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Customer Support · head to head

8x8 Contact Center vs Zendesk Answer Bot

8x8 Contact Center logo

8x8 Contact Center

Customer Support

Integrated cloud communications and contact center

From
$85/month
Rated
-
Zendesk Answer Bot logo

Zendesk Answer Bot

Live Chat & Chatbots

AI-powered chatbot for automated customer support

From
$55/month per agent
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 8x8 Contact Center listed on G-Cloud 14 directly by 8x8 UK Limited (not a reseller) at £0.68 to £113.40 per user per month for 8x8 Contact Centre; Zendesk Answer Bot limited to Help Center articles only; cannot access customer account data, billing information, or external systems
  • They diverge on capability: 8x8 Contact Center covers Voice, Zendesk Answer Bot covers AI chatbot.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which 8x8 Contact Center and Zendesk Answer Bot actually diverge.

Attributes where 8x8 Contact Center and Zendesk Answer Bot differ
Attribute8x8 Contact CenterZendesk Answer Bot
Starting price$85/month$55/month per agent
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Desktop, Ios, AndroidWeb, Email, Slack, Mobile
CategoryCustomer SupportLive Chat & Chatbots
Founded19872007

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in 8x8 Contact Center

  • Voice
  • Digital channels
  • IVR
  • ACD
  • WFM
  • Quality management
  • Analytics
  • Salesforce

Only in Zendesk Answer Bot

  • AI chatbot
  • Knowledge base integration
  • Intent recognition
  • Multi-language support
  • Zendesk Support
  • Zendesk Chat
  • Slack
  • API

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

8x8 Contact Center

  • Unified communicationsnot Zendesk Answer Bot
  • Contact centernot Zendesk Answer Bot
  • Remote worknot Zendesk Answer Bot
  • Customer support

Zendesk Answer Bot

  • Customer engagementnot 8x8 Contact Center
  • Lead generationnot 8x8 Contact Center
  • Customer support
  • Sales automationnot 8x8 Contact Center

Both are used for customer support, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

8x8 Contact Center

  • Listed on G-Cloud 14 directly by 8x8 UK Limited (not a reseller) at £0.68 to £113.40 per user per month for 8x8 Contact Centre

Zendesk Answer Bot

  • Limited to Help Center articles only; cannot access customer account data, billing information, or external systems
  • Fixed timeout limits on API calls prevent lookups to external systems from completing
  • Does not perform actions like refunds or account updates; only suggests documentation
  • Uses keyword matching rather than true natural language understanding, leading to mismatched suggestions on complex queries

Pricing, plan by plan

8x8 Contact Center

$85/month
  • X6$85/month
    • Voice contact center
    • ACD
    • IVR
  • X7$110/month
    • X6 + Digital channels
    • Quality management
  • X8$140/month
    • X7 + WFM
    • Speech analytics
    • Advanced AI

Zendesk Answer Bot

$55/month per agent
  • Suite Team$55/month per agent
    • Answer Bot included
  • Suite Growth$89/month per agent
    • Answer Bot included
  • Suite Professional$115/month per agent
    • Answer Bot included

Which should you pick?

Choose 8x8 Contact Center if

  • You need voice.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Ios, Android.
  • You also want digital channels.

Choose Zendesk Answer Bot if

  • You need ai chatbot.
  • You work on Web, Email, Slack, Mobile.
  • You also want knowledge base integration.

Questions people ask

Is 8x8 Contact Center or Zendesk Answer Bot better?
Neither clearly leads. 8x8 Contact Center starts at $85/month and Zendesk Answer Bot at $55/month per agent, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 8x8 Contact Center or Zendesk Answer Bot?
8x8 Contact Center starts at $85/month and Zendesk Answer Bot at $55/month per agent.
Does 8x8 Contact Center or Zendesk Answer Bot run on more platforms?
8x8 Contact Center runs on Web, Desktop, Ios, Android. Zendesk Answer Bot runs on Web, Email, Slack, Mobile.
What is 8x8 Contact Center best used for?
8x8 Contact Center is most often used for unified communications, contact center, remote work, customer support. Of those, unified communications and contact center are not what Zendesk Answer Bot is typically brought in for.
What can 8x8 Contact Center do that Zendesk Answer Bot cannot?
8x8 Contact Center covers Voice, Digital channels, IVR, ACD. Zendesk Answer Bot covers AI chatbot, Knowledge base integration, Intent recognition, Multi-language support. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Zendesk Answer Bot: Is Answer Bot included in my Zendesk plan?

Answer Bot functionality is now part of Zendesk AI agents included in Suite and Support plans, though Advanced AI features require the Advanced AI add-on. Legacy Essential tier Answer Bot was sunset on December 31, 2026.

Source
Zendesk Answer Bot: What channels does Answer Bot support?

Answer Bot works in email autoresponses, Slack channels (free feature for Guide Enterprise or Professional plans), and the web widget. For Slack, it listens to selected channels and suggests relevant Help Center articles to users.

Source
Zendesk Answer Bot: Does Answer Bot generate complete answers or just suggest articles?

Classic Answer Bot primarily suggests articles from your Help Center that might solve the issue, leaving the customer to read the article themselves. It does not generate a full response or summarize the article content.

Source
Zendesk Answer Bot: How is Answer Bot usage billed?

As of 2026, Zendesk charges for AI agent features using an automated resolutions model rather than monthly active users. The specific per-resolution pricing varies by plan and was transitioning during 2026.

Source

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