respond.io — AI for Customer Support & Experience

Team inbox for WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, TikTok, email and calls, with AI Agents that qualify and route leads.

What is respond.io?

respond.io: Team inbox for WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, TikTok, email and calls, with AI Agents that qualify and route leads. Paid, from $79/mo billed yearly ($948/yr); Starter, 1,000 contacts tier. Zekai's independent review scores it 7.6 out of 10. Best for mid-market B2C teams with high chat volume.

Facts checked 12 Nov 2026.

Best forAI for Customer Service

DifferentiatorChats, calls and email in one thread with AI Agents

Proof10k+ brands trust respond.io (homepage claim)

Explore respond.io

Pro from$79/mo billed yearly ($948/yr); Starter, 1,000 contacts tier

7.6 Zekai

Omnichannel chat + AI

AI for Customer Support & Experience

Ease of Use

7.0

Accuracy

8.0

Value

6.0

Time Saving

9.0

10k+ brands (vendor claim)Users

7.6/10Zekai Score

Omnichannel inboxAI AgentsWhatsApp callsCRM syncMCP server

📊 Independently reviewed and scored. How we score →

✍️ Reviewed by Zekai Editorial Team · Updated November 12, 2026

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Zekai Verdict

What is it?: respond.io puts customer chats, calls and emails from many channels into one team inbox and connects it to your CRM.
Best for: Customer support leads, sales operations managers and marketing teams that handle ad-driven chat leads.
Not ideal for: No free plan; only a 7-day trial
Price: $79/mo billed yearly ($948/yr)…
Zekai Score: 7.6/10

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⚡ Quick answer

respond.io is a customer messaging platform that combines WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, TikTok, email and calls in one team inbox. It adds AI Agents that qualify leads, route chats and update CRMs, and it has no free plan beyond a 7-day trial.

CategoryOmnichannel customer messaging

Best forMid-market B2C teams with high chat volume

Price from$79/mo billed yearly ($948/yr); Starter, 1,000 contacts tier

Free planno

DifferentiatorChats, calls and email in one thread with AI Agents

Proof10k+ brands trust respond.io (homepage claim)

Rating4

📖 About respond.io

respond.io puts customer chats, calls and emails from many channels into one team inbox and connects it to your CRM. Its AI Agents answer routine questions, qualify leads, route chats and update records, and the vendor positions the product for mid-market B2C teams.

How It Works

Your workflow, automated

Connect channels

Link WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok or email to the shared inbox.

Set up an AI Agent

Describe the agent in plain language or start from a template, then add guardrails.

Route and follow up

Let the agent qualify leads and assign serious buyers to your team, with CRM updates.

Ready to automate your workflow with respond.io?

Explore respond.io →

Real Impact

Before & After

❌ Before

Chats arrive on several apps, replies are slow during campaigns and leads get lost between chat and call.

Scattered inboxes

✅ After

One inbox with AI Agents handling first replies and routing buyers to the right team.

One inbox

AI Prompts

Prompts for Customer Support

Prompt 01 Acknowledge Receipt & Set Expectations

Draft a first-contact reply for a ticket about [[TICKET_TOPIC]]. 1. Acknowledge the user's specific issue: [[USER_ISSUE_SUMMARY]]. 2. Confirm receipt of their ticket and provide the ticket ID: [[TICKET_ID]]. 3.

Prompt 02 Request More Information (Politely)

The user's request about [[TICKET_TOPIC]] is missing key information. Draft a polite reply that: 1. Thanks them for their message. 2. Clearly states the specific information we need to proceed.

Prompt 03 Answer a

Generate a step-by-step guide answering the user's question: [[USER_QUESTION]]. The user is on the [[USER_PLAN_LEVEL]] plan. 1. Start with a direct confirmation: "Yes, you can do that. Here are the steps:" 2.

See all 39 AI prompts for Customer Support →

Paid remote work · AI for Customer Support & Experience

Paid remote AI jobs for people who use tools like respond.io

AI companies pay experts by the hour to test and improve AI. Remote and flexible. These roles are open now.

10 open roles · updated today

Food Delivery AI Response EvaluatorRemote · many countries$10–$30/hrView role →Strategic Customer Success Manager - Italian SpeakingRemote · many countriesView role →Customer Success Manager - UAERemote · United Arab EmiratesView role →

Get new roles like these by email

One short email each morning with new roles open in your country. Free. Unsubscribe any time.

See all 1,426 open roles →

Social Proof

Trusted by 10k+ brands (vendor claim)

10k+ brands (vendor claim) professionals using this tool

Ease of Use

7.0

Accuracy

8.0

Value

6.0

Time Saving

9.0

10k+ brands (vendor claim)+ professionals are already using this tool.

See Plans & Pricing →

Connects With

respond.io integrations

WhatsApp Business Platform Facebook Messenger Instagram TikTok HubSpot Salesforce Zapier n8n Google Calendar Calendly Cal.com Shopify Gmail Twilio

Setup complexity: Moderate setup

The decision

Is respond.io worth it?

Built for

Mid-market B2C sales and support teams running high-volume chat on WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram and Messenger.

Effort to adopt

Moderate setup

Who It's For

Why Customer Support & Experience choose this tool

🎯

Built for

Customer support leads, sales operations managers and marketing teams that handle ad-driven chat leads.

In-Depth Overview

respond.io is a customer messaging platform rather than a single chatbot. Conversations from WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, TikTok, email, SMS and other channels land in one shared inbox, with WhatsApp Business Calls, Messenger Calls and VoIP in the same thread as your messages and emails. That matters if your customers start in a chat, move to a call and then confirm by email, because your agents see one record instead of three. The AI Agents are the part that replaces manual first-line work. The vendor says they can qualify leads, filter spam and low-intent chats, route buyers to the right team, recommend products, book appointments and update your CRM, with guardrails and human takeover for decisions that need a person. You can describe an agent in plain language and have Copilot draft it, or start from a template. Workflows, broadcasts, HubSpot and Salesforce connections, and an MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT sit around that core. The cost model is different from most chatbot tools: you pay by monthly active contacts and AI credits, and WhatsApp fees from Meta are billed separately. There is no free plan, only a 7-day trial. The vendor says AI Agents are built for mid-market B2C businesses handling conversations, so a very small shop may not need this much.

Key Use Cases

📱

Reply to ad leads fast

Sales team lead

Route TikTok and Meta ad enquiries to an AI Agent that qualifies them before a person takes over.

AI first reply

🎧

One thread per customer

Support manager

Keep chats, calls and emails for a customer in a single conversation.

Single thread

🏥

Handle booking questions

Clinic coordinator

Let an AI Agent answer FAQs and book appointments, then hand complex cases to staff.

Bookings by AI

✓ Pros

Chats, calls and emails sit in one conversation thread

AI Agents include guardrails and human takeover

HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier, n8n and Make connections are listed

7-day free trial with no credit card needed

· Cons

No free plan; only a 7-day trial

WhatsApp fees are not included and are charged by Meta

Price depends on monthly active contacts and AI credits, so it varies with volume

AI Agents are aimed at mid-market B2C teams with 500+ conversations a month

⚡ Editorial Verdict

respond.io is a solid choice if several people answer customers across chat and calls and you want AI to do first-line qualification. There is no free plan, pricing scales with active contacts and AI credits, and WhatsApp fees from Meta are extra, so costs are harder to predict than a flat per-seat tool.

See all 817 AI tools for Customer Support → Browse the AI Directory →

Questions & Answers

Frequently asked questions

What is respond.io?

A customer messaging platform that unifies chat, calls and email in a team inbox with AI Agents and CRM sync.

Is respond.io free?

No. The pricing page offers a 7-day free trial with no credit card, then paid plans.

How much does respond.io cost?

Starter shows $79/month with yearly billing ($948/yr); Growth $159/month ($1,908/yr); Advanced $279/month ($3,348/yr). Prices are in USD and depend on the contact tier.

Are WhatsApp fees included?

No. The pricing page says WhatsApp fees are not included and Meta charges them based on usage.

Which channels does it support?

The integrations page lists WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, TikTok, email, SMS, Viber, WeChat and more.

Last reviewed: November 2026

Plans & Pricing

respond.io pricing and plans

Pro

$79/mo billed yearly ($948/yr); Starter, 1,000 contacts tier

Start Pro Plan

Prices and features are updated regularly but can change at any time — always confirm on the official website. Some links on this page are affiliate links.

Customer Support & Experience

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← Previous toolSponkly★ 7.6/10 Next tool →Zowie★ 7.5/10

See all 157 AI tools for Customer Support →

respond.io Alternatives (2026)

The best alternatives to respond.io — every tool below is reviewed and scored by Zekai.

Compare	respond.io	DeepL	Vapi
Zekai Score	7.6/10	9.4/10	9.2/10
Pricing	$79/mo billed yearly ($948/yr); Starter, 1,000 contacts tier	$8.74/mo billed yearly	$0.05/min hosting fee
Free tier	No	Yes	Yes
Best for	Customer support leads, sales operations managers and marketing teams that handle…	Delivering fast, accurate, and secure multilingual customer support across text…	Enterprise customer support teams aiming to automate inbound voice support at scale while…

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Disclaimer

Zekai is an independent AI tools directory. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to respond.io unless clearly stated. All product names, logos, and brands are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only. The information on this page — including pricing, features, and availability — is general information, may have changed since our last review, and is not professional advice. Zekai Scores and verdicts are our editorial opinion. Some outbound links are affiliate links that may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Spotted outdated or incorrect information? Request a correction →

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respond.io — AI for Customer Support & Experience

Top AI for Customer Support & Experience picks

Your workflow, automated

Before & After

Prompts for Customer Support