You can bring Zendesk data, such as support ticket events and customer satisfaction attributes, into Insider One through Insider One's standard import channels: the Upsert User Data API for continuous profile and event updates, and the FTP/SFTP integration for scheduled bulk file imports. If your data pipeline already runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Amazon S3 integration is another option for automated file imports. Once this data is in Insider One, you can use it for segmentation, journey decisions, and personalization. This guide helps you choose the right channel for your data and walks you through the setup for each.
Essentials before integration
Before you begin, make sure the following prerequisites are met:
To set up the FTP/SFTP or Amazon S3 source integrations in the InOne panel, you need an Administrator or an Editor with the PII access role (PII: personally identifiable information). To generate an API key for the Upsert User Data API, you need an Administrator role.
Make sure you can export or query the user and event data you want to sync from Zendesk, as API payloads for the Upsert User Data API, or as files (
.csvor.tsvfor FTP/SFTP;.csvor.jsonlfor Amazon S3).Decide which data you will send: user identifiers (for support data, this is typically the requester's email address), profile attributes (for example, satisfaction score or support plan), and events (for example, ticket created or ticket solved).
Choose your import channel
Channel | Best for | How it works |
|---|---|---|
Upsert User Data API | Continuous updates as support activity happens, ticket events, satisfaction scores, support-status attributes | Your integration job calls the API; existing profiles are updated, and new ones are created |
FTP/SFTP | Scheduled bulk exports; works with any FTP, FTPS, or SFTP server; no cloud infrastructure required | InOne pulls |
Amazon S3 | Large batch exports when your data pipeline already runs on AWS | You export |
Import channel 1: Upsert User Data API
The Upsert User Data API sends user attributes and events to Insider One. "Upsert" means insert or update: if a profile already exists for the identifier you send, the API updates it; if not, the API creates one. This makes it the main way to bring data from systems outside the web and mobile SDKs (software development kits); such as your support platform, into the same profile Insider One uses for segmentation and personalization.
Typical Zendesk use cases:
Support ticket events: Import events such as ticket created or ticket solved. Imported events become part of the user profile Insider One uses for segmentation, and they can trigger Architect journeys that react to support activity.
Satisfaction and support attributes: Keep profile fields such as the latest satisfaction score, support plan, or open-ticket count in sync with Zendesk.
Segments prepared outside Insider One: Add users to a static segment you built from your support data, for example, customers with recent escalations.
Set it up
Plan your user data and get the plan approved by the Insider One team, then use the Upsert User Data API Integration Wizard to generate your API key (only users with an Administrator role can generate API keys), configure headers, and create API payloads based on your planned user data.
Build the job on your side that reads the tickets and users you want to sync from the Zendesk API and maps each record to the API payload. Place identifiers under the
identifiersobject, and use one identifier per user object where possible. For support data, the requester's email address is the natural identifier.Run the job on the trigger or schedule it per your use case needs, for example, on ticket status changes or as a periodic sync.
Refer to Upsert User Data for payload parameters, limits, and error handling, and the Upsert User Data API Integration Wizard for step-by-step setup.
Import channel 2: FTP/SFTP
The FTP/SFTP integration allows InOne to automatically pull CSV (comma-separated values) or TSV (tab-separated values) files from your file server and sync the data into user profiles and behavioral events. Once configured, the integration runs on a schedule, so no manual uploads or API integration are required. FTP (plain text), FTPS (encrypted with Transport Layer Security, or TLS), and SFTP (running over Secure Shell, or SSH) are all supported.
Set it up
Publish scheduled exports of your Zendesk data as .csv or .tsv files to your FTP, FTPS, or SFTP server.
In the InOne panel, go to Components > Integrations > External Integrations, select FTP/SFTP, and enter your server connection details.
Map your identifiers, attributes, and events, and set the sync schedule.
Refer to Import Data from FTP/SFTP to InOne for the full walkthrough, including protocol selection, credentials, and data mapping.
Import channel 3: Amazon S3
If your data pipeline already runs on AWS, the Amazon S3 integration lets you efficiently import large volumes of data directly from an S3 bucket you own. S3 import supports .jsonl and .csv files with attribute, event, and purchase data.
Set it up
Export the Zendesk data you want to sync as .csv or .jsonl files, and upload them to an S3 bucket you own.
In the InOne panel, go to Components > Integrations > External Integrations, create an Amazon S3 source integration, and authorize Insider One to read from your bucket.
Set up an Amazon SQS (Simple Queue Service) queue for new-file notifications so that new exports landing in the bucket are imported automatically.
Refer to Import Data from Amazon S3 for the full walkthrough, including AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) authorization, file requirements, and data mapping.
Alternative: Import through your data warehouse
If your Zendesk data already flows into a cloud data warehouse, a common pattern for support analytics, you can connect that warehouse to Insider One directly. Snowflake, Amazon Redshift, Databricks, and Google BigQuery each have their own import guides:
Use Zendesk data in real time during journeys
Besides importing data ahead of time, you can also pull support data in at the moment a journey runs. With the Architect Call an API element, a journey can send a request to an API endpoint you expose in front of your Zendesk data, or to an external tool, and retrieve values as response variables. You can use these variables in message content across the Email, Web Push, App Push, WhatsApp, and SMS channels, update a user attribute with them, or branch the journey with the Check API Response element.
This approach fits data that changes frequently and doesn't need to be stored long-term, for example, fetching a customer's latest NPS (Net Promoter Score) and routing promoters and detractors down different paths, or branching on a response value such as an open-ticket count before a promotional send. By default, response variables are temporary and are deleted when the user exits the journey; to retain a value, store it in a user attribute using the Update User Attribute element.
Refer to Architect Channel: Fetch Data through Call an API for setup, response formats, and the full use-case list.
Send Insider One data to your support workflows
Data can flow the other way too. Webhook (Data Stream) sends data to your endpoints in real time: the Attribute Stream sends a webhook whenever a monitored user attribute changes, and the Event Stream sends a webhook as tracked events occur. Your integration can receive these webhooks and bring user engagement context into your support workflows.
Teams using an AI client that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) can also query Insider One campaign and channel analytics in natural language through Insider One MCP, a secure, read-only, analytics-only integration.
Refer to Webhook for the Data Stream overview, Insider One Webhook for the configuration reference, and Insider One MCP for analytics queries from AI clients.