Zendesk - Notifications Webhook

You can send SMS or Messaging Apps notifications automatically from Zendesk using Webhooks + Triggers. This guide outlines precisely how you can achieve this.

What you’ll build

Turn Zendesk into an auto-notify engine that keeps customers updated without agent busywork.

Business outcomes

• Fewer “any update?” tickets via proactive SMS/WhatsApp.
• Faster resolutions with clear, timely status pings.
• Consistent, compliant messaging using templates + placeholders.
• Low effort for agents (tag/macro triggers do the sending).

How it works

1. Define the moments that matter (status change, public comment, or a “notify” tag).
2. A Zendesk Trigger calls a Zendesk Webhook that posts to the 8x8 SMS or Messaging API endpoint.
3. Zendesk renders the message template and 8x8 delivers it.

• A Zendesk Webhook that posts JSON to 8x8 CPaaS.
• A Trigger that calls the webhook when ticket conditions are met (e.g., status change, public comment, or tag added).
• A JSON payload that Zendesk renders with placeholders (like {{ticket.id}}) before sending to 8x8.

Prerequisites

1. 8x8 Connect

   • Subaccount ID with SMS API enabled for SMS use along with registered Sender ID/Virtual Number for the destination countries you intend to send SMS to.
   • Subaccount ID with a WhatsApp channel onboarded + pre-approved templates that you intend to use
   • API Key

2. Zendesk

   • Admin access to Admin Center (to create Webhooks and Triggers).
   • Optional: Help Center enabled if you plan to use {{ticket.link}} for end-user links.

Choose the correct 8x8 endpoint

8x8 provides region-specific base URLs. If your tenant is bound to a region, use that region’s host. When in doubt, start with the global host and consult your 8x8 representative.

Examples (final URL):

• SMS: https://sms.8x8.com/api/v1/subaccounts/{subAccountId}/messages
• Messaging: https://chatapps.8x8.com/api/v1/subaccounts/{subAccountId}/messages

📘

Ensure your endpoint base url is accurate

Platform Deployment Regions: https://developer.8x8.com/connect/docs/data-center-region

Step 1: Create the Zendesk Webhook

Create one webhook per channel (one for SMS, one for WhatsApp).

1. In Zendesk Admin Center → Apps and integrations → Webhooks → Create webhook.
2. Name: 8x8 SMS Send (and/or 8x8 WhatsApp Send).
3. Endpoint URL:
   • SMS: https://sms.8x8.com/api/v1/subaccounts/{subAccountId}/messages
   • WhatsApp: https://chatapps.8x8.com/api/v1/subaccounts/{subAccountId}/messages
4. Request method: POST
5. Request format: JSON
6. Authentication: choose Bearer token and paste your 8x8 API key (Zendesk will send Authorization: Bearer <token>).
7. (Optional) Custom headers:
   • Accept: application/json
     (Zendesk sets Content-Type: application/json automatically for JSON format.)
8. Click Create (and you may Test with a sample body later).

Repeat for the WhatsApp webhook, and ensure you replace the subAccountId placeholder with actual values.

Step 2: Create a Trigger that calls the webhook

1. In Zendesk Admin Center → Objects and rules → Business rules → Triggers → Add trigger.
2. Name: e.g. Notify via SMS when ticket is solved or Notify via WhatsApp on public comment.
3. Conditions (example – adjust to taste):
   • ALL:
     • Ticket | Is | Updated
     • Comment | Is | Public
     • (Optional) Requester | Phone number | Present (for SMS)
4. Actions:
   • Notify active webhook → Select your 8x8 webhook.
   • JSON body → paste one of the payloads below (SMS or WhatsApp).

Zendesk will render placeholders (like {{ticket.id}}) before sending, so 8x8 receives concrete values.

Payloads

Option A: SMS (8x8 SMS API)

Use when you want a plain text SMS to the ticket requester’s phone.

Webhook: 8x8 SMS Send
JSON body:

{
  "source": "<Your Approved Sender ID or Number>",
  "destination": "{{ticket.requester.phone}}",
  "text": "Update for ticket #{{ticket.id}} ({{ticket.status}}). View: {{ticket.link}}"
}

Notes

• source: use an approved sender ID/number for the destination country. If country rules prevent alphanumeric sender IDs, use a numeric source.
• destination: prefer international format (e.g., +12025550123). If you store national format in Zendesk, ensure your 8x8 route/country settings are configured accordingly.
• Keep messages concise to avoid multi-part SMS billing.

Option B: WhatsApp (8x8 Messaging API)

Use when you want to send a WhatsApp message (template, or freeform within the customer service window).

Webhook: 8x8 WhatsApp Send
JSON body : Example template message with a single text parameter
(Replace <Template Name> and set the language, e.g., en_GB and any other content you may have). Refer to this page for other sample JSON body for template messages. Ensure the JSON body is as per the approved template.

{
  "user": {
    "msisdn": "{{ticket.requester.phone}}"
  },
  "type": "template",
  "content": {
    "template": {
      "language": "en_GB",
      "name": "<Template Name>",
      "components": [
        {
          "type": "body",
          "parameters": [
            {
              "type": "text",
              "text": "{{ticket.id}}"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Alternate freeform (inside WhatsApp’s customer service window)

{
  "user": {
    "msisdn": "{{ticket.requester.phone}}"
  },
  "type": "text",
  "content": {
    "text": "We updated your ticket #{{ticket.id}} ({{ticket.status}}). View: {{ticket.link}}"
  }
}

Notes

• Templates are required outside the WhatsApp customer service window. Ensure your WhatsApp templates are approved.
• msisdn: use the customer’s phone number in international format.
• You can enrich templates (images, documents, CTA buttons) by adding header/body/button components as per the Messaging API capabilities. Learn more here.

Testing

• In Webhooks, open your webhook and use Test webhook with a sample payload (hardcode a test number).
• In Triggers, temporarily loosen conditions so it’s easy to fire the trigger, then revert.
• Check Webhook Activity in Zendesk if calls are failing.
• Check 8x8 API response codes in the webhook logs (2xx = success). If you enabled 8x8 delivery callbacks/logs, verify downstream delivery there.

Troubleshooting

• 401/403 from 8x8: wrong/missing API key or subaccount; ensure the webhook auth uses Bearer token and the endpoint URL has the correct subaccountId.
• 400 from 8x8: invalid phone format, missing required field (e.g., text for SMS, or template name for WhatsApp template). Validate your JSON and field names exactly.
• No phone on requester: add a trigger condition such as Requester → Phone number → Present or add a fallback (e.g., email) via a separate trigger.
• {{ticket.link}} doesn’t render: Help Center may be disabled. Use a different placeholder or craft your own URL pattern if needed.
• WhatsApp message rejected: using freeform outside the service window, or the template is unapproved / mis-named / wrong language. Switch to a valid template and resend.

FAQ

Do I need two webhooks?
Yes. Create one for SMS and one for WhatsApp. Point your triggers to the right one.

Which placeholders are safe?
Conservative defaults: {{ticket.id}}, {{ticket.status}}, {{ticket.requester.name}}, {{ticket.requester.phone}}, {{ticket.assignee.name}}, {{ticket.link}}. If a field is blank in Zendesk, the rendered value will be blank.

Appendix: Example end-to-end flows

A. Notify by SMS when ticket is solved

• Trigger conditions: Ticket → Status → Changed to → Solved
• Action: Notify active webhook → 8x8 SMS Send
• Body: use the SMS payload above

B. Notify by WhatsApp when a public comment is added

• Trigger conditions: Ticket → Is → Updated; Comment → Is → Public
• Action: Notify active webhook → 8x8 WhatsApp Send
• Body: use the WhatsApp template payload above

C. Notify when a specific tag is added (fires once)

Use this when you want Zendesk to notify via 8x8 the first time a tag appears on a ticket (e.g., notify_customer_sms or notify_customer_wa).
We’ll guard against re-firing by adding a sent tag after we send.

Example tags

• Business tag you add to a ticket (manually or via another rule): notify_customer_sms
• Sent tag that this trigger will add after notification is sent: notify_customer_sms__sent

Trigger conditions

• ALL

  • Ticket | Is | Updated
  • Tags | Contains at least one of the following | notify_customer_sms
  • Tags | Contains none of the following | notify_customer_sms__sent
  • (Optional) Requester | Phone number | Present ← prevents attempts without a number

Trigger actions

• Notify active webhook → select your 8x8 SMS Send webhook
  JSON body (SMS example):

  JSON

  {
    "source": "<Your Approved Sender ID or Number>",
    "destination": "{{ticket.requester.phone}}",
    "text": "Update for ticket #{{ticket.id}} ({{ticket.status}}). View: {{ticket.link}}"
  }
  

  (If you are using WhatsApp, select your 8x8 WhatsApp Send webhook and use the WhatsApp payload from Option B.)

• Add tags → notify_customer_sms__sent
  (ensures this trigger won’t fire again for the same ticket/tag)

• (Optional) Remove tags → notify_customer_sms
  (use this if you want the “business tag” cleared after the notification is sent)

Notes

• To run WhatsApp on tag instead, replace the business tag names accordingly (e.g., notify_customer_wa / notify_customer_wa__sent) and use the WhatsApp template payload
• If you have the need to send the same notification to your users multiple times across a long lifecycle, omit the sent tag/condition or use versioned sent tags (e.g., notify_customer_sms__sent_v2), then update the trigger conditions accordingly.