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Integrations

Help Desk Integrations (Freshdesk, Zendesk, Intercom)

Step-by-step setup guides for Freshdesk, Zendesk, and Intercom. Covers ticket sync, priority mapping, escalation policies, and troubleshooting.

10 min readUpdated 2026-02-25

Overview

Raya connects to your existing help desk so she can receive, respond to, and escalate support tickets without leaving Teammates.ai. Tickets sync bi-directionally with Freshdesk and Zendesk — when a customer creates a ticket in your help desk, it appears in Raya's inbox within seconds. When Raya escalates a conversation, the escalation ticket syncs back to your help desk.

Help DeskStatusAuth MethodSyncTeammate
FreshdeskAvailable (all plans)Subdomain + API KeyBi-directionalRaya
ZendeskEnterprise planSubdomain + API TokenBi-directionalRaya
IntercomEnterprise planAPI TokenInbound onlyRaya

Freshdesk Setup (Step-by-Step)

Freshdesk is available on all plans and connects via API key authentication. Follow these steps to connect Raya to your Freshdesk account and start syncing tickets.

  1. 1

    Log in to your Teammates.ai Dashboard

    Go to app.teammates.ai and sign in with your work email.

  2. 2

    Navigate to Raya

    From the main interface, click on RAYA to open her configuration panel.

  3. 3

    Open the Integrations panel

    Click "Integrations" in the left-hand sidebar to see all available integration cards.

  4. 4

    Toggle Freshdesk ON

    Find the Freshdesk card in the integration list and toggle it ON. A configuration modal appears.

  5. 5

    Enter your Freshdesk subdomain

    Enter ONLY the subdomain part of your Freshdesk URL. If your Freshdesk address is https://yourcompany.freshdesk.com, enter only "yourcompany" — not the full URL.

  6. 6

    Enter your Freshdesk API Key

    To find your API key: Log in to Freshdesk, click your profile icon in the top right corner, go to Profile Settings, and click "View API Key." Copy the key and paste it in the modal.

  7. 7

    Submit and connect

    Click Submit. The connection establishes automatically. You should see a green "Connected" status on the Freshdesk card.

  8. 8

    Verify ticket sync

    Go to the Tickets section in Teammates.ai. Your Freshdesk tickets will now sync and appear in Raya's ticket queue.

  9. 9

    Configure your escalation policy

    Navigate to Settings > Chat > Escalation Policy. Choose from 6 built-in templates (General Support, Technical, Billing, VIP, Complaints, Privacy) or write a custom policy. This controls when Raya escalates conversations to your human team.

  10. 10

    Test the integration

    Create a test ticket in Freshdesk. It should appear in Teammates.ai within seconds. Raya will process it based on your knowledge base and escalation policy.

Note

Enter ONLY the subdomain, not the full URL. For example: yourcompany — not https://yourcompany.freshdesk.com

Zendesk Setup

Zendesk follows the same architecture as Freshdesk — subdomain plus API token authentication with bi-directional ticket sync. Zendesk is available on the Enterprise plan.

  1. 1

    Open the Integrations panel in Raya

    Navigate to Raya > Integrations in the Dashboard. Find the Zendesk card. If your organization is on the Enterprise plan, the card is active. Otherwise, it appears locked.

  2. 2

    Toggle Zendesk ON

    Toggle the Zendesk card ON. A configuration modal appears asking for your subdomain and API token.

  3. 3

    Enter your Zendesk subdomain

    If your Zendesk URL is https://company.zendesk.com, enter only "company" — not the full URL.

  4. 4

    Enter your Zendesk API Token

    To find your API token: Log in to Zendesk Admin Center, go to Apps and Integrations > APIs > Zendesk API, and copy your active API token. Paste it in the modal.

  5. 5

    Submit and verify

    Click Submit. The Zendesk card shows a green "Connected" status. Go to the Tickets section to confirm your Zendesk tickets appear.

Important

Zendesk integration is available on the Enterprise plan. Contact support@teammates.ai to enable it for your organization.

Intercom Setup

Intercom is a read-only integration. Raya reads Intercom conversation history and customer data to inform her responses on other channels (email, WhatsApp, chat). She does not respond directly inside Intercom. This gives Raya full customer context without replacing your existing Intercom workflows.

  1. 1

    Open the Integrations panel in Raya

    Navigate to Raya > Integrations in the Dashboard. Find the Intercom card (Enterprise plan required).

  2. 2

    Toggle Intercom ON and enter your API Token

    Toggle the Intercom card ON. Enter your Intercom API token in the modal. You can find this in Intercom > Settings > Developers > Developer Hub.

  3. 3

    Verify data import

    After connecting, Raya imports customer profiles and recent conversation history from Intercom. Check a customer record in Teammates.ai to confirm Intercom data appears under the customer's context.

Important

Intercom integration is available on the Enterprise plan. Contact support@teammates.ai to enable it for your organization.

Ticket Sync Details

When a help desk is connected, tickets sync bi-directionally between your help desk and Teammates.ai. Inbound sync is webhook-based for real-time delivery. Outbound sync occurs when Raya creates escalation tickets. A 15-minute deduplication window prevents duplicate tickets from being created during high-volume periods.

FieldDescription
TitleTicket subject line
SummaryAI-generated conversation summary
PriorityMapped from help desk priority (see priority mapping below)
StatusTicket lifecycle status (new, open, pending, solved, closed, etc.)
KindSupport ticket or issue report
TagsHelp desk tags synced to Teammates.ai labels
Customer InfoEmail, name, phone number from the help desk contact record
AssigneeAgent or group assignment from the help desk

Priority Mapping

Teammates.ai normalizes priority levels from different help desks into a unified p0-p3 scale. Freshdesk uses numeric values while Zendesk uses string labels. Both map to the same internal priority system.

Teammates.ai PriorityFreshdesk (numeric)Zendesk (string)Meaning
p04 (Urgent)urgentCritical issue, immediate attention required
p13 (High)highHigh impact, quick resolution needed
p22 (Medium)normalStandard request, normal queue
p31 (Low)lowLow priority, no urgency

Ticket Status Model

Teammates.ai supports a comprehensive ticket status model that covers the full lifecycle of a support conversation. Statuses sync from your help desk and update as Raya works on the ticket.

StatusDescription
newTicket just created, not yet assigned
openAssigned and being worked on
pendingWaiting for additional information
holdTemporarily paused by an agent
snoozedDeferred to a future time
waiting_on_customerWaiting for the customer to respond
waiting_on_third_partyWaiting for an external party
in_progressActively being resolved
escalatedEscalated to a human agent or team
solvedResolution provided, awaiting customer confirmation
resolvedCustomer confirmed the resolution
closedTicket finalized and archived

Escalation Policy and Help Desk Sync

When Raya's escalation policy triggers, she creates a support ticket in Teammates.ai that syncs to your connected help desk. The ticket includes a conversation summary, customer details, escalation reason, and suggested priority. Teammates.ai ships with 6 built-in escalation templates. Each template defines which scenarios trigger escalation, priority mapping, required fields, and expected response timelines.

TemplateTriggers
General SupportCustomer requests beyond Raya's knowledge base, failed resolution attempts, frustration signals detected
Technical / ProductBug reports, platform outages, API failures, feature requests requiring engineering
Billing & RefundPayment disputes, plan change requests, billing mismatches, refund requests
VIP / PriorityEnterprise accounts, high-value customers flagged in CRM, urgent business impact
ComplaintsFormal complaints, churn threats, repeated dissatisfaction, social media mentions
Data & PrivacyGDPR requests, data deletion requests, security breach reports, compliance inquiries

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ticket sync real-time?
Yes. Freshdesk and Zendesk use webhook-based sync with HMAC SHA256 validation. Tickets appear in Teammates.ai within seconds of being created or updated in your help desk.
What if ticket sync fails?
Teammates.ai retries failed syncs automatically with Redis-based idempotency to prevent duplicates. If a sync continues to fail, you receive a notification in the Dashboard and a Slack alert (if Slack is connected). Raya continues operating on other tickets while the retry queue processes.
Can Raya create tickets in Freshdesk?
Yes. When Raya's escalation policy triggers, she creates a ticket in Teammates.ai that syncs to your connected Freshdesk account. The ticket includes a conversation summary, customer details, and escalation reason. Priority and status are mapped automatically between the two systems.
What happens if I don't set an escalation policy?
Raya operates autonomously without creating escalation tickets. She handles conversations using your knowledge base but does not escalate to your help desk. We recommend configuring an escalation policy so complex issues, billing disputes, and VIP requests reach your human team.

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Help Desk Integrations (Freshdesk, Zendesk, Intercom) | Hel…