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Migrate from Zendesk to Hunch

This guide walks through every step of moving from Zendesk to Hunch: replacing the widget, preserving what matters, reconnecting your tools, and validating the new setup before going live.

Before you start​

Hunch and Zendesk are not identical products. Zendesk is a customer service platform with ticketing, help center, and chat capabilities. Hunch is a website AI operator — it answers, acts, books, fills forms, routes to humans, and runs across channels.

What you keep:

  • Your website visitors and their behavior (Hunch starts fresh with live traffic)
  • Your knowledge base content (export from Zendesk Guide, import to Hunch)
  • Your CRM connections (reconnected in Hunch)
  • Your human handoff workflows (rebuilt in Hunch's operator model)

What changes:

  • The chat widget on your site (one script tag replacement)
  • Your knowledge management approach (from Help Center articles to retrieval-eval based)
  • Your reporting model (from ticket metrics to site analytics + influenced revenue)

Timeline estimate: Most teams complete the switch in an afternoon. Script replacement takes minutes. Knowledge migration and workflow tuning take the bulk of the time.

Step 1: Replace the Zendesk Chat/Web Widget script with Hunch​

This is the only step with a direct cutover. Plan for 5 minutes of downtime on the widget.

1a. Remove the Zendesk snippet​

In your site's <head> or before </body>, find the Zendesk Web Widget or Chat installation script. It looks like one of these:

Zendesk Web Widget (newer):

<script id="ze-snippet" src="https://static.zdassets.com/ekr/snippet.js?key=YOUR_ACCOUNT_KEY"></script>

Zendesk Chat (legacy):

<script>
  window.$zopim ||
    (function (d, s) {
      var z = ($zopim = function (c) {
          z._.push(c)
        }),
        $ = (z.s = d.createElement(s)),
        e = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]
      z.set = function (o) {
        z.set._.push(o)
      }
      z._ = []
      z.set._ = []
      $.async = !0
      $.setAttribute('charset', 'utf-8')
      $.src = 'https://v2.zopim.com/?YOUR_ZOPIM_KEY'
      z.t = +new Date()
      $.type = 'text/javascript'
      e.parentNode.insertBefore($, e)
    })(document, 'script')
</script>

Delete the entire block.

1b. Install the Hunch embed script​

Add this single script tag in the same location:

<script src="https://cdn.hunchbank.com/embed.js" data-website-id="YOUR_HUNCH_WEBSITE_ID"></script>

You can find your website ID in the Hunch dashboard under Settings > Installation.

1c. Verify the widget loads​

Open your site in a browser and confirm the Hunch widget appears. Open browser DevTools and check the console for any errors. The widget should show a chat button in the bottom-right corner.

Step 2: Migrate your knowledge base​

Zendesk stores knowledge in Help Center articles. Hunch uses a retrieval-based knowledge model — it indexes your actual website content rather than requiring a separate article database.

What to export from Zendesk​

  1. Go to Zendesk > Admin > Manage > Articles (or Guide > Articles)
  2. Use Zendesk's bulk export: Admin > Account > Reports > Data Export or the Zendesk API
  3. Save each article's content — especially:
    • Pricing and plan information
    • Shipping/return policies
    • FAQ content
    • Product documentation
    • Onboarding guides
    • Troubleshooting articles

What to do with it in Hunch​

Hunch can ingest this content in two ways:

Option A: Add to your website pages (recommended) If the knowledge already lives on your site (pricing page, FAQ page, docs), Hunch will discover it automatically during its scan. No import needed.

Option B: Upload as reference documents For content that is not on your public website (internal processes, training guides), use the Knowledge section in the Hunch dashboard:

  1. Go to Configuration > Knowledge
  2. Create a new retrieval source
  3. Paste or upload your article content
  4. Run a validation check to confirm the AI can find the right answers

Migration tip​

Do not import everything at once. Start with the 5-10 most-viewed Zendesk Help Center articles, validate that Hunch retrieves accurate answers, then expand.

Step 3: Handle chat history​

Hunch does not import historical chat transcripts from Zendesk. This is intentional — Hunch is built around live visitor interactions and commercial outcomes, not a ticket archive.

What to do with old transcripts​

  • Export from Zendesk: Go to Zendesk > Admin > Account > Reports > Data Export and request a full ticket and conversation export (CSV/JSON format). Zendesk will email you a download link.
  • Store the export: Save it to your internal data warehouse, Google Drive, or a secure bucket. Your support team can reference it if needed.
  • Mark the cutover date: Note when you switched so your team knows which system to check for historical vs. new conversations.

What about ongoing conversations?​

Any active Zendesk conversations at the time of cutover should be:

  1. Resolved or assigned in Zendesk before removing the script
  2. Started fresh in Hunch — the visitor will see the Hunch widget on their next page load

For high-value active tickets, consider a handoff note: ask the customer to reach out again via the new widget and reference their previous ticket number.

Step 4: Reconnect CRM and integrations​

Hunch connects to the same CRM and tools you used with Zendesk, but through Hunch's native integration layer.

HubSpot​

In the Hunch dashboard:

  1. Go to Extensions > HubSpot CRM
  2. Click Connect
  3. Enter your HubSpot private app token (create one in HubSpot under Settings > Integrations > Private Apps)
  4. Map the data you want to sync: contacts, deals, company enrichment

Hunch will now log conversations, leads, and influenced revenue back to HubSpot automatically.

Slack​

  1. Go to Extensions > Slack
  2. Click Add to Slack
  3. Configure which events trigger notifications: handoffs, high-intent visitors, anomaly alerts

Other tools​

Check the Extensions page in the Hunch dashboard for available integrations. Hunch also supports:

  • Webhooks for custom integrations
  • Email, Telegram, and WhatsApp channels
  • Custom tool integrations via the Hunch API

Step 5: Configure workflows and handoffs​

Zendesk's workflow model is ticket-centric (assign conversations to agents, SLAs, macros). Hunch's model is action-centric (detect intent, resolve or route).

Rebuild your most common flows​

For each workflow you had in Zendesk:

Zendesk workflowHunch equivalent
Answer Bot suggestionsKnowledge retrieval + rich response cards
Ticket deflectionConfidence-based auto-resolve in Configuration > Handoffs
"Talk to a human" buttonHandoff trigger — configure in Configuration > Triggers
Macros for common repliesAutomated responses via knowledge + tool actions
SLA-based escalationConfidence-threshold handoff + Slack alerts

Set up notifications​

  1. Go to Configuration > Notifications
  2. Configure Slack alerts for handoffs, high-intent visitors, and anomaly detection
  3. Set up email digests for daily/weekly summaries

Validate with a test run​

Before removing the Zendesk script completely:

  1. Run Hunch side-by-side with Zendesk on a staging environment
  2. Test each workflow path: pricing question, support escalation, booking request
  3. Verify handoffs reach the right team members
  4. Check that CRM sync populates the expected fields

Rollback plan​

If something goes wrong, revert by:

  1. Removing the Hunch embed script
  2. Re-adding the Zendesk snippet (you kept it, right?)
  3. Restoring any settings changed during the migration

Hunch does not modify your website's content, database, or server configuration. The entire integration is a single script tag.

FAQ​

Will I lose my chat history? No — you export it from Zendesk before switching. Hunch does not delete anything from Zendesk. Your Zendesk data remains in your Zendesk account until you close it.

Can I run Zendesk and Hunch at the same time? Yes, during a transition period. Run both widgets. We recommend a 1-2 week parallel run to validate coverage, with Zendesk handling tickets and Hunch handling real-time website conversations.

Do I need to change my DNS or server config? No. Hunch requires no DNS changes, no CNAME records, and no server-side modifications. The entire setup is a client-side script tag.

What happens to Zendesk's Answer Bot? Answer Bot deflects tickets by suggesting articles. Hunch replaces this with retrieval-based knowledge that answers directly in the widget, with confidence-based handoff when the AI cannot answer.

How long does the full migration take? Script replacement: 5 minutes. Knowledge migration: 1-2 hours. Workflow reconfiguration: 2-4 hours. Most teams complete everything in a single afternoon.

Can I import Zendesk's macros and triggers into Hunch? Not automatically. Macros and triggers need to be rebuilt in Hunch's trigger + action model. This is a good opportunity to simplify what you actually need.