Answer customers on your site, WhatsApp and social media. 3 tools compared: Tidio, WATI, Gorgias.
Updated October 2026 · How we pick
Customers expect an answer where they already are: on your website, in WhatsApp, on Instagram or by email. The right support tool puts those conversations in one place and lets a chatbot handle the repeat questions, so your team only answers what needs a person.
The three tools below solve different versions of that problem. Tidio is the quickest way to add live chat and an AI chatbot to a website. WATI is built for businesses whose customers talk to them on WhatsApp. Gorgias is a full helpdesk made for online shops.
Live chat and an AI chatbot for your website, Messenger and Instagram. Free plan available.
Visit TidioBest for: Small businesses and Shopify or WordPress shops that want live chat and an AI chatbot on their site fast.
Tidio combines live chat, a chatbot builder and an AI agent (Lyro) that answers questions from your own help content. It installs on most site builders in minutes and pulls Messenger, Instagram and email into the same inbox. A free plan lets you try it on a real site.
Best for: Businesses whose customers prefer WhatsApp: retail, education, travel and services.
WATI is built on the official WhatsApp Business API. It gives a shared team inbox for WhatsApp, broadcast messages to opted-in contacts, and a no-code chatbot builder for common questions. Useful when one phone with WhatsApp is no longer enough for the team.
Best for: E-commerce brands, especially on Shopify, with a steady flow of order questions.
Gorgias is a helpdesk made for online shops. Email, chat, social comments and messages arrive as tickets next to the customer's orders, and agents can edit or refund an order without leaving the ticket. Automation handles "where is my order" questions.
Live chat connects a visitor to a person on your team in real time. A chatbot answers automatically, either from rules you set up or, with AI agents, from your own help content. Most tools here offer both and hand over from bot to person when needed.
The free WhatsApp Business app works for one phone. Once several people need to answer, or you want automated replies and broadcasts at scale, you need the API through a provider such as WATI.
For live chat and an AI chatbot on the storefront, Tidio is the simplest start. For a team handling many order questions across email and social, Gorgias is built for that.
Some links on this site are affiliate links: if you sign up through one we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we list or what we say about a tool.