Zendesk to Intercom migration
Teams move for Fin and the Messenger, then discover four years of ticket history has to come with them.
Move everything. Break nothing.
Where this route breaks
The mismatch nobody mentions in the demo.
Zendesk tickets are threaded comments with public/private flags; Intercom conversations are parts with a different author model. Getting internal notes to stay internal is where most migrations leak.
We have run this pair before, so the decision is made in the mapping document with you - before anything moves, rather than discovered by an agent on go-live week.
Rebuilt by hand in Intercom
- Triggers and automations → Workflows
- Macros → Saved replies and Fin actions
- Views → Inbox views and team assignment
- SLAs and business hours
- Help Center → Intercom Articles with redirects
No exporter produces this list. It is configuration, not data.
What carries across
From Zendesk into Intercom
The records half, handled by our own connectors - which is what makes a fixed price possible.
How it runs
Four stages, each signed off before the next.
Nothing lands in Intercom that you have not seen in a dry run first.
Understand
We map the data, relationships and requirements that matter - including the ones nobody documented.
Object counts, custom fields, attachment volume, integrations touching the desk.
Map
We align your existing data with the structure of the destination - and tell you exactly what carries across before anything moves.
A written mapping document you sign off. No surprises after go-live.
Move
A dry run into a sandbox first, then the live run on a schedule your team agrees to.
Delta sync catches everything created while the migration ran.
Validate
We check the outcome against record counts on both sides so you can move forward with confidence.
Reconciliation report per object, plus a spot-check list you run yourself.
Questions
Zendesk → Intercom, specifically.
How long does a Zendesk to Intercom migration take?
Most mid-sized desks move over a weekend. The limit is Zendesk's API rate limits and your attachment volume, not our throughput. You get a real estimate after the dry run, when we have counted the records rather than guessed at them.
What does not carry across from Zendesk?
Anything Intercom has no equivalent for - and the answer is specific to your setup, which is why we produce a written mapping document first. You choose the fallback for each one: a custom attribute, a tag, a note on the conversation, or a deliberate drop.
Do we keep working while it runs?
Yes. The history moves while your team stays in Zendesk. On cut-over day we run a delta sync for anything created since the bulk run, then switch the inbound channels to Intercom.
What does it cost?
A fixed price agreed before we start, based on record volume and how much workflow rebuild is involved. Not hourly, and not a per-record meter that surprises you at the end.
Other routes
Moving a different pair?
Freshdesk teams outgrow ticket-first support and want a conversational inbox with an AI agent in front of it.
Help Scout mailboxes stop scaling once support needs routing, SLAs and an AI agent on the front line.
B2B teams supporting customers in shared Slack channels move to Pylon and need their Intercom history to come along.
Get a Zendesk → Intercom plan.
Send us your object counts and your go-live date. You will get the mapping approach, the risks specific to this pair, and a fixed price.
- A written mapping document before anything moves
- A dry run you review in a sandbox
- Fixed price, agreed up front
- The workflows rebuilt too, where we implement