Even the most sophisticated service platforms face limitations when it comes to traditional automation. The standard model relied on intent classification: predict an intent, trigger a predefined dialogue or workflow, and hope the customer followed the script.

This setup worked for structured interactions, but broke down quickly with nuance, follow-ups, or edge cases.

“The old world was message in, response out,” says Adrian McDermott, CTO at Zendesk. “Real customers change their minds, ask clarifying questions, and expect the AI to follow along naturally. In service, the only outcome that matters is resolution, and until now, bots have been somewhat limited in their ability to achieve it.”

Zendesk began working with OpenAI to adopt a generative approach using Retrieval-Augmented generation (RAG) for basic FAQ interactions. Today, their focus has shifted to generative reasoning that enables AI agents to plan and execute tasks independently.