Do we have to leave Zendesk to use Aide?

No. Aide connects to Zendesk and works inside it. Your team keeps its views, triggers, macros and reporting, and replies written in Aide post to Zendesk under the teammate's name.

How are Zendesk AI agents billed?

Per automated resolution, per Zendesk's pricing page and help center, checked October 27, 2026. Since May 18, 2026, only verified resolutions draw on your allowance; conversations escalated to a person and resolutions that fail Zendesk's verification don't. Beyond the included allowance, a resolution costs $1.50 committed or $2.00 pay as you go.

Can Aide cancel or refund a Shopify order from a Zendesk ticket?

Yes, for shoppers who are logged in or give the order number and matching email. Approvers approve or reject refunds in the Aide panel, and each action leaves an internal note on the ticket saying what was done and who approved it.

Does Aide use our Zendesk macros and ticket fields?

Yes. Active Zendesk macros are imported and a procedure can run one as Zendesk would. A procedure's Only if conditions read your ticket fields, and a value Aide collects from the customer, such as the order number, is written back to the Zendesk field.

When are Zendesk AI agents the better choice?

When you want AI answering messaging and web chat tickets inside Zendesk today (Aide drafts those for now), AI on phone calls with Zendesk voice, or one vendor and one bill for the helpdesk and the AI. They also suit volume that fits the allowance; 10 agents on Suite Professional include 100 automated resolutions a month.

When is Aide not the right fit?

When you need voice or phone support, order changes on WooCommerce (Aide reads WooCommerce orders; order actions are Shopify only), or every ticket answered automatically from day one. New topics start in drafts, and brands go live in stages your team controls.

Zendesk AI alternative

Keep Zendesk.
Add AI that acts on orders.

Aide works inside the Zendesk you already run, with a draft on every ticket and email answered once a brand is live. It also changes Shopify orders for verified shoppers.Updated October 27, 2026 · By Ziyad Basheer

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Short answer

Aide is a Zendesk AI alternative that runs inside Zendesk, drafting on every ticket and cancelling, refunding or editing Shopify orders for verified shoppers, with refunds waiting for your team by default. Tickets, macros and seats stay in Zendesk, and Aide bills per AI reply instead of per automated resolution.

Zendesk AI agents: Per automated resolution. Suite Team includes 5 per agent a month, Suite Professional 10.
Beyond the allowance: $1.50 per resolution committed, or $2.00 pay as you go.
Aide pricing: Per AI reply. Starter $39 (1,000), Pro $149 (4,000), Scale $499 (15,000).
Your Zendesk setup: Aide's procedures read and fill your ticket fields and run your Zendesk macros.
Zendesk connector: On every Aide plan, Free included.
Checked: October 27, 2026, using Zendesk's pricing page and help center.

Inside Zendesk

Drafts on day one. Replies when you say.

Connecting turns drafts on and sends nothing to customers.

Every brand becomes an inbox

Aide picks up each active brand with its ticket fields and active macros.

Drafts in the Aide panel

Drafts land as internal notes and in the panel, beside the customer's Shopify orders. Agents insert, edit, send.

Live, brand by brand

When a topic's drafts stop needing edits, move it to AI Agent and widen the brand to everyone.

Zendesk is a partner, and this page is not about leaving it. It compares two ways to put AI to work in the Zendesk you already run: Zendesk's own AI agents, and Aide, which connects to Zendesk and works inside it.

Side by side

	Aide inside Zendesk	Zendesk AI agents
What it is	A separate AI connected to your Zendesk account	Zendesk's own AI agents, included in every Suite and Support plan
What you pay for	Each customer message Aide drafts or replies to	Each verified automated resolution beyond your allowance
Drafts for agents	Every ticket, as an internal note and in the Aide panel	Copilot's auto assist add-on, $50 per agent a month billed yearly, Professional and up
Cancel and refund Shopify orders	Yes, for verified shoppers; refunds wait for approval by default	Auto assist suggests cancellations and refunds an agent approves; action flows can run them
Change an order's address	Yes, for verified shoppers	Not among the Shopify connector's three listed actions
Channels the AI answers	Email; drafts on messaging, chat and SMS	Messaging and email; voice with Zendesk voice

Checked October 27, 2026 against Zendesk's pages. Sources below.

What 1,000 tickets cost

Take a store with 5 agents on Suite Team and 1,000 tickets a month. Say the AI fully resolves 300 of them, an assumption for the math rather than a measured rate, and writes 2 replies per conversation.

Zendesk AI agents: Suite Team includes 5 automated resolutions per agent a month, so 25. The other 275 cost $412.50 a month committed at $1.50, or $550 pay as you go at $2.00.
Aide: a draft or reply on all 1,000 tickets is 2,000 AI replies, which fits Pro at $149 a month (4,000 included).
Your 5 Zendesk seats stay the same either way: $275 a month on Suite Team billed yearly.

Zendesk's bill follows the conversations its AI resolves; Aide's follows the replies it writes, resolved or not, drafts and handoffs included. Drafts for your agents sit inside Aide's count, where Zendesk's sit in the Copilot add-on.

Sources

Zendesk facts were checked on October 27, 2026 against Zendesk's pricing page, About automated resolution tiers, Using the Shopify integration in Support and Chat, About actions for auto assist and action flows, the Shopify connector and How can I link my AI agent with my customer orders?, which points to a custom API step for Shopify order status. Aide's facts come from its shipped product and pricing. Aide makes this page. If a Zendesk fact has changed, write to support@aide.app and we will correct it.

Frequently asked questions

: No. Aide connects to Zendesk and works inside it. Your team keeps its views, triggers, macros and reporting, and replies written in Aide post to Zendesk under the teammate's name.
: Per automated resolution, per Zendesk's pricing page and help center, checked October 27, 2026. Since May 18, 2026, only verified resolutions draw on your allowance; conversations escalated to a person and resolutions that fail Zendesk's verification don't. Beyond the included allowance, a resolution costs $1.50 committed or $2.00 pay as you go.
: Yes, for shoppers who are logged in or give the order number and matching email. Approvers approve or reject refunds in the Aide panel, and each action leaves an internal note on the ticket saying what was done and who approved it.
: Yes. Active Zendesk macros are imported and a procedure can run one as Zendesk would. A procedure's Only if conditions read your ticket fields, and a value Aide collects from the customer, such as the order number, is written back to the Zendesk field.
: When you want AI answering messaging and web chat tickets inside Zendesk today (Aide drafts those for now), AI on phone calls with Zendesk voice, or one vendor and one bill for the helpdesk and the AI. They also suit volume that fits the allowance; 10 agents on Suite Professional include 100 automated resolutions a month.
: When you need voice or phone support, order changes on WooCommerce (Aide reads WooCommerce orders; order actions are Shopify only), or every ticket answered automatically from day one. New topics start in drafts, and brands go live in stages your team controls.

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Keep Zendesk. Add AI that acts on orders.