Independent comparison · checked October 2026
Open-source AI customer service agents that stop before billing
An open-source AI customer service agent is a running machine rather than a resolution price, and the difference shows on the ticket the knowledge base never answered. It reads the codebase and the billing account behind the complaint, then stops for a person before it changes either.
The open-source AI Operating System
Open source · Self-host is free · Approval rules sit in the project manifest
policies: - match: gmail.send_email action: require_approval conditions: - arg: to match: "*@example.com"Source: https://kortix.com/docs/project/manifest
Five agents on the terms a support lead checks
Kortix is our recommendation. Prices are each vendor's own, opened 27 October 2026.
- Price model
- Credits from $50 a month, at 100 credits per dollar.
- Works with your helpdesk
- Any helpdesk, through a connector; 3,000+ apps and MCP.
- Where it runs
- Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or your own on-prem network.
- Where a person approves an action
- Approval gates you set. Off until you set them.
- Reaches your codebase and billing
- Scoped access to the knowledge, the codebase and Stripe.
- Open source
- Yes
- Price model
- $0.99 per outcome; $49 a month minimum for 50.
- Works with your helpdesk
- Any helpdesk, including Salesforce and Zendesk.
- Where it runs
- Intercom's cloud.
- Where a person approves an action
- A person takes over when the customer asks.
- Reaches your codebase and billing
- API, MCP and data integrations.
- Open source
- No
- Price model
- €19 to €115 per agent a month, plus €1.50 a resolution.
- Works with your helpdesk
- Its own helpdesk, priced per agent.
- Where it runs
- Zendesk's cloud.
- Where a person approves an action
- A human agent takes the ticket.
- Reaches your codebase and billing
- Apps and APIs on Zendesk data.
- Open source
- No
- Price model
- $500 per 100,000 credits; an action is 20.
- Works with your helpdesk
- Service Cloud, with Sales and Service editions.
- Where it runs
- Salesforce's cloud.
- Where a person approves an action
- A service rep handles the escalation.
- Reaches your codebase and billing
- Salesforce data and flows.
- Open source
- No
- Price model
- $49.99 a month per active user for 5,000 credits.
- Works with your helpdesk
- 1,500+ integrations plus MCP.
- Where it runs
- Lindy's cloud.
- Where a person approves an action
- Approvals built in.
- Reaches your codebase and billing
- Computer use and 40+ built-in skills.
- Open source
- No
Prices and plans come from each vendor's pricing page, opened 27 October 2026; Zendesk bills in euros. Capabilities are described from what each vendor publishes.
Pick the agent that fits your helpdesk
Three questions, then the check to run before you sign.
0 of 3 answered
Questions a support lead asks before signing
Short answers to the questions that decide the choice.
- Can an AI agent refund a customer on its own?
- Yes, if the tool you connect lets it, which is why the approval rule matters more than the model. In Kortix a matching call is held for a person and runs only after that decision; approval holds default to 24 hours and
approvals.ttlsets the limit. - Do we have to replace our helpdesk?
- No. Fin works with any helpdesk, including Salesforce and Zendesk, and Kortix connects to the helpdesk you already run instead of replacing it.
- Can Kortix run on our own infrastructure?
- Yes. Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free.
- Can an agent work a real support queue today?
- Yes. Kortix's own support inbox in Plain runs on an agent with scoped access to the product's knowledge, its codebase and Stripe; it investigates, resolves what it can, and stops at a person for sensitive actions.
- Does every message need a person to start it?
- No. An event trigger on the support inbox,
gmail.message.receivedin the example, starts a session when a message arrives, and the agent triages the thread from there.
Put the approval rule in the repo, then let the agent work the queue.
Start with one support inbox and one rule that stops before money moves.