Close vs Zendesk Answer Bot

Close offers four plans: Solo ($9-19/user/month), Essentials ($35-49), Growth ($99-109), and Scale ($139-149). All include calling, email, SMS, and Chloe AI agent access. Essentials adds unlimited contacts and team collaboration. Growth adds automation, power dialer, and custom activities. Scale adds role-based permissions and unlimited recording. Annual billing saves up to 50%.

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.

Close charges usage-based fees for calling (~$0.02 per minute), SMS charges per message, and phone number rentals ($1-5/month). The AI Call Assistant add-on costs $50/month plus $0.02 per minute for transcription. Heavy outbound calling teams can see their total costs increase 30-50% beyond the base seat price.

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.

Chloe is an AI sales agent built into Close that automatically calls leads, qualifies prospects through real conversations, and can book meetings while updating the CRM automatically. Chloe features AI-generated call summaries, transcripts, and action items automatically logged to contacts.

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.

No. Close does not provide built-in lead lists, company intelligence, or contact enrichment features. Organizations must source leads separately or use third-party data providers. This differs from platforms like HubSpot which include integrated lead databases.

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.

Close includes built-in calling with automatic call logging, email templates and bulk email capabilities, SMS messaging with tracking and automation, email syncing with Gmail, and automated follow-up workflows. All communication happens within the CRM platform.

Close's marketing automation features are limited compared to HubSpot. It includes basic email sequences, task reminders, and workflow automation, but lacks advanced lead scoring, nurturing campaigns, and detailed marketing analytics. Organizations requiring extensive marketing automation need separate tools.