Gladly is an AI-powered customer support platform whose AI agent works across multiple channels and gives instant answers based on knowledge base articles and customer context. But there’s a catch: It was purpose-built for B2C, so it lacks many of the features B2B support teams need, like clear ticket ownership, escalation workflows, and SLA management. 

In this article, we’ll look at why B2B teams are switching from Gladly and profile five leading Gladly alternatives.

Why are support teams switching from Gladly?

Here are the main reasons B2B companies tend to move from Gladly to other help desk software:

• Built for B2C. Gladly’s design works well for consumer brands handling simple chat-based conversations with individual retail customers. But B2B customer support works differently. Gladly says it has “eliminated the concept of tickets,” which is good for simple B2C conversations but makes it difficult to escalate and hand off issues to multiple teams while maintaining accountability.
• Pricing that doesn't scale. Gladly doesn’t publish standard pricing models, but other sites report that it starts at $180 per agent per month. That’s more expensive than most Gladly competitors, and the company also charges usage-based fees for things like voice calls, SMS, and AI automation. For growing businesses, the costs add up quickly. 
• Reporting and customization gaps. Gladly customers mention that reporting options are limited, as the dashboard only includes basic KPIs, and customization options are also minimal. Plus, Gladly has few integrations for the customer relationship management (CRM), Slack, and Jira setups that support teams depend on, and they’re cumbersome to set up.

What to look for in a Gladly alternative

Look for these key characteristics when choosing your next (and hopefully last) customer service support platform:

• B2B account structure. B2B support teams need a platform that helps them manage long-term relationships, with instant access to customer context and account health via deep integrations with CRMs and customer success tools.
• Native Slack and Teams support. B2B accounts use Slack and Microsoft Teams on a daily basis, so look for a provider that offers native integrations that allow your teams to meet customers where they’re at.
• AI built for complexity, not just volume. Look for AI-powered tools that can go beyond answering questions and also give you customer sentiment analysis, account health, churn predictions, and automated routing and escalations.
• Scalable pricing. Find a pricing model that remains affordable as your company expands. Many Gladly alternatives offer lower per-agent pricing, with no additional usage-based costs. Look for a simple pricing model that makes it easy to predict your future costs.
• Reporting and workflow depth. When you have access to sophisticated analytics, you can find and fix workflow bottlenecks more easily. Look for comprehensive real-time dashboards you can customize to track the metrics that matter for your team. Make sure the analytics tool also connects with other systems and brings everything into a unified dashboard.
• Clean CRM and tool integrations. Find a platform that integrates easily with the other tools you use, particularly your CRM and customer messaging apps. Smooth integrations help you connect your ticketing system to broader sets of customer data for a holistic view of each relationship.

5 best Gladly alternatives

These are the five leading alternatives to Gladly based on team fit, support model, and standout capabilities.

1. Pylon 

Pylon is the best choice for B2B SaaS teams looking for reliable omnichannel support. Its all-in platform lets your team communicate with customers on email, live chat, Slack, and Teams from a single workspace, without needing to switch apps. And its AI tools help with everything from drafting responses and filling knowledge base gaps to customer sentiment analysis and automated workflows.

Since it’s specifically built for B2B support teams, Pylon isn’t as good a fit for consumer-facing companies. 

2. Zendesk 

Zendesk is best for large-scale enterprise companies managing high ticket volumes.

Its ticketing system offers a wide range of customization options and third-party integrations so you can create your own support workflows. It also comes with detailed analytics to help you understand customer needs and work more efficiently. And powerful automation features are built in for workflows like ticket routing, escalation, and SLA management.

Zendesk customers report that setup is complicated for new users, and some important features like its AI copilot require additional monthly fees.

3. Kustomer 

Kustomer is a good choice for teams favoring a CRM-driven, chronological customer view.

When dealing with a customer request, your support team can see the whole customer context in a chronological timeline, which helps them refer to previous interactions quickly. This timeline view pulls in conversations from multiple channels, including email, SMS, chat, and social media. 

However, Kustomer users report that the analytics and customization options are limited.

4. Agentforce Service

Agentforce Service (formerly Salesforce Service Cloud) is best for large organizations with complex support operations.

Agentforce customers report that it offers powerful automation options, with centralized customer data and plenty of customization options to help them create their own workflows. They say the autonomous AI agents draw on customer context to provide relevant, accurate answers.

However, they also find the system difficult to set up and customize, with a steep learning curve for new users.

5. Gorgias 

Gorgias is ideal for retail e-commerce teams looking for strong Shopify integration.

The help desk software works very well with e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce. Its AI agent not only answers questions but also recommends products and upsells customers to increase revenue. It also offers omnichannel support, so teams can manage conversations across email, chat, and messaging apps from a single intuitive interface.

Gorgias is built for B2C e-commerce workflows like orders, returns, and refunds, so it’s not a natural fit for B2B teams. And its pricing structure is based on ticket volume; customers report sudden cost increases during busy periods.

Choosing the right Gladly alternative for your team

B2B support teams often switch from Gladly because, although it’s great for consumer brands, it isn’t a good fit for multi-team, multi-stakeholder B2B customer support work. When you look for alternatives, prioritize the features Gladly lacks, like support for long-term B2B relationship management, clean integrations, powerful analytics, and automated AI workflows.

Pylon is the modern B2B support platform that offers true omnichannel support across Slack, Teams, email, chat, ticket forms, and more. Our AI Agents and Assistants automate busywork and reduce response times. Plus, with Account Intelligence that unifies scattered customer signals to calculate health scores and identify churn risk, we're built for customer success at scale.

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FAQ

Which Gladly alternative is best for B2B teams supporting customers over Slack?

Pylon is purpose-built for Slack Connect and Microsoft Teams support, making it the strongest fit for B2B teams whose enterprise customers expect support through business messaging channels.

How difficult is it to migrate from Gladly to a new support platform?

Migration difficulty varies by ticket volume and custom fields, but most teams transition in four to eight weeks with vendor support. The primary challenge isn't technical; it’s ensuring the new platform supports B2B account structures rather than just replicating Gladly's B2C conversation model.

Does Gladly meet enterprise security and compliance requirements?

While Gladly provides foundational security like SSO and encryption, its compliance framework is optimized for consumer retail data. Teams in high-stakes B2B sectors, such as fintech, healthtech, or enterprise SaaS, should verify if Gladly meets their rigorous regulatory needs and weigh this against alternative platforms’ security standards.