The short answer
A support suite, or a catalog-aware seller
AskSpot and Zendesk both help you talk to customers, but they solve different problems. Zendesk is a mature, enterprise-grade helpdesk suite – omnichannel ticketing, routing, SLAs, workforce management and Explore analytics – built for support teams at scale. AskSpot is a catalog-aware sales and support Agent: it searches your products (including by photo), helps shoppers check out inside the chat, and answers order questions across the storefront and marketplace inboxes – at a flat per-conversation price with no per-seat fees.
How the products line up: Zendesk’s AI agents answer messaging and email inside the Zendesk helpdesk. AskSpot splits the same work into two Agents – the AI Chat Agent on the storefront and the AI Inbox Agent, which can run inside Zendesk itself – and you can run them together or on their own.
Choose AskSpot if…
You want an AI that sells – catalog and photo search, in-chat checkout – and also handles support and marketplace inboxes, at a flat price with no per-seat fees.
Choose Zendesk if…
You run a large support team that needs an enterprise helpdesk – ticketing, routing, SLAs, workforce management – and you’re buying seats for people first and AI second: from $69 per agent a month for chat and email (Suite Team), with 5 AI resolutions per agent included and $2.00 for each one after that, pay-as-you-go.
Feature comparison
AskSpot vs Zendesk, capability by capability
The same 18-point rubric we score every tool on. A tick means the vendor documents it; a tilde means limited or partial; a dash means it isn’t advertised.
| Capability | AskSpot | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|
| Selling | ||
| Product search & recommendationThe shopper describes what they want and the Agent finds and recommends products from your own catalogue. | ✓ | ~ |
| Visual search by photoThe shopper uploads a photo and the Agent finds matching or similar products. | ✓ | – |
| In-chat product cards + add-to-cartReal product cards inside the chat, with add-to-cart – no leaving the conversation. | ✓ | – |
| Voice in chatThe shopper can speak a question instead of typing it – inside the website chat, not a phone line. | ✓ | – |
| Agentic checkout / copilotThe Agent can browse, choose options and take the shopper through checkout. | ✓ | ~ |
| Proactive messages & cart recoveryThe Agent reaches out at the right moment and wins back abandoned carts. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Virtual fitting room / visualizationThe shopper sees how a product looks on them or in their space before buying – a virtual try-on. | ✓ | – |
| Revenue / conversion analyticsReporting that ties chat activity to carts, orders and revenue. | ✓ | – |
| Support & reach | ||
| Order tracking (WISMO), cancels & returnsThe Agent reads order data to answer ‘where is my order?’ and handle returns. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Helpdesk / inbox agentAn AI agent that also answers support emails in your helpdesk inbox, not just live chat. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full helpdesk suite (macros, SLAs, seats)A complete seat-based helpdesk – macros, SLAs and agent seats for a support team. | – | ✓ |
| Social / messaging channelsAnswering on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and other messaging channels. | soon | ✓ |
| Marketplace inbox (Allegro, Amazon)The Agent answers buyer messages inside Allegro and Amazon marketplace inboxes. | ✓ | ~ |
| General | ||
| Grounded / low-hallucination answersAnswers stay tied to your real data, so the Agent does not make things up. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Knowledge baseCurate your own Q&A and point the Agent at your site, so it answers on-brand. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Self-learningThe AI learns from your own past conversations and tickets to improve its answers. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Onboarding & human supportA dedicated team helps you set up – including done-for-you Agent configuration – and supports you after. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free tierA permanent free plan, not just a trial or demo. | ~ | – |
| Capabilities documented (of 18) | 15 | 9 |
✓ documented~ limited / partial– not advertisedsoon on the roadmap
How AskSpot works: one Agent across two channels – its own storefront chat and your existing helpdesk inbox. It plugs into the helpdesk you already run (Freshdesk, Thulium, Zendesk, Allegro, Amazon) rather than replacing it.
Scored against each vendor’s public product, pricing and documentation pages, September 2026. AskSpot is scored on the same rubric. Self-learning (checked October 2026): Zendesk drafts help-centre articles from your last 90 days of tickets. Where AskSpot trails: Zendesk ships a full seat-based helpdesk suite, deep ticketing with routing, SLAs and workforce management, Explore analytics and a huge app marketplace.
Pricing
What each one costs
Both tools answer customers in the website chat and by email, so we price the same month of work on both sides: AskSpot’s Chat Agent and Inbox Agent together, against one Zendesk seat plus $2.00 for every automated resolution beyond the ones included. Prices in US dollars, as each vendor lists them, with euros alongside. November 2026.
AskSpot
$660 / month
(€550) for 1,000 chats + 1,000 support emails – Chat Agent and Inbox Agent together.
- AI Chat Agent: $290 (€250) a month, up to 1,250 chats – sells and supports on the storefront
- AI Inbox Agent: $370 (€300) – $150 (€120) a month plus 1,000 resolved tickets × $0.22 (€0.18)
- Then $0.22 (€0.18) per extra chat or resolved ticket; background actions such as drafts or tagging $0.06 (€0.05)
- No seat fees; run either Agent on its own
Zendesk
$4,059 / month
(≈ €3,758) for the same 1,000 chats + 1,000 support emails – one Suite Team seat + AI resolutions.
- Seats, monthly: Support Team $25 · Suite Team $69 · Suite Professional $149 per agent (≈ €23 / €64 / €138); lower when billed yearly
- AI agents included in every plan, with 5 automated resolutions per agent a month (10 on Professional)
- Then $2.00 (≈ €1.85) per automated resolution pay-as-you-go, or $1.50 (≈ €1.39) committed
- Copilot agent-assist is $50 (≈ €46) per agent a month, billed yearly
| All-in cost / month | AskSpot | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 chats + 1,000 support emails | $660 (€550) – Chat $290 + Inbox $370 | $4,059 (≈ €3,758) – Suite Team $69 + 1,995 × $2.00 |
| 2,000 chats + 2,000 support emails | $1,045 (€865) – Chat $455 + Inbox $590 | $8,059 (≈ €7,462) – Suite Team $69 + 3,995 × $2.00 |
| Support emails only – 1,000 | $370 (€300) – Inbox Agent only | $2,015 (≈ €1,865) – Support Team $25 + 995 × $2.00 |
| Chats only – 1,000 | $290 (€250) – Chat Agent only | $2,059 (≈ €1,906) – Suite Team $69 + 995 × $2.00 |
Zendesk’s AI agents answer messaging and email inside its helpdesk, priced per agent seat plus every automated resolution beyond the 5 per agent included each month. The table uses one seat at monthly prices and the pay-as-you-go rate of $2.00 (≈ €1.85), and counts every conversation as resolved by AI – the most Zendesk would bill; committing to a volume brings the rate to $1.50 (≈ €1.39), about a quarter less. AskSpot’s Chat Agent covers up to 1,250 chats for $290, and its Inbox Agent costs $150 a month plus $0.22 per resolved ticket; you can run either one on its own, with no seat fees. AskSpot’s Inbox Agent can also run inside Zendesk itself. Zendesk figures are monthly list prices in US dollars from its pricing page, with euros at €1 ≈ $1.08; AskSpot’s dollar and euro prices are both list prices. November 2026.
The honest split
Where each tool is stronger
AskSpot is stronger at
- Selling from the catalog – text and photo product search
- Helping the shopper check out inside the chat (agentic copilot)
- Virtual fitting room and product visualization
- Answering in the Allegro and Amazon marketplace inboxes
- Answering in 200+ languages on the same catalogue and order data
- Flat, predictable pricing – no per-seat fees, no metered AI
Zendesk is stronger at
- Deep, mature ticketing for a large support team
- Routing, SLAs and workforce management
- Explore reporting and support analytics
- A huge app and integration marketplace
- Omnichannel support at enterprise scale
- Agent-assist (Copilot) for human agents
See AskSpot on your own catalogue
Start a free trial today, no credit card required, and set it up in the panel – or book a demo and we’ll set it up on your products for you.
One platform, two Agents
The AI Chat & Inbox Agents
AskSpot is two Agents on one platform – the on-site AI Chat Agent that sells from your own catalogue, and the AI Inbox Agent that answers across your helpdesk and marketplace inboxes, in 200+ languages.
spotBy industry
Which industry are you in?
Every vertical asks different questions – see how AskSpot answers them from your store’s own catalogue.
Proof
Stores already running AskSpot
How Morele.net cut customer service costs by 90%
Morele.net cut support costs 90%, from 50 agents to 5. AskSpot resolves 65% of its 37,600 monthly chats with no human and answers Allegro questions too.
Read the story →
How Militaria resolves 72% of chats in 8 languages
Militaria.pl runs AskSpot across three domains in eight languages: 61% recommendation click-through, 26% add-to-cart after a chat, 72% resolved with no human.
Read the story →
How 4FIZJO resolves 61% of customer chats with AI
AskSpot's AI Chat resolves 61% of 4FIZJO's 21,360 monthly chats with no human across 6 markets; its Inbox Agent auto-resolves 25% of email tickets.
Read the story →
How Ogrodosfera turns garden questions into €412,000 a month
A pergola is bought on specs, not on a whim. Ogrodosfera's AskSpot Agent answers dimensions, materials and wind ratings – €412,000/mo in chat orders.
Read the story →
How PHH Group handles 56,000 marketplace chats a month
PHH Group runs AskSpot across pigu.lt, 220.lv, kaup24.ee and hobbyhall.fi – 56,000 conversations a month, 43% in the native apps, 55% resolved by AI.
Read the story →
How Senetic turns 19.5% of technical IT chats into cart-adds
Senetic's AskSpot Agent answers port, PoE and compatibility questions across seven European storefronts. 19.5% add to cart, 8.1% buy, 62% resolved by AI.
Read the story →
See every story
Every merchant we have measured – what shoppers asked, what the agent did, and the numbers it moved.
Browse them all →
Testimonials
What our customers say
“AskSpot enables us to provide superior support for Ariston customers at every stage – from pre-purchase advice to post-sale and service assistance. Equally important, Ariston benefits from the valuable insights AskSpot delivers about customer preferences, which help us continuously improve the customer experience.”
“AskSpot is a revolutionary solution for us. We provide our customers with the key information they need instantly while simultaneously reducing the workload of customer service.”
“AskSpot has significantly improved customer service in our stores. The assistant not only searches the product catalog and helps customers choose the right hardware, but also automatically checks the status of orders and complaints – relieving the team and shortening response times.
The greatest value for us is the scalability of the solution and the ease of integration with additional stores and markets. We treat AskSpot as a strategic component of our customer experience development and sales automation.”
“We have been impressed by how AskSpot delivers a seamless experience for our customers while remaining incredibly intuitive for our own team to manage.
Beyond the ease of use, the detailed analytics and reports are of enormous value – they help us make better decisions around customer satisfaction. Behind AskSpot stands a team that puts innovation first and keeps developing the product to match changing business needs.”
“First and foremost, it relieves the store staff from constantly answering the same, trivial questions. As a result, when a customer genuinely needs help, they are immediately directed to a team that has the time, energy, and ability to assist them properly. … People frequently ask the same questions in similar ways, such as whether the store is open or if guitars have strings. For such questions, this chat is ideal.”
“I really like how easy it was to configure and launch AskSpot. … It presents products nicely, it features the most important product attributes, and the add to cart button within the chat really helps shorten the customer’s purchase journey. The AI quickly finds and suggests the best product to customers, saving a lot of time compared to humans.”
See every testimonial
Read what the e-commerce teams who put AskSpot live say about working with it.
Check all the testimonials →
FAQ
AskSpot vs Zendesk – common questions
Is AskSpot better than Zendesk?
It depends on the job. Zendesk is a mature enterprise helpdesk suite – ticketing, routing, SLAs, workforce management and Explore analytics for support at scale. AskSpot is a catalog-aware Agent that sells (product search including by photo, in-chat checkout) and supports across the storefront and marketplace inboxes. For enterprise support operations Zendesk reaches further; for selling and e-commerce support in one Agent, AskSpot does more.
How much does Zendesk cost?
Zendesk seats are per agent, per month: Support Team $25, Suite Team $69 and Suite Professional $149 billed monthly (≈ €23, €64 and €138), lower when billed yearly, and Suite Enterprise on quote. AI agents are included in every plan with 5 automated resolutions per agent a month (10 on Professional); after that each automated resolution costs $2.00 (≈ €1.85) pay-as-you-go or $1.50 (≈ €1.39) committed. The Copilot agent-assist add-on is $50 (≈ €46) per agent a month, and there is no free tier. Checked November 2026 – see Zendesk’s pricing page for current rates.
Does Zendesk have photo search or in-chat checkout?
Not as advertised on its public pages as of September 2026. Zendesk is a helpdesk suite: its conversational search runs over your knowledge base and articles, not your product catalogue, and visual (photo) product search, in-chat product cards, add-to-cart and agentic checkout are not documented features. AskSpot offers all of them.
Can AskSpot handle support like Zendesk?
For e-commerce support, yes – AskSpot answers order-status, cancellation and return questions, runs an inbox / email Agent, and additionally covers the Allegro and Amazon marketplace inboxes. It is not a full enterprise helpdesk suite with routing, SLAs and workforce management the way Zendesk is – that is where Zendesk reaches further.
What is the best Zendesk alternative for e-commerce?
If you want an AI that sells from the catalogue and supports across the storefront and marketplaces, AskSpot is a strong Zendesk alternative. It reads your catalogue and order data, works on every major e-commerce platform, and prices flat with no per-seat fees. Zendesk remains the stronger choice if what you need is a large-scale enterprise support desk.
Comparisons
How AskSpot compares
See how AskSpot stacks up against the other AI chat and support tools for online stores – same rubric, real pricing.