How much does Kayako cost?

Kayako uses per-resolution pricing: you pay for each conversation the AI resolves, not per seat. The listed starting price is $1 per resolved ticket.

What does Kayako integrate with?

Kayako integrates with Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, Salesforce, Slack, Stripe, Shopify, Twilio, and HubSpot.

What compliance standards does Kayako meet?

Based on the vendor's own security and trust pages, Kayako claims SOC 2 and GDPR compliance.

Which support channels does Kayako cover?

Kayako handles customer conversations over chat, email, voice, and social media.

Can Kayako take actions, or does it only answer questions?

Kayako can take actions in connected systems, not just answer questions, including order status, refunds & returns, account updates, password & access resets, and custom API actions.

Can I buy Kayako without talking to sales?

No. Access starts with a demo or a conversation with sales.

What are the best Kayako alternatives?

Popular alternatives include Atomicwork, Capacity, and Chatsy.

Kayako

AI Agents & Chatbots Help Desk & Ticketing

Veteran help desk relaunched around Kay, an AI agent billed at $1 per resolved ticket that also runs on top of Zendesk, Freshdesk or Intercom.

Best for

Mid-market and enterprise support teams that want an AI agent billed at $1 per verified resolution, deployed by the vendor's own team on top of Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom or Kayako One.

Look elsewhere if

You want to sign up and test an AI agent yourself, since every Kayako deployment and its help desk pricing go through a strategy session with sales.

Pricing: Per resolution from $1 per resolved ticket
Founded: 2001
How you buy: Sales-led (demo first)
Company: Operated by ESW Operations, LLC
Channels: Chat, Email, Voice, Social
Compliance: SOC 2 GDPR
Integrations: Zendesk Freshdesk Intercom Salesforce Slack Stripe Shopify Twilio HubSpot

Kayako has been a help desk since 2001, and today it sells two things: Kayako One, a full help desk with an omnichannel inbox, SingleView customer context, no-code workflow automation, a knowledge base with semantic search, SLA tracking and analytics; and Kay, an AI support agent that can run inside Kayako One or on top of the help desk you already use, including Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom and Salesforce. Kay reads tickets, drafts replies and takes actions through connected systems: Kayako's own examples are processing refunds, creating accounts, sending return labels, updating orders and resetting passwords, and the pitch is that anything with an API is fair game.

What separates Kayako from most AI agent vendors is that it refuses to be self-serve. Every deployment is run by its own team of implementation engineers, prompt specialists and a success manager, in three deliberate phases: AI triage first (classification, prioritisation and routing), then AI answers (drafts and automated replies to repetitive cases), then continuous learning, where Kay picks up from human resolutions and handles more on its own. Kayako says resolution targets are agreed in writing, most teams are live in days, and 80 percent of repetitive tickets are automated within 90 days. That is a sensible design for teams burned by an AI pilot that never shipped, and a slow one for teams that want to try it this afternoon.

The site is operated by ESW Operations, LLC. Its published results lean on a cluster of enterprise software names: Trilogy reports $5 million saved and 80 percent of tickets eliminated, with its SVP of Customer Support saying ticket age fell from 18 hours to under 5; Aurea reports $18 million in support costs avoided; Khoros a $450,000 spend cut and backlog down 19 percent; IgniteTech AI support across more than 30 products; and Contently support for 165,000+ creators with no new agents. Across customers, Kayako cites a 68 percent AI resolution rate and a 14-point CSAT improvement. A legacy Kayako Classic product still exists alongside the new platform.

Kay is priced at $1 per resolved ticket, with no seat or setup fees. A resolution only counts when Kay solves the issue without a human, either by taking action or by giving an answer the customer confirms; escalations and simple deflections are free. Kayako One's own price is not published and goes through a pricing call. Choose Kayako if you want outcome-based AI with a vendor team accountable for hitting the numbers, especially on top of an existing Zendesk or Freshdesk. Skip it if you want a self-serve trial, transparent help desk seat pricing, or a vendor whose case studies come from a broader customer base.

Key features

Kay AI agent that takes actions through any API
Runs on Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom or Kayako One
Phased rollout: triage, answers, then learning
White-glove deployment with written resolution targets
Omnichannel help desk with SingleView context

What the AI can do

Takes actions, not just answers. Kayako can complete tasks in your other systems: Order status Refunds & returns Account updates Password & access resets Custom API actions
Hands off to a human with the conversation context when it cannot resolve an issue.

Visit Kayako →

See the best Kayako alternatives →

Frequently asked questions

Who is Kayako best for?: Mid-market and enterprise support teams that want an AI agent billed at $1 per verified resolution, deployed by the vendor's own team on top of Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom or Kayako One. Look elsewhere if you want to sign up and test an AI agent yourself, since every Kayako deployment and its help desk pricing go through a strategy session with sales.
How much does Kayako cost?: Kayako uses per-resolution pricing: you pay for each conversation the AI resolves, not per seat. The listed starting price is $1 per resolved ticket. Compare pricing across all listed tools →
What does Kayako integrate with?: Kayako integrates with Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, Salesforce, Slack, Stripe, Shopify, Twilio, and HubSpot.
What compliance standards does Kayako meet?: Based on the vendor's own security and trust pages, Kayako claims SOC 2 and GDPR compliance. See how that compares across vendors →
Which support channels does Kayako cover?: Kayako handles customer conversations over chat, email, voice, and social media.
Can Kayako take actions, or does it only answer questions?: Kayako can take actions in connected systems, not just answer questions, including order status, refunds & returns, account updates, password & access resets, and custom API actions.
Can I buy Kayako without talking to sales?: No. Access starts with a demo or a conversation with sales.
When was Kayako founded?: Kayako was founded in 2001.
What are the best Kayako alternatives?: Popular alternatives include Atomicwork, Capacity, and Chatsy. See all Kayako alternatives →

Sources for the facts on this page

Pricing model: kayako.com You only pay when Kay actually resolves the issue. checked October 2026
Starting price: kayako.com $ 1 Per Resolved Ticket checked October 2026
Founded year: kayako.com When Kayako started in 2001 checked October 2026
Channels: kayako.com Email, live chat, social, and voice land in one shared queue checked October 2026
Compliance: kayako.com SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, SSO/SAML, role-based access, and audit logs built in from day one. checked October 2026
How you buy: kayako.com Talk to a Pricing Expert checked October 2026
AI actions: kayako.com Process refunds • Create accounts • Send labels • Update orders • Reset passwords • and anything else checked October 2026
Human handoff: kayako.com Seamless escalation to agents on edge cases checked October 2026
AI takes actions: kayako.com An AI agent that doesn't just respond. It acts. Kay processes refunds, creates accounts, sends return labels, and resolves issues end-to-end. checked October 2026

Updated October 2026

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Know when Kayako changes

One plain-text email at the start of each month with every verified price change, acquisition and new listing across the directory, including any change to Kayako. No tracking pixels, unsubscribe in one click.