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SlateIndex

Help Scout

The AI-driven support platform for customer-first brands

Help DeskBoston, MA, United States201–500 employeesFounded 2011

#4 of 37 in Help Desk12,000 customers (per helpscout.com)38% positive in AI answers

Track this brand Visit websiteCompare alternatives
Visibility score
29.8%
up+1.5% vs last week
Weekly run · Nov 3

Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 98.8%·next run

  • Help Scout ranks #4 of 37 in Help Desk with an AI visibility score of 29.8 (SlateIndex, Nov 3, 2026).
  • Help Scout's visibility rose 1.5 points since the previous weekly run.
  • Help Scout is most visible on ChatGPT (31.1) and least on Perplexity (28.3).
  • AI engines name Help Scout in 32 of the 89 Help Desk buyer prompts SlateIndex tracks.
  • helpdesk.com is the source AI engines cite most in answers about Help Scout, with 44 citations.

About

Company details for Help Scout

Help Scout is a customer support platform built around a shared Inbox that brings email, SMS, social, chat and voice into one workspace. It includes Envoy, an AI agent that answers customer requests, Copilot for AI drafts and triage, and Signal for reporting and trend monitoring. It also offers knowledge base (Docs) sites and an embeddable Beacon widget. It ranks #4 of 37 in Help Desk on SlateIndex and has a visibility score of 29.8 in the latest weekly run.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Boston, MA, United States, the company employs 201–500 people. Its differentiator: easy-to-learn shared inbox with built-in AI agent priced per resolution.

Company size
201–500 employees
Headquarters
Boston, MA, United States
Founded
2011
Company type
Private, venture-backed
Funding
Series B1
Customers
12,000 · per helpscout.com
Pricing
Free; paid from $25 per seat / mo · per seat
Free trial
Free plan available
Deployment
Cloud (hosted on AWS)
Platforms
Web
Integrations
100+ native
Compliance
SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA
Support
Email, Dedicated onboarding specialist, Strategic account manager
Twitter · twitter.com/helpscoutFacebook · facebook.com/helpscoutLinkedIn · linkedin.com/company/help-scoutInstagram · instagram.com/hellohelpscout/

Read from linkedin.com, helpscout.com, g2.com, twitter.com, crunchbase.com, getlatka.com · refreshed Nov 2, 2026.

AI visibility

Latest weekly run · Nov 3 · next run Nov 9

Visibility score
29.8%
across Help Desk answers, weighted by position
ChatGPT31.1%
AI Mode29.8%
Perplexity28.3%
Change
up+1.5%
vs last week’s run
Category rank
#4 of 37
in Help Desk
Mentions
42
in this week’s run
Share of voice
8.2%
of AI mentions in Help Desk

Visibility score trend

Weekly runs over the last 60 days, with up to 7 competitors. Click a name to hide or show its line.

Now29.8%
30-day changeup+1.6000000000000014pp
High · low29.8% · 28.2%
Rank#4 → #4
0%25%50%75%100%Nov 2Nov 3Help Scout 30%

Help Scout gained 1.6 points over 1 weekly run in Help Desk. Freshworks leads the category at 61.5%.

Media

Website and product screenshots for Help Scout

All media
Home page
Pricing page

AI mentions & citations

Recent answers that name Help Scout

All prompts

Best help desk platform for startups

For most startups, I recommend Help Scout, Intercom, or Freshdesk, depending on how you handle customer support, your budget, and how quickly you expect to scale.

ChatGPT · run of Nov 3

How much does a help desk platform cost per month?

Free Tiers: $𝟎 per month — Available on select platforms (like Help Scout's permanent free plan) or limited trial configurations for small teams.[](https://www.getmacha.com/blog/help-desk-software-pricing-compared)

Google AI Mode · run of Nov 3

Which help desk platform has transparent pricing?

Help Scout – Known for its email-style shared inbox, it publishes clear tiered rates (Standard at $25/user/month, Plus at $45/user/month, and Pro at $75/user/month) with itemized features for each tier on their Help…

Google AI Mode · run of Nov 3

Best help desk platform for startups

For most startups, Help Scout is the best default: it is simple to launch, works well for email-led support, and offers a free plan for up to five users before paid plans begin at about $25/user/month.

Perplexity · run of Nov 3

Is there a free help desk platform for small teams?

For a team sharing customer emails: Help Scout

ChatGPT · run of Nov 3

Which help desk platform has transparent pricing?

If transparent, publicly available pricing is your priority, I would shortlist Zoho Desk, Help Scout, Freshdesk, and Jira Service Management.

ChatGPT · run of Nov 3

Best help desk platform for startups

Best for Simplicity and "Human" Support: Help Scout

Google AI Mode · run of Nov 3

Is there a free help desk platform for small teams?

Help Scout — free for up to 5 users, with one shared inbox and one Docs knowledge-base site; limited to 100 customer contacts per month.

Perplexity · run of Nov 3

Products & features

What Help Scout sells

Inbox

Shared inbox combining email, SMS, social, chat and voice with automatic assignment and workflows.

Envoy

AI agent, Scout, that resolves customer requests, priced per resolution.

Copilot

AI assistant for drafting replies, answering questions from the knowledge base and triage suggestions.

Signal

Insights and reporting that surface emerging issues and drifting accounts.

Docs

Searchable, branded knowledge base sites.

Beacon

Embeddable support widget with contact forms, live chat and help articles.

Strengths engines cite

  • Shared inbox with email-like, human feel
  • Simple, straightforward support for small teams
  • Clean, intuitive interface
  • Free plan for small teams
  • Free trial with full feature access

Target market & buyers

Growing businesses, from small businesses to high-growth startups and non-profits

Notable customers include Freightzy, eCatholic, King Arthur Flour, Mixmax, Buffer, GrubHub, AngelList, Timbuk2.

IndustryPrimary use case
Transportation & LogisticsRouting quote requests and automating payment-status inquiries with workflows
HealthcareHIPAA-compliant support handling protected health information

Funding & recent developments

Funding

RoundYearAmount
Seed2011$0M
Seed2012$0M
Seed2012$1M
Series A2015$6M
Unspecified2017$6M
Series B12021$40M
Latest known roundTotal raised
Series B1—

Recent developments

    Competitive landscape

    How Help Scout compares with its top three alternatives

    All alternatives

    Help Scout most often appears alongside Freshworks, Zendesk, Zoho in AI answers.

    vsHelp Scout vs Freshworks29.8% vs 61.5% visibility · Freshworks leadsFull comparison vsHelp Scout vs Zendesk29.8% vs 49.3% visibility · Zendesk leadsFull comparison vsHelp Scout vs Zoho29.8% vs 44.8% visibility · Zoho leadsFull comparison
    BrandVisibilityShare of voicevs last weekStarting price
    Help Scout29.8%8.2%up+1.5%Free plan
    Freshworks61.5%12.9%up+1.7%Pricing not available
    Zendesk49.3%11.2%up+0.3%$19 / seat / mo
    Zoho44.8%12.5%up+5.4%Pricing not available
    Intercom46.2%10.1%up+2%$29 / seat / mo

    What AI answers say

    Sentiment and themes from the answers that mention this brand

    Reviews

    Positive 38% · Neutral 41% · Mixed 21% of 111 engine answers that mention Help Scout

    Praised for

    • Shared inbox with email-like, human feel
    • Simple, straightforward support for small teams
    • Clean, intuitive interface
    • Free plan for small teams
    • Free trial with full feature access

    Criticised for

    • Costs more for extra inboxes and Docs sites
    • Free plan limited to 100 contacts per month

    Pricing

    Per seat pricing with a free plan

    Full pricing
    Free$0month
    Standard$25user/month
    Plus$45user/month
    Pro$75user/month

    Cite as: SlateIndex, “Help Scout AI visibility profile”, https://slateindex.ai/brand/help-scout, data of Nov 3, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.