Customer support & chatbots

What is the best AI chatbot for customer support? Chatbase has the longest list of integrations and the most reviews of the US-based options, while Watermelon suits businesses that want EU hosting and a shared inbox for handing over to staff.

Chatbase builds no-code support agents trained on your own content for websites, WhatsApp, email, Slack and phone. It connects to Stripe, Shopify, Zendesk, HubSpot, Salesforce and Calendly, and scores 4.8 on G2 from 29 reviews, 4.3 on Capterra from 73 and 4.0 on Trustpilot from 68. Capterra reviewers rate it 4.6 for ease of use but 3.8 for customer service.

Watermelon answers web chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and phone, with a shared inbox for human handover. It answers in more than 100 languages and scores 4.5 on G2 from 102 reviews and 4.6 on Capterra from 15. G2 reviewers mention responsive support, but also that setup takes time and the bot sometimes answers wrongly.

Which AI support chatbot has a free plan? Watermelon and Weav have free plans; Chatbase and Heyy offer 7-day trials instead.

Watermelon's free plan includes 50 conversations a month, one AI agent, website scraping and a website widget with live chat, with no time limit stated. Weav's free Lite plan gives 20 AI messages a month, one teammate and 100KB of training data, and signing up needs no sales call. Chatbase's pricing page lists no free plan, so its cheapest option is Hobby at $40 a month after the trial. Heyy's Hobby plan has a 7-day trial and the pricing page says no card is required.

What is the best WhatsApp chatbot for small businesses? Heyy is built around messaging, with one shared inbox for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, SMS and web chat where AI employees answer customers and qualify leads.

Heyy's Hobby plan costs $49 a month, or $41 billed yearly, for one user, one AI employee and 1,000 credits, with unlimited contacts and full API access on every plan. Pro costs $149, or $125 yearly, for five users and two AI employees. WhatsApp message fees are charged on top, and no independent reviews could be found on Capterra, G2 or Trustpilot. Watermelon puts WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email on its €99 Starter plan rather than higher tiers, and Weav lists WhatsApp on every plan in its documentation.

Which support chatbot keeps customer data in Europe? Watermelon is hosted on Google Cloud in Europe and is ISO 27001 certified, while Chatbase and Weav store data in the US.

Watermelon prices in euros, excluding VAT, so UK costs move with the exchange rate: - Free: 50 conversations a month - Starter: €99 a month, or €84 billed yearly, for 250 conversations - Advanced: €199, or €169 yearly, for 500 conversations and advanced AI models - Business: €399, or €339 yearly, for 1,000 conversations, teams and no Watermelon branding

Chatbase hosts on AWS in the US east region and states SOC 2 Type II, GDPR support and a published DPA. Weav stores data in the US with no UK or EU option and lists no security certifications. Chatbase, Watermelon and Weav all state that customer conversations or connected data aren't used to train AI models.

How do you pay less for an AI support agent? Yearly billing saves 20% on Chatbase and Weav, 15% on Watermelon and two months on Heyy, and the bigger cost to watch is branding removal and extra messages.

Removing the Powered by badge costs $99 a month on Chatbase, $99 a month per platform on Weav, and needs the $499 Ultra plan on Heyy or the €399 Business plan on Watermelon. Extra usage adds up too: Chatbase sells 1,000 extra credits for $40, Weav 1,000 AI credits for $49, and Watermelon 250 extra conversations for €25, with its agent pausing until renewal once the allowance runs out. Chatbase's agents that run actions use two or more requests per reply. Weav costs more when billed through the Shopify App Store, at $39 to $449 a month against $29 to $359 bought direct.