Help Scout
Help Scout · Help Desk for Small Teams with a Per-Resolution AI Agent
Help Scout is a help desk for small and growing support teams, with AI Answers, an AI agent that answers customer questions from your knowledge base and charges $0.75 only when it resolves one. It suits teams that want the shared inbox, help center, and AI agent in one self-serve product.
Best for
Small and growing support teams that want a simple help desk and a per-resolution AI agent in one self-serve product, with a spending cap
Not ideal for
Teams that need an AI layer on an existing Zendesk, Intercom, or Salesforce help desk, or that need an AI agent to take actions in back-end systems
Who it's for
Small and growing customer support teams choosing a help desk with a built-in AI agent
Capabilities
- AI Answers: a customer-facing AI agent in the Beacon widget on your website or in-app, grounded in your knowledge base, web sources, and custom instructions
- Per-resolution billing at $0.75, with no charge when the customer escalates or says they still need help
- Monthly spending cap that switches AI Answers off for the rest of the month once reached, plus prepaid resolutions at up to 33% off
- One-click escalation from AI Answers to your support team
- Shared inbox for email, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger, with phone and voice via integration
- Docs knowledge base, AI drafting and inbox assistance for human agents
- Answers in more than 50 languages
- REST API with per-plan rate limits; Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot integrations on Plus and above
Limitations
- AI Answers only runs inside Help Scout, so it is not an option for teams that want to keep Zendesk, Intercom, or another help desk
- AI Answers is documented for the Beacon widget on your website or in-app; it is not described as replying to email tickets on its own
- AI Answers is not part of the Free plan, and seats are priced per user on top of per-resolution charges
- Help Scout's AI agents operate within the permissions you set rather than taking open-ended actions in other systems
- The 73% average resolution rate on Help Scout's pricing page is vendor-reported
Use cases
- A small SaaS support team answering how-to questions in the in-app widget from its Docs site
- Replacing a shared Gmail or Outlook inbox with a help desk that includes an AI agent
- Capping monthly AI spend while testing automated answers on a website widget
- Handing unresolved widget conversations to the team inbox without the customer starting over
Help Scout pricing
Free
$0
- 5 users, 1 inbox, and 1 Docs site
- AI Answers is not included
Standard
$25/user/month
Billed annual
- Multiple inboxes
- Live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger
- AI Answers add-on at $0.75 per resolution
Plus
$45/user/month
Billed annual
- Advanced workflows and SLA policies
- Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot integrations
- AI Answers add-on at $0.75 per resolution
Pro
$75/user/month
Billed annual
- Highest API limits and security features
- Sales-assisted
- AI Answers add-on at $0.75 per resolution
Free tier limits: Free plan: 5 users, 1 inbox, and 1 Docs site, without AI Answers. New accounts get a 3-month free trial of AI Answers.
Note: Annual billing is shown by default (up to 16% off); monthly per-user prices are higher. AI Answers is $0.75 per resolution with an optional monthly spending cap, and prepaid resolutions save up to 33%.
Technical specs
Modalities
text
Help Scout vs. competitors
Help Scout vs. Fin
Fin runs on the help desk you already use at $0.99 per outcome; Help Scout AI Answers costs $0.75 per resolution but only inside Help Scout, so it suits teams willing to adopt Help Scout as their help desk.
Help Scout vs. Gorgias
Gorgias is built for Shopify and ecommerce brands, with AI actions such as returns and order tracking; Help Scout is a general-purpose help desk for small teams whose AI agent answers from the knowledge base.
Help Scout vs. Chatbase
Chatbase is an AI agent builder that can sit on top of several help desks and is priced by message credits; Help Scout bundles the help desk and bills its AI agent per resolution.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Help Scout AI Answers cost?
AI Answers costs $0.75 per resolution on top of a paid Help Scout plan (Standard $25, Plus $45, or Pro $75 per user per month, billed annually). You are not charged when the customer escalates or says they still need help, and you can set a monthly spending cap.
Can I use Help Scout AI Answers with Zendesk or Intercom?
No. AI Answers runs inside Help Scout, so using it means moving your support conversations to Help Scout. If you want to keep your current help desk, look at an overlay such as Fin or Chatbase instead.
What happens when AI Answers can't answer?
The customer can escalate to your support team with a couple of clicks from the same widget, and that conversation is not billed as a resolution.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. New accounts get a 3-month free trial of AI Answers, and the Standard and Plus plans have a 15-day trial with no credit card required.
Integrations & fit
Alternatives to consider
Salesforce (Fin, formerly Intercom)
Support teams on Intercom, Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot, or Freshdesk who want to automate resolution of repetitive questions at a transparent $0.99-per-outcome price
Paid
Gorgias
Shopify and ecommerce brands that want a help desk whose AI agent can look up orders and process returns, with published per-resolution pricing
Paid
Chatbase
Small teams that want a self-serve AI support agent on their website or in their existing help desk, with published monthly plans
Freemium
Zendesk
Support teams already on Zendesk who want AI-powered ticket resolution and triage across channels
PaidAbout Help Scout
Help Scout combines a shared inbox (email, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger on paid plans), a Docs knowledge base, and the Beacon help widget. AI Answers, its customer-facing AI agent, replies to customers on your website or in-app using your knowledge base, other web sources, and custom instructions, and customers can escalate to your team with a couple of clicks when the answer is not enough. It is billed as an add-on at $0.75 per resolution: a conversation only counts when the customer does not escalate, search the knowledge base again, or say they still need help, and you can set a monthly spending cap or prepay to save up to 33%. Seats cost $25 (Standard), $45 (Plus), or $75 (Pro) per user per month billed annually; a Free plan covers 5 users, 1 inbox, and 1 Docs site, but AI Answers is sold on the paid plans. New accounts get a 3-month free trial of AI Answers and a 15-day plan trial with no credit card. Unlike Fin, AI Answers only runs inside Help Scout, so adopting it means using Help Scout as your help desk. Help Scout's stated 73% average resolution rate is a vendor figure, not an independent test.
Are you the founder? Claim this listing →