FIELD NOTES

Chat Agent Pricing Models: Per-Message vs Per-Resolution

Intercom moved to per-resolution. Zendesk is still per-MAU. What each model actually costs you at scale, and which one we recommend by company size.

How the post opens

Intercom moved to per-resolution pricing in 2024 and the market noticed. Zendesk is still mostly per-MAU. At scale, the gap between the cheapest model and the most expensive can be 5x for the same workload. The 72-hour deploy plan We ship most projects in this category on a 72-hour clock. Interview the two people who do this job today.

What it argues

At scale, the gap between the cheapest model and the most expensive can be 5x for the same workload. The 72-hour deploy plan We ship most projects in this category on a 72-hour clock. Interview the two people who do this job today. Pull 50 sample inputs (calls, chats, tickets). Identify the three top customer intents.

Filed under

Why this one exists

Intercom moved to per-resolution. Zendesk is still per-MAU. What each model actually costs you at scale, and which one we recommend by company size. It is filed under AI Strategy because that is where operators looking for this problem actually start, and it is written from production work rather than from a content calendar.