Zendesk Automated Resolutions (AR) Metrics & Source of Truth

This guide outlines how Zendesk measures and reports Automated Resolutions (AR) across different interfaces, explaining why counts differ and establishing the official metric for billing and reconciliation.

The Single Source of Truth

The Admin Center is the sole source of truth for all billable Automated Resolutions.

Navigation Path:

Admin Center ➡️ Account ➡️ Usage ➡️ Automated resolutions usage

Why Admin Center is the Source of Truth

The Admin Center measures billable ARs only, defining them strictly as "Verified" resolutions.

• What qualifies as Verified: The customer issue was completely resolved by AI with zero human escalation, and the resolution was verified as successful by an additional machine learning / LLM review layer.

• Why it matters: Only resolutions meeting this double threshold (complete AI resolution + ML verification) incur billable charges from Zendesk.

Discrepancies Across Reporting Interfaces

It is common to see different figures across Zendesk tools for the same time period. Below is a breakdown of why these variations occur across the three primary interfaces:

1. AI Agent Reporting (AI Agent Interface)

• What it counts: Combines both Verified (billable) and Contained (non-billable) resolutions.

• Why numbers appear higher:

  • Contained: The AI handled the interaction from start to finish without escalating, but the extra ML/LLM verification step was missing or unconfirmed.

  • Billable status: Contained resolutions are free / non-billable. Only the Verified portion carries a charge.

  • Because this view includes both Contained and Verified totals—along with certain narrowly scoped conversations—the numbers reported here will almost always exceed your billable total.

2. Zendesk Analytics (Explore)

• What it counts: Displays resolution metrics customizable by specific filters, timeframes, and dataset fields (e.g., verified, contained, escalated, unresolved).

• Why numbers differ (higher or lower):

  • Data Sync Lag: Analytics updates on a delayed sync cycle relative to live system usage.

  • Custom Groupings: Metrics depend heavily on selected filters, channel selections, or internal state definitions.

  • Analytics is designed for performance analysis rather than billing reconciliation.

Usage Notifications & Limit Management

To avoid unexpected billing overages and stay ahead of monthly plan limits, usage notifications can be configured directly within the Admin Center.

• Overage & Limit Thresholds: Administrators can set up automated email notifications to alert team leads when total billable AR usage approaches or exceeds plan allowances.

• Managing Recipients: To ensure the correct personnel receive these warnings, manage notification preferences under:

  Admin Center ➡️ Account ➡️ Usage (or Billing settings depending on account permissions)

Quick Reference Summary