviews.

• Better first response: AI creates correctly labelled tickets with the right fields.

Implementation & governance

• Architecture: Zendesk as the single interface; Knots Studio as the orchestration layer; integrations to telephony, Trustpilot, and backend systems.

• Security & data protection: automatic masking, role-based access, and logging of activation actions.

• Quality & monitoring: metrics for success rate, lead times, and error types; defined retries and fallback paths (e.g., invalid customer number).

• Change-friendly: intent definitions are maintained centrally in Zendesk; IVR prompts and business rules are versioned.

Why Leafworks?

You get a team that combines Zendesk implementation, telephony integration, automation, and data protection end-to-end. We move fast from concept to live, align closely with business and IT, and deliver visible outcomes—with clear architecture principles and robust monitoring.

Automate standard cases – speed up service

Want to handle activations, identification, and review requests directly in Zendesk? We’ll show you live how this works in just a few steps. Let's talk!