How GitHub Cleared 100K Tickets with a Custom AI-Powered Zendesk System

GitHub partnered with Andela to deploy a high-impact team of technical experts to power AI-driven support, intelligent escalation, and code-level troubleshooting. By combining advanced tooling with expert talent, support evolved from a critical bottleneck into a strategic driver of customer success and growth.

Snapshot

Duration
April 2024 – Ongoing
Team size
+ 56 Andela specialists.
Technical domains
API Integration & Security
ML Classification
Analytics & Data Visualization
Microservices Architecture
Tech stack
Zendesk
Linux
Git
Bash
Ruby
ChatGPT
Splunk
Sentry
Kusto Query Language
100K

Tickets/yr cleared

4.61

CSAT Score

100%

SLAs consistently met

3X

Reduced Resolution Times

Table of contents
Business problem
Solution
Team curation
Technology
Impact

Business problem

A 100K-ticket backlog put trust, growth, and efficiency at risk

GitHub's support infrastructure—powered by strong internal tooling and Zendesk integrations—was built for reliability. But a backlog of 100,000 unresolved tickets began to impact efficiency and slowed ticket response times. To protect service quality and meet customer expectations, GitHub needed an immediate, scalable support intervention.

Trust and loyalty at risk

GitHub needed to maintain its reputation for reliability and meet customer expectations.

Revenue growth threatened

The high ticket backlog caused a potential impact to renewal rates.

Operational resource burn

An 18-month rotation policy drove costly turnover and constant retraining.

THE SOLUTION

An AI custom-built Zendesk system, powered by Andela’s AI engineers

Serving millions of developers and organizations daily, GitHub built a robust customer support system centered around Zendesk, deeply integrated with its proprietary internal tools. This framework was designed to ensure rapid, reliable service at scale, combining automation with human expertise:

AI-Driven ticket management

ML models and scripts automate ticket triage at scale.

API-aware self-resolution

An API-integrated knowledge base enables developer self-service.

Integrated tools for rapid resolutions

Custom scripts connect Zendesk and GitHub for code-level issue tracing.

Data-driven optimization

KQL and Splunk insights improve workflows and SLA performance.

Handing off the baton to Andela's engineer support team

To clear the backlog without disrupting operations, GitHub partnered with Andela to deploy a fully managed support team of technical engineers—running, optimizing, and evolving its custom Zendesk framework and broader support architecture.

Expert, scalable support teams

Andela deployed 56 engineers to resolve tickets and optimize support.

Seamless integration

Teams integrated into GitHub’s existing tools without disrupting workflows.

Framework optimization

Engineers streamlined tagging and queue workflows to improve speed and accuracy.

End-to-End ownership

Support engineers managed advanced CI/CD troubleshooting through secure data remediation.
We don’t develop or customize Zendesk internally; instead, we excel at managing, categorizing, and rapidly resolving large volumes of tickets. Our approach relied on drive, technical knowledge, and a relentless focus on clearing a backlog of 100,000 tickets in under a year.
Oluwaseun Ayodeji
Team Lead, Technical Support

the team

A support system built for developers, powered by developers

Andela deployed a 56-person support engineering team across four specialized squads—Account Security & Billing, Compliance, Enterprise, and Technical Support—each led by a Team Lead. Embedded in GitHub’s stack (Zendesk, Linux, KQL, Splunk, AI tools), they resolved tickets while optimizing workflows and improving internal systems without new integrations.

Technical Support Leads
Jeffrey Ogah
Account Security and Billing
Click for more
Jeffrey Ogah
Account Security and Billing
Focused on less technical issues, such as billing inquiries, account lock-outs, and 2FA support.
Focus
Auth Systems
Payment APIs
Security Protocols
Anastasia Rotich
Compliance
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Anastasia Rotich
Compliance
Assists users with account takeovers, spam/flagged issues, ownership disputes, username requests, and trade restrictions.
Focus
Auth Systems
Compliance Automation
Data Protection
Maureen Oki
Enterprise
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Maureen Oki
Enterprise
Managed deployment-related challenges, often requiring Linux expertise for diagnosing server-side or networking errors. Focused on offloading the influx of tickets related to GitHub Copilot and other high-demand services.
Focus
Large-Scale Deployment
Enterprise Integration
SSO
Oluwaseun Ayodeji
Technical Support
Click for more
Oluwaseun Ayodeji
Technical Support
Handled mid-level tasks like debugging technical errors and assisting users with config-related issues.
Focus
Git Internals
API Troubleshooting
CI/CD Pipeline

THE TECH

Driving resolution through AI, automation, and deep system integration

GitHub’s support stack was built for developer-grade speed and complexity. Its deeply integrated Zendesk system—enhanced by automation, Copilot, and AI—enabled intelligent triage, contextual routing, and high-velocity resolution at scale.

KQL

Queried customer data and logs to isolate issues quickly.

Splunk

Analyzed logs to detect authentication and server-side anomalies.

Sentry

Monitored real-time errors to support faster debugging.

Linux and Git

Reproduced customer issues in self-hosted and Linux environments.
Our process requires deep knowledge of Git, Linux, and networking. To reproduce customer issues, we’ll write scripts, analyze logs, and understand the full software development lifecycle, all to deliver precise solutions and streamline customer support at scale
Oluwaseun Ayodeji
Team Lead, Technical Support

Zendesk Implementation

Andela’s engineers operated directly within GitHub’s Zendesk environment to resolve issues at scale. Trained on internal systems and workflows, they used historical data, automation, and AI-powered triage to identify patterns, prioritize accurately, and continuously improve queue performance.

Centralized ticket routing

All inbound tickets were funneled into Zendesk for structured triage and SLA-based management.

Categorization and collaboration

Engineers labeled tickets, added notes, and routed issues to the right GitHub teams.

Analytics and reporting

Metadata was tracked for trends, enabling proactive insights and performance optimization.

System integration

Custom Zendesk flows linked tickets to GitHub repos for faster debugging and resolution.

THE impact

The ROI of turning technical support into a strategic asset

As GitHub faced mounting operational strain, it turned to Andela for fast, scalable expertise. By embedding into GitHub’s support stack, resolving 100,000 tickets, and maintaining a 4.6+ CSAT, the partnership eliminated bottlenecks and positioned support for long-term scale.

Resolved customer tickets
100K

Cleared all support tickets within one year.

Customer Satisfaction Score
4.61

Maintained a consistent CSAT score.

GitHub Trained Experts
47

With additional certifications in CoPilot, Admin, Actions, and Advanced Security.

Service Level Achievement
100%

Consistently met all SLAs for one year.

Reduced Wait Times
3X

Dramatically improved customer experience through faster resolution.

Bypassed Microsoft's Rule
18 Mon

Removed contractor 18 months limitation to maintain knowledge and expertise.

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Whether you need individual technologists or fully managed teams, we can transform your support operations from a cost center into a strategic advantage that enhances your brand and offering.

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