Zendesk Chat | ||
---|---|---|
costs | ||
Money-back guarantee | 14 days | 14 day trial |
Per chat price | $5-10 per relevant chat | |
Starting price | $140/month | $55 per agent/month |
Setup fee | No | |
Custom programming done for you | ✔ | Limited on cheaper plans |
Seats for your staff | No seats needed | 1</br>More seats with premium plans |
Terms of service | Month-to-month | |
Overage costs | Priced per chat at current plan | |
capabilities | ||
Staffed by live agents 24/7 | ✔ | ✘ |
Text Answering | ✔ | |
New client intake | ✔ | |
AI-driven technology | ✔ Free | |
Captures email with every conversation | ✔ | ✔ |
Captures phone number if desired | ✔ | ✔ |
Appointment scheduling | ✔ | |
Client callbacks | ✔ | |
Custom branding | ✔ Free | ✔ |
Mobile-optimized | ✔ | ✔ |
Reporting & analytics | ✔ | |
Canned responses & business FAQ | ✔ | |
Pre-chat disclaimer | ✔ | ✔ |
Client portal | ✔ | |
View transcript for every chat | ✔ | |
White-glove setup | ✔ | X – you'll have virtual support, but the work will be yours to do |
INTEGRATIONS | ||
CRM integration | ✔ | One permitted with each plan type |
Zapier integration | ✔ | Free |
Google Analytics integration | ✔ | |
Open API | ✔ | ✔ |
AI-DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY | ||
Uses conversational AI | ✔ | |
No code builder | ✔ | |
Train chat with your data | ✔ | |
Automated lead qualification | ✔ | ✔ |
Understands user intent | ✔ | |
Smart Q&A database | ✔ | ✘ |
Smith.ai's Outsourced Chat | Live chat software | |
---|---|---|
Answers messages w/o extra staff | Yes | No, your team has to do the work |
Quick one-time setup | Yes | No, do it youself |
Responds immediately 24/7 | Yes | Depends on your staffing |
Automates lead qualification & intake | Yes | Sometimes |
Can handle multiple chats with ease | Yes | Depends on your staffing |
Screens spam & sales | Yes | No |
Smith.ai's Outsourced Chat | Chatbot Software | |
---|---|---|
Staffed by live agents | Yes | No |
Can provide empathy or emotional intelligence | Yes | No |
Can handle complex issues right away | Yes | No |
Responds immediately 24/7 | Yes | Yes |
Can provide a personalized experience | Yes | Yes, with extensive programming |
Quick one-time setup | Yes | Depends on goals and software |
Today’s users want instant answers. They want omnichannel communication, and they want to be able to reach you in their way and on their time. Using chatbots and live chat are part of your new conversational marketing strategy, which is changing the game when it comes to building your brand and expanding your audience.
When you engage Zendesk Chat or the Smith.ai Chatbot, you’ll be able to capture and qualify all the best leads without having to lift a finger yourself. Plus, you’ll be providing your audience with the opportunity to find support, book services, and stay engaged. Choosing the right chat tool, of course, is what makes all the difference.
Who really can say what’s “right” for a brand? We’ve taken the time to create this apples-to-apples comparison of Smith.ai’s own chatbot and the Zendesk Chat service. As you’ll read below, Smith.ai pulls ahead in this arena for its affordable, transparent pricing and the machine learning that manages the chatbot for a totally hands-free customer support solution.
The Zendesk chatbot is only available with Enterprise plans, which means it’s nowhere near free, nor is it accessible to the modern SMB that needs a quality chat tool.
When you enlist the Smith.ai Chatbot, you will get access to real-time reporting and analytics, monitoring, and more. Zendesk Chat only offers those services to premium and enterprise plan members. Zendesk also limits the number of integrations you can use.
Basically, Zendesk Chat has a decent offering, but it falls short in all the wrong places. The question is, are you going to embrace smart answers and automated workflows, or will you pay for the live chat software and the staff that you need to operate it?
25% of leads come in after hours, which means you need to rely on someone who’s always there — and that is why the Smith.ai Chatbot wins this round.