The best alternatives to Zendesk AI Agents are Ada or Gladly AI as a layer on top of Zendesk, and Intercom Fin or Freshworks Freddy if you are willing to change how you buy. Forethought is not really an alternative any more, because Zendesk owns it.
Most teams look elsewhere for one reason: Zendesk will not tell them what a resolution costs until they talk to sales.
Why teams look beyond Zendesk AI Agents
- The per-resolution price and your allowance are not published.
- You need voice or messaging channels that are documented and generally available today.
- You want an agent you could keep if you left Zendesk.
The alternatives, ranked
Intercom Fin
Teams that want a price they can calculate today9.1- Price from
- US$0.99 per resolution
- Pricing model
- Per resolution
- Works on your existing helpdesk
- Yes
- Self-serve sign-up
- Yes
Fin is the AI agent from the company formerly called Intercom, which renamed itself Fin in May 2026. It runs inside the Intercom helpdesk or on top of another one, charges US$0.99 per outcome, and documents more about its pricing, languages and certifications than any other product we reviewed.
The catch: Customer silence for 24 hours is billed as a resolution, and so is a handoff to a human that you configured. Salesforce has agreed to buy the company.
Freshworks Freddy AI Agent
Small and mid-sized teams already on Freshdesk7.7- Price from
- US$0.49 per session
- Pricing model
- Seats plus usage
- Works on your existing helpdesk
- Requires Freshdesk
- Self-serve sign-up
- Yes
Freddy AI Agent is the no-code agent inside Freshdesk and Freshdesk Omni. Prices are public and setup is self-serve, but the billing unit is a session, not a resolution, and the session price rose about fivefold in November 2025.
The catch: A session is consumed whether or not the customer's problem is solved, and the 500 free sessions are a one-time allotment, not monthly.
Ada
Mid-market and enterprise teams that want an agent on top of their current helpdesk7.4- Price from
- est. US$36,079 per year
- Pricing model
- Quote only
- Works on your existing helpdesk
- Yes
- Self-serve sign-up
- No
Ada is a Toronto company whose agent works across messaging, email and voice on top of the helpdesk you already have. It sells by quote, but it is the one enterprise vendor with substantial procurement data: a median contract of US$72,000 a year across 114 purchases.
The catch: Ada's own AI decides which conversations count as billable resolutions, and the contract allows the count to be calculated from a sampled rate.
Help Scout AI Answers
Small Help Scout teams with a good knowledge base6.8- Price from
- US$0.75 per resolution
- Pricing model
- Seats plus usage
- Works on your existing helpdesk
- Requires Help Scout
- Self-serve sign-up
- Yes
AI Answers is the customer-facing AI inside Help Scout's Beacon chat widget. It costs US$0.75 per resolution, among the lowest published prices in the category, and does one thing: answer questions from your help content.
The catch: A resolution is inferred when the customer does nothing further, so abandoned sessions can be billed. Hosting is in the United States only.
Gladly AI
Shopify merchants and consumer brands6.6- Price from
- US$1.50 per resolution
- Pricing model
- Mixed
- Works on your existing helpdesk
- Yes
- Self-serve sign-up
- Yes
Gladly AI, formerly Gladly Sidekick, is aimed at retail and consumer brands. It runs inside Gladly's own helpdesk or on top of Gorgias, Zendesk and Salesforce. The only public prices are on the Shopify App Store; everything else is by quote.
The catch: An AI Resolution is not technically defined anywhere we could find, and AI Assists are billed as well.
Comparison table
| Product | Score | Pricing model | Price from | Works on your existing helpdesk | Self-serve sign-up | EU data residency | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk AI Agents | 7.5 | Seats plus usage | US$55 per seat per month | No | Yes | Yes | Teams already running support on Zendesk |
| Intercom Fin | 9.1 | Per resolution | US$0.99 per resolution | Yes | Yes | Yes | Teams that want a price they can calculate today |
| Freshworks Freddy AI Agent | 7.7 | Seats plus usage | US$0.49 per session | No | Yes | Yes | Small and mid-sized teams already on Freshdesk |
| Ada | 7.4 | Quote only | est. US$36,079 per year | Yes | No | Yes | Mid-market and enterprise teams that want an agent on top of their current helpdesk |
| Help Scout AI Answers | 6.8 | Seats plus usage | US$0.75 per resolution | No | Yes | No | Small Help Scout teams with a good knowledge base |
| Gladly AI | 6.6 | Mixed | US$1.50 per resolution | Yes | Yes | Not documented | Shopify merchants and consumer brands |
Frequently asked questions
Is Forethought an alternative to Zendesk AI agents?
Not an independent one. Zendesk completed its acquisition of Forethought in March 2026 and sells it as an add-on.
Can I run another vendor's agent on Zendesk?
Yes. Ada, Decagon, Gladly and Forethought document Zendesk integrations. Check Fin's current support before relying on it.
Related pages
- Zendesk AI Agents reviewreview
- Zendesk AI Agents pricing explainedpricing
- The best AI customer service agents in 2026best list
Sources
- Zendesk AI agents — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk pricing — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- About automated resolutions for AI agents — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- About automated resolution tiers — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- What happens when I exceed my automated resolutions limit — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Announcing expanded access to AI agent capabilities for all Zendesk customers — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Community forum comment by a Zendesk product manager on the automated resolution list price (August 2025, unofficial) — Zendesk Community · 18 September 2026
- TeamSystem customer story — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Hello Sugar customer story — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Languages supported by AI agents — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Regional Data Hosting Policy — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk Trust Center — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk says its new AI agent can solve 80% of support issues — TechCrunch · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk acquires agentic customer service startup Forethought — TechCrunch · 18 September 2026
- Fin homepage — Fin · 18 September 2026
- Fin pricing — Fin · 18 September 2026
- Intercom pricing — Intercom (Fin) · 18 September 2026
- Fin pricing: outcomes — Fin Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Anthropic customer story — Fin · 18 September 2026
- Lightspeed customer story — Fin · 18 September 2026
- Fin channels — Fin · 18 September 2026
- Fin integrations — Fin · 18 September 2026
- Use Fin AI Agent in multiple languages — Fin Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Regional data hosting — Fin Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Intercom security — Intercom (Fin) · 18 September 2026
- Fin AI Agent explained — Fin Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Today, Intercom becomes Fin — Intercom (Fin) · 18 September 2026
- Salesforce signs definitive agreement to acquire Fin — Salesforce · 18 September 2026
- Freddy AI Agent — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
- Freshdesk pricing — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
- Freddy AI Agent sessions FAQs — Freshworks Support · 18 September 2026
- Manage Freddy AI add-ons — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
- Overview of Freddy AI for ticketing — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
- Voice AI Agent integration in Freshcaller — Freshworks Support · 18 September 2026
- Configure AI Agent responses — Freshworks Support · 18 September 2026
- Freshworks launches new AI capabilities (13 November 2025) — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
- Hobbycraft customer story — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
- Freshworks Q4 2025 earnings call transcript — The Motley Fool · 18 September 2026
- Where are your data servers located? — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
- Freshworks Trust Center — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
- Freshworks — Wikipedia · 18 September 2026
- Ada homepage — Ada · 18 September 2026
- Ada platform — Ada · 18 September 2026
- Ada messaging — Ada · 18 September 2026
- Ada integrations — Ada · 18 September 2026
- Service-specific terms — Ada · 18 September 2026
- Understand and improve your AI agent's automated resolution rate — Ada Docs · 18 September 2026
- About multilingual support — Ada Docs · 18 September 2026
- Ada subprocessors — Ada · 18 September 2026
- Ada trust — Ada · 18 September 2026
- Epos Now case study — Ada · 18 September 2026
- Life360 case study — Ada · 18 September 2026
- Ada doubles YoY growth as demand for agentic customer service surges (3 March 2026) — Ada · 18 September 2026
- Ada pricing (buyer data, 114 purchases) — Vendr · 18 September 2026
- Ada company profile — Sacra · 18 September 2026
- Help Scout AI features — Help Scout · 18 September 2026
- Help Scout pricing — Help Scout · 18 September 2026
- AI resolutions pricing — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
- AI Answers — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
- Manage AI Answers — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
- Help website visitors with AI — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
- Improve AI Answers — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
- AI Answers usage and spend (21 May 2026) — Help Scout · 18 September 2026
- Help Scout self-service — Help Scout · 18 September 2026
- AIHR customer story — Help Scout · 18 September 2026
- Help Scout customers — Help Scout · 18 September 2026
- Security at Help Scout — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
- Help Scout security — Help Scout · 18 September 2026
- HIPAA at Help Scout — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
- Gladly AI product page — Gladly · 18 September 2026
- Gladly pricing — Gladly · 18 September 2026
- Gladly on the Shopify App Store — Shopify App Store · 18 September 2026
- AI pricing: deflection vs outcomes — Gladly · 18 September 2026
- What is Gladly AI — Gladly Help · 18 September 2026
- March 2026 releases — Gladly Help · 18 September 2026
- Set up the Gladly AI Gorgias integration — Gladly Help · 18 September 2026
- Why your helpdesk needs Gladly — Gladly · 18 September 2026
- Voice and SMS phone number costs — Gladly Help · 18 September 2026
- AI security and compliance — Gladly Help · 18 September 2026
- Gladly customers — Gladly · 18 September 2026
- Breeze Airways customer story — Gladly · 18 September 2026
- Gladly announces agentic commerce capabilities at Gladly Connect Live (6 May 2026) — PR Newswire · 18 September 2026
This page was researched and drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed on it. We have not run hands-on tests of these products. Method: How we review