The most visible customer support tools in Europe, October 2026

October 2026 · 105 questions asked from 7 countries · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 420 answers read

Leader

Zendesk

59Heralded Score, range 45–65

Where engines disagree most

HubSpot Service Hub

1/4engines put it in their top three

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

Brands

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score All AI Search Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
11 LiveAgent SK New entry 15 , range 7–30 3#20 37#5
15
  • : score 15 · #11
4% 2% First reading
12 Gorgias US New entry 13 , range 6–39 9#10 19#12
13
  • : score 13 · #12
6% 4% First reading
13 Crisp FR New entry 9 , range 5–42 11#9 6#27
9
  • : score 9 · #13
7% 3% First reading
14 Missive CA New entry 7 , range 3–33 6#13 8#19
7
  • : score 7 · #14
6% 1% First reading
15 Salesforce Agentforce US New entry 6 , range 2–31 4#15 9#15
6
  • : score 6 · #15
4% 1% None First reading
16 Jira Service Management AU New entry 6 , range 2–31 5#14 8#16
6
  • : score 6 · #16
4% 1% First reading
17 Agentforce Service US New entry 5 , range 2–31 4#16 7#22
5
  • : score 5 · #17
4% 1% None First reading
18 ServiceNow US New entry 5 , range 2–29 2#27 10#13
5
  • : score 5 · #18
2% 0% First reading
19 Happyfox US New entry 5 , range 1–29 2#29 10#14
5
  • : score 5 · #19
2% 1% None First reading
20 Kustomer US New entry 4 , range 1–29 2#22 8#20
4
  • : score 4 · #20
2% 0% First reading

“=” marks brands whose score ranges overlap, so the test cannot separate them. Every brand named in at least three answers is ranked. AI and Search give each brand’s score and rank on that side alone. 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 itechguides.com Directory 6.2% 1 of 4 5 10
2 youtube.com Social 5.2% 2 of 4 14 Not read
3 thecxlead.com Unclassified 3.6% 3 of 4 14 12
4 getmacha.com Vendor site 3.8% 3 of 4 3 4
5 reddit.com Community 3.8% 2 of 4 11 Not read
6 dupple.com Media 3.1% 1 of 4 2 8
7 g2.com Review site 1.7% 3 of 4 10 Not read
8 alloysoftware.com Vendor site 2.6% 3 of 4 1 8
9 thinkbot.agency Consultancy 1.4% 1 of 4 3 3
10 toolradar.com Review site 2.1% 1 of 4 3 18

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
¿Qué es mejor para los equipos: la atención al cliente automatizada o la manual? Spanish No brand recommended
¿Qué alternativas hay a gestionar las consultas de los clientes por correo electrónico? Spanish Freshdesk, HubSpot Service Hub and Zendesk, tied
¿Qué alternativas hay a responder manualmente a las preguntas de los clientes? Spanish No brand recommended
Gestiono el soporte de un equipo de tres personas. ¿Cómo podemos atender más consultas? Spanish No brand recommended
Tengo una pequeña empresa y quiero responder a mis clientes por correo electrónico y chat. ¿Qué debería usar? Spanish Freshdesk and HubSpot Service Hub, tied
best customer support tools for small support teams English Freshdesk and Intercom, tied
customer support software for teams answering customer questions English Freshdesk
how can a support team resolve customer questions faster English No brand recommended
how to keep customer support requests from getting lost English No brand recommended
shared inbox vs help desk software for support teams English Freshdesk, Help Scout, Hiver and Zendesk, tied

Each engine's top three

Method

Each leaderboard ranks brands on two sides. AI is how ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode answer the board's buyer questions. Search is Google's top 10 results for the keywords behind those questions. All combines the two, where Search is measured.

For the AI side, 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