How it works
For a complete overview of how Fin for Zendesk Messaging works, check out this walkthrough: Fin for Zendesk Messaging: How does it work?
Integrate
The first thing you need to do is connect to the Zendesk API. Go to Deploy > Zendesk Messaging and select Connect under the Zendesk API.
Zendesk API
The connection to the Zendesk API is needed to allow Fin to create tickets in Zendesk. If you've already deployed Fin to another channel, you may already have the this connected.
You'll need the following from your Zendesk account:
Your Zendesk subdomain - You can get this from the address bar when in the home screen of your Zendesk account.
Your Zendesk email - The email you use to login to your Zendesk account.
Your API token - You can get this in the Admin center of your Zendesk account, under Apps and integrations > APIs, and selecting Add API token.
Once you have generated your Zendesk API and entered all of the above details, select Connect to the Zendesk API.
Zendesk Conversations API
he connection to the Zendesk Conversations API is needed to allow Fin to create live chats in Zendesk. If you've already deployed Fin to another channel, you may already have this connected.
You will be prompted to add the following:
App ID
Key ID
Secret Key
All of these can be found in the admin center of your Zendesk account under Apps and integrations > APIs > Conversations API.
Give Fin an identity
Next, you will need to give your AI Agent a name. Under Give Fin an identity in Zendesk Messaging enter the name you would like to appear when Fin AI is dealing with customers, then click Save.
Select which Zendesk Messaging channels Fin should respond to
Zendesk Messaging can be used across multiple Zendesk channels. You can see the ones you're using by going to Admin settings at Channels → Messaging
You can tell Fin which of those Zendesk Messaging channels you'd like it to respond to on this step, by activating the toggles next to those channels.
Workflow
Configure greeting and hand-off workflow
Once you've configured the Zendesk API with your Intercom account, configure the greeting your customers will see when they open the Zendesk Messenger by selecting Next: Build your workflow and clicking on Manage Workflow. There will be a pre-built template here, but you can customize it to your liking.
Here, you can define when Fin should respond, and what should happen when the customer asks to talk to the team. At the end of all paths (except That helped ), Fin will un-assign itself and apply the “routed-to-the-team” tag.
You can tailor the experience further by:
Creating different branches based on your conditions.
Choosing when Fin answers.
Having Fin send a message.
Providing reply buttons.
Collecting data.
Collecting the customer reply.
Adding internal notes.
Adding an AI generated summary of the conversation.
Auto-classifying ticket attributes based on what the customer said.
Once you’ve finished customizing the greeting and hand-off to your team, click Save, or Set live to enable this for your messenger (you can also come back to set this live at a later stage).
Test
Ensure Fin is ready
First you'll be asked to ensure you've given Fin sufficient training.
This is important before starting live testing.
We recommend reading our complete guide on all of the ways you can train Fin so its able to answer your customers questions as accurately as possible. | 
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Test Fin
To test Fin over Zendesk Messenger, you'll need to enter the URL where you have it installed.
Once you've entered your URL, hit "Test" Fin and new window will launch which shows you how Fin will work in your Zendesk Messenger
Turn Fin on
Now you’re ready to set Fin live for your customers. Go to Deploy > Zendesk messaging > Go Live and select Go Live.
Customer experience
When a customer opens the Zendesk Messenger they'll see a greeting from Fin (this can be customized via the simplified Intercom workspace).
After the customer asks a question:
Fin will attempt to answer, citing sources from the knowledge you’ve given Fin access to.
If the question is ambiguous, Fin will ask clarifying questions.
If Fin is unable to resolve the conversation, it'll hand-off the ticket to the team.
This conversation won't be visible to agents in Zendesk until the customer asks to talk to the team.
After the customer asks to talk to the team, a new messaging ticket will be created in Zendesk and show up in the queue. When an agent takes the conversation, they’ll see the entire conversation history in the thread and can continue the conversation from there.
Note: If the customer is offline and their email is known, an email notification will be sent allowing them to continue the conversation over email.
How it works
Fin connects to Zendesk Messaging via Zendesk’s Sunshine Messaging API, allowing compatibility with Zendesk Messenger—not the classic Chat widget.
When connected, Fin mirrors conversations from Zendesk to Intercom, along with user data such as name, email, page URL, and geolocation. Fin works on all channels that are available to you in Zendesk Messaging (e.g. Zendesk Messenger, WhatsApp, mobile SDKs, etc.).
Fin will replace the Zendesk Answerbot, only handling new conversations and avoiding intervention in ongoing ones. Conversations with Fin follow Zendesk's standard rules, remaining hidden from the agent workspace unless explicitly handed over or if the workflow ends.
This is the same behavior as Zendesk’s Answerbot flow:
When a conversation is handed over, it will appear in your support team’s queue. Once opened it will create a ticket. Fin will no longer interact in the conversation after it has been handed over.
If the ticket is closed by the support agent, control will be passed back to Fin. If the user asks more questions, the messaging workflow powering Fin will run again.
Fin can also collect name and email data and pass this to Zendesk.
Note: Fin does not control authentication or identity verification – this should be handled through your installation of the Zendesk Messenger.