Top 10 Customer Support Tools to Elevate Your Service

Customers today expect fast, efficient, and reliable support — whether they’re reaching out via email, live chat, or social media. Slow response times or clunky processes are a fast track to frustration and lost business.

But delivering top-notch support isn’t just about having a great team — it’s also about equipping them with the right tools. Without the right software, even the most skilled support reps will struggle to keep up with demand, maintain consistency, and provide the seamless experience customers expect.

We’ve put together a comprehensive list of the best customer support tools across different functions — from ticketing systems to AI-powered chatbots — so you can build a support stack that works.

Types of Customer Support Tools

Support teams typically require multiple tools to deliver excellent experiences and manage their operations smoothly.

Sometimes, a single tool can combine multiple functions. For example, Nextiva provides VoIP, live chat software, and other functions in one central platform. Other times, you’ll need to purchase specialized tools that handle different functions efficiently.

Here are the top tools for customer support organizations, regardless of team size or support.

1. Helpdesk software

Primary use case: Ideal for handling high volumes of customer requests and ensuring no query goes unanswered. For instance, an e-commerce business can manage inquiries about order statuses, returns, and product details through a help desk.

Examples: Zendesk, Freshdesk

Help desk software helps businesses manage customer support inquiries efficiently. It centralizes support inquiries across multiple channels (email, chat, phone, social media, etc.), allowing support teams to track, prioritize, and resolve customer issues without lengthy wait times.

Top features

• Ticket management
• Automated workflows
• Prioritization

2. Live chat tools

Primary use case: Frequently used for sales and troubleshooting. For example, SaaS companies use live chat to assist prospective customers during the trial process.

Examples: Crisp, LiveAgent

Live chat is a tool for real-time communication between customers and support agents. Typically integrated into a company’s website or mobile application, it enables customers to send messages directly to support staff without needing to switch to email or make a phone call. This immediate availability helps enhance customer satisfaction by providing instant assistance with inquiries, troubleshooting, or product information.

Top features

• Instant messaging
• Chatbot integration
• Co-browsing capabilities

3. Knowledge base software

Primary use case: Reduces the volume of support tickets by allowing customers to resolve simple issues themselves, such as setting up an account or resetting a password.

Examples: Help Scout, Zendesk Guide

More than 80% of participants in a NICE survey said they wanted more self-service options. One way to meet this expectation is to invest in knowledge base software.

Knowledge base software allows organizations to create a self-service portal where customers can search for and find information to help them troubleshoot and resolve issues independently. It reduces the need for direct support interactions — eliminating long wait times and allowing your support team to focus on more high-level tasks.

Top features

• Search functionality
• Content categorization
• Customer feedback mechanisms

4. CRM tools with integrated support

Use case: Enable personalized interactions by offering agents a complete history of a customer’s interactions. For example, a telecom company can resolve billing disputes faster with customer relationship management (CRM) integration.

Example: Kustomer

CRM tools with integrated support combine customer relationship management with helpdesk or ticketing features.

These tools help businesses manage customer interactions across sales, marketing, and support in a single platform, ensuring a seamless customer experience. Plus, it ensures that all your customer teams have a single source of truth to guide every interaction and deliver consistent experiences.

Top features

• Unified customer profiles
• Integration with communication tools
• Analytics

5. AI-powered tools

Use case: Retail businesses use AI chatbots to answer common questions about store hours and product availability while freeing up agents for complex queries.

Examples: Nextiva AI tools, Intercom

AI customer support tools automate tedious and time-consuming tasks, leading to increased efficiency, high agent productivity, and more streamlined workflows.

For example, you can use AI to automatically route inbound calls to the best-fit agents instead of handling this process manually. These tools can also respond to common customer questions, allowing your agents to focus on more complex inquiries.

Top features

• Chatbots
• Predictive analytics
• Sentiment analysis

6. Social media management tools

Use case: Critical for brand reputation management, allowing companies to address complaints quickly and publicly.

Examples: Podium, Crisp

Nearly 50% of consumers said that they expect a response to social media inquiries and complaints within 24 hours. Meeting this expectation is almost impossible without the right social media management tools.

Social media management tools help you monitor online conversations about your brand on different channels, interact with customers in real time, and measure your overall brand sentiment to understand how your audience feels about your product or service.

Top features

• Social listening
• Sentiment analysis
• Multi-platform integrations

The Top 10 Customer Support Tools

Here are 10 of the best customer support tools worth exploring for contact centers.

1. Nextiva: Best for unified communications

Nextiva brings all your customer channels into one platform, making it easier to deliver one consistent experience to your customers. You’ll be able to monitor and respond to inbound voice calls, emails, and live chat messages, direct messaging from social channels, and engage with your customers anywhere else they interact with you.

Nextiva also provides AI insights — like advanced interactive voice response — for predictive and proactive support. For example, the software can automatically analyze and route inbound calls and messages to the best-fit agents, eliminating wait times.

Nextiva guarantees 99.999% uptime and 24/7 customer support — making our contact center software a great choice for organizations prioritizing scalability and reliability.

Top features

• Seamless CRM integration
• Omnichannel communication
• Real-time analytics and reporting dashboards

2. Intercom: Best for real-time messaging and AI-powered automation

Intercom speeds up customer response time with real-time messaging. It also offers a customer support AI agent that handles routine frontline tasks, such as top-level customer inquiries — freeing up time for more human-first and strategic tasks.

Top features

• Fin AI agent and copilot
• Apps and integrations
• Support for outbound messaging and workflows

3. Zendesk: Comprehensive helpdesk and ticketing solution

Zendesk offers advanced tools for ticketing, knowledge base management, automation, and advanced analytics to improve customer experience and streamline support operations.

Zendesk stands out for its quick and easy implementation, making it a top tool for growing teams that move quickly.

Top features

• Centralized agent workspaces
• Fully integrated ticketing system
• Messaging and live chat

4. Freshdesk: Cloud-based ticketing system with powerful automation features

Freshdesk is an out-of-the-box, AI-powered customer service solution offered by Freshworks. It’s mostly used for its knowledge base function but also offers other customer service features like agent workspaces and advanced ticketing.

Freshdesk’s core strengths are its user-friendly interface and powerful automation features that help businesses coordinate inbound and outbound communication across multiple channels. It also offers a free plan, making it a top pick for smaller organizations.

Top features

• Helpdesk AI
• Advanced integrations with Salesforce and Microsoft Teams
• Team collaboration support

5. Kustomer: AI-powered customer service CRM platform

Kustomer provides advanced AI agents for different customer service functions, boosting overall productivity. You can also build custom AI agents tailored to your specific workflows and systems without any complex technical setup.

On top of that, Kustomer enables you to build your self-service channels to scale customer support, reduce costs, and free up agent time for more creative and productive tasks. It’s an excellent tool for omnichannel communication — especially for businesses looking to integrate sales and customer support processes closely.

Top features

• AI agents for customers and reps
• Built-in CRM platform
• Omnichannel support

6. Help Scout: Best for email-based customer support

Help Scout is a customer support platform designed for small to mid-sized businesses that want a simpler, more personal way to manage customer conversations. Unlike traditional help desk software like Zendesk or Freshdesk, Help Scout provides a shared inbox that looks and feels like a regular email client — but with powerful collaboration and automation features.

One of Help Scout’s strong points is its ease of setup and maintenance. You don’t need complex technical skills to deploy the software and onboard your support team. It also offers a free plan that’s valuable for smaller organizations.

Top features

• Customer support email management
• Proactive messaging
• Self-service support

7. LiveAgent: Affordable customer service solution

Ideal for small teams with limited budgets, LiveAgent is an all-in-one customer support platform that combines help desk ticketing, live chat, call center features, and social media support in a single solution. It’s designed for businesses that want real-time customer support with strong multichannel communication capabilities.

One of its standout features is the ability to merge multiple tickets into one, streamlining customer support and allowing you to respond to inquiries faster. LiveAgent doesn’t have a free plan but offers 15- and 30-day free trials for teams.

Top features

• Automated ticket distribution
• Canned messages
• Hybrid ticket stream for omnichannel communication

8. Crisp: Real-time chat and bot capabilities

Crisp is a comprehensive business messaging platform that allows you to monitor all your conversations from one central platform. It also provides built-in CRM software that serves as the single source of truth for all your customer information. That way, your agents always have access to the latest data to inform customer conversations.

Top features

• Shared inbox for customer service agents
• Ticketing system
• AI chatbot

9. Podium: Best for managing customer interactions via reviews and messaging

Podium is an online reputation management software for businesses of all sizes. It provides a central inbox where organizations can track and respond to what people are saying about their brands across multiple channels. This makes it super easy to interact with customers and address any issues raised before they become bigger problems that hurt your brand.

Beyond that, Podium stands out for its comprehensive reporting features and mobile app for on-demand communication.

Top features

• Review automations
• AI reputation specialist
• Contact profiles

10. Gorgias: Customer service platforms for e-commerce businesses

Gorgias is a customer service platform designed for e-commerce businesses. It provides automation, AI-powered responses, and integrations with Shopify, Magento, and other platforms to help online stores manage customer inquiries efficiently.

Users especially appreciate its centralized inbox feature that allows them to track and respond to emails and social media posts within the same platform. Gorgias is also equipped with advanced customization features that allow you to tweak the setup to match your customer success operations.

Top features

• Help desk
• AI agent for sales
• Shopify checkout chatbot

Choosing the Right Customer Support Platform

Many customer support platforms are available, but not all are right for your business. As an organization looking to scale, you need customer support software that guarantees ease of use, reliability, and seamless integration with the rest of your business workflow.

Nextiva checks these boxes and more by offering an all-in-one customer support solution with unparalleled functionality, scalability, and support. Regardless of your business size or complexity, Nextiva’s customer support tools will help you deliver exceptional customer experiences. As one G2 review states:

Want to learn more? Check out Nextiva’s contact center software for growing businesses.