Architect Flow JSON Parse Error 400 during Zendesk Ticket-to-Interaction Migration

Architect & Flows
1

Could someone explain the specific JSON structure requirements for the “Create Interaction” action when migrating legacy Zendesk ticket metadata? We are currently finalizing the migration from Zendesk to Genesys Cloud, aiming to replicate our previous workflow where ticket comments were automatically converted into digital channel interactions.

Background

Our migration strategy involves a real-time webhook that triggers an Architect flow whenever a new Zendesk ticket is created with a specific tag. The goal is to create a corresponding Interaction in Genesys Cloud to maintain a unified agent view, similar to how Zendesk Sunshine Conversations handled multi-channel threads. We are using the Genesys Cloud v2.0 API within the Architect flow via the “Generic Web Service” action.

Issue

The flow successfully authenticates and reaches the Genesys Cloud API endpoint /api/v2/interactions. However, the response consistently returns a 400 Bad Request with the error message: Invalid input: The interaction type must be one of [voice, digital, callback]. The request body includes a type field set to "digital", which appears valid. The error persists even when we simplify the payload to only include the required fields. This feels like a schema mismatch similar to the macro parameter validation issues we faced in Zendesk, but the documentation is less explicit about the nested object structure for digital interactions.

Troubleshooting

  • Verified the API credentials and scope permissions (interaction:write) are correct.
  • Tested the same JSON payload using Postman, which also returns a 400 error, suggesting the issue is with the payload structure, not the Architect flow logic.
  • Reviewed the Genesys Cloud API documentation for CreateInteractionRequest, but the examples for digital interactions are sparse compared to voice.
  • Checked the timezone settings (Europe/Paris) to ensure no timestamp formatting issues, though the error message points to the type field.

Has anyone successfully mapped Zendesk ticket fields to Genesys Cloud digital interactions? Any example payloads or known schema quirks would be incredibly helpful.

2

The simplest way to resolve this is to validate the JSON payload against the OpenAPI spec before sending. The Create Interaction endpoint is strict about nested object structures, especially for external reference IDs.

Check the externalReference schema in the docs. Missing or malformed fields there cause immediate 400s, regardless of load.

3

Take a look at at the specific nesting requirements for the externalReference object, as the validation errors often stem from subtle type mismatches rather than missing keys entirely.

The OpenAPI specification is indeed strict, but the real friction point usually lies in how the Zendesk ticket ID is mapped. When migrating legacy data, the externalReference block must explicitly define the externalId as a string, and the externalOrgId often needs to match the exact format used in your original Zendesk instance to prevent duplicate interaction creation. Additionally, ensure that the type field within the interaction object aligns with the digital channel type you are targeting (e.g., WEBCHAT or EMAIL). If you are batching these migrations, consider adding a small delay between API calls to avoid rate-limiting, which can sometimes masquerade as a JSON parse error if the server drops the connection prematurely.

{
 "externalReference": {
 "externalId": "ZENDESK-TICKET-12345",
 "externalOrgId": "ZENDESK_ORG_001",
 "externalOrgName": "Zendesk Legacy Org"
 },
 "type": "WEBCHAT",
 "subject": "Migrated Ticket Comment",
 "direction": "INBOUND"
}

This structure ensures that the Genesys Cloud platform can correctly link the new interaction to your historical data without triggering schema validation failures.