AI handles the easy ones.
You handle the hard ones.
An AI chatbot answers 80% of your visitor questions automatically. The rest click “Talk to a human” and your team replies from a real-time inbox. $19/month, unlimited agents — built as the affordable Intercom alternative.
Hybrid chat that respects everyone’s time
Visitors get instant answers. Your team gets the conversations that actually need a human. Nobody waits in a phone queue.
AI First, Human Second
The AI chatbot handles the first message every time — answering product questions, qualifying leads, and resolving common issues. Visitors only reach a person when they actually need one. Your team stops wasting time on questions the AI could answer in two seconds, and ends up handling fewer but higher-value conversations.
One-Click Handoff
Visitors click "Talk to a human" right inside the chat — no contact form, no email, no waiting on hold. The AI silently steps aside, your team gets an instant email + dashboard notification, and a real person joins within seconds. The visitor never feels like they were transferred.
Real-Time Inbox
A clean inbox in your dashboard with three tabs — Pending, Active, Closed — and a pulsing red badge so you never miss a waiting visitor. Click in, type your reply, hit Enter. The visitor sees your message in their chat within seconds. Hand back to AI when you're done.
Availability Hours
Set per-day open and close times in your timezone. Outside those hours the "Talk to a human" link disappears, so visitors don't click into a void at 3am. The AI keeps chatting and capturing leads as usual — your team isn't expected to be on call.
Smart Fallback
If no agent picks up within your configured time (1–60 minutes, default 5), the AI automatically tells the visitor "we'll email you" and captures their email through a normal conversation. You wake up to a clean lead in your inbox instead of a frustrated visitor who left.
No Per-Seat Pricing
Add as many team members as you want — no extra cost per agent. Pro plan ($19/mo) includes unlimited agents. Compare to Intercom ($74-$155 per agent per month) or Tidio ($29 per agent). For a 5-person team, that's $19/mo vs $370+/mo for the same feature.
Chatonbo vs Intercom vs Tidio
Same feature set, fraction of the price. The math gets even more lopsided as your team grows.
| Feature | Chatonbo | Intercom | Tidio |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI chatbot included | ✓ | +$0.99 per resolution | ✓ (limited) |
| Live human handoff | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Unlimited agents | ✓ | $74–$155 per agent | $29 per agent |
| Availability hours | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auto-fallback to email | ✓ | Manual | Manual |
| Custom branding (no logo) | Business plan | Premium add-on | Pro plan |
| Multi-language widget | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (paid) |
| Starting price | $19/mo | $74/mo | $29/mo |
Pricing as of 2026. Intercom and Tidio pricing taken from their public plans pages.
From toggle to first reply in 3 steps
Enable Live Chat
Single toggle in your bot settings (Pro plan and up). Set your team's availability hours and how many minutes to wait for a human reply before falling back to email.
Set Your Display Name
Edit the name visitors will see when you reply — once, in your profile. So replies arrive as "Sarah" or "Amit" instead of an email address. No accounts to invite separately, every team member already has one.
Reply From the Inbox
When someone clicks "Talk to a human", you get an email and a red badge in the sidebar. Open Live Chat in the dashboard, claim the conversation, type, hit Enter. The visitor sees your reply within seconds.
Built for teams that want to be selective
Live chat works best when humans only handle conversations that need them. Every minute saved on FAQs is a minute spent closing a deal.
SaaS Companies
AI handles trial signup questions and pricing tier comparisons. Human takes over for enterprise demos and contract negotiations. Sales reps stop running 30-minute calls about features that are on the pricing page.
Ecommerce Stores
AI answers shipping, returns, sizing, and product questions instantly. Human jumps in for high-value carts, custom orders, or B2B inquiries. Higher conversion without scaling your support team.
Agencies & Consultants
AI qualifies budgets and project scope before scheduling a call. Human only joins when the prospect is a real fit. Stop wasting partner time on lookers.
Real Estate
AI fields buyer preferences and answers neighborhood questions. Human responds to pre-qualified buyers ready to schedule a viewing. Agents stop fielding cold inquiries at midnight.
Service Businesses
AI walks visitors through your services, pricing, and process. Human picks up when the visitor is ready to commit, ask sensitive questions, or troubleshoot a specific situation.
Support Teams
AI resolves the top 50 FAQ-style tickets without a human ever seeing them. Tier-1 agents focus on actual problems. Tier-2 escalations come with full conversation context attached.
Stop paying per agent
Start free with the AI-only plan. Add live human handoff with unlimited agents on Pro for $19/month — less than one Intercom seat.
Get Started