SEIF Blog

Zendesk Updates for January 2026

Written by Florian VANNIER | Jan 12, 2026 2:07:15 PM

Support

  • End-user approvers can now add and view comments on approval requests assigned to them. Approval request comments allow the approval requests to be a single-source of information related to the request, preventing the need to fracture conversations about pending approval requests across other channels. To enable end user comments on approval requests, your help centers must use the latest Copenhagen theme or update custom themes manually. See Responding to approval requests as an end user.
  • The custom file type allowlist allows admins to specify which file types agents and end users can upload in tickets, enhancing security and file management. This setting is available in Admin Center and applies to all plans. See Setting allowed file types for attachments.

     

  • The Email page in Admin Center has been modernized. With a new page layout, related email settings are grouped together, making them easier to find. See Email resources for more information on configuring email settings in Admin Center

  • Slovak and Ukrainian language support has been officially added across Zendesk products, providing a localized experience that improves accessibility and usability for Slovak- and Ukrainian-speaking users. See Zendesk language support by product.


Agents IA

  • You can now add escalation blocks in dialogues for advanced email AI agents. You can also define how many use cases an advanced email AI agent can complete before handing the conversation over to a human agent. These improvements make it easier to control escalation flows during email conversations. See Configuring escalation strategies and flows for advanced AI agents.
  • A new report shows details about use case performance over time for advanced AI agents. This information helps you understand how a specific use case has contributed to your organization’s overall automation success. See Analyzing advanced AI agent performance with the reporting dashboard.

Objects and business rules

  • Action flows can now be triggered by updates to custom ticket fields and custom user fields, enabling automation of workflows based on specific field values, including during ticket or user creation. See Creating action flows to automate processes across Zendesk and external systems.
  • Support for custom objects in Marketplace apps allows developers to use and create custom objects and object triggers within Marketplace apps. App support for custom objects enables seamless integration of additional custom data into agent workflows. This also makes it possible for apps to migrate to the new custom object experience in preparation for the removal of legacy custom objects.  See Specifying app requirements.
  • Approval requests can be assigned to a group of agents instead of a single individual, enabling any agent in the group to respond and complete the request. This improves resolution speed and flexibility. Admins should review their groups for optimal use. See Creating approval requests.
  • The BambooHR and Workday external actions have been introduced for Zendesk's action builder, enabling secure integration with these HR platforms to automate employee-related processes such as onboarding, HRIS updates, ticket routing, and time-off requests. These actions reduce manual work and support deeper HRIS integrations. See Using BambooHR actions in action flows and Using Workday actions in action flows.

Security

  • Two-factor authentication (2FA) email delivery is available as an additional method for receiving 2FA passcodes, providing users more flexibility and convenience. Additionally, 2FA verification is now required on every sign-in for users with 2FA turned on. See Managing two-factor authentication.
  • Data masking capabilities have been expanded to include light agent roles, allowing them to see only necessary personally identifiable information (PII) while protecting sensitive data and supporting GDPR compliance. This feature is available to Advanced Data Privacy and Protection (ADPP) customers and can be activated in Admin Center. See Turning on and configuring data masking.
  • The enhanced access log provides clearer, more actionable insights by adding detailed business context, accurate product categories, and concise summaries to each log entry. These enhancements are immediately available for customers with the Advanced Data Privacy and Protection add-on. See Using the access log to monitor agent activity.



Voice

  • The secure media (TLS/SRTP) support for SIP-IN setting encrypts SIP signaling with TLS and media with SRTP, enhancing call security by rejecting non-encrypted calls. This per-line setting can be enabled in Admin Center. See Adding a SIP-IN line.



Analytics

  • Real-time monitoring dashboards have been enhanced with recent-history metrics for incoming tickets and agent productivity, including a new leaderboard. SLA live reporting now shows ticket-level SLA statuses, new visualizations, and filters by SLA status and policy. Skills and tags filters are added to incoming tickets and ticket progress dashboards. See About real-time monitoring dashboards.


 

Workforce management

  • Location events in workforce management (WFM) audit logs have been added to track actions, such as creation, updates, and deletions of locations, shifts, and folders. This enhancement improves monitoring, compliance, and troubleshooting. See Viewing the WFM audit log for changes.



Quality assurance

  • Intelligent filters are a new set of AI-powered conversation filters that automatically detect predefined conditions like agent escalations, AI agent conversations, and frustrated AI interactions, enabling faster insights and easier data analysis. These filters can be combined with existing filters and used in assignments. See Understanding conversation filter types in Zendesk QA.

Developers

  • Embedded mode for the Web Widget lets developers place the Web Widget inside a specific HTML container on your page, rather than displaying it as a floating overlay with a fixed position. The widget automatically fills the dimensions of your chosen container, giving you control over exactly where and how it appears. See Web Widget embedded mode.


  • Translation - disclaimer: This article has been translated using automated translation software to provide a basic understanding of its content. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, but Zendesk does not guarantee the accuracy of the translation.


We hope this article has helped you learn more about what's new at Zendesk in January 2026. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share them with us.

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