The AI agent, plus the inbox Chatbase never built
Chatbase is a solid AI agent builder. But support doesn't end when the bot answers — someone has to handle the rest. Asks pairs a grounded AI agent with a full human inbox, live chat, and handoff in one product, at one flat price.
7-day trial · No per-resolution fees
Choose Asks if you want AI answering and human support in one tool. Stay on Chatbase if you're embedding a Q&A agent into your own app and already have a helpdesk.
Asks vs. Chatbase
| Asks | Chatbase | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat $39 / $149 / $349 per month with AI credits included — no per-resolution or per-conversation meter | Free / $40 / $150 / $500 per month, credit-metered (50–15,000 credits); ~$40 per extra 1,000 credits |
| AI agent | Trained on your website, docs, and help center; hybrid retrieval with citations and a groundedness check on every reply | Trained on your data; solid answer quality; credits meter usage |
| Human inbox & live chat | Full team inbox: assignment, internal notes, canned responses, tags, SLAs (Business+) | A young help-desk surface added in 2026; historically agent-only |
| AI-to-human handoff | Escalates on request, frustration, or low confidence — with an AI summary attached | Basic escalation; depends on external helpdesk for the human half |
| Shopify | Storefront app with live shopper context, catalog answers, cart + checkout links, order tracking | Shopify integration for product data; no storefront-context pixel |
| Free training data | 300 knowledge base articles on Starter (1,000 Business, 3,000 Premium) — every page, file, or article you add counts as one | 400 KB cap on the free plan; inactive free agents deleted after 14 days |
Competitor details from public pricing pages and docs, as of mid-2026 — verify before deciding. Read the full field in 7 best Chatbase alternatives in 2026.
Support is a loop, not an endpoint
An AI agent that can't hand a frustrated customer to a person with context isn't finished. Asks ships the whole loop — AI first, humans in the same thread when it matters.
Citations you can defend
Every Asks answer carries citations to the sources it used, and a second-pass groundedness check blocks answers your content doesn't support.
Pricing that doesn't meter your growth
Chatbase credits run out mid-month; Asks plans are flat and include the human inbox and seats at every tier. Need more AI volume? Upgrading a tier is priced to be the better deal, with $40-per-1,000 top-ups as a safety valve.
When Chatbase is the better choice
- You're embedding an AI agent into your own product via API and don't need an inbox.
- You want a free tier to prototype with (Asks offers a 7-day trial, not a free plan).
- You need Chatbase's specific integrations or voice features.
Is Asks cheaper than Chatbase?
For the whole support stack, usually. Chatbase's $150/month Standard and Asks Business at $149/month both include 4,000 AI credits — but Asks adds a full human inbox and live chat for 25 teammates at that price, where Chatbase leaves the human half to a separate helpdesk. Top-up packs cost the same $40 per 1,000 as Chatbase — but you get the support stack around them for free.
Can I train Asks on the same content as Chatbase?
Yes — websites by URL (crawled with a JS-rendering crawler), documents and PDFs, and articles you write in-app. Most teams are answering questions within minutes of pasting their site URL.
Does Asks have a free plan like Chatbase?
No — every plan starts with a 7-day free trial instead. Chatbase's free plan is real but tightly capped (400 KB of training data, and inactive free agents are deleted after 14 days).
Try the Chatbase alternative today
Train Asks on your website in minutes, test it in the playground, and see the difference before your trial ends.