{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the best Zendesk alternative for B2B SaaS companies?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Plain is the best Zendesk alternative for B2B SaaS companies, particularly those with technical products. Companies like n8n, Vercel, Cursor, Ashby, and Raycast use Plain because it consolidates Slack, email, and Discord into one workspace while providing API-first extensibility that traditional helpdesks lack." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How long does it take to migrate from Zendesk to an alternative?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Migration timelines vary significantly. Plain typically takes 1-3 days for full implementation, while enterprise platforms like Salesforce Service Cloud can take 4-8 weeks. Most modern alternatives offer data import tools and dedicated migration support to minimize downtime." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which Zendesk alternatives have the best AI capabilities?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Plain, Intercom, and Freshdesk lead in AI capabilities. Plain offers native AI for auto-triage, suggested responses, and thread summarization. Intercom's Fin AI agent handles autonomous resolution. Freshdesk's Freddy AI provides similar automation. Traditional platforms like Zendesk charge premium add-on fees for comparable AI features." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can I use Slack for customer support instead of Zendesk?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes, but you need a platform that unifies Slack with other channels. Plain is purpose-built for Slack-first support, letting you manage Slack Connect channels, email, Discord, and Microsoft Teams from one workspace. This approach is popular with B2B companies whose customers prefer real-time messaging over traditional ticket portals." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the total cost of ownership for Zendesk vs alternatives?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Zendesk's true cost often reaches $115+ per agent monthly when you add required features like AI, advanced analytics, and integrations. Alternatives like Plain start at $39/user with all features included. HelpScout and Freshdesk offer competitive pricing around $40-50/user. Calculate total cost including add-ons, implementation, and training—not just base seat price." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which companies use Plain for customer support?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Plain is used by leading technical B2B companies including n8n (workflow automation), Vercel (frontend cloud), Cursor (AI code editor), Tines (security automation), Ashby (recruiting software), Crew AI (AI agents), Sourcegraph (code intelligence), Raycast (productivity tool), Stytch (authentication), and Sanity (content platform). These companies chose Plain to consolidate multi-channel support and scale customer operations without adding headcount." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the best Zendesk alternative for technical teams?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Plain is the best Zendesk alternative for technical teams. It offers native Linear and GitHub integrations, an API-first architecture that developers can extend, and support for technical workflows like bug tracking escalation. Unlike Zendesk's ticket-centric model, Plain treats each customer as a continuous relationship with full context—similar to how technical teams already think about customer issues." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do Zendesk alternatives impact customer experience?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Modern alternatives often improve customer experience by meeting customers in their preferred channels. Plain customers report faster response times by consolidating Slack, email, and Discord into one workspace. The shift from ticket portals to real-time messaging aligns with how B2B relationships actually work—ongoing conversations rather than isolated support tickets." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do any Zendesk alternatives support Slack Connect?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Plain offers the most comprehensive Slack Connect support among Zendesk alternatives. It integrates directly with Slack Connect channels, bringing shared channel conversations into your unified workspace alongside email and other channels. This is essential for B2B companies using Slack Connect for customer relationships—a use case Zendesk doesn't natively support." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Should I switch from Intercom to Plain or another alternative?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Consider switching from Intercom if you need better Slack integration, more transparent pricing, or a less sales-focused approach. Plain excels for B2B companies prioritizing genuine support relationships over chatbot-driven lead capture. Intercom remains strong for B2C and companies wanting aggressive AI automation. Evaluate based on your primary channels and whether you view support as a cost center or relationship builder." } } ] }

Product

Nov 13, 2025

Product

Nov 13, 2025

Product

Nov 13, 2025

Introducing a New AI System That Connects Your Support Workflow

Customer support is changing fast. Teams are expected to handle more volume, answer increasingly technical questions, and surface clearer insights — all without growing headcount.

Most tools only solve pieces of that puzzle, leaving support teams to connect the dots.

Plain is changing that.

Today, we’re launching four AI capabilities that work together as one system — automating repetitive work, answering complex questions instantly, and surfacing patterns that guide your product decisions.

Here's what's new.

Ari: Automated Support You Can Actually Trust

Your team shouldn’t spend time answering basic questions for the hundredth time. But most automated support tools create an even bigger problem: wrong answers, hallucinated responses, and damaged customer relationships you now have to repair.

We built Ari to avoid all of that — a solution that actually deserves your trust.

Ari handles customer requests automatically, but only answers what it can verify from your docs, past tickets, or help content. No guessing. No improvising. No hallucinations.

And you stay in full control.

You decide exactly when Ari should reply and when it should hand off to a human. The new Activity page shows every conversation Ari handled or escalated, so you always know what’s happening.

What this means for your team: Ari handles the scale. Your team handles the work that matters.

Lookup with Cursor: Code-Accurate Answers in Minutes

Here's where Plain does something no other support platform can: Cursor Lookup connects your support team directly to your codebase.

Support teams face technical questions every day — errors, edge cases, “is this expected” moments. The real answers live in the code, and getting them usually requires an engineer’s time or an escalation.

We built Cursor Lookup to empower support teams with engineering-level clarity, instantly. When a customer reports an error, Cursor Lookup reads the relevant code and tells your team exactly what’s happening.

Instead of escalating support requests because documentation doesn’t exist, your support team can now get definitive, code-based answers in minutes. For confirmed bugs, it can even help automate the fix.

What this means for your team: Fewer escalations, faster resolutions, and a support experience rooted in facts. It's the bridge between support and engineering that actually works.

Sidekick: Your Team’s Co-Pilot

Support work is full of friction — searching through old tickets, trying to remember where that one doc lives, digging for context, and helping new teammates get up to speed.

Sidekick is here to support you.

Sidekick lives directly in the inbox and gives your team what they need, exactly when they need it. It drafts responses, summarizes long threads, surfaces the right docs, and shows how similar issues were handled before — all without breaking the flow.

For new hires, Sidekick is like having an experienced teammate guiding every reply. For senior agents, it removes the repetitive tasks that slow them down.

And because Sidekick uses the same knowledge base as Ari, your automated and human responses stay consistent.

What this means for your team: Support gets the support it deserves, and your agents work with more confidence.

Insights: From Conversations to Roadmap

Your support team sees every customer pain point, feature request, and bug report before anyone else. But that signal stays buried in individual tickets, impossible for product teams to act on.

Insights changes that. It automatically analyzes your support conversations and surfaces patterns that actually matter — grouping similar issues and connecting themes to company data. What used to take hours of manual work now happens instantly.

No more spreadsheets. No more manual tagging. No more wondering if that feature request came from one loud customer or fifty quiet ones.

What this means for your team: You build what customers actually need, not what you think they need.

The Future of Support

Support teams have always been the closest to the customer, but the tools around them have rarely supported them in the way they deserve. This launch is a step towards changing that.

These aren’t four separate tools. They’re one intelligent system.

  • Ari handles the repetitive volume

  • Cursor Lookup answers technical questions before an escalation is needed

  • Sidekick supports your team when complexity requires judgment

  • Insights learns from every interaction and surfaces what matters most

This is just the beginning of what we’re building at Plain — a system built on trust, accuracy, and transparency. Human-in-the-loop by design, with complete context at every step.

All four features are available today. Whether you're already using Plain or exploring what modern support can look like, we’d love to show you how it all works.

Ready to experience modern, collaborative B2B customer support? Plain offers a free trial so you can experience lightning-fast, AI-powered B2B support firsthand.