Intercom is excellent, but seat pricing plus a charge for every AI resolution gets expensive before a startup has found its footing. Here are the alternatives, and when Intercom is still worth it.
Founders answer support from a personal inbox until it breaks. Here is the first real setup for a SaaS startup, covering channels, docs, an AI agent, bug routing and when to hire.
Supporting companies isn't like supporting consumers. Several contacts per account, contracts with SLAs, onboarding and account managers. How to set up B2B support that scales with a small team.
AI agents answer setup and how-to questions well, and struggle with bugs and edge cases. Where AI helps in technical support, where it invents answers, and how to escalate with context.
Support sees churn coming before anyone else. How SaaS teams turn support into retention with faster help, proactive outreach and better cancellation conversations, and how to measure the effect.
Each support channel suits a different kind of question. A practical map for SaaS teams, from onboarding and how-to questions to bugs and billing, and where an AI agent fills the gaps.