We reviewed 13 tools for customer support. 3 offer a permanent free plan, 5 are developed in France and 2 state European data hosting. 11 out of 13 show a public starting price.
How to choose
- Start from your real channels: website chat, email, phone. An agent that doesn’t cover your main channel won’t save you time.
- Check what it bases its answers on: an up-to-date knowledge base is the condition for accurate answers.
- Look at the billing model: per human agent, per conversation or per resolution. The real cost depends on your volume.
- Plan for handover to a human and test it before putting the agent live.
By profile
- A website in French
- Botnation, Dydu, Crisp, iAdvize, Freshdesk (Freddy AI) and Zendesk AI agents have an official website in French.
The selection, tool by tool
Order: number of criteria confirmed by the vendor (free plan, French website, EU hosting, GDPR), then alphabetical. This is not a quality ranking: we haven’t tested the tools, we report what the vendors publish.
Botnation
France · 01Customer support
French platform for building no-code AI chatbots for your website and messaging apps.
The first paid plan listed by the vendor is: Basic €39/month. Botnation offers a permanent free plan. The official website is available in French. The vendor states data is hosted in Europe, and GDPR is mentioned.
Note: Free plan at €0; chatbot data hosted in Europe (pricing page).
- Free plan
- Site in French
- EU hosting stated
- GDPR mentioned
- French vendor
Dydu
France · 01Customer support
French vendor of no-code chatbots and callbots powered by generative AI, for customer service.
The vendor doesn’t publish a starting price on its pricing page: you have to ask. We found no mention of a permanent free plan. The official website is available in French. The vendor states data is hosted in Europe, and GDPR is mentioned.
Note: Pricing based on expected conversation volume, on quote. Data hosted in France (official website).
- Site in French
- EU hosting stated
- GDPR mentioned
- French vendor
Botpress
Canada · 01Customer support
Platform for building conversational AI agents (website, WhatsApp, Messenger) with a visual editor.
The first paid plan listed by the vendor is: Plus $150/month (annual). Botpress offers a permanent free plan. We couldn’t verify whether the site is available in French. European hosting isn’t mentioned on the pages we checked, but GDPR is.
Note: Free plan at $0 (100 conversations).
- Free plan
- GDPR mentioned
Crisp
France · 01Customer support
French customer messaging platform (chat, email, WhatsApp) with an AI agent that automates replies from your knowledge base.
The first paid plan listed by the vendor is: $45/month per workspace. Crisp offers a permanent free plan. The official website is available in French. European hosting isn’t mentioned on the pages we checked; GDPR mention not verified.
Note: “Free forever” plan listed.
- Free plan
- Site in French
- French vendor
iAdvize
France · 01Customer support
AI shopping assistant for e-commerce: it anticipates visitors’ questions, recommends products and guides them through to checkout.
The first paid plan listed by the vendor is: Essentials €290/month (annual) or €385/month. There’s no permanent free plan (a free trial doesn’t count). The official website is available in French. European hosting isn’t mentioned on the pages we checked, but GDPR is.
Note: Essentials / Starter / Growth tiers, demo by appointment.
- Site in French
- GDPR mentioned
- French vendor
Chatbase
United States · 01Customer support
AI agent platform for customer relations: the agent answers questions and cuts ticket volume across your channels.
The first paid plan listed by the vendor is: Hobby $32/month (annual) or $40/month. We found no mention of a permanent free plan. We couldn’t verify whether the site is available in French. European hosting isn’t mentioned on the pages we checked, but GDPR is.
- GDPR mentioned
Freshdesk (Freddy AI)
United States / India · 01Customer support
Freshworks’ helpdesk with Freddy AI: AI agents that answer customers and AI tools for support teams.
The first paid plan listed by the vendor is: €17/agent/month (annual). We found no mention of a permanent free plan. The official website is available in French. European hosting isn’t mentioned on the pages we checked; GDPR mention not verified.
Note: Extra AI agent sessions: €45 per 100 sessions.
- Site in French
Front
United States · 01Customer support
Customer service platform where support teams, sales teams and AI agents handle emails, chats and messages together.
The first paid plan listed by the vendor is: Starter $25/seat/month (annual, up to 10 seats). There’s no permanent free plan (a free trial doesn’t count). We couldn’t verify whether the site is available in French. European hosting isn’t mentioned on the pages we checked, but GDPR is.
Note: Omnichannel AI agent from $0.05 per conversation; free trial.
- GDPR mentioned
Zendesk AI agents
United States · 01Customer support
Zendesk’s AI agents, which resolve customer requests end to end, built into the support platform.
The first paid plan listed by the vendor is: €19/agent/month (annual). There’s no permanent free plan (a free trial doesn’t count). The official website is available in French. European hosting isn’t mentioned on the pages we checked; GDPR mention not verified.
Note: AI agents included from the €55/agent/month edition.
- Site in French
Full profile · Official website ↗ · Official pricing ↗ · Alternatives
Fin (Intercom)
Ireland / United States · 01Customer support
Customer support AI agent that answers and resolves requests over chat, email and phone, and plugs into Intercom, Zendesk or Salesforce.
The first paid plan listed by the vendor is: $0.99 per resolution (Intercom helpdesk from $29/seat/month). There’s no permanent free plan (a free trial doesn’t count). We couldn’t verify whether the site is available in French. European hosting isn’t mentioned on the pages we checked; GDPR mention not verified.
Note: 14-day free trial, no free plan listed.
- No criteria confirmed by the vendor
Full profile · Official website ↗ · Official pricing ↗ · Alternatives
Gorgias
France / United States · 01Customer support
E-commerce helpdesk (Shopify, etc.) with an AI agent that answers, recommends products and handles returns.
The vendor doesn’t publish a starting price on its pricing page: you have to ask. We found no mention of a permanent free plan. We couldn’t verify whether the site is available in French. European hosting isn’t mentioned on the pages we checked; GDPR mention not verified.
Note: Price can’t be read automatically on the page.
- French vendor
Help Scout
United States · 01Customer support
Support platform (shared inbox, chat, knowledge base) with an AI assistant that answers common questions.
The first paid plan listed by the vendor is: Standard $25/user/month. We found no mention of a permanent free plan. We couldn’t verify whether the site is available in French. European hosting isn’t mentioned on the pages we checked; GDPR mention not verified.
Note: AI Answers option: $0.75 per resolution.
- No criteria confirmed by the vendor
Lyro (Tidio)
Poland / United States · 01Customer support
Lyro, Tidio’s AI agent, automatically answers visitors’ questions on your website and online store.
The first paid plan listed by the vendor is: Lyro from $32.50/month. We found no mention of a permanent free plan. We couldn’t verify whether the site is available in French. European hosting isn’t mentioned on the pages we checked; GDPR mention not verified.
Note: 7-day trial shown.
- No criteria confirmed by the vendor
The summary table
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which AI tools for customer support offer a free plan?
According to the vendors’ pricing pages, Botnation, Botpress and Crisp offer a permanent free plan. A mere free trial doesn’t count.
Are there French solutions for customer support?
Yes: Botnation, Dydu, Crisp, iAdvize and Gorgias are developed in France.
Which tools for customer support host data in Europe?
Botnation and Dydu state on their websites that data is hosted in Europe.
How much does an AI tool for customer support cost?
Starting prices shown by the vendors: Botnation: Basic €39/month; Botpress: Plus $150/month (annual); Crisp: $45/month per workspace; iAdvize: Essentials €290/month (annual) or €385/month; Chatbase: Hobby $32/month (annual) or $40/month; Freshdesk (Freddy AI): €17/agent/month (annual); Front: Starter $25/seat/month (annual, up to 10 seats); Zendesk AI agents: €19/agent/month (annual); Fin (Intercom): $0.99 per resolution (Intercom helpdesk from $29/seat/month); Help Scout: Standard $25/user/month; Lyro (Tidio): Lyro from $32.50/month. No public price: Dydu and Gorgias.
Answers based solely on information published by the vendors and collected on 19 Oct 2026.