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Heralded

The most visible customer support tools, October 2026

October 2026 · 12 questions asked in English, worldwide · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 96 answers read

Leader

Zendesk

87%of answers name it

Where engines disagree most

Zoho Desk

1/4engines put it in their top three

Top three on Gemini, not on Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT

Brands

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
1 Zendesk US New entry 81 , range 75–86
81
  • : score 81 · #1
 87% 57% First reading
2 Freshdesk US New entry 76 , range 68–82
76
  • : score 76 · #2
 74% 54% First reading
3 Intercom US New entry 58 , range 47–70
58
  • : score 58 · #3
 54% 37% First reading
4 HubSpot Service Hub US New entry 50 , range 42–62
50
  • : score 50 · #4
 49% 27% First reading
5 Zoho Desk IN New entry 47 , range 40–58
47
  • : score 47 · #5
 44% 26% First reading
6 Salesforce Service Cloud US New entry 46 , range 39–56
46
  • : score 46 · #6
 45% 22% None First reading
7 Help Scout US New entry 44 , range 37–52
44
  • : score 44 · #7
 39% 21% First reading
8 Gorgias US New entry 37 , range 31–45
37
  • : score 37 · #8
 25% 18% First reading
9 Front US New entry 32 , range 15–39
32
  • : score 32 · #9
 19% 11% First reading
10 Kustomer US New entry 7 , range 3–27
7
  • : score 7 · #10
 7% 3% First reading

“=” marks brands whose score ranges overlap, so the test cannot separate them. Every brand named in at least three answers is ranked. By engine has one dot per engine (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode), darker the more often it names the brand.

This month's moves

First reading. No comparable previous month yet.

Biggest risers

No clear rise.

Biggest fallers

No clear fall.

Drop-outs

No drop-outs.

Most cited sources

Rank Source Type Cited in Engines Pages cited Brands its pages mention
11Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
12Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
13Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
14Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
15 dupple.com Media 6.3% 1 of 4 1 2
16Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
17 happyfox.com Brand site 6.3% 1 of 4 1 3
18Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
19Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
20Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.

The questions, and who wins each

QuestionLanguageWins it
customer support software with the best support English Freshdesk and Zoho Desk, tied
which customer support software do experts recommend English Freshdesk and Zendesk, tied

Each engine's top three

Method

Each month Heralded asks every engine the same buyer questions, twice each, and reads every answer. An answer counts 0 for a brand it leaves out, 50 for a brand it names and 100 for a brand it recommends, and the Heralded Score is built from those. A brand named in at least three answers gets a score and a place.

How the leaderboards are measured