Migrating from Zendesk to Intercom: What Happens to Your Translated Help Center

If you're switching from Zendesk to Intercom, your biggest concern might not be tickets or workflows - it's your translated help center content.

You've spent months (maybe years) building multilingual documentation. Hundreds of translated articles. Multiple languages. Now you're facing a platform migration and wondering: Do I have to start over?

This guide covers exactly what happens to your translations when you migrate from Zendesk to Intercom, how to preserve your work, and how to set up multilingual support on Intercom from day one.

Why Teams Are Switching from Zendesk to Intercom

Before we dive into migration, let's acknowledge why this switch is happening:

Cost and complexity. Zendesk pricing has increased significantly, and many teams find themselves paying for features they don't use. Intercom's product-led approach often means simpler pricing for what you actually need.

Modern UX. Intercom's help center (Articles) has a cleaner, more modern interface. For technical and SaaS companies, the embedded messenger + help center combination reduces friction.

The DeepL situation. If you were using DeepL's native Zendesk integration for translation, you already know it was discontinued. Some teams used this as the push to evaluate Intercom.

Fin AI. Intercom's AI features - particularly Fin for customer support - are a generation ahead. If AI-powered support is part of your roadmap, Intercom makes sense.

Whatever your reason, the question remains: what happens to your translations?

The Hard Truth About Help Center Migration

Here's what Zendesk-to-Intercom migration actually looks like for multilingual help centers:

What Transfers Easily

• Article content (English/primary language): You can export articles from Zendesk and import them into Intercom.
• Basic structure: Categories and sections map roughly to Intercom's collection structure.
• Images: If hosted externally, they'll continue working. Zendesk-hosted images need re-uploading.

What Doesn't Transfer

• Translated versions of articles: Zendesk and Intercom handle localization differently. There's no 1:1 mapping.
• Translation memory: Any translation work you've done in Zendesk doesn't carry over.
• Language-specific URLs: Zendesk's language subdomain structure differs from Intercom's.

The Core Problem

Zendesk stores translations as separate articles linked to a parent. Intercom stores translations as versions of the same article with language toggles.

This architectural difference means: You can't just "move" translations. You have to re-translate.

Two Paths Forward

You have two realistic options when migrating:

Option 1: Migrate English, Re-Translate Everything

How it works:

1. Export all articles from Zendesk (CSV or API)
2. Import into Intercom (manually or via Intercom's import tool)
3. Re-translate all content from scratch

Pros:

• Clean slate - no legacy issues
• Can improve translations during re-translation
• Forces you to audit and remove outdated content

Cons:

• Expensive if using human translators
• Time-consuming even with AI translation
• Lose any translation memory/consistency

When this makes sense: Small help centers (under 50 articles), teams with budget for professional re-translation, or content that's outdated anyway.

Option 2: Migrate English, Translate Automatically with TranslateDesk

How it works:

1. Export and import your English articles to Intercom
2. Connect TranslateDesk to your Intercom help center
3. Translate all articles in bulk using DeepL or OpenAI
4. Publish translated versions to the languages you need

Pros:

• Fast - bulk translation takes hours, not weeks
• Consistent - same translation model across all articles
• Manageable - keep translations in sync as you update content

Cons:

• AI translation quality varies (though DeepL is excellent)
• May need human review for brand-specific terminology

When this makes sense: Any help center over 50 articles, teams that need speed, companies without translation budget.

Step-by-Step Migration with Translation

Here's the practical workflow for migrating a multilingual help center from Zendesk to Intercom:

Step 1: Audit Your Zendesk Content

Before you migrate anything, know what you have:

• Total article count (per language)
• Last updated dates - identify outdated content
• Traffic data - which articles actually matter?
• Languages supported - list all current languages

Export from Zendesk: Go to Admin > Manage > Import/Export and export your help center.

Pro tip: Don't migrate articles that haven't been viewed in 6 months. Migration is a good time to clean house.

Step 2: Clean and Import to Intercom

1. Create your collection structure in Intercom first
2. Import articles via Intercom's import tool or API
3. Fix any broken images or formatting issues
4. Verify internal links still work

Focus on English only at this stage. Don't try to import translations - they won't map correctly.

Step 3: Set Up Translation

Once your English articles are in Intercom:

1. Sign up for TranslateDesk and connect your Intercom account
2. Run an audit to see all articles missing translations
3. Select target languages (match your Zendesk language set)
4. Translate in bulk - DeepL for European languages, OpenAI for broader coverage

The entire help center can be translated in a single session. TranslateDesk handles Intercom's API, publishes directly, and tracks which articles need updates.

Step 4: Verify and Adjust

After bulk translation:

• Spot-check critical articles (pricing, legal, onboarding)
• Verify brand terms translated correctly
• Add custom terminology to glossary for future consistency
• Set up sync to auto-translate new articles

Preserving Translation Quality

One concern with AI translation: will quality match your professional Zendesk translations?

Reality check: It depends on what you had before.

If your Zendesk translations were:

• Machine-translated anyway (Google Translate, DeepL) - AI translation will be similar or better
• Human-translated by professionals - AI will be close but may lose some nuance
• Crowdsourced or outdated - AI translation is likely an upgrade

For most B2B SaaS help centers, AI translation quality (especially DeepL) is indistinguishable from professional human translation. The technical accuracy is high, and the style is clean.

Where human review still matters:

• Legal/compliance content
• Content with heavy brand voice
• User-facing product strings

Migration Timeline: What to Expect

For a 200-article help center with 4 languages:

Phase	Time	Notes
Zendesk export + audit	1-2 days	Review what's worth migrating
Intercom setup + import	2-3 days	Structure + manual cleanup
TranslateDesk bulk translation	1 day	All languages, all articles
Review + adjustments	2-3 days	Spot-check critical content
Total	~1-2 weeks	Versus 2-3 months manually

After Migration: Keeping Translations in Sync

The migration is just the beginning. The harder problem is keeping translations in sync as you update English content.

This is where most teams fail on Zendesk - and why translations drift.

How TranslateDesk handles this:

1. Monitors your Intercom help center for changes
2. Flags articles with outdated translations
3. One-click re-translation when content changes
4. Audit view shows translation coverage at any time

This sync workflow is what makes the migration worthwhile. You're not just moving content - you're upgrading to a maintainable multilingual help center.

Common Migration Questions

Can I preserve my Zendesk URLs?

Not directly. Zendesk uses /hc/en-us/articles/123456 format; Intercom uses /en/articles/article-slug. You'll need redirects.

Recommendation: Set up 301 redirects from old Zendesk URLs to new Intercom URLs. This preserves SEO value and prevents broken links.

What about Zendesk's language subdomains?

Zendesk supports support-fr.yourcompany.com style language subdomains. Intercom uses path-based localization (yourcompany.com/fr/articles/...).

This is actually better for SEO - Google prefers path-based localization over subdomains for most cases.

How long until Google re-indexes?

If you set up proper redirects, Google will re-index within 2-4 weeks. Submit a new sitemap in Search Console to speed this up.

Should I migrate tickets too?

Separate decision. Ticket migration is possible via API but complex. Many teams archive Zendesk tickets and start fresh in Intercom.

The Bottom Line

Migrating from Zendesk to Intercom doesn't mean losing your multilingual help center. Yes, translations don't transfer 1:1. But with the right tools, you can:

1. Migrate your English content structure
2. Re-translate everything in bulk (hours, not months)
3. End up with a more maintainable multilingual setup

The switch from Zendesk's translation architecture to Intercom's is actually an upgrade - simpler, more integrated, and easier to keep in sync.

Ready to migrate? Start with TranslateDesk - connect your Intercom, run an audit, and translate your help center in a single session.

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Related Resources

• Does Intercom Support Translation? Everything You Need to Know
• DeepL Zendesk Discontinued: 5 Alternatives
• How to Translate Zendesk Help Center
• Intercom Help Center Translation Best Practices
• Complete Guide to Help Center Translation