7 best Chatty alternatives for Shopify stores in 2026

Chatty alternatives at a glance

I build the AI agents at eesel, so when I compare these tools I care less about the feature grid and more about the mechanism underneath: what the AI reads, what it bills for, and what happens when it doesn't know. That is what this table tracks. Prices are list prices from each vendor's own pricing page, checked on 21 October 2026.

The tidy way to read this table is by column four from the right. Chatty, Tidio and Shopify Inbox run the AI inside their own chat widget. Gorgias, Re:amaze, Richpanel and Zendesk run it inside their own helpdesk, which you'd move to. eesel is the odd one out: it works inside whichever helpdesk you already pay for.

Why Shopify stores look past Chatty

Credit where it's due first. Chatty holds a 4.9 rating from 1,882 reviews on its Shopify App Store listing, and its pricing is gentle: Free at $0 with 50 AI conversations, Basic at $19.99, Pro at $68.99 and Plus at $199, with human chats unlimited on every plan. The AI is built to sell, with product recommendations, add-to-cart and order tracking in the chat window. I went through all of it in my Chatty review and the plan-by-plan Chatty pricing breakdown.

The reasons to look elsewhere sit outside the chat window.

• The helpdesk is new. Chatty added email tickets, priorities, assignees and internal notes in October 2026. Its own helpdesk page lists SLA policies, macros, automation rules and helpdesk reports as not yet available, and tickets don't yet open automatically from WhatsApp, Instagram or Messenger.
• The AI can't learn from your support history yet. Chatty trains on products, store data, FAQs, URLs, files and custom scenarios. "Customer service conversation history" is marked coming soon in its training docs. For a store with years of tickets, that is the richest source left unused.
• Security reviews stall. Chatty's AI compliance page states it does not hold SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27701 or PCI DSS certification.
• The overage adds up on the wrong plan. Extra AI conversations cost $0.40 each on paid plans. Chatty's own calculator shows Basic at 500 AI conversations costing $179.99, which is $111 more than Pro.

None of these are knocks on what Chatty set out to do. It says plainly that it builds AI "to close deals." If your volume is mostly pre-sale chat, it may still be the right tool. If most of your messages are "where is my order", returns and complaints, you're running a support desk, and that is where the alternatives below differ.

How I picked these Chatty alternatives

Before drafting, I asked ChatGPT the question a Shopify merchant would ask ("I use Chatty for live chat and the AI chatbot, what are good alternatives?") in two fresh chats. Both times it named the same five: Tidio, Gorgias, Re:amaze, Richpanel and Shopify Inbox. Those are the tools buyers are being sent to, so all five are here, plus Zendesk for larger teams and eesel for stores that want to keep their helpdesk.

I scored each one on four things:

1. What the AI reads. Catalog and policies only, or past tickets too.
2. What it bills for. A conversation, a resolution, a seat, or a credit. These are different units, and the cheapest-looking one isn't always cheapest.
3. How deep the Shopify link goes. Showing an order in a sidebar is different from the AI looking it up before it answers.
4. What happens at the handoff. Whether a person gets the ticket with context, or starts from zero.

Every price comes from the vendor's own pricing page or Shopify App Store listing. Where a vendor only shows a number inside a calculator, I say so instead of guessing.

Pick your reason for leaving Chatty

Each reason points to a different tool. Pick the one closest to yours.

Pick the reason closest to yours; each card names one tool and the price that applies.

1. eesel

Best for: stores that already run Gorgias, Zendesk or Freshdesk and want AI that learns from their own past tickets.

I'm biased here, since I build the agents, so I'll stick to the mechanism. eesel is an AI helpdesk teammate rather than another chat app. It joins the support queue you already work in (Gorgias, Zendesk or Freshdesk), connects to Shopify, and also runs a chat bubble on your store if you want one.

How it compares to Chatty

Chatty's AI reads your catalog, FAQs and the files you give it. eesel reads those too, plus the thing Chatty hasn't shipped yet: your past tickets and macros. That matters because a store's real return rules, exceptions and tone live in old replies, not the FAQ page. I wrote up why in training AI on past tickets.

The other difference is how you roll it out. Before anything goes live, I run the agent against a batch of historical tickets and read what it would have said. On one trial with a German jewelry brand on Zendesk and Shopify (about 1,000 tickets a month across 8 languages), that check showed 22% of the inbox was spam, and the agent flagged all of it with zero false positives. It also showed agents sent only 12% of drafts unchanged, because they rewrote long drafts into one to three sentences. You want to learn both of those things before customers see a single reply, which is the point of testing before launch.

Pricing

Overage is optional and costs $0.80 a credit with a cap you set; otherwise agents pause until credits reset. Details are on the eesel pricing page. The security page says the SOC 2 Type II observation period started on 1 October 2026, so the audit is in progress, not complete.

Pros

• Learns from past tickets, macros and help center content, not only the catalog
• Works inside the helpdesk you keep, so there's no migration
• Simulation on historical tickets before go-live
• No per-seat fee

Cons

• It isn't a helpdesk. If you don't have one, you either use the chat bubble alone or pick a helpdesk too
• $299 a month is a bigger first step than Chatty's $19.99 Basic plan
• SOC 2 Type II is in progress, not finished

Verdict

Pick eesel if your Chatty problem is that the AI doesn't know your support history. Climbing apparel brand Rúngne runs three eesel agents on its Gorgias queue (one triages, one drafts, one answers plain questions) and handled about 2,100 tickets in a month.

2. Gorgias

Best for: Shopify brands that want one helpdesk for email, chat and social, with order actions built in.

Gorgias is the default answer for Shopify support teams, and ChatGPT called it the pick for "growing Shopify brands". It pulls Shopify customer and order data into the ticket so agents can refund, cancel or edit an order without leaving the conversation. My Gorgias review covers the helpdesk in depth.

How it compares to Chatty

Gorgias is a full helpdesk with the things Chatty's helpdesk page lists as missing: rules, macros and reporting. Its AI Agent covers pre-purchase and post-purchase questions, and the Shopify integration lets it act on orders. The tradeoff is the bill. Chatty charges for the app plus a flat AI allowance. Gorgias charges for tickets and, separately, for each automated interaction.

Pricing

Annual billing lowers the helpdesk price (Basic $50, Pro $300, Advanced $750 a month). Figures from the Gorgias pricing page. For worked examples at different volumes, see Gorgias AI Agent pricing.

Pros

• Purpose-built for Shopify, with order actions inside the ticket
• Full helpdesk: macros, rules, reporting, help center
• Lists SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA on its security page

Cons

• Two meters (tickets and automated interactions) make the monthly bill harder to predict
• No free plan, only a free trial
• At high AI volume, $0.85 to $1.00 per interaction costs more than Chatty's $0.40 overage

Verdict

Gorgias is the right move when Chatty's helpdesk is what you've outgrown. If you'd rather keep Gorgias's helpdesk but want AI that reads your old tickets, Question Beauty shows the combined setup: eesel handles Messenger, email and chat tickets inside Gorgias and looked up about 290 Shopify orders in a month. More options are in my Gorgias alternatives list.

3. Tidio

Best for: stores that want a chat widget plus an AI agent without moving to a full helpdesk.

Tidio is the closest like-for-like swap for Chatty, and ChatGPT called it the "best overall direct replacement." It combines live chat, the Lyro AI agent and Flows (rule-based chatbots) in one widget, with ticketing and a mobile app. On the Shopify App Store it holds a 4.8 from 1,356 reviews.

How it compares to Chatty

Both tools live in a storefront widget and both have product-aware AI. The difference is packaging. Tidio sells three products (Customer Service, Lyro and Flows) that you can buy separately, and Lyro can be bought on its own to sit on top of other helpdesks such as Zendesk. Tidio also only bills a "billable conversation" when a human replies; Lyro and Flows replies don't count toward that meter, per its pricing FAQ. I cover the details in my Tidio review.

Pricing

Higher Lyro tiers are priced in an on-page calculator. Every account starts with 50 Lyro conversations, but those only refresh monthly on a Lyro plan. My Tidio pricing post walks through the ladder.

Pros

• Closest experience to Chatty for shoppers
• Free plan with live chat, Flows and ticketing
• Lyro can also run on top of another helpdesk
• SOC 2 report listed on its security page

Cons

• Three separate meters (human conversations, Lyro conversations, Flows visitors) to track
• Up to 10 agents on self-serve plans
• Lyro's past-ticket learning isn't described on the pricing page

Verdict

Choose Tidio if you like Chatty's shape and want more mature chatbot tooling. It doesn't solve the "we need a real helpdesk" problem any better than Chatty does, and my Tidio alternatives list covers where to go if it doesn't fit.

4. Shopify Inbox

Best for: small stores that want free storefront chat with an AI agent, built by Shopify itself.

Shopify Inbox is free and now positions itself as "an AI sales associate for your online store." It has a 4.6 rating from 5,807 reviews on its Shopify App Store listing, and the listing names 21 supported languages.

How it compares to Chatty

Shopify's Inbox help page says the opt-in Inbox agent answers questions about products, shipping, returns, sizing and policies from your catalog, store policies, Knowledge Base facts and files, and published store content. It can personalize recommendations from a shopper's preferences and purchase history when they're signed in with Shop. You train it by rating chats.

That's a lot of what Chatty's AI does, for free. What you don't get: email, Instagram, WhatsApp or Messenger, ticketing, or any helpdesk features. It's storefront chat with a capable AI attached.

Pricing

Pros

• Free, native, and set up from your Shopify admin
• AI uses Shop sign-in data for personal recommendations
• Built-in analytics on orders assisted and buyer satisfaction

Cons

• Online store chat only, no email or social channels
• No ticketing, SLAs or macros
• Training is limited to rating chats and adding knowledge, not importing past support history

Verdict

If you're on Chatty's Free or Basic plan mainly for AI product questions, test Shopify Inbox first. It may cover you at $0. For more on setting it up, see Shopify Inbox chat settings.

5. Re:amaze

Best for: teams running several brands or channels from one inbox.

Re:amaze, now a GoDaddy brand, is a helpdesk with live chat, chatbots, a FAQ center, push campaigns and status pages. It has a 4.4 rating from 181 reviews on its Shopify App Store listing.

How it compares to Chatty

Re:amaze gives you the helpdesk depth Chatty is still building: workflow automation (macros), response templates and reporting on every plan. Its Pro plan adds multiple brands in one account, a live view of site visitors, and SMS and voice channels. The AI Agent bills by resolution rather than by conversation, with a small number included per seat. I go deeper in my Re:amaze review.

Pricing

Trials last 14 days and include all Plus features. Source: Re:amaze pricing. There's a fuller breakdown in my Re:amaze pricing post.

Pros

• Multi-brand management on Pro
• Macros and response templates on every plan
• Per-resolution AI billing, so unresolved chats don't count

Cons

• Per-seat pricing grows with team size, where Chatty charges per store
• Included AI resolutions are small (5 to 20 per user a month)
• No security certifications are listed on its security page

Verdict

Re:amaze fits a team that juggles brands and channels and wants a predictable seat price. If you want to keep Re:amaze and upgrade its AI instead, see my Re:amaze AI alternatives.

6. Richpanel

Best for: high-volume stores where order tracking, returns and cancellations eat most of the day.

Richpanel is a helpdesk built around self-service. Customers can track, return or cancel an order through a portal before they ever open a ticket. ChatGPT pointed to it for "high-volume post-purchase support," which matches how Richpanel sells itself.

How it compares to Chatty

Chatty's AI handles order tracking inside the chat. Richpanel goes a step further on the post-purchase side, with a self-service portal and AI agents that, per its pricing page, resolve refunds, order tracking, cancellations and subscription changes, "trained on your policies and history." Channels cover email, live chat, SMS, phone, Facebook, Instagram and reviews.

Pricing

All subscriptions are on yearly contracts. My Richpanel pricing post has the history of the plan changes.

Pros

• Self-service portal cuts "where is my order" tickets before they start
• Refund guarantee if it misses 50% automation in 30 days with the setup add-on
• SOC 2 Type II, audited annually, per its trust page

Cons

• Yearly contracts only
• AI agent pricing sits in a calculator, not a published rate card
• Per-agent pricing, where Chatty charges per store

Verdict

Richpanel makes sense once post-purchase volume is the bottleneck and you're ready for an annual commitment. For other directions, see my Richpanel alternatives.

7. Zendesk

Best for: larger teams that need many channels, deep reporting and enterprise controls.

Zendesk isn't Shopify-native, but it's the helpdesk many stores grow into, and it connects to Shopify through apps. Chatty itself lists Zendesk as an integration, saving resolved Chatty chats as Zendesk tickets.

How it compares to Chatty

It's a much bigger tool: email, messaging, phone, routing, sandboxes and custom permissions. AI agents bill per automated resolution, meaning only requests the AI resolved without a human. Each plan includes a few per agent each month. My Zendesk review covers the rest.

Pricing

Included resolutions cap at 10,000 a year, and Copilot is a $50 per agent add-on. Source: Zendesk pricing. More detail in Zendesk AI pricing.

Pros

• The widest channel and reporting coverage on this list
• HIPAA-enabled with a BAA on Enterprise
• Only resolved requests bill against the AI meter

Cons

• Highest per-resolution AI price here
• Per-agent pricing adds up for a small store
• Shopify depth depends on marketplace apps

Verdict

Zendesk is overkill for most stores leaving Chatty, but it's where you land if support is becoming a department. Coffee retailer Cape Coffee Beans runs Zendesk with eesel on top, which sweeps the queue every morning and looks products up in Shopify inside the ticket. If you're comparing the two big helpdesks, read Gorgias vs Zendesk.

What 500 AI-handled conversations cost on each tool

Per-unit AI prices look close until you multiply them. Here's the same month on each tool: 500 conversations the AI handles, a three-person team, monthly list prices, and the assumption that all 500 count on the vendor's meter.

Two honest takeaways. First, Chatty and Shopify Inbox are the cheapest ways to put AI in a chat window, so if price is your only complaint, staying put is a reasonable answer. Second, the per-resolution tools (Re:amaze, Gorgias, Zendesk) only bill for what the AI actually resolved. If only 60% of those 500 resolve, their totals drop, which is the gap I explain in deflection vs resolution rate.

How to test a Chatty alternative before you switch

ChatGPT's own advice on this question was sensible, and it matches what I do on every eesel rollout: run the same 30 to 50 real customer questions through Chatty and two alternatives. Here's the version I'd use.

1. Pull real questions, not invented ones. Take 50 recent chats and tickets, weighted the way your volume actually is. For most stores that means plenty of order tracking, some refunds and returns, and a few pre-purchase questions.
2. Score accuracy, not fluency. Every AI here writes a confident sentence. Check whether the order status, return window and product answer are actually right.
3. Check what the AI does versus what it explains. Can it look up the order, or does it tell the customer how to look it up?
4. Test the handoff. Ask for a person mid-chat and see what the human receives. A good AI agent handoff passes a summary and the order, not a blank thread.
5. Price it at your volume. Use the table above with your own numbers, and include the helpdesk you'd still pay for.

If you're moving off Chatty entirely, my guide to switching AI support vendors covers running both in parallel so nothing drops during the move.

Try eesel for your Shopify support queue

Most stores leaving Chatty don't need another chat widget. They need the AI to handle tickets the way their best agent would. eesel is an AI helpdesk teammate that joins the Gorgias, Zendesk or Freshdesk queue you already run, connects to Shopify, learns from your past tickets and macros, and hands refunds and complaints to a person with notes on what it found.

That's the setup at STIL Classics, a planner and stationery brand on Gorgias and Shopify. In one month eesel prepared about 320 tickets, looked up about 230 Shopify orders before drafting, and left about 430 draft replies for a person to check and send. You can connect your store through the eesel Shopify integration, run it against your own past tickets first, and start on the free plan with 100 credits. Try eesel