Compare chatbots by the questions they answer, the actions they complete and the work they hand to your team. Test the shortlist on your own tickets.
Compare Tidio for small-store chat and Chatbase for website AI. For order and subscription work, test Gorgias and Richpanel. Include Fin if you use Intercom. Evaluate Zendesk and Ada for enterprise requirements.
For a broader comparison, see best AI chatbot platform and AI customer service software comparison.
Use the linked sources to check capabilities and pricing before shortlisting.
Check required actions, full pricing and fit. Product names link to official sources.
| Bot | Answers or resolves? | Action execution depth | Primary pricing model | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richpanel | AI replies or drafts for approval; guarantee eligibility applies | Order and subscription changes within your rules | ~$0.20/AI conversation, $200/month AI minimum; $99/human seat/month annually | DTC and SMB stores that want a bot that closes tickets, plus multi-brand |
| Tidio Lyro | Lyro AI answers and actions; test your requests | Confirm supported store actions and permissions | Plan plus Lyro AI usage; confirm allowances and limits | Small teams evaluating chat and AI together |
| Gorgias AI | AI answers and ecommerce actions | Deep native Shopify and ecom app actions | Ticket plan plus AI usage; confirm allowance treatment | Shopify teams with app-specific workflows |
| Intercom Fin | Resolves over knowledge plus actions | Structured Actions and Workflows | From $0.99/outcome; seats extra with Intercom helpdesk | Teams already living in Intercom for chat |
| Chatbase | AI answers and actions from connected sources | Confirm required integrations and human handoff | Plan and usage limits; confirm current quote | Website AI alongside an existing support setup |
| Zendesk AI | Resolves plus automations | Actions via triggers; broad but not ecom-specialized | Seat plan plus AI usage and optional add-ons | Breadth far beyond ecom, mature SLA and QA |
| Ada | Resolves; agentic AI over voice, chat, and email | SOP automation via Playbooks; strong multilingual | Custom quote; confirm minimum commitment | High-volume global enterprises |
Original research: July 2026. Use the linked official pages to confirm required features and current pricing. amit@richpanel.com
Use the table to narrow your options. Confirm the required actions, approval controls and total cost in a trial.
Product labels vary. Ask what the software can answer, what it can change and when it hands off.
A policy question may need only an answer. An order change needs current data, permission and confirmation in the order system.
Use a test order to check the whole process, from request to recorded change. See AI chatbot vs. AI agent.
Check how the vendor defines a resolution. Separate completed requests from abandoned conversations and reopened tickets. See AI resolution rate benchmark.
Use your ticket mix and systems to set priorities. Focus on the gaps your team needs to close.
Test accuracy, required actions, total cost, setup, multiple stores and handoffs.
Test 100 recent tickets. Count completed requests, errors and handoffs separately.
Demonstrate an address change or subscription pause in your systems. Check the result and approval rules.
Quote normal and peak volume. Include AI usage, seats, minimums and overages. Confirm what happens when an allowance runs out.
Ask who connects systems, maintains content and reviews changes. Include this work in the rollout plan.
If you run multiple brands, test separate policies, permissions and reporting. Confirm account and plan limits.
Use recent tickets with normal requests and edge cases. Review failures and agree an acceptance threshold before launch.
Prioritize tasks and integration needs first. Then compare setup effort and cost.
Start with your ticket mix and required systems.
What work repeats? Review 100 recent tickets. Count which need an answer, a data lookup or a change.
What must connect? List store, subscription, shipping and billing systems. Include required languages and phone workflows.
Trial the products that cover those needs with the least ongoing manual work.
Compare fit and the work needed to make each product useful.
Best fit: Small stores comparing live chat and AI support. Check: Lyro actions, AI conversation allowances, seat limits and overage behavior. Price the base plan and AI together at your expected volume. [1]
Best fit: Shopify teams whose daily work depends on ecommerce integrations. Check: support for your exact apps and actions. The helpdesk uses ticket-based plans; confirm AI charges and how AI conversations count toward the ticket allowance. [1]
Best fit: Teams already using Intercom for chat and product messaging. Fin can also run with another helpdesk. Check: required actions, channel charges and handoff quality. Pricing starts at $0.99 per outcome; Intercom helpdesk seats cost extra when used. [1]
Best fit: Teams adding an AI agent to a website while keeping their current support tools. Check: required actions, message credits and human handoffs. Include the cost of any separate helpdesk. [1]
Best fit: Teams needing routing, permissions and integrations across several support groups. Check: AI performance on your tickets and the combined quote for seats, AI, QA and Copilot. Confirm which features your plan includes. [1]
Best fit: Enterprise teams serving customers across languages and channels, including voice. Check: quality in each required language, supported actions, implementation work and contract minimums. Request a quote for your volume. [1]
Best fit: Teams replacing their helpdesk to resolve repetitive tickets and review AI changes themselves.
Richpanel human seats cost $99/month on an annual commitment, plus AI at about $0.20 per conversation with a $200/month AI minimum.
Check: your integrations, migration scope and approval rules. Voice uses partner integrations.
Guarantee: 50% of eligible conversations resolved automatically within 30 days. On a miss, eligible customers get every dollar back. Aeons case study, [3]
Choose based on your ticket mix, required systems and the work your team needs to automate.
Test your shortlist on the same tickets so you can compare results.
List the history, settings and integrations you need to move. Confirm the import and training scope before agreeing a cutover date.
Richpanel imports tickets, macros, tags and users from supported helpdesks. Confirm the records included and any exceptions. Contract buyout can cover up to 100% of the remaining term, subject to agreed terms. [2]
Keep your current helpdesk serving customers until the agreed cutover. Review migration guide and Richpanel versus Gorgias.
Review correct answers, incorrect answers and handoffs separately. Walk through the failures with your team.
Ask how unresolved, reopened and abandoned conversations affect the reported rate.
Per-message, per-resolution, and per-conversation produce wildly different bills at scale. Make the vendor do the math on your numbers, not a sample, and check what happens when a quota runs out mid-month.
Use a test order to demonstrate an address change or subscription pause. Check the result in the connected system.
For the full version of these tests, see our 40-question vendor RFP template.
Check these limits before making a shortlist.
Agree on a test sample, success measures and the total cost before signing.
Choose by ticket mix and required systems. Compare Tidio for small-store chat, Gorgias for Shopify workflows, Fin for Intercom and Chatbase for website AI. Include Richpanel when replacing your helpdesk, or Zendesk and Ada for enterprise requirements.
Chatbots and agents overlap. Some answer from content; others also change records in connected systems. Test your actual tasks, permissions and handoffs rather than relying on the product label.
Include the base plan, AI usage, seats, minimums and overages. Richpanel human seats cost $99/month on an annual commitment, plus AI at about $0.20 per conversation with a $200/month AI minimum. Competitor plans use different units, so request a quote at normal and peak volume.
Review 100 recent tickets. If customers mostly need explanations, test knowledge answers. If they need changes to orders or subscriptions, test those actions and approval controls too.
Compare the store integrations and actions you need. Gorgias, Richpanel and Tidio are options to test. Verify a live order lookup, a permitted change and a handoff before choosing.
It may be. Test whether it handles your common requests and hands exceptions to a person with enough context. Include usage allowances and the cost of your separate inbox.
Any model can make mistakes. Test accuracy on your own tickets, restrict sensitive actions and review failures. Check how the vendor tests changes before release.
Test recent tickets, inspect failures and confirm actions in your systems. Request a full quote at your volume. If switching, test the import too. Use 40-question vendor RFP template.
Inline citations [1]–[3] map to the entries below. Each vendor's product and pricing page is also linked inline in the comparison table.
Version history: September 2026 language revision. Original comparison research: July 2026. Selected descriptions checked against official pages. Confirm required features and current quotes.
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