Intercom vs Zendesk: Two AI agents put to the test in 2025

For years, the big question in customer service has been Intercom vs Zendesk. Do you want Zendesk’s powerhouse ticketing system or Intercom’s slick, conversational style? But honestly, that debate is starting to feel a little dated. The real decider now is how good their AI is.

Both platforms have rolled out AI agents meant to automate a chunk of your support load, but they've gone about it in completely different ways. They have different features, different philosophies, and, most importantly, very different price tags.

We’re putting Intercom's Fin and Zendesk's AI agent head-to-head. We’ll look at everything from setup and features to the pricing models that can make or break your budget. We'll also cover the major trade-offs and point you to a different approach that sidesteps the biggest headaches of both.

What are Intercom Fin and Zendesk AI?

Before we jump in, let’s get a quick lay of the land. Both tools want to automate your support, but their approach comes from what their main product has always been about.

What is Intercom Fin?

Intercom Fin is built for the fast, in-the-moment chat that Intercom is known for. It’s designed to be quick and easy to get going, plugging right into the Intercom messenger to pull answers from your help center. The goal is for Fin to feel less like a clunky bot and more like a helpful teammate who can handle the first wave of common questions. Intercom claims Fin can resolve up to 50% of typical queries and can even be used with other helpdesks like Zendesk, which shows a bit of flexibility. Its main draw is a friendly interface and speedy setup for teams who care about a modern chat experience.

A screenshot of the Intercom AI Copilot in action, relevant to the Intercom vs Zendesk: Two AI agents put to the test discussion.

What is Zendesk AI?

Zendesk AI is layered on top of Zendesk’s heavy-duty, structured ticketing system. It’s built for big teams that need a lot of control and have complex workflows. Unlike Fin’s chat-first vibe, Zendesk AI is more focused on deflecting tickets and automating processes within a more traditional support setup. Getting it trained involves more work, like defining intents and mapping out conversation flows. This gives you more control, but it's also a much steeper climb to get started. It’s a better fit for large companies that need a predictable, highly customized AI to manage a ton of tickets from different places.

A support agent using the reply suggestion tool from the Zendesk AI Copilot add-on to resolve a customer issue, as part of the Intercom vs Zendesk: Two AI agents put to the test comparison.

A head-to-head comparison

Okay, now that we know the players, let's get into the main event. We’ll compare them across three crucial rounds: setup and training, core features, and the one everyone cares about, pricing.

Round 1: Setup and training

An AI agent is only as smart as the information you feed it, so how easy is it to get up and running? This is where the different philosophies really start to show.

Intercom Fin is famous for being pretty simple to set up. You can point it at your help center or website, and Fin starts learning almost right away. It's made for teams that want to see results fast without needing a developer on standby.

Zendesk AI is another beast entirely, especially if you spring for the Advanced AI plan. The setup is much more hands-on.

Some Reddit users have even said it feels like you need an 'engineering qualification' to get it working.

Reddit

But here’s a catch with both: they have blind spots. Neither can easily connect to the places where a lot of internal knowledge lives, like Google Docs or SharePoint. This leaves a ton of useful information on the table.

A better way is to use a tool that brings all your knowledge together from the start. For example, eesel AI plugs into your helpdesk and connects to over 100 sources like Confluence, Google Docs, and even past tickets. You can go live in minutes with an AI that sees the whole picture of your business, without a painful setup.

Round 2: Core features and capabilities

So, once they're trained, what can these AI agents actually do?

Intercom’s Fin has some neat, modern features. Its "Procedures" feature lets it walk through multi-step tasks, like processing a refund or updating an account. It can also understand images and gives you some smart tools for figuring out where your knowledge base has gaps. But sometimes, its simplicity can feel like a "black box," leaving you without full control over why it does what it does.

Zendesk AI gives you that control back with its structured dialogue builder. Admins can map out predictable, rule-based conversations, which is great for industries with a lot of compliance rules or for workflows where you can't afford any slip-ups. The downside is that it's rigid. The features feel a bit less forward-thinking, and the reporting is limited to high-level dashboards, not the deep, actionable insights you get with Fin.

The biggest thing missing from both? A way to test with confidence. You spend all this time setting up rules and connecting knowledge, but you’re basically flying blind until you flip the switch. You just have to hope it works as expected with real customers, which can be a pretty stressful way to launch something new.

This is where a dedicated AI platform really shines. A tool like eesel AI has a simulation mode that lets you test your AI agent on thousands of your past tickets before it ever talks to a customer. You can see exactly how it would have answered, get a solid forecast of your resolution rate, and tweak its personality and when it should escalate to a human, all in a safe environment. This risk-free approach means you can launch knowing exactly what you’re going to get.

Round 3: Pricing, predictability, and platform lock-in

This is where things get really interesting. Both Intercom and Zendesk use a per-resolution pricing model, and frankly, it can be a huge problem.

Zendesk AI Pricing:

To get Zendesk's Advanced AI, you have to be on a more expensive plan (like Suite Professional at $115/agent/month), pay an extra $50/agent/month for the add-on, and then pay between $1.50 and $2.00 for every single ticket the AI resolves. Good luck trying to predict that bill.

According to Zendesk's official pricing page, the AI add-ons are entirely separate from the main plans, making for a confusing final invoice.

Intercom Fin Pricing:

Intercom's model of $0.99 per resolution looks simpler on the surface. But that simplicity hides a nasty surprise: your costs go up as your AI gets better. One person on Reddit shared that their Intercom bill jumped 120% to over $9,000 a month after they turned on Fin. The model basically punishes you for being successful at deflecting tickets.

This kind of pricing is a budget nightmare. If your AI has a great month and solves thousands of issues, you get slapped with a massive, unexpected bill.

On top of that, picking either AI pushes you deeper into their world. With Zendesk, you're completely stuck. If you ever want to leave, all the time and effort you invested in building your AI is gone. Intercom is a bit more open, but the end goal is the same: keeping you on their platform.

A much healthier model is one with clear, predictable pricing. Instead of getting nickeled and dimed for every resolution, a platform like eesel AI offers simple monthly plans based on your interaction volume, with no hidden fees. You get everything, the AI Agent, Copilot, and AI Triage, for one flat price. And since eesel AI works with your current helpdesk, whether it's Zendesk, Intercom, or something else, there's zero vendor lock-in. You get a smarter AI without the crazy costs or the fear of being trapped.

The verdict: Which AI agent is right for you?

So, after putting them to the test, what’s the final call?

• Go with Intercom Fin if: You're a small or mid-sized team that wants a modern chat experience and an AI that’s easy to get started with. Just be ready for your bill to climb if your support volume increases.

• Go with Zendesk AI if: You're a big, enterprise company with complex needs, a tech team ready to handle the setup, and a budget that can handle the high, layered costs. You care more about control than speed.

For most teams, though, it feels like you're forced to make a tough compromise. You have to choose between a simple tool that’s a bit of a black box with unpredictable costs, or a powerful one that’s expensive and a pain to set up.

Beyond Intercom and Zendesk: A better way with a flexible AI agent

What if you didn't have to choose? The big problems with Intercom and Zendesk's AI, the tricky setup, the per-resolution pricing, the vendor lock-in, and the lack of safe testing, are all symptoms of AI being an afterthought bolted onto a bigger platform.

A dedicated, platform-agnostic AI layer like eesel AI was built from the ground up to fix these issues.

• Go live in minutes, not months: It's completely self-serve and connects to your helpdesk in a single click.

• Pay a flat, predictable fee: No per-resolution charges. Your costs stay the same, no matter how many tickets your AI solves.

• Avoid vendor lock-in: It works with the tools you already use, so you're never trapped.

• Test with confidence: Run simulations on your historical data to get your AI perfect before customers ever see it.

Instead of getting stuck with the flawed AI options from Intercom and Zendesk, you can get a more powerful, flexible, and fairly priced solution that makes your current tools even better.

Ready to see how it works? Start your free eesel AI trial and you can have an AI agent running on your existing helpdesk in minutes.