Zendesk AI agents vs Fin (Intercom)
Different on 9 of 12 scenarios. Month at 5,000 AI conversations, default mix: Zendesk AI agents $0 to $7,002; Fin (Intercom) $3,367 to $3,614.
Zendesk AI agents
Verified automated resolution · Not on the pricing page; $1.50 to $2.00 per resolution reported by rivals
"Automated Resolutions: Are the unit of measurement used for calculating and billing your account for AI agent usage. Paying per automated resolution means that you pay only for customer requests that were successfully resolved by the AI agent, without any escalation to a human agent."
Zendesk pricing page OWN DOCS viewed 2026-11-10
Fin (Intercom)
Outcome · $0.99 per outcome
"A resolution is a type of outcome that is counted when, following Fin's last answer in a conversation, the customer either confirms the answer was satisfactory (confirmed resolution), or exits the conversation without requesting further assistance (assumed resolution)." Also billable: a Procedure handoff. "You're only charged for one outcome per conversation."
Intercom help, "Fin AI Agent outcomes" (scenario table: what is billed) OWN DOCS viewed 2026-11-10
Scenario by scenario
| Scenario | Zendesk AI agents | Fin (Intercom) |
|---|---|---|
| S1 Answered, customer confirms it worked | VERIFY Verified Resolution: "The AI agent successfully resolved the interaction." Only after an LLM "evaluates the text of the conversation to confirm that t… | BILLED "Fin gives an AI answer and no further help is requested." → Resolution, Yes. (Intercom help scenario table) |
| S2 Answered, then 24 hours of silence | VERIFY Contained Resolution: "The AI agent handled the interaction to completion without the customer requesting further assistance. This tier does not count… | BILLED "...exits the conversation without requesting further assistance (assumed resolution)." The 24-hour trigger for the assumed case is per Varley; Fin's … |
| S3 Customer says "I still need help" | NOT BILLED "Without any escalation to a human agent." Escalations do not count against the allowance (Varley). | NOT BILLED "Standard workflow: Fin will hand over if ... a customer asks for human support ..." → Escalated, No. (Intercom help scenario table) |
| S4 Escalated by rule, human resolves | NOT BILLED Assisted Escalation: "The AI agent contributed to the interaction before a human agent completed the resolution. This tier does not count against your… | NOT BILLED "Fin escalates due to workspace level guidance or escalation rules." → Escalated, No. |
| S5 Procedure ends in a hand-off | NOT BILLED A hand-off is an escalation; "without any escalation to a human agent" (own page). Reading, not a quote about procedures. | BILLED "Fin handoffs to a human because of instructions you added in Procedure-specific guidance." → Procedure Handoff, Yes. |
| S6 Human steps in before the customer asks | NOT BILLED "The AI agent contributed to the interaction before a human agent completed the resolution." (Assisted escalation tier.) | BILLED Customers who had not asked for a person first: "each reply counted as a Fin resolution" (Intercom forum case quoted by Varley). |
| S7 Follow-up question, AI answers again | VERIFY Verification runs when the conversation ends (email 72h after the first email, messaging 2h after the first message by default); a second answer in th… | BILLED "A maximum of one outcome per conversation, regardless of how many questions the customer asks." |
| S8 Same issue returns within 72 hours | DOCS SILENT Not addressed in the sources we read. | DOCS SILENT Varley and DevRev say the charge is deducted only if the customer returns to the same conversation; a new conversation is a new outcome. Intercom's pa… |
| S9 Answer was wrong, customer leaves | VERIFY An LLM reads the transcript at the end; a silent unhappy customer is billed only if the LLM confirms the request was satisfactorily resolved, otherwis… | BILLED "A resolution is counted when ... the customer ... exits the conversation without requesting further assistance (assumed resolution)." A customer who … |
| S10 AI only looks up or acts | VERIFY Action Builder is "billed based on consumption exceeding applicable plan allowances" (own page), separate from automated resolutions. | BILLED "Fin gives an AI answer and no further help is requested." → Resolution, Yes. A completed Procedure counts the same way. |
| S11 Spam, test or bot message | DOCS SILENT Not addressed in the sources we read. | NOT BILLED "Fin determines a conversation is spam and routes it to the Spam view in your Inbox." → Spam, No. (Intercom help scenario table) |
| S12 Three questions in one chat | DOCS SILENT Not addressed in the sources we read. | BILLED Same rule: one outcome per conversation however many questions. |
Zendesk AI agents: Per-resolution price: "about $1.20 to $1.50 committed, $2.00 pay-as-you-go" (Intercom, 2026-07-08) vs "$1.50 committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go" (Talvo, 2026-10-21). Zendesk's own page lists no per-resolution rate.
Fin (Intercom): Intercom's page says outcomes are a resolution or a procedure hand-off; the Fin team's July comparison article calls the same unit "per resolution" and "end-to-end without human involvement" (see /changes/).
BILLED the vendor's text says it bills · NOT BILLED says it does not · VERIFY text is ambiguous, conflicts, or a vendor-side check decides · DOCS SILENT text we read does not say