diff --git a/backend/onyx/connectors/zendesk/connector.py b/backend/onyx/connectors/zendesk/connector.py
index 5f1bb181f8..c5d9a887bc 100644
--- a/backend/onyx/connectors/zendesk/connector.py
+++ b/backend/onyx/connectors/zendesk/connector.py
@@ -175,9 +175,12 @@ def _get_tickets_page(
     )
 
 
-def _fetch_author(client: ZendeskClient, author_id: str) -> BasicExpertInfo | None:
+def _fetch_author(
+    client: ZendeskClient, author_id: str | int
+) -> BasicExpertInfo | None:
     # Skip fetching if author_id is invalid
-    if not author_id or author_id == "-1":
+    # cast to str to avoid issues with zendesk changing their types
+    if not author_id or str(author_id) == "-1":
         return None
 
     try: