Zendesk changes in 2027: the dates and what breaks

The Zendesk change that breaks the most is authentication. Every Support API token stops working on Apr 30, 2027, with no extension, and Zendesk warns that some integrations may fail silently. Before that, older AI agents are migrated for you in January and early February 2027, Copilot's suggested first replies switch off Jan 19, and live reporting in Explore stops showing data Jan 25. Start with one list: every integration that touches your Zendesk, what it does, and who owns it.

TL;DR

• Apr 30, 2027: every remaining API token is deactivated for good. Move each integration to OAuth.
• By Apr 1, 2027: OAuth clients created before Apr 30, 2026 must handle refresh tokens. Zendesk enforces this account by account, so yours may come sooner.
• Jan and Feb 2027: AI agents Essential and legacy bots are migrated on Zendesk's schedule if you haven't moved them. Resolution counts, and your bill, may change.
• This week: a token roll call. Every token gets an owner and a move date.

What's changing in Zendesk, and when?

Here's every announced change we found that a support team will feel, with its date, from now to 2028. All dates come from Zendesk's own notices, checked Nov 1, 2026.

Fig. 6. Announced Zendesk dates, as of Nov 1, 2026. Zendesk has moved dates before, so check each notice.

Already here

• Oct 27, 2026: nobody can create a new API token, in the Admin Center or through the API. Existing tokens still work (Zendesk notice).
• Since Jul 28, 2026: a token unused for 30 days deactivates on its own, and it's deleted 60 days after that.

Before the end of 2026

• Nov 11, 2026: the model behind Zendesk QA's AutoQA changes. Scores and ratings may shift, so mark the date on any QA trend chart (release notes).
• Dec 2, 2026 to Jan 19, 2027: Zendesk closes its incremental APIs to third-party apps, with a pause from Dec 17 to Jan 4. Your own internal integrations aren't affected, and from November 2026 admins can request an extension for a partner (Zendesk notice).
• By the end of 2026: accounts that bought the AI agents Advanced add-on before Mar 10, 2026 move to a new workspace. Zendesk says AI agents may be down for up to 2 minutes during the move: messaging conversations may be interrupted, email arriving then gets no AI reply, and live voice calls end (Zendesk notice).

January to April 2027

• January 2027: AI agents Essential not yet migrated are moved to the new AI agent experience automatically, with some exceptions.
• Jan 19, 2027: Copilot's suggested first replies are turned off. Zendesk points customers to auto assist (Zendesk notice).
• Jan 25, 2027: live data in Explore dashboards stops showing data. The replacement is real-time monitoring, available on Professional and Enterprise plans (Zendesk notice).
• Early February 2027: legacy AI agents are migrated automatically.
• Mar 1, 2027: help center themes on templating API v1 to v3 can no longer be imported, and an in-product upgrade tool arrives (Zendesk notice).
• By Apr 1, 2027: the latest date for OAuth integrations to handle refresh tokens (Zendesk notice). The same day, Zendesk stops supporting the Amazon Connect Integration by TTEC and pulls it from the Marketplace. Installed copies keep working, without support (Zendesk notice).
• Apr 30, 2027: every remaining API token is permanently deactivated, and the token pages leave the Admin Center.

Later

• Jul 31, 2027: themes still on v1 to v3 are upgraded to v4 by force. Zendesk's developer changelog says Aug 3, 2027, so plan for the earlier date.
• Aug 31, 2027: Zendesk Sell is retired (Zendesk notice).
• Jan 31, 2028: Zendesk Chat is retired. Suite accounts, and accounts with Chat plus Support, move to messaging first, and Agent Workspace is required to migrate. Chat-only plans can't migrate yet, and Zendesk says it will share more later (Zendesk notice).

Why is Zendesk removing API tokens?

Zendesk names three weaknesses. A token has no granular permissions, so it can act as any user in the account, admins included. It can't be rotated without updating every integration that uses it by hand. And it never expires while it's in use, so a leaked token stays useful for a long time.

An API token is a long-lived password for software. A script or an integration sends it with an email address, and Zendesk treats the request as that person. OAuth replaces it with access tokens that are scoped to what the integration needs and that expire.

What breaks when the API tokens stop?

Anything that still signs in with an email address and a token. Zendesk's list covers:

• scripts for automation and data syncs, middleware, and integrations your team or a contractor built
• webhooks that call back into your own Zendesk with a token
• custom actions in action flows that use a token
• third-party apps that haven't moved to their own OAuth

Only Support API tokens are affected: the Ticketing, Help Center and Voice APIs. Tokens for Messaging and Chat aren't part of this change.

The hard part is noticing. Zendesk warns that automated processes may fail silently, and a failed request doesn't tell you which token it used. A webhook that stopped updating tickets on Apr 30 looks exactly like a quiet day.

How do you find every API token in your account?

In the Admin Center, go to Apps and integrations, then APIs, then API tokens. Each token shows its description and a Last used date. A Deactivates on column shows when an unused token will switch off.

The same page offers a usage report you can download. It covers the previous 7 days, with each request's time, token, IP address, user agent and the address it called. Zendesk suggests downloading it regularly so you build up 30 to 60 days of history. That's how you match a token nobody can name to the job it does.

What replaces API tokens?

OAuth, set up per integration under APIs, then OAuth clients. Zendesk's migration guide recommends one client for each integration, with only the scopes it needs. Three details catch teams out:

1. Access tokens expire. New clients issue access tokens that last 30 minutes by default and refresh tokens that last 30 days. An integration has to refresh before its token runs out.

2. Older OAuth clients have a deadline of their own. Clients created in your account before Apr 30, 2026 issue tokens that never expire unless the integration asks otherwise. Zendesk is enforcing expiry on them in monthly waves from Jun 30, 2026 to Apr 1, 2027, on a date set for each account (Zendesk notice). After that, an integration that can't refresh gets authentication errors once its access token expires, by default 30 minutes after it's issued.

3. Actions are signed by whoever created the client. With the client credentials method, Zendesk attributes every action to the person who created the OAuth client: audit logs, comment authors, permissions. Zendesk recommends a dedicated service account. If you skip that, an integration's comments can show up under an admin's name.

OAuth and tokens can run side by side until Apr 30, 2027, so you can move one integration at a time, most important first.

What happens to Zendesk's older AI agents?

Zendesk is removing AI agents Essential and its legacy bot tools: bot builder, answers and intents. They've been in maintenance mode since Aug 31, 2026, which means critical fixes only. Essential agents that haven't moved are migrated automatically in January 2027, and legacy agents from early February 2027, "with some exceptions" Zendesk hasn't listed (Zendesk notice).

Customers who bought the AI agents Advanced add-on aren't part of this removal.

Two things matter for a support leader.

A migrated bot is a new bot. Different configuration, possibly different answers, on a date you didn't choose. Migrate on your own schedule with Zendesk's migration guides, then re-test the ticket types the bot handles before customers find the differences.

Your resolution numbers may move without anything getting better. Zendesk warns that automated resolution counts may change after the move, and billing follows those counts. It has already happened once: on May 18, 2026, Zendesk changed how AI agent results are reported. The automated resolution rate now counts contained resolutions as well as verified ones, only verified resolutions are billed, and up to two years of history was remapped (Zendesk notice). If your rate jumped in late May or early June, check the definition before you report it upward.

What should a support leader do first?

1. Run a token roll call. List every API token, the tool that uses it, and a named owner. Use the Last used date and the usage report to find the ones nobody claims.

2. Give each integration a move date. Most important first, and all before Apr 30, 2027. Include OAuth integrations built before Apr 30, 2026: they need refresh tokens by Apr 1, 2027 at the latest.

3. Ask every vendor two questions in writing. Does your integration use our API token, and when will it move to its own OAuth? Do you rely on Zendesk's incremental APIs? Reporting, QA, backup and BI tools are the usual places to look.

4. Migrate legacy bots on your own date. Then re-test every ticket type they handle, and watch automated resolutions for the first month.

5. Rebuild live dashboards before Jan 25, 2027. Check that real-time monitoring is included in your plan before you assume it replaces what you have.

6. Watch for silence after each cutover. For the week after any change, compare ticket volume by channel, webhook results and the jobs your integrations run with the week before. A drop to zero is a failure until someone proves it isn't.

Pass line: within 30 days, every token and every OAuth integration has a named owner and a move date.

Is Copious affected?

Yes. Copious reads the structure of a support queue, and Zendesk stopped issuing API tokens on Oct 27, 2026. For now, a Zendesk queue comes into Copious as a CSV export. Any change will be in our Release Briefs.

Where this doesn't apply

• If you're not on Zendesk, none of these dates are yours. Other help desks have their own notices.
• Messaging and Chat tokens aren't part of the API token removal.
• If you bought AI agents Advanced, the Essential and legacy migration doesn't apply to you. The workspace move might.
• These are Zendesk's dates as of Nov 1, 2026. Zendesk has moved deadlines before. Check each notice before you plan around it, and we'll update this page when they change.

Frequently asked questions

When do Zendesk API tokens stop working?

On Apr 30, 2027. Zendesk permanently deactivates every remaining Support API token that day and says there's no opt-out or extension. Since Oct 27, 2026, nobody can create a new token. Tokens unused for 30 days already deactivate on their own. Integrations need to move to OAuth before the deadline.

Can you still create an API token in Zendesk?

No. Since Oct 27, 2026, new API tokens can't be created in the Admin Center or through the API. Accounts created on or after Jul 28, 2026 never had them. Existing active tokens keep working until Apr 30, 2027. For anything new, create an OAuth client for the integration instead.

What replaces Zendesk API tokens?

OAuth access tokens. You create an OAuth client for each integration in the Admin Center, give it only the scopes it needs, and the integration requests short-lived access tokens. New access tokens last 30 minutes by default, so the integration has to refresh them. Zendesk recommends a dedicated service account as the client's creator.

Will my third-party Zendesk integrations break?

They will if they still use your API token. Zendesk's developer policy already says third-party apps must not use a customer's token, so most vendors are moving to their own OAuth. Ask each vendor in writing which method it uses and when it moves. Apps that rely on incremental APIs are cut off between Dec 2, 2026 and Jan 19, 2027.

What happens to Zendesk AI agents Essential?

It's being removed along with legacy bot builder, answers and intents. Agents not migrated by their owners are moved automatically, Essential in January 2027 and legacy in early February 2027. Zendesk warns that automated resolution counts, and so billing, may change afterward. Migrating yourself lets you re-test before customers see the new version.

Related: What should AI handle in customer support? · Do ticket handoffs predict SLA misses? · How to write your company's first AI policy

Sources

All checked Nov 1, 2026.

• Announcing the removal of API tokens as an authentication method for API requests · Zendesk
• Migrating from API tokens to OAuth access tokens · Zendesk developer docs
• Announcing support for OAuth refresh token grant type and OAuth access and refresh token expirations · Zendesk
• Announcing the required expiration of global OAuth access and refresh tokens · Zendesk
• Announcing the removal of AI agents Essential and legacy functionality · Zendesk
• Announcing AI agents workspace migration · Zendesk
• Announcing changes to AI agent reporting · Zendesk
• Announcing end of availability of Incremental APIs for third-party developers · Zendesk
• Announcing the removal of suggested first replies · Zendesk
• Announcing the removal of live reporting in Zendesk Explore · Zendesk
• Announcing the removal of help center templating APIs v1, v2, and v3 · Zendesk
• Release notes through 2026-10-23 · Zendesk
• Amazon Connect Integration by TTEC removal · Zendesk
• Announcing the retiring of Zendesk Sell · Zendesk
• About the removal of Zendesk Chat and migration to messaging · Zendesk
• What is being removed (updated October 2026) · Zendesk

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