AI customer agents compared: 12 tools for support, sales and booking

The starting prices in the table are hard to compare directly, because each tool charges for something different:

• Per outcome or resolution: Intercom Fin charges per Fin outcome, and Zendesk charges per automated resolution on top of agent seats.
• Conversation packs or AI credits: Tidio sells Lyro in conversation packs; Crisp includes a set amount of AI credit per workspace; Chatbase and SiteGPT include a monthly message allowance.
• Platform plus usage: Botpress bills AI usage on top of the plan.
• Audience size: ManyChat's price grows with the number of contacts.
• Channel fees: Wati adds WhatsApp's own message fees, and its Astra AI agent is a separate add-on.

Before you compare, estimate how many conversations you expect each month and how many people on your team need a seat. A low entry price can become the most expensive option at your volume, and the reverse is also true.

• Your team already works in a helpdesk: start with that helpdesk's own AI agent (Intercom Fin, Zendesk AI agents) before adding a second system.
• Several people answer chats and you need a shared inbox: look at Tidio or Crisp.
• You have builders and want custom flows: Botpress, Voiceflow or Landbot.
• Customers mostly reach you in Instagram or WhatsApp DMs: ManyChat or Wati.
• You want a bot trained on a large website or help center: Chatbase or SiteGPT.
• You want an agent on your own site and messengers that answers only from approved knowledge, with live voice: Make Agent Fast.

How much building each tool expects, from what each vendor says about its own setup (details and sources are in each tool's section):

• No-code, ready in minutes: Chatbase and SiteGPT train an agent from your website or files; Tidio and Intercom add a widget with one snippet; Make Agent Fast reads your website and you approve the knowledge.
• Visual flow builders: Landbot's drag-and-drop builder, ManyChat's Flow Builder and Wati's no-code chatbot builder suit teams that want conditional logic without code; Crisp also has a no-code chatbot builder.
• Visual and code: Botpress pairs a visual studio with a TypeScript development kit, and Voiceflow pairs visual workflows and plain-language playbooks with APIs and a CLI.
• Configured inside a helpdesk: Zendesk AI agents are set up through guided steps inside Zendesk.

Who it is for: support teams already on Intercom, or on another large helpdesk, that handle real volume across many channels.

Fin answers from your knowledge and can run multi-step procedures such as refunds and account updates. It can also run on top of another helpdesk; Intercom names Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot and Freshdesk, with a 50-outcome monthly minimum for that standalone setup and a 14-day trial (Fin pricing). Fin Voice answers phone calls, but Intercom currently limits it to select customers through its sales team.

Setup: mostly no-code; Intercom says installing its Messenger on a website takes a few minutes, with options for WordPress, Shopify and Google Tag Manager (Intercom help).

Pick something else when you are a small team without a helpdesk: paying per outcome plus per seat is built for support organizations, not a single owner.

Who it is for: teams whose support already runs on Zendesk tickets, messaging and voice.

Zendesk's AI agents follow procedures written in plain language, ground answers in your knowledge and act in connected systems. Zendesk counts a resolution only when the AI agent resolves a request without escalating it to a person (Zendesk pricing). Phone support needs Zendesk voice, and the AI agents page lists 80 languages.

Setup: guided configuration inside Zendesk; Zendesk says you can begin automating in minutes, with API integrations as an optional extra (Zendesk help).

Pick something else when you do not want a per-seat helpdesk at all. Zendesk makes the most sense when you are already paying for it.

Who it is for: online stores, especially on Shopify, and small teams that want live chat and AI in one inbox.

Lyro answers only from content you add, such as website pages, FAQs and PDF files, and it hands off to a person when it cannot answer or the customer asks. Tidio lists native Shopify actions, including order-status checks and product recommendations with add-to-cart, and Lyro can also connect to a helpdesk you already use (Tidio product facts). There is a free plan to start.

Setup: no-code; you paste one line of code into your site, and Lyro needs no coding (Tidio FAQ).

Pick something else when you need live voice, Telegram or KakaoTalk, or more than the 12 languages Tidio lists for Lyro.

Who it is for: small teams where several people answer customers and want one shared, omnichannel inbox.

Crisp prices per workspace rather than per seat, and its Hugo AI agent runs on AI credits included from the Mini plan. Crisp says a fully AI-handled conversation costs around $0.05–$0.10 on average, and Hugo stops answering when the credits run out unless pay-as-you-go is on (Crisp AI billing). The free plan includes the chat widget and shared inbox but no AI credits.

Setup: a no-code chatbot builder, plus a chatbot API, chat SDKs and a developer hub (Crisp chatbot).

Pick something else when what you mainly need is the agent itself rather than a team inbox, or when you need live voice calls.

Who it is for: businesses that want a no-code AI agent trained on their website, with voice and integrations on the higher plans.

Chatbase trains an agent on your website and files and puts it on your site, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Slack. Its helpdesk inbox, voice and telephony start on the Standard plan. Each self-serve plan includes one AI agent and a set number of seats, and advanced models use more message credits per reply (Chatbase pricing, models).

Setup: no-code; Chatbase says no code is required and an agent is ready in minutes, and its API needs Standard or higher (Chatbase, pricing).

Pick something else when you need several agents or more seats on an entry budget, Telegram, which Chatbase does not list, or a team inbox without moving up to Standard.

Who it is for: content-heavy websites and help centers, and teams that want the bot inside an existing helpdesk.

SiteGPT trains a no-code chatbot on your website, files, YouTube videos, Notion and Google Drive. Higher plans index up to 50,000 pages and connect to Zendesk, Crisp, Freshdesk and Zoho SalesIQ (SiteGPT pricing, SiteGPT docs). There is no free plan; the 7-day trial asks for a card.

Setup: no-code; enter your URL or upload files, training usually finishes in a few minutes, then add the embed code (SiteGPT).

Pick something else when you need live voice or messenger channels like Telegram or KakaoTalk.

Who it is for: teams with developers who want to build custom agents.

Botpress gives you a visual Studio and a TypeScript development kit for workflows, knowledge bases, actions and code, plus integrations for a long list of channels. The free plan includes 100 conversations a month, which is enough to prototype. Human handoff is built in from the Plus plan, and the voice channel is listed on Enterprise.

Setup: a visual, no-code builder plus a TypeScript kit and API for developers (Botpress, for developers).

Pick something else when nobody on your team wants to design flows or manage AI spend separately from the plan.

Who it is for: product and CX teams designing sophisticated chat and voice agents.

Voiceflow is a production platform with workflow control, evaluations, environments and integrations. It is the strongest choice here when the agent is a product that a team builds and maintains.

Setup: playbooks written in plain language and visual workflows, plus code, APIs and a CLI (Voiceflow).

Pick something else when you need an agent live this week without a build project.

Who it is for: teams that like visual, step-by-step flows and run WhatsApp campaigns.

Landbot combines visual flows with AI agents on paid plans, human takeover and WhatsApp tooling on higher plans.

Setup: a no-code drag-and-drop builder; Landbot says you can build and deploy a first AI agent in 15 minutes (Landbot).

Pick something else when you want the agent to answer open questions from your knowledge rather than walk visitors through designed paths.

Who it is for: creators and brands that grow through Instagram and TikTok DMs.

ManyChat automates DMs and comment replies across Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, email and SMS. Its AI Replies answer from a knowledge library, but ManyChat's help center says they currently work on Instagram only and are in beta (ManyChat AI Replies). Price depends on how many contacts you have and on your billing country. We did not find a website chat widget in its channel list.

Setup: no-code, with Quick Automations and a visual Flow Builder (ManyChat).

Pick something else when most customer questions arrive on your website.

Who it is for: businesses where WhatsApp is the main channel, with broadcasts, click-to-WhatsApp ads and a team sharing several numbers.

Wati is a WhatsApp-first team inbox that also covers Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and a web widget. WhatsApp's own message fees are charged on top, and the Astra AI agent is a separate add-on metered in credits: one per text response and five per minute of voice (Astra pricing). Astra's WhatsApp voice is in limited beta, and Wati's prices differ by country.

Setup: a no-code WhatsApp chatbot builder (Wati).

Pick something else when your website is where customers ask first, or you would rather not budget for a separate AI add-on.

Make Agent Fast reads your website, you approve the knowledge, and the agent answers only from what you approved, on the site you already have and in your messaging channels. Questions outside that knowledge go to a person, with an email and an inbox where you reply. Live voice runs in the website widget in the browser, not on a phone line.

Setup: enter your website address; the agent drafts its knowledge from your site, you approve it, then add the embed code or connect a messenger.

Pick something else when you need phone-line voice, a full team helpdesk, more than English, Korean, Uzbek and Russian, or deep custom workflows. Several tools above do those better.

If Chatbase's one-agent-per-plan limit, seat count or credit pricing is the problem, the closest like-for-like alternative is SiteGPT, another no-code bot trained on your website; Crisp or Tidio add a shared inbox, Intercom Fin or Zendesk fit a support team already on a helpdesk, and Make Agent Fast adds live voice and messengers such as Telegram and KakaoTalk. Chatbase remains a quick way to put a no-code agent on a website, so if it already works for you, switching may not be worth it. See Make Agent Fast vs Chatbase.

What each vendor publicly documents, read on its own trust, security and legal pages on 18 October 2026. "Not stated" means we found nothing official, not that the answer is no; ask the vendor for its current reports before you sign.

• SOC 2: Intercom, Zendesk, Tidio, Chatbase, SiteGPT, Botpress, Voiceflow and ManyChat state a SOC 2 Type II report; Wati states SOC 2 without the type, Landbot shares a SOC 2 report under NDA, and Crisp says it has not had a SOC 2 audit.
• HIPAA: Intercom lists HIPAA support on its Expert plan, Zendesk signs a BAA through Advanced Compliance, and Chatbase, SiteGPT and Voiceflow offer a BAA on Enterprise. Tidio's terms say it is not a HIPAA business associate, and ManyChat's terms disclaim it.
• Data residency: Tidio and Crisp keep data in the EU or EEA and ManyChat in Frankfurt; Intercom and Zendesk let higher plans choose a region; Chatbase and SiteGPT host in the US, and SiteGPT says no EU option is planned.
• Self-hosting and vendor lock-in: we found no current self-hosting option. Botpress retired its self-hosted v12, Voiceflow offers private cloud on Enterprise, and the others do not mention it, so check how you can export your knowledge and conversations before you commit.
• Make Agent Fast: we publish a DPA covering GDPR and Korea's PIPA, host primary data on Google Cloud in Seoul, encrypt customer credentials with AES-256-GCM and keep a tamper-evident audit trail. We do not claim SOC 2 or HIPAA (security, DPA).

These signals usually mean a tool no longer fits. Chatbase is the worked example; the same checks apply to any tool on this page.

• You need more than one agent. Chatbase includes one AI agent on each self-serve plan and charges $300 a year for each extra agent (Chatbase pricing). Tools billed per workspace or per outcome, such as Crisp or Intercom Fin, scale differently.
• More people need to answer chats. Chatbase includes 2, 3 or 5 seats depending on the plan. Crisp prices per workspace with seats included (Crisp pricing), and Tidio includes 10 seats on its Free, Starter and Growth plans (Tidio pricing).
• Customers are on channels your tool does not cover. For Telegram, which Chatbase does not list, look at ManyChat, Botpress or Make Agent Fast; for phone calls, Intercom Fin Voice or Zendesk; for KakaoTalk, see our KakaoTalk guide.
• You need branching workflows. Chatbase's Procedures support if/else branches, up to 15 steps and 5 branches with no nesting (Chatbase procedures). For deeper conditional logic, use a visual builder such as Botpress, Voiceflow or Landbot.
• The pricing model stops fitting. Credit-based pricing costs more with advanced models; on Chatbase some models use up to 5 credits per message (models). A per-conversation or per-outcome price can be easier to predict at high volume.
• Compliance requirements change. If you need a BAA or EU data residency, check the table above: on Chatbase a BAA needs Enterprise, and data is hosted in the US.

We read each vendor's own pricing, product and help pages, not review sites, and recorded the date next to every claim. Where a vendor's pages disagreed, we used the newest official page and said so on the comparison page. If something here is out of date, the fact box links the page to check, and we update the comparison data that this page and every comparison page read from.