The ultimate guide to choosing a Gorgias chatbot in 2026

If you're running an ecommerce brand, you probably use (and love) Gorgias. It’s fantastic at pulling all your customer conversations into one place and it works beautifully with Shopify. But as your store starts to take off, you run into a new kind of challenge: more sales mean a flood of support tickets.

Suddenly, your team is buried, and customers are starting to expect 24/7 support, which is a common standard in 2026.

The standard Gorgias chat is a reliable and strong starting point, and its rules-based automation is great for consistency. As you grow, you might look for even smarter ways to handle incoming questions. This guide will walk you through your options, from Gorgias’s own powerful tools to more advanced AI chatbots, so you can find a solution that grows with your business while keeping your team's workflow intact.

What is a Gorgias chatbot?

When you hear someone mention a "Gorgias chatbot," they could be talking about one of two very different things. Getting this distinction right helps you plan for your team and your budget.

1. Gorgias's built-in automation features: These are the reliable tools that come with the Gorgias platform. They include efficient Rules, Macros, and the paid "Automate" add-on. They're excellent for standardizing responses and speeding up repetitive tasks within your helpdesk.

2. Third-party AI integrations: These are specialized AI platforms that plug into your Gorgias account to add another layer of capability. They offer features like natural language understanding and the ability to learn from past support tickets, essentially acting as an AI agent that works directly inside your Gorgias workspace.

Understanding these options is the first step toward building a world-class support experience. Let's dig into what you get with each.

Understanding the native Gorgias chatbot and automation features

Gorgias provides a mature and robust foundation for customer support. Its automation is designed to be highly reliable, helping your human agents work with greater focus and speed by handling routine elements of the support process.

The standard Gorgias live chat

At its core, Gorgias offers a real-time, human-powered live chat widget for your store. It’s lightweight, fast, and pulls in a ton of customer data from Shopify, giving your agents the context they need to solve problems with a personal touch.

Gorgias's chat is built for high-quality human interaction. While it is primarily designed for when agents are online, it ensures that when a customer does reach a human, the agent has everything they need to succeed. For teams wanting to bridge the gap during off-hours, adding an AI layer can be a great way to extend Gorgias's utility.

Basic Gorgias chatbot automation with rules and macros

To keep things efficient, Gorgias includes Rules and Macros. Rules are reliable "if-this-then-that" commands. For example, you can automatically tag a ticket with "Shipping Question" if it contains the word "tracking." Macros are pre-written responses that allow agents to provide consistent, high-quality answers to common questions without starting from scratch every time.

The Gorgias chatbot Automate add-on

For teams looking for more self-service power, Gorgias offers the Automate add-on. This unlocks features like a self-service portal where customers can track or return orders on their own, as well as button-based chat guides (Flows) and automatic article suggestions.

This is a great native option for teams that want a deeply integrated experience. The pricing is based on the number of automated resolutions, typically around $0.90 each. This model ensures you are paying for actual results, making it a scalable choice for many stores. For those who prefer a different cost structure, platforms like eesel AI offer flat-rate pricing as a complementary alternative that works right alongside your Gorgias setup.

The world of third-party Gorgias chatbot integrations

Because Gorgias is such a central part of the ecommerce ecosystem, many third-party apps have been built to enhance its capabilities. Brands often look for AI that can understand nuanced customer questions and resolve them automatically. You can find many options in the Gorgias app store, from tools like PerfectBot to Manifest AI.

While these tools offer great potential, there are a few factors to keep in mind when choosing an integration:

• Setup requirements: Some enterprise-level tools may involve longer onboarding processes to ensure the AI is perfectly tuned to your brand.

• Knowledge sources: Many bots focus on your help center articles. To get the most out of your AI, you might look for solutions that can also learn from your past tickets and internal documentation.

• Workflow integration: It's important to choose an AI that respects the native Gorgias experience so your agents can continue working in the environment they know and love.

This is where a modern platform like eesel AI serves as a great companion to Gorgias. It’s designed to be easily set up by your own team, letting you go live in minutes, not months. It connects your existing company knowledge - from your historical Gorgias tickets to your internal guides in Google Docs - to make your support even more effective.

How to choose the right Gorgias chatbot

Picking the right Gorgias chatbot is about finding the best digital assistant for your support team. Here are a few things to look for when evaluating your options.

Ease of setup and implementation

What you should look for: An ideal tool allows you to connect your helpdesk quickly and begin testing the AI's performance without a long, drawn-out implementation phase.

The common challenge: Some specialized AI tools can take weeks to configure properly. It’s helpful to find a solution where you can see the value and fit early in the process.

How eesel AI works with Gorgias: eesel AI is completely self-serve. You can connect Gorgias in a single click and use the simulation mode to see how the AI performs. This feature lets you test the AI on your real, historical tickets in a risk-free environment. You can see exactly how it would have replied and understand your potential ROI before it ever interacts with a customer.

Intelligence and learning capability

What you should look for: The AI should be able to learn from a wide range of sources, including the real-world wisdom found in your team's past customer conversations.

The common challenge: Some chatbots are limited to a static knowledge base. If a customer's question isn't in your FAQ, the bot might not be able to help.

How eesel AI enhances Gorgias: eesel AI is built to unify your knowledge. It trains on your past Gorgias tickets, your macros, and even internal resources like Google Docs or Notion. This helps ensure the answers it provides are accurate, on-brand, and capable of handling the unique questions your team has already mastered.

Customization and control

What you should look for: You should have clear control over what the AI handles, when it brings in a human, and what actions it can perform.

The common challenge: Some AI tools can feel difficult to manage or fine-tune, which can make it hard to ensure the customer experience is exactly what you want it to be.

How eesel AI provides control: eesel AI provides a fully customizable workflow engine that keeps you in the driver's seat. You can define the AI's personality, set rules for which topics it should automate (like shipping updates), and build custom AI Actions. This allows the bot to look up order details from Shopify and update Gorgias ticket fields, acting as a true extension of your team.

A clear look at pricing

Understanding the pricing models for Gorgias and its integrations helps you choose the best fit for your budget.

Gorgias pricing

Gorgias offers several tiers to match the needs of different team sizes.

Plan	Price (Monthly)	Billable Tickets Included
Starter	$10/mo	50
Basic	$60/mo	300
Pro	$360/mo	2,000
Advanced	$900/mo	5,000

This pricing was sourced from the official Gorgias pricing page and reflects their current tiered structure.

The Gorgias Automate add-on is available for teams wanting native AI features. This model uses a per-resolution fee, which is a great way to ensure you are paying for successful outcomes as your store grows.

The eesel AI alternative

eesel AI offers a complementary model with flat-rate subscriptions, including their AI Agent, Copilot, Triage, and Chatbot.

Plan	Price (Monthly)	Key Feature
Team	$299/mo	Train on docs, Slack/Teams integration
Business	$799/mo	Train on past tickets, custom AI Actions
Custom	Contact Sales	Advanced controls & integrations

This flat-rate approach provides predictable monthly billing, which some teams prefer for long-term planning. It works seamlessly alongside your Gorgias subscription to provide extra AI power.

This video introduces the Gorgias AI Agent, showcasing how it can serve as a powerful Gorgias chatbot for your team.

Give Gorgias a boost with a truly smart Gorgias chatbot

Gorgias is an excellent helpdesk that serves as the gold standard for ecommerce support. Its native automation tools are reliable and provide a great foundation for any support team. To further enhance these capabilities, many brands choose to add a specialized AI layer.

By choosing a solution that is easy to implement, learns from your existing data, and offers clear pricing, you can make your Gorgias setup even more powerful.

eesel AI is a platform that complements Gorgias perfectly, letting you launch a capable AI agent for Gorgias in very little time. You can improve your existing tools and provide even better support without changing your core workflow.

Ready to see how an AI-powered Gorgias chatbot can support your store? Start your free eesel AI trial today and see it in action with your own data.