AI customer support agent features & capabilities compared: Help Scout vs. SalesIQ (Zoho)
Help Scout and SalesIQ (Zoho) both offer AI customer support platforms designed to deflect support tickets and improve customer service efficiency. Help Scout's pricing is set at $765 per 1,000 tickets or chats, with usage tiers that include Standard, Plus, and Pro, all of which have no usage limits. However, Help Scout lacks some advanced features such as human handover and analytics/insights. It also does not offer an AI email assistant but includes email lead capture capabilities.
On the other hand, SalesIQ (Zoho) provides a more varied pricing structure with a free tier allowing 100 chat sessions per month, a Basic tier for 1,000 chat sessions per month, and Professional and Enterprise tiers offering unlimited chat sessions. The price for 1,000 tickets or chats is provided on application (POA). SalesIQ (Zoho) supports human handover and offers detailed analytics and insights, but like Help Scout, it does not feature an AI email assistant. Both platforms include email lead capture functionalities, catering to businesses looking to convert interactions into potential leads.
Full breakdown: All available features and pricing
| Feature | Help Scout | SalesIQ (Zoho) | + My AskAI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offers AI Customer Support Features? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Offers AI Features for Support Agents? | No | Yes | Yes |
| AI Price Per 1,000 tickets/chats | $765 | POA | $99 |
| Usage Tiers | Standard - no usage limit Plus - no usage limit Pro - no usage limit |
Free - 100 chat sessions/mo Basic - 1000 chat sessions/mo Professional - unlimited chat sessions Enterprise - unlimited chat sessions |
Essentials - 200 conversations/mo Pro - 1,000 conversations/mo Enterprise - Unlimited $0.10 per conversation beyond limits |
| Human Handover | No | Yes | Yes |
| Conversation Analytics/Insights | No | Yes | Yes |
| AI Email Assistant | No | No | Yes |
| Email Lead Capture | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing Page | Help Scout pricing page | SalesIQ (Zoho) pricing page | My AskAI pricing page |
| Content Limits | Standard - no content limit Plus - no content limit Pro - no content limit |
Basic plan upto - 100 articles Professional - 1000 articles Enterprise - 2000 articles |
Essentials - Unlimited webpages & documents Pro - Unlimited webpages & documents Enterprise - Unlimited webpages & documents Updated automatically |
| Number of Chatbots/Agents | Not provided | Free - 0 Basic - 1 chatbot Professional - 5 chatbots Enterprise - 10 chatbots |
Essentials - 1 (2 modes: public and private) Pro - 1 (2 modes: public and private) Enterprise - Unlimited |
| Hosted Help Centre | Yes | No | No |
| Chatbot Flow Builder | No | No | No |
| Integrations (Content/Knowledge) | Not provided | Files Help Center |
Websites Files (PDF, Docx, txt, CSV, pptx, mp3, mp4 (audio), xlsx) Google Drive Notion Confluence SharePoint Gitbook OneDrive Dropbox Zendesk Intercom Salesforce |
| Integrations (End Users) | Shopify Weebly Squarespace Wix Webflow |
https://marketplace.zoho.com/app/salesiq | Website Zendesk (app) Intercom (app) HubSpot (app) Slack (app) Teams (app) Zapier Tidio LiveChat Crisp SalesIQ (Zoho) Tawk Freshchat WhatsApp (via Intercom/Zendesk) Instagram (via Intercom/Zendesk) Messenger (via Intercom/Zendesk) X/Twitter (via Intercom/Zendesk) |
| GDPR Compliant | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SOC-2 Compliant | Yes | Yes | No |
| Support | Support levels are consistent across plans, with all customers receiving timely and effective assistance. | Not provided | Essentials - Web, email Pro - Priority web, email, video Enterprise - Slack, Success manager |
| AI Models Available | AI Assist and AI Answers are powered by OpenAI's API service | Free - Basic - Professional - Enterprise - GPT-4 |
Essentials - GPT-4o Pro - GPT-4o Enterprise - GPT-4o/Claude/Gemini |
| API Access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
AI Customer Support Platforms: Help Scout vs. SalesIQ (Zoho) vs. My AskAI
AI Customer Support Features
Help Scout does not offer AI customer support features. In contrast, SalesIQ (Zoho) and My AskAI both provide AI-driven customer support capabilities designed to deflect support tickets and enhance customer interactions.
AI Features for Support Agents
Help Scout lacks AI features specifically aimed at assisting support agents. Both SalesIQ (Zoho) and My AskAI include AI functionalities that support agents in managing and resolving customer queries more efficiently.
Pricing
For AI customer support, Help Scout charges $765 per 1,000 tickets/chats. SalesIQ (Zoho) offers pricing on a per-request basis (POA), while My AskAI provides a more cost-effective option at $99 per 1,000 conversations.
Usage Tiers
Help Scout offers three plans (Standard, Plus, Pro) with no usage limits. SalesIQ (Zoho) has a tiered structure with limitations on chat sessions, starting from 100 chat sessions per month in the Free plan to unlimited sessions in the Enterprise plan. My AskAI also has tiered plans, ranging from 200 conversations per month in the Essentials plan to unlimited in the Enterprise plan, with additional conversations priced at $0.10 each.
Human Handover
Help Scout does not support human handover. Both SalesIQ (Zoho) and My AskAI include this feature, allowing seamless transition from AI to human agents when necessary.
Conversation Analytics/Insights
Help Scout does not offer conversation analytics or insights. SalesIQ (Zoho) and My AskAI provide these features, enabling businesses to gain valuable insights from customer interactions.
AI Email Assistant
Help Scout and SalesIQ (Zoho) do not offer an AI email assistant. My AskAI includes this feature, enhancing its email support capabilities.
Email Lead Capture
All three platforms—Help Scout, SalesIQ (Zoho), and My AskAI—offer email lead capture functionalities.
Pricing Page
For detailed pricing, you can visit the respective pricing pages of Help Scout, SalesIQ (Zoho), and My AskAI.
Content Limits
Help Scout imposes no content limits across its plans. SalesIQ (Zoho) has varying content limits depending on the plan, with the Enterprise plan supporting up to 2,000 articles. My AskAI offers unlimited content across all plans, with automatic updates.
Number of Chatbots/Agents
Help Scout does not specify the number of chatbots or agents. SalesIQ (Zoho) offers a range from 0 to 10 chatbots depending on the plan. My AskAI provides 1 chatbot in Essentials and Pro plans, with unlimited chatbots in the Enterprise plan.
Hosted Help Centre
Help Scout offers a hosted help center, while SalesIQ (Zoho) and My AskAI do not.
Chatbot Flow Builder
None of the three platforms—Help Scout, SalesIQ (Zoho), or My AskAI—offers a chatbot flow builder.
Integrations (Content/Knowledge)
Help Scout does not provide detailed information on content/knowledge integrations. SalesIQ (Zoho) integrates with files and help centers. My AskAI supports a wide range of integrations, including websites, various file types, Google Drive, Notion, Confluence, SharePoint, Gitbook, OneDrive, Dropbox, Zendesk, Intercom, and Salesforce.
Integrations (End Users)
Help Scout integrates with platforms like Shopify, Weebly, Squarespace, Wix, and Webflow. SalesIQ (Zoho) has a marketplace for various integrations. My AskAI offers extensive integrations with websites, Zendesk, Intercom, HubSpot, Slack, Teams, Zapier, and more, including social media platforms via Intercom/Zendesk.
GDPR and SOC-2 Compliance
All three platforms are GDPR compliant. However, only Help Scout and SalesIQ (Zoho) are SOC-2 compliant; My AskAI is not.
Support
Help Scout provides consistent support across all plans. SalesIQ (Zoho) does not specify its support levels. My AskAI offers tiered support, from web and email support in the Essentials plan to priority support and a dedicated success manager in the Enterprise plan.
AI Models Available
Help Scout uses OpenAI's API service for its AI models. SalesIQ (Zoho) uses GPT-4 for its Professional and Enterprise plans. My AskAI offers GPT-4o across all plans, with the Enterprise plan also supporting Claude and Gemini models.
API Access
All three platforms—Help Scout, SalesIQ (Zoho), and My AskAI—offer API access.
Compare Help Scout with other AI support agents
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