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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

86%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 Heralded Score Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
– Freshchat IN Too few answers 1% 0% First reading
– Gladly US Too few answers 2% 2% First reading
– Help Desk Ultimate Too few answers 2% 0% None First reading
– Helply US Too few answers 2% 0% None First reading
– Hesk Cloud SI Too few answers 1% 0% None First reading
– Hiver US Too few answers 2% 1% First reading
– It Helpdesk Manager Pro Software Ticket Sla Crm Invoice App Windows Too few answers 1% 0% None First reading
– IT Helpdesk Manager Pro Software | Ticket SLA Tracker CRM Asset Inventory (Windows/Mac) Too few answers 1% 0% None First reading
– Ivanti US Too few answers 1% 0% None First reading
– Jitbit Help Desk Too few answers 2% 0% None 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.

Most cited sources

Rank Source Type Cited in Engines Pages cited Brands its pages mention
1 intercom.com Brand site 15.6% 1 of 4 23 16
2Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
3Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
4Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
5Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
6Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
7 zapier.com Vendor site 15.6% 3 of 4 2 11
8Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
9 reddit.com Community 13.5% 3 of 4 6 27
10 google.com Vendor site 3.1% 1 of 4 10 Not read

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