AI assistant software

Simple, flexible CRM with a free plan and built-in AI for small businesses

Best for: Small businesses that want a straightforward CRM they can start free

Simple CRM with a free plan for two users, included AI and paid plans from about $18 per user per month billed annually.

• AI assistant
• Contact management
• Email integration
• Pipeline management

No-code CRM and workflow automation platform with AI for sales, marketing and service

Best for: Mid-size and enterprise teams that want CRM and process automation in one no-code platform

No-code CRM and workflow automation with AI. Growth from $40 and Enterprise from $75 per user per month, plus $15 per module.

• AI assistant
• Customisation
• Marketing automation
• Pipeline management

Modern relationship CRM for teams that manage networks and deals in a spreadsheet-like view

Best for: Startups, agencies and investors who manage relationships and lightweight pipelines

Modern relationship CRM with LinkedIn, email and WhatsApp sync. Plans from $24 per member per month billed annually.

• AI assistant
• Contact management
• Data enrichment
• Email and calendar sync

Messaging platform with free plan, AI agent and WhatsApp, SMS and social channels

Best for: Teams already using Freshworks products, and startups that want a free start for chat

Messaging platform from Freshworks with a free plan, Freddy AI agent and WhatsApp, SMS and social channels.

• AI assistant
• Chatbots
• Live chat
• Multichannel messaging

Value-priced help desk with automation, a free starter program and Freddy AI

Best for: Small and mid-sized teams that want strong capability at a lower price

Freshdesk is the help desk product from Freshworks. It collects email, chat, phone and social conversations into one ticket queue and gives agents canned…

• AI assistant
• Canned responses
• Collision detection
• Knowledge base

Sales CRM with built-in phone, email and Freddy AI

Best for: Small sales teams wanting built-in communication on a budget

Freshsales is the sales CRM from Freshworks. It combines contact and deal tracking with built-in calling, email and chat, so reps can reach prospects…

• AI assistant
• Contact management
• Email and calendar sync
• Email sequences

Collaborative shared inbox for teams that live in email

Best for: Customer-facing teams that prefer a collaborative inbox over rigid tickets

Front combines email, SMS, chat and social channels into a shared inbox that feels familiar but adds assignment, internal comments, rules and analytics. Teams…

• AI assistant
• Collision detection
• Knowledge base
• Live chat

Person-centered customer service platform built around the customer, not the ticket

Best for: Established consumer brands that want a single, continuous conversation per customer

Customer-centric service platform with one continuous conversation per customer across every channel. Quote-based, enterprise-oriented pricing.

• AI assistant
• Automation
• Customer data sidebar
• Multichannel messaging

Revenue intelligence platform that records and analyses sales conversations

Best for: Established B2B sales organisations that can justify a significant platform investment

Revenue intelligence platform for sales teams. Quote-based; third-party estimates of a platform fee plus about $1,360 to $1,600 per user per year.

• AI assistant
• CRM integration
• Meeting recording
• Meeting transcription

Help desk built for ecommerce stores with deep Shopify integration

Best for: Ecommerce brands with high order-related ticket volume

Gorgias is a help desk designed for online stores. It pulls order, customer and shipping data from platforms such as Shopify into each ticket,…

• AI assistant
• Canned responses
• Customer data sidebar
• Live chat

Simple shared inbox and help desk for small support teams

Best for: Small teams that want a simple, email-first help desk

Simple shared inbox and help desk for small teams, with knowledge base, reporting and a 30-day free trial.

• AI assistant
• Knowledge base
• Reporting and analytics
• Shared inbox

Human-feeling shared inbox and help desk for small support teams

Best for: Small teams that want a human-feeling shared inbox

Help Scout is a help desk designed to feel like email rather than a ticket queue. Teams share inboxes, add internal notes, assign conversations…

• AI assistant
• Canned responses
• Collision detection
• Contact management