Outbound Campaign Failing to Map Zendesk Custom Fields via Data Action

General Discussion
1

Configuration is broken for some reason…

Background

We are currently migrating a high-volume support team from Zendesk to Genesys Cloud. The migration strategy involves replicating our previous Zendesk ticket-to-interaction workflow using Genesys Cloud’s Outbound Campaigns. In Zendesk, we relied heavily on custom ticket fields to store caller preferences and priority scores. We have successfully imported these contacts into the Genesys Cloud Contact Center database. The goal is to trigger an outbound call and dynamically populate the screen pop with these specific custom fields using a Data Action.

Issue

The outbound campaign initiates calls correctly, but the Data Action fails to retrieve the expected values from the Genesys Cloud Contact object. Specifically, the custom fields zd_priority_score and zd_last_ticket_date return null values during the call flow execution. This results in agents receiving incomplete context, which defeats the purpose of the migration. In Zendesk, these fields were readily available via the API during macro execution. We expected a similar seamless integration in Genesys Cloud.

Troubleshooting

We have verified the following steps:

  1. Confirmed that the custom fields exist in the Genesys Cloud Contact schema and are mapped correctly during the data import process.
  2. Checked the Data Action configuration in Architect. The action is set to Get Contact with the correct external ID source.
  3. Reviewed the logs in Genesys Cloud. The Data Action shows a successful execution status, but the payload contains empty values for the custom fields.
  4. Tested the same Data Action with standard contact fields like first_name and phone_number, which return values correctly.

We are using Genesys Cloud version 2023-12. The Architect flow is straightforward: Get Contact → Set Variable → Screen Pop. The issue persists across multiple test calls. We need to understand if there is a specific permission or configuration setting in Genesys Cloud that prevents custom contact fields from being accessible via Data Actions, similar to how Zendesk handled custom ticket fields.

2

If I remember correctly… this mapping issue usually stems from how the Data Action interprets the JSON payload structure from the Zendesk API. When running load tests, I’ve seen similar failures where the field names don’t match exactly due to case sensitivity or nested object paths.

Cause:
The Genesys Cloud Data Action expects a flat JSON structure for custom fields, but Zendesk often returns nested objects or uses specific API naming conventions (e.g., custom_fields array instead of direct key-value pairs). If the JMeter script or the API call isn’t flattening this structure before passing it to the Outbound Campaign, the mapping fails silently. Also, check if the Zendesk API rate limits are causing truncated responses during high concurrency, which breaks the JSON schema validation.

Solution:
Adjust the Data Action configuration to explicitly map the Zendesk field IDs to Genesys Cloud contact attributes. Here is a sample configuration snippet for the Data Action:

{
 "actionType": "Zendesk",
 "operation": "GET_TICKET",
 "mapping": {
 "genesys_custom_priority": "${zendesk.custom_fields.priority_score}",
 "genesys_caller_pref": "${zendesk.custom_fields.caller_preference}"
 },
 "flattenNestedObjects": true
}

Ensure the flattenNestedObjects flag is enabled if your Zendesk fields are nested. Additionally, verify that the Zendesk API endpoint is returning complete JSON payloads. In my JMeter tests, adding a 200ms delay between requests prevented partial JSON responses that caused mapping errors. If the fields are still not mapping, check the Genesys Cloud logs for DATA_ACTION_MAPPING_ERROR codes. This usually indicates a mismatch in the field data types (e.g., string vs. integer). Double-check the Zendesk field definitions to ensure they match the expected types in the Genesys Cloud contact schema.