Help Scout AI pricing and alternatives
Paid plans for Help Scout AI start at $25 per user per month (Standard plan), plus the AI Answers add-on at $0.75 per resolution.
What does Help Scout AI do?
Help Scout AI includes AI Answers, an agent that answers customer questions on a website or in-app. Replies draw on a knowledge base, web sources and custom instructions, with escalation to the support team. Help Scout AI also drafts replies and summarizes long threads for agents. AI Answers costs $0.75 per resolution.
What else should you know about Help Scout AI?
Help Scout AI is priced by usage. Help Scout cites SOC 2 Type II and mentions HIPAA.
| Fact | As stated | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From $25 per user per month (Standard plan), plus the AI Answers add-on at $0.75 per resolution. | Oct 17, 2026 |
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Oct 17, 2026 |
| Free plan | Yes | Oct 17, 2026 |
| Free trial | Yes | Oct 17, 2026 |
| Compliance the vendor states | SOC 2 Type II, Mentions HIPAA | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who is Help Scout AI for, and what's the catch?
Suits a small team that wants to test AI on real customers before paying per resolution: AI Answers has a 3-month free trial. Help Scout says it never trains AI with your data.
The catch: after the trial, each resolution costs $0.75 on top of Standard at $25 per user a month, so a busy month costs more. Zia in Zoho Desk has a free plan and a 15-day free trial.
What are the alternatives to Help Scout AI?
Other AI customer service software to compare with Help Scout AI are Chatling (from $21 per month, billed annually), Chatbase (from $32 per month, billed annually) and Lyro AI Agent (from $32.50 per month).
| Tool | Price as stated | Free plan or trial | Compliance it states | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatlingChatling · Vendor site | From $21 per month, billed annually | Free plan | GDPR | Oct 17, 2026 |
| ChatbaseChatbase · Vendor site | From $32 per month, billed annually | Free trial (7 days) | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, Mentions HIPAA | Oct 17, 2026 |
| Lyro AI AgentTidio · Vendor site | From $32.50 per month | Free plan, Free trial (7 days) | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, Mentions HIPAA | Oct 17, 2026 |
| HugoCrisp · Vendor site | From $45 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Not stated | Oct 17, 2026 |
| BotpressBotpress · Vendor site | From $150 per month, billed annually | Free plan, Free trial | GDPR, Mentions HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II | Oct 17, 2026 |