HEYHAB

Compare · checked October 31, 2026

Your AI answered the questions.Who's handling the rest?

Routine questions are only part of customer service. A custom order needs approval. A warranty claim needs a decision. A promised delivery needs follow-through.

HeyHab is being built to organize that unfinished work, bring the right decisions to the owner, flag what needs attention, and track commitments through completion, without requiring a traditional help desk. You run the business; you shouldn't have to run a help desk too.

Watch the demoSee what's left

Where HeyHab stands. Early: tested only in isolated synthetic evaluations, not available to customers, and not measured as faster, cheaper or more accurate than any tool here. Vendor facts are linked and dated.

The last ten

Answering most questions doesn't finish the work.

One Shopify merchant told us Shopify handles about 90% of the questions that would otherwise need them, and they still use Freshdesk. That's one owner's experience, not a Shopify benchmark.

Hypothetical: 100 conversations. Not every one of the ten is urgent or unresolved, but some involve a decision, a promised date or work that has to happen, and those can carry more effort and more risk than the ninety combined.

If Shopify handles most questions, why would I still need a help desk?

Because those remaining requests need responsibility, tracking, escalation, deadlines and reporting. Freshdesk, Gorgias and Intercom do that well, and larger support teams may be better served by them.

HeyHab proposes a lighter, owner-centered way to manage that work without running a help desk, where that suits the business. And if Shopify Inbox already covers what you need, you shouldn't need HeyHab.

What “proactive” is meant to mean

At a glance

Capable tools. A different focus.

None of these tools is incapable. HeyHab's hypothesis is that an owner should get the outcome without administering a support operation. The aim: less configuration, less management, less expertise, less expense where it can be measured, and more attention to unfinished customer work.

01 · Your situation

Start with how you sell.

The useful comparison depends on what you already have.

Keep what Shopify already does well. Shopify Inbox is free and includes an AI agent connected to your catalog and policies. HeyHab is not trying to replace storefront chat.

Shopify Flow and Sidekick go further: Flow automates tasks with triggers, conditions and actions, and Sidekick can build Flow workflows and handle tasks like editing orders. Flow ↗ Sidekick ↗

HeyHab aims to work alongside them, on what happens once a conversation needs you: a custom order, a promised date, a repair that was approved. One clear decision for you, then a tracked next step. Shopify integration is proposed, not built.

02 · Two real-world requests

A handoff is not the end of the work.

Documented vendor behavior next to the HeyHab workflow, with each step's evidence level. Nothing here is a timed or head-to-head test.

A · Custom order on Shopify

“Can you make a custom leather bag and deliver it by next Friday?”

Your website explains customization. Only you can confirm capacity and a date.

Documented · Shopify Inbox

The conversation goes to staff

  1. The Inbox agent answers questions grounded in your catalog and policies.
  2. When a conversation needs a person and staff handoff is available, it moves to the Unassigned folder for staff to pick up, with the earlier context.
  3. If staff handoff isn't available, the customer gets your store's sender email address. Shopify notes the agent can't send email for you; the customer must start the email.

Still yours to do: decide whether you can make it by Friday, reply, and keep track of the promise in whatever system you use.

Shopify Help: conversations ↗
HeyHab workflow

One decision, then the promise is kept in view

  1. Answering the questionSpot that a promised date needs you, show your approved customization policy with its source, and don't answer automatically. Tested · synthetic
  2. Managing the workYou decide whether it's possible and confirm a date; HeyHab records the decision, who owes the next step, and prepares a reply for your approval. Tested · synthetic
  3. Proactive follow-throughName what's blocking it, such as missing details, Tested · synthetic and bring the deadline back before it slips. Built · not available
  4. SendingYou send the approved reply and mark it sent. Sending through a connected channel In development
  5. CompletionYou record that it was delivered, with a short note. Tested · synthetic Independent confirmation of delivery Proposed

HeyHab doesn't make products, see unconnected inventory, send unapproved messages or verify physical delivery. Shopify integration is proposed; today this works on requests entered into HeyHab.

B · Warranty repair by email

“My warranty repair was approved. Has anything happened?”

A good reply isn't enough. This tests whether a promise is actually followed through.

  1. 1 · Answer the customerA reply grounded in your warranty policy.Tested · synthetic
  2. 2 · Record the decisionThat the repair was approved, by you, and when.Tested · synthetic
  3. 3 · Assign responsibilityWho owes the next step: you, HeyHab or the customer.Tested · synthetic
  4. 4 · Track follow-throughThe request stays open, and a deadline raises it again for you.Built · not available
  5. 5 · Confirm with evidenceYou record that it worked. Confirmation independent of you isn't built.Owner note · tested
How capable platforms handle this today

Gorgias AI Agent can take actions in connected tools, such as processing a return or updating a shipping address. Intercom Fin Procedures guide multistep work. Freshdesk includes threads and tasks on its plans. These products can track and act; they generally ask you to configure how. HeyHab's bet is that an owner should get these five steps without building a workflow. That bet is not yet measured.

Gorgias: AI Agent explained ↗ Intercom: building Fin Procedures ↗

HeyHab never invents fulfillment proof, issues refunds or sends messages you didn't approve.

03 · Published pricing

What the tools cost, as published.

Starting prices from each vendor's site on October 31, 2026. Base fees and AI usage are billed separately; seats, volume and add-ons change the real total.

Storefront chat

Shopify Inbox

FreeApp price on the Shopify App Store. Your Shopify plan is separate.

AI usage
The Inbox agent is included, connected to your catalog, inventory and policies. You can run Inbox with or without it.
Strength
Free, native to Shopify, little to set up.
Strong free baseline apps.shopify.com/inbox ↗

Ecommerce help desk

Gorgias

$10/moStarter base fee, monthly billing only.

Included
Starter: 50 tickets a month. Basic: 300 tickets for $60/mo monthly or $50/mo annually.
Extra charges
Tickets over the allowance are charged per ticket.
AI usage
AI Agent is an add-on: $0.90 per automated interaction on annual plans, $1.00 monthly. Gorgias pages publish conflicting included amounts, so we don't quote them.
AI allowance pending verification gorgias.com/pricing ↗

Email help desk

Freshdesk

$19/agent/moGrowth base fee, billed annually. Pro $55, Enterprise $89 per agent a month.

Included
The first 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions, once per account, not monthly.
AI usage
After that, $49 per 100 sessions.
Note
The email AI agent guide lists Pro or Enterprise as a prerequisite.
Per-agent seats freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing ↗

AI service platform

Intercom + Fin

$29/seat/moEssential base fee at list; $19 shown for new customers. One full seat minimum.

AI usage
Fin AI Agent from $0.99 per outcome.
Minimum
A minimum monthly commitment applies (Intercom's example: 50 outcomes), billed even if you use fewer.
Strength
Powerful automation, including Procedures for multistep work.
Seats + usage intercom.com/pricing ↗

HeyHab has no price yet, so this page compares no HeyHab costs and claims no savings. Whether HeyHab costs less has to be measured once its own operating costs are known.

04 · Setup

What configuration actually involves.

Steps as each vendor documents them. No invented setup times or click counts. Open any tool to see its steps.

Shopify Inbox3 documented steps · already low-friction
  1. Install the app on your Shopify store.
  2. Add the chat widget and set chat settings and appearance.
  3. Choose the Inbox agent or staff-only conversations, then set its tone, style and rules.

HeyHab can't credibly claim a faster setup without a timed comparison.

Shopify Help: setup ↗
Gorgias AI Agent8 documented steps
  1. Allow AI Agent to use Shopify data, if needed.
  2. Add brand knowledge (at least one source is required).
  3. Create skills for specific request types.
  4. Optionally set up actions in connected apps.
  5. Configure tone, handover instructions and settings.
  6. Test in the Playground.
  7. Connect channels and go live.
  8. Monitor and give feedback (Gorgias suggests reviewing at least 10 tickets in week one).
Gorgias: set up and go live ↗
Freshdesk email AI agent5 documented steps · Pro or Enterprise
  1. Be on the Pro or Enterprise plan, with admin access.
  2. Publish public knowledge base articles.
  3. Configure at least one support email address and the languages you need.
  4. Enable the agent, set trigger conditions, response template and sources.
  5. Optionally add ticket automations for tagging or escalation.

Freshdesk marks this guide as its legacy version; the newer guide may differ.

Freshdesk: email AI agent ↗
Intercom Fin4 documented steps · Procedures optional
  1. Add or sync knowledge sources and set up Fin.
  2. For multistep work, create a Procedure: let AI draft it from a description, or build it from scratch.
  3. Describe when it applies and add examples.
  4. Test with previews or simulations, then set it live.

Intercom says Fin can be set up in under an hour on your current help desk. We don't dispute that.

Intercom: create a Procedure ↗
HeyHabProposed onboarding · not available to customers
  1. Enter your website. HeyHab proposes your products, policies and FAQs. Tested · synthetic
  2. Approve the facts, and answer the few questions it can't safely infer. Tested · synthetic
  3. Review prepared replies and the decisions only you can make. Tested · synthetic
  4. Optionally connect one channel you authorize. Nothing is sent without your approval. In development
  5. Handle open work from one brief. Built · not available

Our engineering goal is a useful supervised demo within 15 minutes for a suitable site. That is a goal, not a measured result.

05 · One worked cost example

The math, shown.

One vendor, its published rates, every assumption visible. It is not a feature-equivalent quote for any product.

Intercom Essential + Fin

Assumes one Essential seat at the $29 list price (the minimum is one full seat; Intercom shows $19 for new customers), $0.99 per outcome, and a 50-outcome monthly minimum. Excludes taxes, other outcome types, add-ons and discounts.

Illustrative monthly total

$128.00

Base fee · 1 Essential seat (list)$29.00
AI usage · Fin outcomes billed (100)$99.00
Shopify Inbox appFree
HeyHabNo published price

Prices from intercom.com/pricing, checked October 31, 2026. These products do different things.

06 · What's real today

Feature status, and what we'll measure.

Nothing here is available to customers yet. Today nothing is sent. Every delivery in these demonstrations is simulated. Planned: low-risk routine replies could go out without you, but only within permissions you explicitly grant and safety limits you can see. You can pause or revoke them at any time. We'll publish results measured with the same business information, the same questions and the same review rules, including where HeyHab does worse.

Tested · isolated synthetic evaluation
  • Reads your website and proposes facts for you to approve
  • Prepares replies only from approved information, checking each sentence against one source (a word-and-number check, not a test of meaning)
  • Holds back questions it can't support, or where your information disagrees
  • Sends promises, guarantees and safety questions to you instead of answering
  • Today you approve every reply, and nothing is sent
  • Records your decisions, who owes the next step, and your note when it's done
Built · not externally available
  • Recurring answers you approve, re-checked when your information changes, with exports
  • Deadline follow-ups that raise open requests again
  • A delivery record that is simulated only; no message leaves HeyHab
In development
  • Connected email, with delivery confirmed by the channel
Proposed
  • Automatic low-risk routine replies, only within permissions you grant
  • Shopify integration
  • Independent verification of outcomes
  • A published price

Early evaluation · October 29, 2026

20 test questions, one real public business website, one configuration. HeyHab produced 1 acceptable evidence-backed draft, missed 8 questions the site could answer, and marked 1 malformed draft as ready. This shows how much work remains; it is not a measure of accuracy.

Five measures we'll publish · none measured yet

Setup

Minutes to a first supervised demo

From signup to a reviewed, source-backed reply, with no skipped approvals.

Not yet measured

Owner time

Owner minutes per 20 inquiries

Reading, correcting, deciding and following up, compared with your current process.

Not yet measured

Correctness

Usable grounded answers

Answers you'd send as prepared, plus missed answerable questions.

Not yet measured

Safety

False “ready” drafts

Replies marked ready that shouldn't have been.

Not yet measured

Follow-through

Open obligations verified

Promises kept with evidence, not just closed.

Not yet measured