Case Study: Upwork achieves 90% self‑service adoption and 50% productivity gains with Zendesk Messaging

Upwork has 90% self-service adoption rate with Zendesk Guide

Upwork, the world’s largest online marketplace for freelancers, needed a single, scalable support platform to serve clients and a distributed workforce of in‑home agents and up to 700 freelancers. Faced with high live‑chat volume and varied support needs across user groups, the company wanted to centralize customer history, reduce escalations, improve SLA adherence, and drive more customers to self‑service.

By adopting Zendesk’s omnichannel suite (Support, Guide, Chat, Talk) and integrating with NICE inContact and internal data sources, Upwork centralized interactions, differentiated channels for freelancers, and prioritized self‑service. The result: a 90% self‑service adoption rate, 50% increase in agent productivity, a 20% improvement in chat SLA adherence, fewer escalations, and measurable gains in first‑touch resolution.

Upwork

Joe Wang

Director of Customer Experiences