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The most visible customer support tools in United Kingdom, October 2026

October 2026 · 15 questions asked from United Kingdom in English · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 60 answers read

AI: how the engines answer the board's questions; Search: Google's top 10 for the questions' demand keywords; All: both combined. How the Heralded Score works.

Leader

Zendesk

40%of answers name it

Most cited source

dupple.com

4citations

From ChatGPT

Where engines disagree most

Hiver

1/4engines put it in their top three

Top three on Google AI Mode, not on Gemini, 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 58 , range 33–70
58
  • : score 58 · #1
 40% 20% First reading
2 Freshdesk US New entry 57 , range 25–69
57
  • : score 57 · #2
 33% 24% First reading
3 Help Scout US New entry 55 , range 24–66
55
  • : score 55 · #3
 30% 21% First reading
4 Intercom US New entry 50 , range 20–59
50
  • : score 50 · #4
 24% 14% First reading
5 LiveAgent SK New entry 47 , range 0–75
47
  • : score 47 · #5
 5% 2% None First reading
6 HubSpot Service Hub US New entry 46 , range 6–54
46
  • : score 46 · #6
 18% 8% None First reading
7 Zoho Desk IN New entry 45 , range 6–53
45
  • : score 45 · #7
 13% 11% None First reading
8 Hiver US New entry 39 , range 4–51
39
  • : score 39 · #8
 12% 9% None First reading
9 Front US New entry 39 , range 10–54
39
  • : score 39 · #9
 17% 9% First reading
10 Freshworks US New entry 38 , range 17–56
38
  • : score 38 · #10
 16% 14% 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.

New entries

139 new entries

Drop-outs

No drop-outs.

Most cited sources

Rank Source Type Cited in Engines Pages cited Brands its pages mention
1 dupple.com Media 6.7% 1 of 4 2 9
2Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
3Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
4 beltstack.com Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
5Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
6 modernvisual.au Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
7 rework.com Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read

The questions, and who wins each

QuestionLanguageWins it
What’s the best customer support software for support teams? English Freshdesk and Intercom, tied
What customer support tools are best for small teams? English Freshdesk, Help Scout and Intercom, tied
How can a support team respond to customers faster? English Zendesk
How can I manage customer requests without missing any messages? English Zendesk
Should a small team offer customer support by email or chat? English No brand recommended
Is automated or manual customer support better for teams? English No brand recommended
What are some alternatives to managing customer requests by email? English Freshdesk, Freshworks, Help Scout and Jira Service Management, tied
What are some alternatives to manually answering customer questions? English No brand recommended
I manage support on a team of three. How can we handle more requests? English Freshdesk and Zendesk, tied
I run a small business and want to reply to customers via email and chat. What should I use? English Freshdesk, Help Scout and Tidio, tied

Each engine's top three

Method

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