# Kayako review (2026): is it worth it? > Help desk with an AI agent billed per resolved ticket Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Kayako is a help desk platform that now leads with Kay, an AI agent that takes actions such as refunds, exchanges and account changes through connected systems. Kay is billed per resolved ticket, and a fuller platform called Kayako One adds a unified inbox, ticketing, a knowledge base and a live chat widget. - **Category:** Help Desks & Live Chat - **Made by:** ESW Operations, LLC - **Website:** https://kayako.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want to see a price for the help desk, as Kayako One's is not published. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing Kayako's current pricing could not be confirmed from its own site. ## Key features - **Kay AI agent:** Resolves tickets end to end by acting through connected tools, for example processing a refund, sending a return label or resetting a password. - **Phased AI rollout:** Kayako's team introduces AI in three phases: ticket triage, drafted answers, then continuous learning with escalation to agents. - **Kayako One platform:** A full help desk with a unified inbox, ticketing system, knowledge base, live chat widget, automation rules and reporting. - **Works with your stack:** Kay connects to systems such as Slack, Stripe, Shopify, Zendesk, Salesforce, Twilio and HubSpot, or to any system with an API. - **Add Kay to an existing help desk:** Kayako says Kay can also run on top of a help desk you already use, instead of replacing it. ## Good for - Support teams with many repeat requests that an AI can close - Ecommerce stores handling refunds, exchanges and address changes - Buyers who prefer paying per outcome rather than per seat ## Worth knowing - Kay costs $1 per resolved ticket; escalations to humans and partial resolutions are not charged, and the page says there are no seat or setup fees. - No price for Kayako One is published, so this listing records its pricing as unverified. - A resolution means Kay solved the issue without a human agent, by acting or giving an answer the customer confirms. - Kayako says its team sets up the platform for you, so it is less of a self-serve sign-up. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 1.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Kayako leads with Kay, an AI agent that takes actions such as refunds and exchanges and costs $1 per resolved ticket, with no seat or setup fees. The price of the Kayako One help desk behind it isn't published, there is no trial, and the vendor's team does the setup. - **Value for money: C.** Kay is $1 per resolved ticket with no seat fees, but no price is published for Kayako One, so it can't be set against the category's $29 middle. - **Free plan and trial: F.** No free plan and no trial are on record, and the pages we read show nothing to try before paying. - **Features: C.** A help desk with ticketing, shared inbox and knowledge base, plus Kay, which acts through connected systems. The listing says little about the help desk's own limits, and a resolution counts only if no human was needed. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record, and the page says Kayako's team sets up the platform for you. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web only, with 7 listed integrations. No phone or desktop app on record. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Kayako's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among help desk and live chat tools - Kayako's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 6 of the 92 other help desk and live chat tools we grade, and level with 19. - It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 12 of 92) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/customer-support ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Kayako you would be making an AI model answering your customers from your own help articles. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 67 of the 92 other help desk and live chat tools grade higher. - You could make: Help desk and help center: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: An AI model answering your customers from your own help articles. - You could not: One mailbox that several people work at once. - You could not: A chat box on your site that reaches you the moment a customer types. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Slack, Stripe and Shopify among them. - You could not: Hooks into the device itself: widgets. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Slack, Stripe, Shopify, Zendesk, Salesforce, Twilio, HubSpot **Tags:** Help desk, AI support agent, Shared inbox, Live chat, Help center ## Alternatives - [Zendesk](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zendesk): Ticketing, messaging, help center and AI agents for support teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/kayako-vs-zendesk) - [Freshdesk](https://toolgpa.com/tools/freshdesk): Email ticketing help desk with a knowledge base and AI agents. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/freshdesk-vs-kayako) - [Intercom](https://toolgpa.com/tools/intercom): Helpdesk with live chat and the Fin AI agent priced per outcome. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/intercom-vs-kayako) - [HappyFox](https://toolgpa.com/tools/happyfox): Ticketing help desk with SLAs, a knowledge base and add-on AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/happyfox-vs-kayako) - [HelpDesk](https://toolgpa.com/tools/helpdesk): Ticketing with an AI agent for email, chat, Messenger and SMS. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/helpdesk-vs-kayako) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://kayako.com/pricing/ - https://kayako.com/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/kayako Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).