Support Software Keeps Familiar Best Leaders but Reopens the Practical Shortlist
Seven Support Best leaders hold, while six categories choose four different products across the questions buyers actually bring to a shortlist.
Support covers ten categories in this week's edition. Support software is mature enough to produce recognizable Best leaders, yet the practical questions remain unsettled. Price, deployment effort, and newer approaches repeatedly redirect the shortlist.
Across the hub, 195 products rank in Best, while the ten category mastheads total 1,191 Sources and 5,864 Mentions. 3 Best leaders change week over week, and 6 categories return four distinct leaders across the direct questions.
How to Read This Report
Each table shows the current Best Top 3. The analysis keeps Most Affordable, Easiest to Set Up, and Rising separate. AIQ is category-relative, so compare products inside the same category and question. Sources count distinct cited pages; Mentions count verified product-page mentions.
In Help Desk, Zendesk leads at Best AIQ 98. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #2. It records 59 Sources and 98 Mentions in the current category evidence. Freshdesk is second at Best AIQ 36. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Claude #2, and Perplexity #4. It has no category rank from Gemini in this ranking. It records 49 Sources and 82 Mentions in the current category evidence. Zoho Desk is third at Best AIQ 24. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #5, Gemini #4, Claude #3, and Perplexity #3. It records 36 Sources and 53 Mentions in the current category evidence.
The category contains 20 Best-ranked products, 156 Sources and 943 Mentions across all four direct questions. Zendesk holds #1. A 74-point lead over third makes the top of the table unusually decisive, but the 4-assistant footprint matters as much as the headline score. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by Crisp at Most Affordable AIQ 56. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Perplexity #4. It has no category rank from Gemini and Claude in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 5 Sources and 6 Mentions. Crisp moves up 5 places to #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Jira Service Management at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 58. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Gemini #9. It has no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 28 Sources and 40 Mentions. Jira Service Management moves up 8 places to #1. Rising is led by Pylon at Rising AIQ 70. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 7 Sources and 9 Mentions. Pylon moves up 2 places to #1. Price points to Crisp, implementation to Jira Service Management, and the emerging-product question to Pylon. None should be folded into Zendesk's Best result; each answers a different buying constraint. All four questions produce different leaders.
In Live Chat, Intercom leads at Best AIQ 84. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #2, Claude #1, and Perplexity #3. It records 37 Sources and 58 Mentions in the current category evidence. Zendesk is second at Best AIQ 63. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #1, Claude #2, and Perplexity #2. It records 40 Sources and 64 Mentions in the current category evidence. LiveChat is third at Best AIQ 37. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #3, Gemini #3, Claude #3, and Perplexity #1. It records 33 Sources and 50 Mentions in the current category evidence.
Intercom holds #1, and the top-to-third spread is 47 points. The more revealing figure is breadth: the leader appears in 4 of 4 assistant lists. Across the category, Cooper records 22 Best-ranked products, 115 Sources and 645 Mentions across all four direct questions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by tawk.to at Most Affordable AIQ 100. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. Its current category evidence records 26 Sources and 33 Mentions. tawk.to holds #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by tawk.to at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 100. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. Its current category evidence records 26 Sources and 33 Mentions. tawk.to moves up 1 place to #1. Rising is led by Plain at Rising AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 4 Sources and 4 Mentions. Plain moves up 2 places to #1. The shortlist changes as soon as the question changes. tawk.to owns the budget answer, tawk.to the setup answer, and Plain the Rising answer, while Intercom remains the Best leader. 3 distinct products lead the four questions.
In Contact Center, Genesys Cloud CX leads at Best AIQ 95. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 21 Sources and 24 Mentions in the current category evidence. NICE CXone is second at Best AIQ 48. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #2, and Claude #2. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 20 Sources and 25 Mentions in the current category evidence. Talkdesk is third at Best AIQ 26. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #4, Gemini #3, and Claude #4. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 32 Sources and 40 Mentions in the current category evidence.
This is a concentrated Best result. Genesys Cloud CX leads third by 69 points and holds #1, with 21 Sources and 24 Mentions attached to its current category evidence. The full market records 23 Best-ranked products, 143 Sources and 686 Mentions across all four direct questions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by LiveAgent at Most Affordable AIQ 83. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #7, and Perplexity #7. Its current category evidence records 8 Sources and 11 Mentions. LiveAgent moves up 7 places to #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Aircall at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 61. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #3, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #2. Its current category evidence records 18 Sources and 32 Mentions. Aircall holds #1. Rising is led by Sierra at Rising AIQ 70. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 7 Sources and 9 Mentions. Sierra moves up 1 place to #1. Genesys Cloud CX is the broad Best reference point, not a universal winner. For affordability the assistants select LiveAgent; for setup they select Aircall; for newer options they select Sierra. All four questions produce different leaders.
In Customer Success, Gainsight CS leads at Best AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 1 Source and 4 Mentions in the current category evidence. ChurnZero is second at Best AIQ 46. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #2, Claude #4, and Perplexity #2. It records 35 Sources and 51 Mentions in the current category evidence. Gainsight is third at Best AIQ 45. Its assistant positions are Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. It has no category rank from ChatGPT in this ranking. It records 35 Sources and 51 Mentions in the current category evidence.
The ranking is easier to read as a market shape than as a single score. Gainsight CS is new to the ranking at #1; 1 of 4 assistants place it somewhere in their category lists, and the podium spans 10 points. The category-wide evidence totals 81 Sources and 442 Mentions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by Akita at Most Affordable AIQ 70. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 4 Sources and 6 Mentions. Akita holds #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by fiit at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 1 Source and 1 Mention. fiit moves up 2 places to #1. Rising is led by Staircase AI by Gainsight at Rising AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 2 Sources and 5 Mentions. Staircase AI by Gainsight is new to the ranking at #1. A buyer optimizing for price would start with Akita. A buyer prioritizing implementation would begin with fiit. Rising turns to Staircase AI by Gainsight. That is a materially different map from Best, led by Gainsight CS. All four questions produce different leaders.
In Knowledge Base, Document360 leads at Best AIQ 73. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. It records 31 Sources and 38 Mentions in the current category evidence. Zendesk Knowledge is second at Best AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 9 Sources and 14 Mentions in the current category evidence. Guru is third at Best AIQ 27. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #5, Gemini #2, and Claude #4. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 2 Sources and 3 Mentions in the current category evidence.
18 Best-ranked products, 110 Sources and 616 Mentions across all four direct questions make this a substantial evidence set. At the top, Document360 moves up 1 place to #1 and leads third by 46 points. All four assistants include the leader, which qualifies how confidently the #1 should be generalized. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by Zoho Desk at Most Affordable AIQ 59. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #8, and Perplexity #8. It has no category rank from Claude in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 20 Sources and 21 Mentions. Zoho Desk moves up 9 places to #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by HelpKit at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 1 Source and 2 Mentions. HelpKit is new to the ranking at #1. Rising is led by Slite at Rising AIQ 73. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #8, and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 14 Sources and 17 Mentions. Slite holds #1. Price points to Zoho Desk, implementation to HelpKit, and the emerging-product question to Slite. None should be folded into Document360's Best result; each answers a different buying constraint. All four questions produce different leaders.
In Surveys, Qualtrics leads at Best AIQ 85. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #2, Claude #1, and Perplexity #2. It records 34 Sources and 43 Mentions in the current category evidence. SurveyMonkey is second at Best AIQ 65. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #1, Claude #2, and Perplexity #1. It records 35 Sources and 46 Mentions in the current category evidence. Alchemer is third at Best AIQ 27. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #3, Gemini #5, and Claude #4. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 14 Sources and 16 Mentions in the current category evidence.
The category contains 17 Best-ranked products, 104 Sources and 418 Mentions across all four direct questions. Qualtrics holds #1. A 58-point lead over third creates a clear first reference point, but the 4-assistant footprint matters as much as the headline score. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by Tally at Most Affordable AIQ 68. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #3, and Perplexity #1. It has no category rank from Claude in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 12 Sources and 15 Mentions. Tally moves up 1 place to #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Tally at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 76. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #4, and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 12 Sources and 15 Mentions. Tally moves up 2 places to #1. Rising is led by Sprig at Rising AIQ 80. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Gemini #1. It has no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 4 Sources and 6 Mentions. Sprig moves up 2 places to #1. The shortlist changes as soon as the question changes. Tally owns the budget answer, Tally the setup answer, and Sprig the Rising answer, while Qualtrics remains the Best leader. 3 distinct products lead the four questions.
In Chatbots, Intercom Fin leads at Best AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 16 Sources and 17 Mentions in the current category evidence. Zendesk is second at Best AIQ 33. Its assistant positions are Gemini #1 and Claude #2. It has no category rank from ChatGPT and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 55 Sources and 74 Mentions in the current category evidence. Intercom is third at Best AIQ 28. Its assistant positions are Gemini #2 and Claude #1. It has no category rank from ChatGPT and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 50 Sources and 63 Mentions in the current category evidence.
Intercom Fin holds #1, and the top-to-third spread is 27 points. The more revealing figure is breadth: the leader appears in 1 of 4 assistant lists. Across the category, Cooper records 27 Best-ranked products, 136 Sources and 805 Mentions across all four direct questions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by ResolveAI at Most Affordable AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 2 Sources and 2 Mentions. ResolveAI is new to the ranking at #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Tidio Lyro AI Agent at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 2 Sources and 7 Mentions. Tidio Lyro AI Agent is new to the ranking at #1. Rising is led by Decagon at Rising AIQ 83. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #2, and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 7 Sources and 9 Mentions. Decagon moves up 1 place to #1. Intercom Fin is the broad Best reference point, not a universal winner. For affordability the assistants select ResolveAI; for setup they select Tidio Lyro AI Agent; for newer options they select Decagon. All four questions produce different leaders.
In Community Management, Circle leads at Best AIQ 59. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #4, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. It records 32 Sources and 49 Mentions in the current category evidence. Khoros Aurora AI is second at Best AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 1 Source and 1 Mention in the current category evidence. Gainsight Customer Communities is third at Best AIQ 33. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #6, and Claude #10. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 3 Sources and 4 Mentions in the current category evidence.
This is a contested Best result. Circle leads third by 26 points and holds #1, with 32 Sources and 49 Mentions attached to its current category evidence. The full market records 20 Best-ranked products, 124 Sources and 475 Mentions across all four direct questions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by GroupApp at Most Affordable AIQ 60. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Perplexity #1. It has no category rank from Gemini and Claude in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 6 Sources and 7 Mentions. GroupApp moves up 16 places to #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Discourse at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 21 Sources and 26 Mentions. Discourse holds #1. Rising is led by Khoros Aurora AI at Rising AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 1 Source and 1 Mention. Khoros Aurora AI is new to the ranking at #1. A buyer optimizing for price would start with GroupApp. A buyer prioritizing implementation would begin with Discourse. Rising turns to Khoros Aurora AI. That is a materially different map from Best, led by Circle. All four questions produce different leaders.
In Field Service Management, ServiceTitan leads at Best AIQ 83. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #2, and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 32 Sources and 39 Mentions in the current category evidence. Salesforce Field Service is second at Best AIQ 63. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #1, Claude #2, and Perplexity #2. It records 18 Sources and 24 Mentions in the current category evidence. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service is third at Best AIQ 32. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #3, Gemini #3, and Claude #3. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 9 Sources and 10 Mentions in the current category evidence.
The ranking is easier to read as a market shape than as a single score. ServiceTitan holds #1; 3 of 4 assistants place it somewhere in their category lists, and the podium spans 51 points. The category-wide evidence totals 119 Sources and 449 Mentions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by FieldVibe at Most Affordable AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 2 Sources and 3 Mentions. FieldVibe is new to the ranking at #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by FieldVibe at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 2 Sources and 3 Mentions. FieldVibe is new to the ranking at #1. Rising is led by Zuper at Rising AIQ 75. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #2, and Claude #2. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 11 Sources and 11 Mentions. Zuper moves up 1 place to #1. Price points to FieldVibe, implementation to FieldVibe, and the emerging-product question to Zuper. None should be folded into ServiceTitan's Best result; each answers a different buying constraint. 3 distinct products lead the four questions.
In Customer Education, Thought Industries leads at Best AIQ 68. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #3, and Claude #3. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 13 Sources and 15 Mentions in the current category evidence. Docebo is second at Best AIQ 43. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #4, Gemini #2, Claude #1, and Perplexity #3. It records 27 Sources and 31 Mentions in the current category evidence. Skilljar is third at Best AIQ 38. Its assistant positions are Gemini #1, Claude #2, and Perplexity #1. It has no category rank from ChatGPT in this ranking. It records 24 Sources and 29 Mentions in the current category evidence.
15 Best-ranked products, 103 Sources and 385 Mentions across all four direct questions make this a substantial evidence set. At the top, Thought Industries moves up 2 places to #1 and leads third by 30 points. Only 3 of 4 assistants include the leader, which qualifies how confidently the #1 should be generalized. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by TalentLMS at Most Affordable AIQ 78. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #4, Claude #1, and Perplexity #3. Its current category evidence records 21 Sources and 30 Mentions. TalentLMS moves up 1 place to #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Trainn at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 60. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Perplexity #1. It has no category rank from Gemini and Claude in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 5 Sources and 9 Mentions. Trainn is new to the ranking at #1. Rising is led by Trainn at Rising AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 5 Sources and 9 Mentions. Trainn is new to the ranking at #1. The shortlist changes as soon as the question changes. TalentLMS owns the budget answer, Trainn the setup answer, and Trainn the Rising answer, while Thought Industries remains the Best leader. 3 distinct products lead the four questions.
What the Hub Says This Week
The stable names at the top do not remove the need for operational diligence. Support software is bought through workflows, staffing models, and time to value, exactly the areas the other questions expose. Read the Rising signals across all eight hubs.
Freshdesk
Pylon at Rising AIQ 70. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 7 Sources and 9 Mentions. 
tawk.to at Most Affordable AIQ 100. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. Its current category evidence records 26 Sources and 33 Mentions. 
Plain at Rising AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 4 Sources and 4 Mentions. 
ChurnZero
fiit at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 1 Source and 1 Mention. 
Guru
Sprig at Rising AIQ 80. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Gemini #1. It has no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 4 Sources and 6 Mentions. 
ResolveAI at Most Affordable AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 2 Sources and 2 Mentions. 
GroupApp at Most Affordable AIQ 60. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Perplexity #1. It has no category rank from Gemini and Claude in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 6 Sources and 7 Mentions. 
Thought Industries
Docebo
Skilljar
