The short answer
For a support team of 5 agents that wants AI to handle 1,000 customer conversations a month, the bill on monthly list prices runs from $605 (Freshdesk Growth plus Freddy AI session packs) to $1,765 (Gorgias Pro at the overage rate in its own page data). Help Scout lands at $900 and Intercom with Fin at $1,135. We read every price on the vendor’s own page on 9 October 2026.
The catch is the unit. Each vendor meters AI differently: a 24-hour session, a credit per ticket worked, a resolution, an outcome, an automated interaction. Two of those charge for conversations the AI did not close. Compare the unit before the price.
| Platform | 5 agents + 1,000 AI conversations, billed monthly | Billed annually | What the AI meter counts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk | $605 | $585 | sessions (24-hour windows) |
| Help Scout | $900 | $875 | resolutions |
| Intercom + Fin | $1,135 | $1,085 | outcomes |
| Gorgias | $1,360 to $1,765 | not captured | automated interactions |
| eesel AI | $499 + your helpdesk | two months free (sales) | credits (tickets worked) |
| Zendesk | $275 seats (yearly) + AI not priced | yearly only | automated resolutions |
What Google’s answer leaves out: 4 of the 8 platforms it names publish no AI price
On 5 October 2026 Google’s AI Overview and AI Mode for this query named 8 platforms: Intercom Fin, Zendesk, Zowie, Ada, Tidio, Gorgias, Freshdesk, Forethought. On 9 October 2026 we opened each one’s pricing page and asked one question: is there a price per AI conversation a buyer can multiply by their own volume?
| Platform Google names | AI price you can multiply? | What the page shows |
|---|---|---|
| Intercom Fin | Yes | $0.99 per outcome |
| Gorgias | Yes, but three numbers | $1 monthly / $0.90 annual (FAQ), $1.50 overage (page data) |
| Freshdesk | Yes | $49 per 100 sessions |
| Zendesk | No | a dollar allowance ($2 per seat on Suite Team), no rate per resolution |
| Ada | No | the pricing URL redirects to a demo form |
| Zowie | No | the pricing URL returns 404 |
| Forethought | No | Get a Quote on all three plans |
| Tidio | Yes | Lyro $39 a month for 50 AI conversations up to $700 for 1,000, billed monthly, counted on the first AI reply (read 10 October 2026) |
Zendesk is the subtle one. Its help center says every Suite Team plan includes a resolution allowance of $2 per agent seat a month ($5 on Professional, $10 on Enterprise), capped at $5,000 a year, with no rollover. The allowance is in dollars, but neither the pricing page nor that article says what one automated resolution costs in those dollars, so 5 Suite Team agents get $10 a month of AI with no published way to turn it into a number of tickets. Ask sales for the rate per resolution tier before you sign.
Gorgias prints three prices for the same AI interaction
Gorgias prices by ticket volume, never per agent, which suits a 5-person store team. With AI Agent switched on, Pro is $550 a month billed monthly: $360 for the helpdesk (2,000 tickets) and $190 for 190 automated interactions, which is $1 each. Its FAQ says interactions are $0.90 on annual plans and $1 on monthly. Its compare table lists $1, $0.90, $0.90 and $0.85 by plan. The structured data on the same URL says overage above the included allowance is $1.50 per interaction. For 1,000 AI conversations, the other 810 cost $810 at the FAQ rate or $1,215 at the overage rate, so Pro lands between $1,360 and $1,765. Each AI interaction also counts as a helpdesk ticket, so this assumes your total stays under 2,000.
Cost per AI conversation, and what each meter actually counts
| Vendor | Plan | Price per unit | Unit | Charged when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk | Freddy AI Agent pack | $0.49 | session | every 24-hour conversation window, resolved or not |
| eesel AI | Teammate, 1,000 credits | $0.50 | credit | every ticket or chat the agent works on |
| Help Scout | AI Answers | $0.75 | resolution | only if the customer does not ask for more help |
| Intercom Fin | any plan | $0.99 | outcome | resolution, Procedure handoff or routing; once per conversation |
| Gorgias | Pro, monthly | $1 | automated interaction | a request resolved without a human; also counts as a ticket |
The two cheapest units are the two that charge whether or not the AI closes the ticket. A Freshdesk session is everything a customer does with the AI agent inside 24 hours. An eesel credit is any ticket or chat the agent works on. Help Scout, Intercom and Gorgias bill only when the AI resolves or completes the conversation. If your AI closes 60% of what it touches, a $0.75 resolution and a $0.50 credit cost about the same per closed ticket: $0.83 per resolution on eesel at that rate, our arithmetic.
The platforms, one by one
Freshdesk: lowest bill, session meter
Growth is $23 per agent a month billed monthly or $19 annually; Pro $66 / $55; Enterprise $107 / $89. Every plan includes Freddy AI Agent, but the 500 included sessions are a one-time allowance for new customers, not monthly. After that, sessions are $49 per 100, and unused sessions do not carry over. 5 Growth agents plus 10 packs is $605 a month. Freddy AI Copilot is extra on Pro and Enterprise, $35 per agent monthly. 14-day trial of Enterprise.
Help Scout: pay only for resolutions
Standard is $30 per user a month billed monthly or $25 annually; Plus $54 / $45; Pro $90 / $75. AI Answers is $0.75 per resolution, one per conversation, and nothing is charged if the customer asks for more help. You can set a monthly spending cap, and new accounts get 3 months of unlimited AI Answers free. A Free plan covers 5 users, 1 inbox and 1 Docs site. 5 Standard users plus 1,000 resolutions is $900 a month.
Intercom with Fin: the outcome price Google quotes
Essential is $29 per seat a month billed monthly or $19 annually, Advanced $99 / $85, Expert $139 / $132. Fin is $0.99 per outcome on every plan, counted once per conversation; an outcome includes a Procedure that ends in a handoff to a human, and a sales qualification is $9.99. Fin also runs on another helpdesk with no seat cost and a 50-outcome monthly minimum. Copilot for agents is $35 per agent monthly or $29 annually. 5 Essential seats plus 1,000 outcomes is $1,135 a month. 14-day trial, no card.
Gorgias: ticket-priced, built for stores
Plans with AI Agent on, billed monthly: Starter $40 (50 tickets, 30 AI interactions, 3 user seats), Basic $90, Pro $550, Advanced $1,430. Basic and up include 500 user seats. See the section above for the three AI prices on its page.
eesel AI: an AI layer on the helpdesk you already have
eesel does not replace a helpdesk; it connects to one. Teammate plans are a monthly batch of credits: 500 for $299, 1,000 for $499, up to 5,000 for $1,899, with unlimited agents and seats. A ticket or chat is 1 credit however long it runs, and overage is $0.80 a credit if you switch it on. The Free plan is a 100-credit trial. Add your helpdesk’s own seat cost to the $499.
Zendesk: seats are clear, the AI rate is not
Paid yearly, Support Team is $19 per agent a month, Suite Team $55 (the first plan with AI agents and messaging) and Suite Professional $115; Enterprise is by quote. The page shows no monthly price. Copilot is a $50 per agent add-on, paid yearly. AI agents are billed per automated resolution against the dollar allowance described above. 14-day trial of Suite Professional.
Which one for which team
- Lowest predictable bill for an email-first team: Freshdesk Growth, $605 a month for 5 agents and 1,000 AI sessions.
- You only want to pay when the AI actually closes a ticket: Help Scout ($0.75) or Intercom ($0.99).
- Shopify store, many part-time agents: Gorgias, priced by tickets with 500 seats from Basic up.
- You are staying on Zendesk, Freshdesk or another helpdesk: eesel ($499 for 1,000 credits) or Fin on your helpdesk ($990 for 1,000 outcomes, no seats).
- Already on Zendesk: get the rate per resolution in writing first.
If your support volume is mostly pre-sales chat on a small site, the cheaper tools in our website chatbot cost breakdown may be enough.
How we checked
Every price, allowance and definition was read on 9 October 2026 on the vendor’s own pricing page or help center, in a rendered browser, with billing toggles and FAQ questions clicked and each state saved. Intercom and Gorgias draw their plan prices with scripts, so for those we saved screenshots of both billing states. The 5-agent totals and per-unit costs are our arithmetic on list prices. We did not run these platforms on live support traffic for this article, so no resolution rate here is ours, and vendor resolution claims are left out of the math. The Google answers are from our capture on 5 October 2026.
Related reading on this site
- What an AI chatbot for your website costs: the same per-answer math for small-site chatbots.
- Best AI email assistants for a small team: AI that drafts replies inside the inbox, priced for 5 seats.
- AI sales tools and what they do to CAC: what AI tools do to the cost of winning a customer.
- Open source alternatives to paid AI tools: the same cost test applied to other paid AI tools.
Questions people ask about AI customer support software
What is the best AI tool for customer service?
It depends on the meter you can live with. For 5 agents and 1,000 AI conversations a month, billed monthly on 9 October 2026: Freshdesk $605, Help Scout $900, Intercom with Fin $1,135, Gorgias Pro $1,360 to $1,765. Help Scout and Intercom bill only for resolved conversations; Freshdesk bills per 24-hour session.
Can I use AI for customer service without replacing my helpdesk?
Yes. Fin runs on Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk and other helpdesks at $0.99 per outcome with no seat cost and a 50-outcome monthly minimum, and eesel connects to an existing helpdesk from $299 a month for 500 credits. Read 9 October 2026.
How much does Intercom Fin cost?
$0.99 per outcome, once per conversation. With the Intercom helpdesk, seats are $29, $99 or $139 a month billed monthly, or $19, $85 or $132 billed annually. Read 9 October 2026.
How much do Zendesk AI agents cost?
Zendesk bills per automated resolution against a dollar allowance included with each plan: $2 per agent seat a month on Suite Team, $5 on Professional, $10 on Enterprise, up to $5,000 a year. Neither its pricing page nor its help article published a price per resolution on 9 October 2026.
Is there free AI customer support software?
Not for ongoing AI volume. Help Scout gives new accounts 3 months of unlimited AI Answers and has a Free plan for 5 users; Freshdesk gives 500 one-time AI sessions; eesel’s Free plan is a 100-credit trial; Intercom has a 14-day trial with unlimited Fin outcomes. Checked 9 October 2026.
What is the difference between an AI session and an AI resolution?
A session (Freshdesk) is everything a customer does with the AI agent in a 24-hour window, charged whether or not it ends the issue. A resolution (Help Scout, Zendesk) or outcome (Intercom) is charged only when the AI closes the conversation or completes a set procedure.
Which AI customer support tool is best for Shopify stores?
Gorgias prices by tickets rather than agents and includes 500 user seats from Basic up. Pro is $550 a month billed monthly with 190 AI interactions included. Read 9 October 2026.
Sources
- Intercom pricing, read 9 October 2026.
- Fin AI Agent pricing, read 9 October 2026.
- Zendesk pricing, read 9 October 2026.
- Zendesk help: Managing resolution allowances, read 9 October 2026.
- Freshdesk pricing, read 9 October 2026.
- Freshworks help: Freddy AI Agent sessions FAQs, read 9 October 2026.
- Help Scout pricing, read 9 October 2026.
- Gorgias pricing, read 9 October 2026.
- eesel AI pricing, read 9 October 2026.
- Ada pricing URL, read 9 October 2026.
- Zowie pricing URL, read 9 October 2026.
- Forethought pricing, read 9 October 2026.
- Google AI Overview and AI Mode for “best ai customer support software”, our capture, 5 October 2026.
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