The ultimate guide to Intercom AI in 2025

Let's be real: AI in customer support isn't just a buzzword anymore, it's pretty much table stakes. In this new world, Intercom has made a big splash with its AI agent, Fin. But with all the sleek marketing and perfect demos, it’s hard to tell what’s actually useful and what’s just hype.

That's why we're writing this. We're going to take an honest, in-depth look at what Intercom AI really does, what it’s actually going to cost you, and where it might let you down. We'll get into its main features, unpack that per-resolution pricing model, and talk about the big limitations you should think about before you sign on the dotted line. We’ll also show you another option for teams that want more flexibility and a predictable bill, without having to change their entire way of working.

What is Intercom AI?

When you hear "Intercom AI," people are almost always talking about Fin, the company's big-shot AI agent. Basically, Fin is built to give automated, human-sounding answers to customer questions. It works across all the channels you're probably already using, like live chat, email, and social media.

It runs on some pretty advanced tech, including OpenAI's GPT-4, which lets it understand the context of a conversation and handle some surprisingly tricky questions.

But Fin isn't your average chatbot. It's pitched as a complete system you can train, test, and set up to be your first line of defense in support. You can use it as part of the full Intercom suite or as a standalone agent that plugs into other helpdesks like Zendesk or Salesforce. It's a powerful piece of kit, but that power comes with some serious strings attached.

The features of Intercom AI: A closer look

Intercom has loaded Fin up with a bunch of features, and they’ve grouped them into a few key areas. Let’s break down what they actually mean for you and your support team.

Intercom AI training and knowledge sources

Like any AI, Fin has to learn from your company's documents to give decent answers. It can pull from different types of content, and you can tweak its personality to match your brand's voice, which is a nice feature.

But here’s the thing. Fin is really biased towards knowledge that lives inside Intercom's own help center articles. As many people have discovered, this becomes a huge problem if your team's knowledge is spread out across tools you actually use, like Google Docs or Confluence. To get Fin working right, you often have to start with a massive, soul-crushing content migration project. That’s a whole lot of work to do before you even see if the thing works.

Intercom AI custom actions and workflows

This is where Intercom AI starts to look pretty impressive. A feature called "Fin Tasks" lets the AI do more than just talk; it can actually do things. We're talking about processing a refund, checking an order status, or updating a customer's details, all without a human agent needing to get involved.

For companies with a lot of clear, repeatable tasks, this kind of automation can be a huge help. It can potentially solve complex problems on the spot, which could really improve your resolution times and let your team focus on more interesting work.

This video provides an overview of Fin, the AI Agent for customer service, highlighting its capabilities in delivering high-quality answers and resolving complex queries.

Testing and deploying Intercom AI

You're not going to let a new AI loose on your customers without seeing how it behaves first, right? Intercom gives you some tools for this, like answer inspection and audience testing, so your team can look over and adjust the AI's responses before they go live.

When you're happy with it, you can roll Fin out across your channels, including chat and email. They've also added "Fin Voice" to bring automation to phone support, which is a bold move for teams that still get a lot of calls.

Intercom AI analytics and reporting

You need to know if the money you're spending is actually paying off. Intercom AI gives you a bunch of reports to track Fin's performance, see metrics like how many issues it's solving, and find gaps in your help docs. The idea is to use this data to keep making the AI smarter and more effective over time.

The real cost: Intercom AI pricing and its limitations

The features sound great on paper, but the way Intercom charges for them, along with a few built-in headaches, is where many teams get stuck. It’s one thing to have cool tech; it’s another for it to make sense for your budget and your workflow.

Breaking down the Intercom AI pricing model

Intercom's pricing for Fin revolves around one number: $0.99 per resolution. An AI "resolution" happens when a customer clicks "yes, this solved my problem," or if they just stop replying after the AI's last message.

On top of that, you have to pay for seats on the Intercom helpdesk platform. Or, if you use Fin with another helpdesk, you have to commit to a minimum monthly spend.

Here’s a simple breakdown based on their official Intercom Pricing Page:

Plan Component	Cost	Notes
Fin AI Agent Resolution	$0.99 / resolution	The main usage-based cost.
Standalone Fin Minimum	50 resolutions / month	Minimum spend if you don't use Intercom's helpdesk.
Intercom Helpdesk Seat (Essential)	$29 / seat / month	You need this to use Fin with Intercom.
Intercom Helpdesk Seat (Advanced)	$85 / seat / month	For teams needing more automation features.
Intercom Helpdesk Seat (Expert)	$132 / seat / month	For large teams with more security needs.

The biggest problem with this model is that it creates unpredictable costs that grow as you get better. The more issues your AI solves, the more resolutions it racks up, and the bigger your bill gets. It’s a strange model that almost feels like it's penalizing you for being efficient.

Key Intercom AI limitations to think about

Aside from the price tag, there are a few other issues that can make Intercom AI a tough sell for some teams.

• Knowledge Base Lock-in: We mentioned this before, but it’s a big deal. Forcing teams to move all of their carefully crafted knowledge into Intercom Articles is a massive request. Most companies have spent years building wikis and processes in tools like Notion, Confluence, or shared Google Drives. Calling this "setup" ignores the fact that it's a huge migration project that eats up time and money, pushing back the moment you get any value from the AI.

• No "Try Before You Buy" on Your Own Data: While Intercom has some testing tools, you can't really get a good feel for how it will perform before you flip the switch and the meter starts running. Imagine if you could test the AI on thousands of your past tickets to get a solid forecast of your resolution rate and costs. That’s the kind of confidence you want before you commit, and it's missing here.

• The "Rip and Replace" Mentality: Even though Fin can technically work with other helpdesks, the whole system is built to suck you deeper into the Intercom world. It’s not meant to be a simple, flexible layer that makes your current tools better. Instead, it nudges you to move your whole operation over to their platform, which might not be what your team wants or needs.

A more flexible and affordable Intercom AI alternative

If those limitations sound painfully familiar, you’re not the only one. It’s why eesel AI was built with a totally different idea in mind: to work with your existing setup, not force you into a new one. It’s designed to tackle the exact headaches of knowledge lock-in, unpredictable bills, and messy implementations.

Unify your knowledge, don't move it

First things first, eesel AI solves the "knowledge lock-in" problem head-on. Instead of making you move all your content, it connects directly to the tools your team already knows and loves. With one-click integrations for Confluence, Notion, Google Docs, and your past helpdesk tickets, you can have your AI trained and running in minutes. Seriously, no content migration needed. Your AI learns from your real, up-to-date knowledge, right where it is.

Predictable pricing that makes sense

The difference in pricing is night and day. eesel AI offers simple, flat-fee monthly plans based on how many AI interactions you expect. There are no per-resolution fees. This means your bill is the same every month, and you never get a bigger invoice just because your AI had a good month. You can pick a plan that fits your budget and grow without dreading a surprise charge.

Test with real data and go live in minutes

eesel AI’s simulation mode gives you the proof you need before going live. You can run the AI on thousands of your historical tickets to see exactly how it would have performed, what it would have said, and what your true resolution rate would have been. You get all of this data before you ever turn it on for real customers.

Plus, the setup is completely self-serve. Unlike other tools that often require you to sit through demos and sales calls, you can sign up, connect your knowledge sources, and launch your own AI agent in just a few minutes.

A quick comparison: Intercom AI vs. eesel AI

Feature	Intercom AI (Fin)	eesel AI
Pricing Model	$0.99 per resolution	Flat monthly fee (no per-resolution cost)
Knowledge Sources	Prefers Intercom Articles; requires migration	Connects instantly to Google Docs, Confluence, Notion, etc.
Setup Process	Easy, but pulls you into the Intercom ecosystem	Completely self-serve; go live in minutes
Testing	Answer inspection & audience testing	Powerful simulation on historical tickets before launch
Core Philosophy	An all-in-one AI platform	A flexible AI layer for your existing tools

Is Intercom AI the right choice for your team?

Look, Intercom AI is a seriously powerful tool. For teams that are already all-in on the Intercom ecosystem or are willing to move their entire knowledge base, it can be a fantastic addition.

However, its per-resolution pricing creates unpredictable bills that punish good performance, and its heavy bias for its own knowledge base is a major roadblock for a lot of businesses.

For teams that care about flexibility, predictable costs, and using the knowledge they already have without a painful migration project, a more adaptable tool is probably a much better fit.

Ready for an AI agent that works with your tools, not against them? Explore eesel AI and see how you can automate your support using the knowledge you already have.