Agentic AI changes what great employee service looks like
Last year, HR leaders predicted AI would transform employee service by 2028. One year later, we're already seeing that vision come to life.
Mariah Schuknecht
VP of People Transformation and Operations at Zendesk
最後更新 2026年10月21日
Last year, we asked HR leaders what employee service would look like by 2028. Our research pointed to a future where employee service would become instant, personalized, and proactive. HR leaders envisioned agentic AI helping employees get support whenever they needed it, tailored to their individual circumstances, and increasingly anticipating their needs before they even asked.
Since then, we’ve made huge strides toward making that vision a reality. Just this week, we launched Advanced Action Flows for Employee Service AI Agents, allowing AI to securely complete work across business systems. As new capabilities like this emerge, we’re redefining what great employee service looks like.
When an employee asks, "How do I apply for parental leave?" they're rarely just looking for information. They're trying to accomplish something.
Great employee service is about outcomes, not answers
For years, we've designed employee service around helping people find information. Knowledge bases, self-service portals, and AI assistants made answers easier to find, but employees still had to do much of the work themselves—finding the right policy, completing forms, navigating multiple systems, chasing approvals, and figuring out which team owned the next step.
When an employee asks, "How do I apply for parental leave?" they're rarely just looking for information. They're trying to accomplish something.
Access to knowledge is no longer the bottleneck. Execution is. The next chapter of employee service not only accelerates how quickly employees find answers, but also how quickly work gets done.
Agentic AI can finally do the work behind the work
For teams like ours at Zendesk, employees often waited longer than they should have to when requesting assistance. Not because anyone wasn't trying to help, but because even simple requests stretched across multiple systems, approvals, and teams. An important request might take a day to resolve, or it could take multiple emails to get the information needed to action a change. What felt like one request to an employee could involve several handoffs before it was complete.
With Advanced Action Flows, Employee Service AI Agents can now securely complete work across business systems. They can submit requests, trigger approvals, update records, apply business rules, and orchestrate the steps required to move employees from request to resolution.
Instead of explaining how to apply for parental leave, Advanced Action Flows can submit the request, route it for approval, and coordinate the work required to complete it. Instead of telling an employee how to replace a laptop, it can verify eligibility, check inventory, trigger fulfillment, and update asset records.
By coordinating work across teams and systems, organizations can reduce the burden on employees, freeing them to focus on more meaningful, higher-value work.
For example, lets look at the process when it comes to a common experience for Zendesk employees who need a laptop replacement. It takes four systems across Zendesk to make that happen. The process will start in Workday, then move to the Zendesk Help Center for documented policy, then the Zendesk IT Asset Management for assignment, and finally CDW to complete procurement and shipping process. Now employees can simply submit the request in a conversation. Find out more in the video below.
What this means for HR
Last year, 92% of HR leaders predicted employee service would shift from reacting to problems to anticipating employee needs. As AI takes on more of the routine work behind employee service, HR has more opportunity to:
Understand where employees experience friction: Analyze recurring questions, unresolved requests, handoffs, and points where employees struggle to find information or complete a process. For example, navigating benefits, requesting time off, or accessing payroll support.
Identify emerging workforce needs: Spot trends in employee questions and feedback to reveal what people may need next, whether that’s clearer guidance during open enrollment, better support for hybrid work, or new resources for managers.
Address issues before they become bigger problems: Use those insights to improve policies, self-service content, and workflows, before confusion turns into repeated tickets, employee frustration, or a broader workforce issue.
That creates more capacity to invest in the work that strengthens the organization. Instead of concentrating efforts on coordinating routine administrative work, HR leaders can spend time supporting managers through the moments that matter most. They can design employee experiences that are responsive to employees needs and reflect the unique culture of their organization. And they can focus on developing people and improving organizational health.
For internal support leaders, that's an exciting prospect. Less time coordinating work. More time helping employees succeed, shaping the workplace, and helping the business grow.
Get the work done with Employee Service AI Agents
Employee Service AI Agents help employees move beyond answers to action. See how they securely complete work across business systems with Advanced Action Flows.
Employee Service AI Agents help employees move beyond answers to action. See how they securely complete work across business systems with Advanced Action Flows.
