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Build a Smart Zendesk-Powered AI Agent—No Code Needed
AI agents are great at handling repetitive tasks and freeing up your human team, but what if they could go a step further and tap into your business tools to deliver even smarter interactions?
In this tutorial, André shows you how to build a fully functional AI voice agent that integrates with Zendesk using SignalWire AI Agent functions and Make.com. The result? A voice bot that greets your customers, pulls up their support tickets, and responds based on real-time data, all without writing a single line of backend code.
What You’ll Learn:
How AI Agent Functions Work: These let you define specific actions the agent can take using HTTP requests to external services like Zendesk.
The “Get User” Function: Uses the caller’s phone number to look up their name and Zendesk user ID.
The “Get Latest Ticket” Function: Retrieves the most recent support ticket for the identified user and shares the status on the call.
How to Use Make.com: This no-code tool acts as the middleware, processing incoming webhook data and querying Zendesk.
How to Set It All Up in SignalWire: You’ll connect the agent to a phone number so your customers can interact with it live.
With SignalWire’s AI Agent + function support, your agents aren’t limited to just scripted responses. They can pull in live data, trigger actions, and update their behavior dynamically based on what they learn during the call. That means better support, faster service, and less time spent by your human reps answering basic questions.
What is RCS messaging?
Rich Communication Services (RCS) is the next generation of mobile messaging, designed to replace SMS and MMS. It supports high-quality images and video, verified sender identities, read receipts, typing indicators, and interactive elements like carousels and quick replies, all within the phone's native messaging app.
What is RCS Business Messaging (RBM)?
RCS Business Messaging (RBM) applies RCS capabilities to brand-to-consumer communication. It lets businesses message customers from a verified brand identity instead of a phone number, share rich media and documents, offer quick replies and CTAs, and handle actions like appointment confirmations and payments without the customer leaving the chat.
Is RCS replacing SMS?
RCS is positioned as the successor to SMS, but the transition is gradual. Businesses should adopt RCS where supported while keeping SMS and MMS as fallback channels for devices and networks that don't yet support it.
Does iPhone support RCS?
Yes. Apple added RCS support starting with iOS 18, with RCS Business Messaging support arriving in iOS 18.1. Combined with existing Android support, this brings RCS to the large majority of smartphones in the US.
Is RCS more effective than SMS for customer engagement?
Yes. Nearly 80% of consumers say RCS makes them more likely to engage with a brand, and RCS campaigns can achieve click-through rates up to 7x higher than SMS thanks to rich media, interactivity, and verified sender trust.
ow do businesses start sending RCS messages?
Businesses must first register an RCS agent, an approval process involving Google, aggregators, and mobile operators. From there, they can define use cases like marketing, customer service, or appointment reminders. SignalWire guides businesses through registration and campaign planning.
Which industries benefit most from RCS?
Retail, finance, and healthcare are early leaders. Retailers use RCS for in-chat purchases and product carousels, financial institutions use it for secure verified messaging and account alerts, and healthcare providers use it for appointment scheduling and reminders.
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