The 20 best customer service software platforms for 2025 & beyond

The importance of good customer service can’t be overstated. Ninety-four percent of customers say that a positive experience made them more likely to purchase again, while 82 percent would recommend a company based solely on excellent customer service.

The right customer service software is a huge part of delivering a great experience. But with so many tools to choose from, which is the best one for your business? And what is a customer service platform anyway? Keep reading to find out.

What is customer service software?

Customer service software refers to any type of software that helps businesses deliver great customer service and customer support. It’s typically a set of tools in a unified platform that allows the business to manage customer interactions across multiple channels.

Software for customer service can do any combination of streamlining customer communication, automating repetitive tasks, tracking and measuring KPIs, and collecting customer feedback. Managers can then identify areas for improvement and use that data to increase efficiency and also improve the experience for agents as well as customers.

Different types of customer service software platforms

There are several varieties of software that tackle specific areas of customer service, including contact center solutions, CRMs, ticketing systems, live chat software, and self-service tools. Here are some common examples of customer services software:

• Contact center software: Contact center solutions such as RingCentral RingCX are designed for managing inbound and outbound customer interactions on channels including phone calls, social messaging, and website live chat, and typically include call management features. They may also comprise of—or integrate with—CRM and self-service tools.
• Ticketing systems: This software is for managing support tickets, enabling customers to raise tickets from various channels and agents to organize, track, and respond to them. It can also distribute tickets among agents.
• CRM: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems collect and store customer data such as previous interactions and purchase history. CRMs often integrate with other software so that agents can see the data in real time during interactions.
• Live chat and chatbots: Live chat with a human agent allows customers to get their issues resolved quickly via instant messaging. Automated (sometimes AI-powered) chatbots can handle basic inquiries. As we touched on earlier, some contact center platforms come with this functionality built in.
• Self-service portals: Self-service tools let customers find answers and troubleshoot without contacting an agent. They include IVR menus, chatbots, and knowledge bases with FAQs and step-by-step guides.

The best customer service software: 20 Top customer support platforms

There are plenty of customer service management platforms to choose from, covering a wide range of prices, features, and capabilities. Before we dive into the details, here’s a quick comparison table showing basic info about the 20 tools we’ve picked out, split into three handy categories:

All-in-one contact center platforms

Let’s start our countdown of the top customer service software options with a trio of all-in-one contact center platforms:

1. RingCentral RingCX

RingCentral’s omnichannel contact center solution enables customer service teams to offer support via voice calls and 20+ digital channels from a single workspace. Agents have a complete view of customer journeys by merging digital identities across channels, and supervisors can view performance for all teams via live dashboards.

AI tools generate instant summaries, transcripts, and recommended action items after every interaction. There’s also real-time agent guidance, live coaching, automated score cards, and conversation analytics to monitor customer sentiment and trending topics.

The platform comes with 120+ integrations and 400+ APIs, and you can embed RingCX within CRMs like Salesforce to sync data and have phone calls with customers directly from the CRM interface. You’ll also find advanced call management and workforce engagement tools included:

Pricing: Pricing plans start at $65 per agent/month (billed annually), including unlimited minutes, core contact center features, and built-in AI.

Customer review: “What’s great about RingCX is that we can efficiently manage any digital channel that a given client needs—whether that’s SMS, chat, email, or all three—and we’re centralizing all those customer contacts in one place. That means our clients’ customers reliably receive quick responses, from the right people, no matter how they make contact.”

– Jaimie Bell, VP of Client Solutions, The Office Gurus

 2. Zendesk

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Zendesk for Service lets agents respond across all channels from a central hub, and view relevant information within the same workspace. There are self-service options along with live chat and phone support as part of an integrated ticketing system.

AI tools include an agent copilot that provides ticket summaries and suggested replies, plus conversation intelligence that identifies and labels incoming tickets. You also get reporting and analytics, workforce engagement tools, CSAT ratings, and integrations with 1500+ apps.

However, the least expensive Zendesk for Service plan doesn’t cater to businesses that need to provide phone support. For that, you’d have to invest in one of the “Suite” pricing plans, which are considerably more pricey.⁷ Even then, too, local and toll-free numbers and both inbound and outbound minutes for voice calls are only available as an add-on—with an additional cost.  

Pricing: Build-your-own plans start at $19 per agent/month. 14-day free trial available.⁷

Customer reviews: “With the ticketing system, we are able to reply to all customer emails promptly without missing any communications.” ⁸

“Setup can be a bit confusing with managing users in both admin and the support sections of the suite.” ⁸

3. Five9

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Five9 is a cloud contact center solution with customer service features including speech-enabled IVR and Intelligent Virtual Agents for self-service. Agents can view customers’ self-service interactions and past history, and automatically add notes to CRM databases.

AI tools provide intelligent routing, call transcriptions and summaries, and real-time coaching. There’s also workforce optimization, custom reporting, performance dashboards, and gamification features, plus pre-built CRM integrations and post-call surveys.

Pricing: Pricing bundles starting at $119 per month. Custom quotes are available.³⁸

Customer reviews: “I like that it’s easy to use and integrated with a custom-built ERP, you can use webhooks, and integrated links to interact with the platform.” ³⁹

“It’s too basic, and the algorithm for the distribution of calls is very flawed.” ³⁹

CRMs

An important tool for many businesses, customer relationship management solutions (CRMs) often work hand-in-hand with contact center platforms, like those above. Let’s rundown some of the top options:

4. Salesforce Service Cloud

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This customer service solution is part of the wider Salesforce ecosystem, a suite of tools that combine marketing, sales, service, and commerce. The Service Cloud comes with AI tools such as intelligent recommendations and automated case wrap-ups, plus the “Einstein” self-service bot.

It can work as an omnichannel workspace, where agents can view context for each ticket and also collaborate on cases on a dedicated Slack channel. You can customize workflows, view prebuilt and customizable dashboards for analytics and reporting, and use the Service Planner to optimize resource allocation.

However, you only get the full gamut of features to provide a unified voice and messaging service—including the Einstein bot—at the highest price tier. That’s the Einstein 1 Service plan, which comes in at a hefty $500 per user, per month when billed annually.¹ 

Pricing: Plans start at $25 per user/month (billed monthly or annually). 30-day free trial available.¹

Customer reviews: “The integration of other channels with the CRM helped our agents to provide a 360 personal experience to our customers.” ²

“Like most things trying to be all things to all people, it basically requires you to build everything yourself.” ² 

 5. HubSpot Service Hub

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The HubSpot suite of tools is powered by a single CRM database, so all users can access the same customer data. The Service Hub is an omnichannel help desk with a shared inbox that allows agents to track customer interactions, manage feedback, and automate responses.

What’s unique about HubSpot is agents can create a customer portal where customers can view, open, and reply to their support tickets or access your company’s knowledge base. There’s also automated AI support and conversation intelligence, plus a reporting and analytics dashboard.

There are, however, significant limitations and restrictions applied to accounts at the lower pricing tiers. The Service Hub Starter tier, for example, is limited to only 500 minutes of calling per month and just two ticket pipelines.3 You only get more if you subscribe to the significantly more expensive Service Hub Professional or Service Hub Enterprise plans.  

Pricing: Plans start at $20 per seat/month. A free plan is available.³

Customer reviews: “It is a great way to have all client communication details in one spot. Along with marketing emails and sales as well as service tools all in one place.” ⁴

“As the size of your team grows, you’ll need to buy more seats to keep everyone on the same platform. It would be fantastic if purchasing the platform didn’t restrict you to a specific amount of seats.” ⁴

6. Method CRM

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Method is a customizable CRM platform aimed at helping you build strong customer relationships. It lets you record the details of each interaction, track next steps, and save data to the CRM without leaving your Gmail or Outlook inbox. There’s a self-service portal for customers, too.

You can schedule automated follow-ups and recurring reminders, automate workflows including lead collection, and produce custom reports. Method CRM is designed to sync with QuickBooks accounting, and you can also connect to thousands of other apps via Zapier.

Pricing: Plans start at $25 per user/month (billed annually). A free 14-day trial is available^.14

Customer reviews: “Quick and easy to transition into. Quick and easy to learn how to use as well.” ¹⁵

“There is no information available in regards to the overall performance of individual sales reps.” ¹⁵

7. SuperOffice CRM

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SuperOffice is a cloud-based CRM designed to help you manage all touchpoints by centralizing data. It lets you create tickets from emails, calls, chat, and web forms, and also set up a customer portal. You can add internal notes and auto-assign specific requests to specialists within your team.

The platform offers ready-made workflows or you can build your own. Alongside analytics dashboards and reporting capabilities, there’s an AI tool that categorizes tickets by sentiment and auto-prioritizes critical tickets. It also provides suggestions for sales pitches and email campaigns.

Pricing: Service plan starts at 55 EUR ($58) per user, per month. Sales and marketing plans are priced separately, or you can combine all plans for a custom price.²⁶

Customer reviews: “The CRM system itself is intuitive, visually pleasing, and comprehensive. Reporting is also very easy and requires little time to produce.” ²⁷

“There are technical failures at times, perhaps more often than we would like.” ²⁷

Ticketing/helpdesk solutions

Specifically designed for businesses looking to better organize and manage high volumes of customer enquiries, here are some of the best ticketing and helpdesk solutions available:

8. Intercom

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Intercom is AI-powered customer support software that allows you to automate workflows and provides instant assistance to agents via its AI tool, “Fin”. Fin helps agents with troubleshooting as well as generating summaries of conversations and automatically populating ticket information.

The platform generates tickets from interactions and routes conversations from channels including live chat and email to a shared inbox. It also comes with intelligent routing, outbound messaging, customizable reporting, and more than 450 integrations.

What’s worth noting, however, is that while Intercom includes inbound email, live chat, and some social channels (at the Advanced pricing plan and above) as standard, others are considered “billed channels”.⁵ If you want to be able to provide phone support via Intercom, for instance, you’d be subject to additional fees billed by both phone numbers and minutes.  

Pricing: Plans start at $29 per seat/month (billed annually). 14-day free trial available.⁵

Customer reviews: “The application’s built-in chat and messaging capabilities enable instant interaction with customers. This greatly improves response times and overall customer service satisfaction.” ⁶

“While Intercom gives a great solution to house our help center, formatting and editing are not very flexible, so we feel we’re constricted in terms of fonts, images, and interactive elements.” ⁶

9. Zoho Desk

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If your business is already using Zoho Suite, then Zoho Desk may be a good fit if you need a customer service package with ticketing, automation, and the ability to request and track customer feedback. The single-view dashboard, which can be conveniently accessed on a web browser, allows for omnichannel support, and you can set up self-service resources such as knowledge bases and community forums.

The AI-powered assistant, “Zia”, carries out sentiment analysis and automatically sorts and routes tickets based on the results. It also provides suggestions for agents and detects anomalies. The platform comes with analytics, reporting, and integrations, including with the wider Zoho suite.

Again, if you need to provide phone support to customers, you’ll have to start at the $23-per-month Professional plan to be able to integrate with telephony providers (which would likely incur another added cost).

Pricing: Plans start at $7 per user/month. A free plan and a 15-day free trial are available.⁹

Customer reviews: “The automation features, like ticket assignments and workflow rules, save us a lot of time and reduce manual work. I also appreciate how customizable it is.” ¹⁰

“The Zoho Desk mobile app is not as feature-rich as the web version.” ¹¹

10. Hiver

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Hiver is designed to be embedded within Gmail, turning your existing inbox into a multichannel help desk—meaning you don’t have to learn a new interface. It brings conversations from all channels into one shared inbox with customizable views.

The Conversation ID feature lets you track email threads by assigning them a number. You can also make and receive phone calls from your inbox, and set up AI chatbots and knowledge bases for customers. The platform also offers automation, analytics, and CSAT surveys.

Pricing: Plans start at $19 per user/month. A free plan and a 7-day free trial are available.¹²

Customer reviews: “The analytics on the shared mailboxes provide relevant insights for optimizing our workflows and improving accountability across the company.” ¹³

“Need to improve auto assigning the emails.” ¹³

11. Issuetrak

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Issuetrak is issue tracking software for help desks and service desks, based in the cloud or on your premises. It lets you store and manage all customer communications in one place, along with notes and updates, and sends notifications to keep customers in the loop.

Customers can create tickets from various channels. Agents can then assign tickets to specific users or groups, automate actions based on ticket status, create customer surveys, and build a knowledge base. Reports and dashboards are customizable to show your preferred metrics. 

Pricing: Plans start at $26 per agent/month (minimum 10 agents). A 14-day free trial is available.¹⁶

Customer reviews: “From building the database for our needs, to the customer support team for questions, the staff has been professional, friendly, and knowledgeable.” ¹⁷

“Multiple feature sets can be overwhelming and complicated to set-up and integrate within the system.” ¹⁷

12. Supportbench

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Supportbench is an AI-powered support platform for B2B companies, enabling agents to centralize and track customer interactions across channels—and set response targets. It comes with shared inboxes, smart ticket distribution, workflow automation, and native integrations with CRM and sales.

AI tools include email summarization and automated closed-case overviews, plus chatbots and a writing assistant. Agents can prioritize emails using pixel tracking and sentiment analysis, set up real-time scorecards for agents, and generate custom reports.

Pricing: Plans start at $32 per agent/month (billed annually). There’s a 14-day free trial.¹⁸

Customer reviews: “It helps us manage customer questions fast. We can talk to customers on different apps all in one place. They can also find answers themselves.” ¹⁹

“While the platform is intuitive overall, it took me some time to fully grasp all its features and functionalities.” ¹⁹  

13. HappyFox

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HappyFox is a customer service ticketing and help desk platform that’s designed for companies that need to be able to convert their inbound customer requests into tickets. There’s a self-service portal where customers can track tickets, use community forums, and access your knowledge base. You can implement AI-powered chatbots and define your own rules for automated workflows.

The ticketing system lets you classify tickets into categories, add private notes to collaborate with colleagues, and break down complex tickets into separate tasks. Managers can coordinate work schedules and define the working hours for their team.

Pricing: Plans start at $9 per agent/month (max five agents). You can sign up for a free trial after requesting a demo.²⁰

Customer reviews: “The straightforward design helps in quickly navigating through complaints and managing them efficiently.” ²¹

“The pricing is based on a per-agent model, which can add up quickly as a business grows.” ²¹

14. HelpScout

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This all-in-one help desk system brings digital interactions and customer data from all your channels into a shared inbox, and includes “collision detection” to prevent agents from overlapping on the same issue. You can also assign conversations to individuals and teams.

AI tools include AI Summarize, which condenses email threads into bullet points, and AI Assist, which helps agents get the right tone in their responses. There’s also a built-in knowledge base, plus analytics and reporting to measure metrics like email productivity and response times.

Pricing: Plans start at $50 per month (with 100 contacts per month and unlimited users). A free plan and a 15-day free trial are available. ²²

Customer reviews: “I found HelpScout to be a great environment to manage emails from, with great macro templates, tagging, and lots of other handy automation.” ²³

“I would say the mobile interface and user friendliness should be improved. Every time I have to use HelpScout on my phone I struggle a lot.” ²³

15. ProProfs Help Desk

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ProProfs is automated ticketing system software that centralizes all your conversations, inboxes, and teams in one place. Collaborative features include the ability to tag teammates, and collision detection to avoid duplicated tasks. 

You can organize tickets with priorities and labels. There are AI tools to help you understand customer sentiment and auto-generate responses, alongside real-time reports and dashboards. Customers can access a knowledge base for self-service and a live chat web widget.

Pricing: Plans start at $19.99 per user/month, and there’s also a free plan. Instead of a free trial, there’s a 15-day money-back guarantee.²⁴

Customer reviews: “Our marketing, sales, and customer service teams can collaborate easily and ensure that customers can have a consistent experience every time they interact with us.” ²⁵

“I am not much impressed with their integration options to third-party tools. This is something that needs to be improved.” ²⁵

16. Kustomer

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Kustomer combines CRM and ticketing features with AI tools, allowing you to offer integrated customer support across all channels. The platform automates repetitive tasks while the live dashboards show managers what agents are working on in real time.

AI provides conversational summaries and instant communication prompts for reps, and categorizes tasks with actionable next steps. You can design multiple “AI Agents” to handle specific areas, and set up an AI chatbot. Other features include IVR, call transcriptions, and custom reporting.

Pricing: Kustomer doesn’t do seat-based pricing—the company will quote you based on the number of conversations you expect to have annually.²⁸

Customer reviews: “It is definitely one of the more robust customer support tools with lots of great features.” ²⁹

“Some features were oversold and did require additional time and energy to implement.” ²⁹

17. Gorgias

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Gorgias is a customer experience platform designed specifically for ecommerce companies. It connects all your channels, shares customer data between your tools, and pushes updates to Shopify and 100+ other platforms. You can see complete customer information in one place, and run tracking and analytics.

AI workflows can auto-route tickets, and resolve repetitive inquiries about shipping, returns, and exchanges. AI also provides product recommendations based on browsing data, and there’s customizable live chat. Over time, Gorgias’ AI can even “learn” to speak in your brand’s unique voice.

Pricing: Pricing is based on your estimated volume of customer support tickets per month, and on the percentage of automation you need. A free trial is available.³⁰

Customer reviews: “It’s been great for ticket management. Saved a lot of time, easy to tag colleagues to a ticket and assign to different reps.” ³¹

“There’s a lot of updates and it tends to interrupt the workflow sometimes. Onboarding was slower than what we had been told also.” ³¹

 18. Freshdesk

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Freshdesk lets you provide  AI-powered customer service with ticketing, automation, and self-service options. It displays customer records, communications, and tickets in a single view. Agents and supervisors can prioritize tickets, auto-assign tasks, and link all tickets related to a recurring issue to a single master ticket.

The built-in “Freddy AI” recognizes customer sentiment and enhances the tone of responses. AI bots can handle basic queries without opening a ticket, and you can also build a knowledge base. Workflows and agent roles are fully customizable, as are dashboards, reports, and survey templates.

Pricing: Plans start at $15 for Freshdesk (billed annually). A free plan (for up to two agents only) and a 14-day free trial are available.³²

Customer reviews: “The ticketing system keeps everything organized, the automation features, like ticket routing and follow up reminder, have been helpful.” ³³

“One thing we’ve struggled with in Freshdesk is the lack of customization, it can be hard to adjust workflows to fit exactly what we need.” ³³

19. LiveAgent

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LiveAgent is a ticketing-focused customer care solution, which gathers messages from multiple channels into one collaborative inbox and turns them into tickets. You can also set up a call center for inbound or outbound calls (with the help of an added VoIP integration), and build multiple knowledge bases.

The live chat feature supports 43 languages and offers smart routing, proactive chat invitations, visitor tracking, and canned responses. The platform enables simple automations for basic help desk functions, and includes live dashboards, analytics, and custom reports.

Pricing: Plans start at $15 per agent/month (billed annually). Free trials are available for 14 days (with a free email) or 30 days (with a company email).³⁴

Customer reviews: “LiveAgent got rid of a lot of repetitive tasks, and its instant updating of records enabled us to maintain continuity of evaluation and follow-up.” ³⁵

“Some users report occasional lags in the chat widget.” ³⁵

20. OneDesk

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OneDesk is a software solution that seeks to combine helpdesk, project management, and professional services automation features into one platform. It’s available as either an on-premises or cloud alternative and offers users the chance to manage customer service tickets, internal business tasks, and other processes like billing, in one place.

It should be mentioned, however, that OneDesk does not include features for providing phone support in any of their pricing plans.38 There are also a range of services that you may think could come as standard—such as installation and onboarding support options—which are actually only offered as paid add-ons.³⁹

Pricing: OneDesk pricing plans start at $11.99 per user, per month, and there is a free trial available.³⁸

Customer reviews: “We get multiple features in one place like customer management tools, helpdesk, project management tools, workflow automation.”⁴⁰

“The user interface of OneDesk can be improved a little.” ⁴⁰

Benefits of the right customer service platforms for small businesses & large

Now we’ll dive into the main advantages of using the right customer service platform for small business (and large).

Improve customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention

The top customer service platforms and customer support platforms help you to keep customers happy by providing the tools you need to deliver efficient and effective support. For example, omnichannel platforms let them use their preferred contact methods for maximum convenience, and move between channels without having to repeat information.

Contact center solutions with smart call management allow for faster response times and first-contact resolution, while CRM integrations help agents and reps to view relevant information in a single screen and personalize each interaction.

Brands that excel at personalization are 48 percent more likely to have exceeded their revenue goals than those with low personalization maturity—and 71 percent more likely to report improved customer loyalty.

Easton Dermatology Associates, a full-service dermatological practice that maintains a perfect five-star rating across dozens of patient reviews, improved performance in a variety of customer service areas since moving to a new contact center platform.

“My small team of agents handles more than 7,000 each month. And since we moved to RingCX, our agents answer 97% of those calls within 2 minutes,” says Lainie Elliott, Patient Support Manager.  

“I can see how many patients are calling to schedule appointments and how many are calling for other reasons. And using data like answer time, average handling time, and how many calls each agent takes in a day, I can now identify our high-performing agents and determine which ones might benefit from additional supervision or training.”

Boost employee productivity, engagement, and happiness

When you give your agents and reps the means to perform to the highest standards, they will be more productive and happier in their work. Customer service software solutions typically include automation to reduce manual tasks such as data entry, and to share tickets equally among the team.

With less admin to do—and with AI chatbots and self-service portals handling basic inquiries—agents can spend more time engaging with customers to resolve more complex issues quickly.

Real-time coaching tools such as screen pops and AI agents are also helpful because they can pull up content in real time for both new and seasoned agents as they’re talking to customers, without needing to manually search through knowledge bases.

Greater cost-efficiency

The best customer service platforms improve cost-efficiency by helping businesses achieve more without scaling up costs. For example, AI and automations are already streamlining many customer service processes while enabling support agents to take more calls and help customers more efficiently.

Ultimately, these benefits are vital for businesses looking to scale, as agents and supervisors will be able to handle a growing volume of customer inquiries. Plus, with cloud-based software—which is accessible from anywhere—you can employ remote workers and save on the cost of premises (and hardware).

Customer and agent satisfaction also reduces acquisition costs and raises your ROI. According to Forrester, investing in customer obsession can yield at least 700 percent ROI over a 12-year period.

Enhanced reporting, forecasting, and planning

Good customer service tools should come with built-in analytics and reporting capabilities that give supervisors a clear view of how your agents are performing, what customers think of your service, and where you need to make improvements.

For example, RingCentral’s RingCX shows key metrics like average handle time, abandon rates, and more in its analytics dashboard:

With over 1,300 distributed employees, Flex Technology wanted to be able to identify patterns in call traffic and agent performance more efficiently and easily. So, they leveraged a contact center solution that could provide these analytics. 

“Just a few weeks after we moved our customer support operation to RingCentral’s contact center platform, the data we analyzed shocked us,” says Christopher Ciolino, Communications Engineer. 

“Our average call wait times dropped by about 97%, and our abandoned-call rate was down by 91%.”

For example, if your contact center reporting shows that customers frequently ask the same question, you can add it to your FAQs or chatbot knowledge base so they don’t have to contact an agent.

How to choose the right digital customer service platform for your business

So, we’ve seen the benefits that digital customer service can bring. And we’ve seen a sample of the tools available. But how do you pick the right one for your business and customers? Here are a few key considerations to keep in mind:

Match feature sets to your business needs

The first thing to do when looking for an online customer service platform is to make sure it fits your specific business needs. For instance, you might want software that’s designed for your particular industry, such as ecommerce or IT (though this isn’t necessary in most industries).

Consider the improvements you want to make to your customer service provision, define your goals, and look for tools that will help you achieve them. Make a list of must-have features and rule out any software that doesn’t include them.

Consider time to value (TTV)

You might be tempted by a shiny new software solution with plenty of features—but remember to think about how long it’ll take to start bringing value to your company. For example, if a tool is complicated and time-consuming to implement and has a steep learning curve, you won’t be able to get up and running with it straight away.

To maximize time to value, look for software that’s simple and fast to set up (we’re talking days), with a user-friendly interface and onboarding support available from the provider. The sooner your staff is able to onboard and learn the new system, the sooner you can improve your standards of service.

Assess how any option fits with your existing tech stack

You may already have some customer service tools in place. If they’re old and clunky, it could make sense to replace them (for example, replacing on-premises systems with cloud solutions). But if they’re still working well for you, it may be better to find ways to integrate new tools with them instead.

That’s why it’s important that any new software can play nice with your existing tech stack. Look for tools that integrate with popular business apps, either through native integrations or via APIs. For instance, make sure your contact center solution works with your CRM.

Think about the future as well as the present

Don’t just look for a tool that will suit your business in the here and now. If you’re going to maximize the value, you’ll need scalable customer service solutions that can grow with you into the future. They’ll need to handle higher call volumes and changing customer expectations, and integrate with any new software you bring on board.

Cloud-based software is inherently future-proof, as it eliminates outdated physical hardware and allows you to store almost unlimited amounts of data. You can easily add or remove seats, channels, and features, and take your business global by recruiting from anywhere.

Do your research and take advantage of free trials

Before you sign up for anything or part with any money, it’s important to have a hands-on look at the platform you’ll be using. In addition to checking out comparison articles and reading third-party reviews, take advantage of any demos and free trials offered by the software vendors.

That way, your whole team can play around with the tools and discover whether they’re easy to use. Collect feedback from your agents and managers to find out if the software has all the features they need, and decide if it aligns with your overall business requirements.

Customer service software trends to follow: AI customer service software and more

What does the future hold for customer support? Let’s take a quick look at key trends that will have an outsized influence on customer service software in the next few years:

Artificial intelligence

Probably the biggest trend is AI in customer service, which is evolving at a rapid pace. In just a few short years, it’s already made customer service and support more efficient by putting relevant data at agents’ fingertips to help them resolve queries faster.

AI is also being used in predictive analysis, helping companies to predict call volumes and customer needs, and proactively address issues before they arise. Thanks to natural language processing and machine learning, AI is able to improve with each interaction and provide more accurate and relevant answers to customer and agent questions over time.

But even with all these developments, most organizations still don’t have a clear AI strategy yet. In fact, 41 percent say that an AI strategy is currently in development or will be developed soon.

Virtual reality

Another growing trend is the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies to enhance customer support systems. This technology offers the potential for businesses to provide better support—for example, the ability to “see” and “feel” products in a virtual sense might make it easier to guide a customer through troubleshooting steps.

As this technology becomes more accessible, we may begin to see more AR overlaying computer-generated images onto real-world views to show customers how products would look in their own home, for example.

Hyperpersonalization

Thanks to developments in cloud technology and AI, companies have more information than ever about their customers’ needs and preferences, meaning they can personalize each interaction more effectively. The number of brands incorporating personalization as a core experience strategy has risen 50 percent since 2022.   

There’s an increasing shift toward “hyperpersonalization”, which involves using this in-depth knowledge to become much more proactive in customer service, for example, by offering completely personalized rewards based on customers’ preferences and purchasing behavior.

The right customer service platform helps businesses and their customers

The benefits of using a customer service platform are many and varied, from increased customer and agent satisfaction to improved cost-efficiency. With automation, AI tools, and analytics, you can reduce manual tasks and take care of more customers, solving their queries quickly and effectively.

The right platform, with all the features and integrations you need, will allow you to go above and beyond for your customers—personalizing interactions, meeting them on their preferred channels, and even offering proactive assistance.

With RingCentral RingCX, you get a future-proof contact center solution with built-in AI, advanced call management, and top-notch security and support. Check out the plans and pricing and request a demo today.

Customer service platform FAQs

Which type of software is most useful for customer service?

Well, it all depends on your business goals and requirements, and what you already have in your tech stack. However, an all-in-one contact center solution is ideal, as it will typically come with a raft of useful features to help you deliver great service.

For example, omnichannel capabilities, AI assistance, automated workflows, advanced call management, and analytics. You’ll definitely need a CRM feature or the ability to integrate with your preferred CRM (and other apps).

What’s the best customer service software for small business?

For a small business, software has to be affordable. It also has to be easy to implement so that there are no gaps in service. It can be tricky to find a package that offers the features you need on the budget you’re working with, but a scalable solution is the key.

For example, RingCentral RingCX allows you to add and remove users and features any time, so you’re not paying for things you don’t use. It’s one of the best customer support software options, not just for small businesses but for companies and organizations of all sizes.

How much do customer service platforms cost?

Pricing varies widely between providers, each of which typically offers a range of plans at different prices. They are most often priced per user, per month, while others charge a single monthly or annual fee.

If you’re a large enterprise with a budget to match, you can work with the vendor to create a custom plan. At the other end of the scale, some providers offer free customer support software—but it will have limited features and capabilities.

Can you get free customer service management software?

Yes, it’s possible to get customer service management software free of charge. Some vendors offer “free forever” plans, with basic functionality that may be enough for very small businesses. The thing to remember is that free or very cheap plans don’t necessarily give a good ROI.

By choosing a feature-rich plan that costs a little more, you’ll actually be able to reduce the cost of customer service over time through increased efficiency, customer loyalty, and agent retention.

What’s the difference between customer service and customer support?

These two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, because they’re both part of providing a positive customer experience and they use similar tools and skillsets. But while customer service is a wider term that refers to everything you do to meet customer needs and keep them satisfied, customer support is just one part of customer service. It’s about helping customers when they have problems with your company’s products or services.

What is digital customer service and how can software help with it?

Digital customer service means that service and support is delivered via digital channels, such as instant messaging, chatbots, and social media. It refers to all the ways in which agents and reps interact with customers online—which still includes phone calls, since most contact centers have digitized their phone systems with VoIP.

Digital customer service software enables you to connect all your digital channels, including self-service such as IVR menus and online knowledge bases. It makes it easier for businesses to monitor customer journeys across channels, and direct calls and messages to the right agents. Customer data is housed online too, typically stored in your CRM.

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Originally published Jan 27, 2025, updated Jan 28, 2025