AI Index / Open-source live chat software

Best Open-source live chat software

What AI assistants actually recommend when buyers ask about open-source live chat software — measured weekly across 3 engines, published as open data.

Updated 2026-08-04 · 47 sampled answers · rolling 4-week window · methodology

Rankings are measured from sampled AI answers — never editorial, never paid. Orbator builds AI-visibility tooling; when Orbator itself appears in any category, it is measured by the same rules as everyone else.

Updated weekly47 samples3 enginesmethodology

Sample: 47 AI answers · Window: Jul 7, 2026Aug 4, 2026 (4-week rolling) · trend vs prior 4 weeks (44 answers)

What is the best open-source live chat software?

Across 47 sampled AI answers from 3 engines, Chatwoot is recommended most often — appearing in 89.4% of recommendations, followed by Rocket.Chat (63.8%) and Intercom (51.1%).

This is a measurement of share of voice across 3 AI engines — not an editorial pick. See the full ranking below.

#ProductShareTrendEngines
1
Chatwoot

chatwoot.com

Best for: AI recommends Chatwoot most when buyers ask best open-source live chat software I can self-host on my own server (100% of those answers)

89.4%

95% CI 77.495.4%

42 mentions · avg pos 2.2

first pick 38.1%

GEMINI 85%CLAUDE 100%PERPLEXITY 90%
Claim
2
Rocket.Chat

rocket.chat

Best for: AI recommends Rocket.Chat most when buyers ask what self-hosted live chat solution works best for a developer team that wants to customize everything (100% of those answers)

63.8%

95% CI 49.576%

30 mentions · avg pos 3.3

first pick 6.7%

GEMINI 75%CLAUDE 28.6%PERPLEXITY 65%
Claim
3
Intercom

intercom.com

Best for: AI recommends Intercom most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (77.8% of those answers)

51.1%

95% CI 37.264.7%

24 mentions · avg pos 2.5

first pick 25%

GEMINI 45%CLAUDE 85.7%PERPLEXITY 45%
Claim
4
Zendesk

zendesk.com

Best for: AI recommends Zendesk most when buyers ask best open-source live chat software I can self-host on my own server (66.7% of those answers)

40.4%

95% CI 27.654.7%

19 mentions · avg pos 2.6

first pick 31.6%

GEMINI 40%CLAUDE 57.1%PERPLEXITY 35%
Claim
5
Docker

docker.com

Best for: AI recommends Docker most when buyers ask which open-source live chat tool is easiest to install on a VPS for a small e-commerce site (100% of those answers)

38.3%

95% CI 25.852.6%

18 mentions · avg pos 2.3

first pick 33.3%

GEMINI 35%CLAUDE 42.9%PERPLEXITY 40%
Claim
6
FreeScout

freescout.net

Best for: AI recommends FreeScout most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (88.9% of those answers)

36.2%

95% CI 2450.5%

17 mentions · avg pos 4.2

first pick 5.9%

GEMINI 35%CLAUDE 28.6%PERPLEXITY 40%
Claim
7
PHP

php.net

Best for: AI recommends PHP most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (88.9% of those answers)

29.8%

95% CI 18.744%

14 mentions · avg pos 4

first pick 14.3%

GEMINI 40%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 25%
Claim
8
Live Helper Chat

livehelperchat.com

Best for: AI recommends Live Helper Chat most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (66.7% of those answers)

21.3%

95% CI 1234.9%

10 mentions · avg pos 4.3

first pick 0%

GEMINI 30%PERPLEXITY 20%
Claim
9
Mattermost

mattermost.com

Best for: AI recommends Mattermost most when buyers ask what self-hosted live chat solution works best for a developer team that wants to customize everything (77.8% of those answers)

19.1%

95% CI 10.432.5%

9 mentions · avg pos 4.1

first pick 11.1%

GEMINI 35%PERPLEXITY 10%
Claim
10
Chaskiq

Best for: AI recommends Chaskiq most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (77.8% of those answers)

17%

95% CI 8.930.1%

8 mentions · avg pos 4

first pick 0%

GEMINI 25%PERPLEXITY 15%
Claim
11
Slack

slack.com

Best for: AI recommends Slack most when buyers ask what self-hosted live chat solution works best for a developer team that wants to customize everything (33.3% of those answers)

14.9%

95% CI 7.427.7%

7 mentions · avg pos 2.7

first pick 14.3%

GEMINI 25%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
12
Tiledesk

Best for: AI recommends Tiledesk most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (44.4% of those answers)

14.9%

95% CI 7.427.7%

7 mentions · avg pos 4.6

first pick 0%

GEMINI 10%CLAUDE 28.6%PERPLEXITY 15%
Claim
13
Papercups

Best for: AI recommends Papercups most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (55.6% of those answers)

14.9%

95% CI 7.427.7%

7 mentions · avg pos 6.2

first pick 0%

GEMINI 25%PERPLEXITY 10%
Claim
14
Zulip

zulip.com

Best for: AI recommends Zulip most when buyers ask best open-source live chat software I can self-host on my own server (55.6% of those answers)

12.8%

95% CI 625.2%

6 mentions · avg pos 5

first pick 0%

GEMINI 20%PERPLEXITY 10%
Claim
15
Jitsi

jitsi.org

Best for: AI recommends Jitsi most when buyers ask best open-source live chat software I can self-host on my own server (33.3% of those answers)

12.8%

95% CI 625.2%

6 mentions · avg pos 5.4

first pick 0%

GEMINI 25%PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
16
Salesforce Service Cloud

Best for: AI recommends Salesforce Service Cloud most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (33.3% of those answers)

10.6%

95% CI 4.622.6%

5 mentions · avg pos 2

first pick 20%

CLAUDE 28.6%PERPLEXITY 15%
Claim
17
MirrorFly

10.6%

95% CI 4.622.6%

5 mentions · avg pos 4.3

first pick 0%

GEMINI 10%PERPLEXITY 15%
Claim
18
Matrix

matrix.org

10.6%

95% CI 4.622.6%

5 mentions · avg pos 7.3

first pick 0%

GEMINI 20%PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
19
Rasa

rasa.com

Best for: AI recommends Rasa most when buyers ask best self-hosted live chat tool for a SaaS product that needs chatbots and canned responses (33.3% of those answers)

8.5%

95% CI 3.419.9%

4 mentions · avg pos 2.3

first pick 50%

GEMINI 15%CLAUDE 14.3%
Claim
20
Captain

Best for: AI recommends Captain most when buyers ask best self-hosted live chat tool for a SaaS product that needs chatbots and canned responses (55.6% of those answers)

8.5%

95% CI 3.419.9%

4 mentions · avg pos 2.3

first pick 25%

GEMINI 15%CLAUDE 14.3%
Claim
21
VoceChat

voce.chat

8.5%

95% CI 3.419.9%

4 mentions · avg pos 3.3

first pick 25%

GEMINI 10%PERPLEXITY 10%
Claim
22
Drift

drift.com

Best for: AI recommends Drift most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (55.6% of those answers)

6.4%

95% CI 2.217.2%

3 mentions · avg pos 2.5

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 15%
Claim
23
Snap

Best for: AI recommends Snap most when buyers ask which open-source live chat tool is easiest to install on a VPS for a small e-commerce site (33.3% of those answers)

6.4%

95% CI 2.217.2%

3 mentions · avg pos 5.3

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
24
Nextcloud

nextcloud.com

6.4%

95% CI 2.217.2%

3 mentions · avg pos 7

first pick 0%

GEMINI 15%
Claim
25
Element

element.io

6.4%

95% CI 2.217.2%

3 mentions · avg pos 7.5

first pick 0%

GEMINI 15%
Claim
26
NGINX

nginx.org

Best for: AI recommends NGINX most when buyers ask which open-source live chat tool is easiest to install on a VPS for a small e-commerce site (33.3% of those answers)

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 1

first pick 50%

GEMINI 5%PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
27
Telegram

telegram.org

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 2

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
28
tawk.to

tawk.to

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 2.5

first pick 0%

CLAUDE 28.6%
Claim
29
FreeScout Live Chat

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 3.5

first pick 0%

GEMINI 10%
Claim
30
Botpress

botpress.com

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 5

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%CLAUDE 14.3%
Claim
31
Mibew

mibew.org

Best for: AI recommends Mibew most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (33.3% of those answers)

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 5

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 10%
Claim
32
Mibew Messenger

Best for: AI recommends Mibew Messenger most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (33.3% of those answers)

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 5

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 10%
Claim
33
MirrorFly's AI Chatbot Solution

mirrorfly.com

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 5

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
34
ZChat

zchat.com

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 5

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 10%
Claim
35
Helpy

helpy.io

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 5.5

first pick 0%

GEMINI 10%
Claim
36
Helm

helm.sh

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 7

first pick 0%

CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
37
Twake

twake.app

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions · avg pos 9.5

first pick 0%

GEMINI 10%
Claim
38
getagent.chat

getagent.chat

4.3%

95% CI 1.214.2%

2 mentions

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 10%
Claim
39
Apigee

cloud.google.com

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 1

first pick 100%

GEMINI 5%
Claim
40
DigitalOcean

digitalocean.com

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 1

first pick 100%

CLAUDE 14.3%
Claim
41
Helpzen

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 1

first pick 100%

GEMINI 5%
Claim
42
Heroku

heroku.com

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 1

first pick 100%

CLAUDE 14.3%
Claim
43
LiveChat

livechat.com

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 1

first pick 100%

PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
44
Tidio AI

tidio.com

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 1

first pick 100%

PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
45
Agora

agora.io

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 2

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%
Claim
46
Twilio

twilio.com

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 2

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%
Claim
47
Crisp

crisp.chat

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 3

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%
Claim
48
Zammad

zammad.org

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 4

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%
Claim
49
Helpy Connect

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 5

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%
Claim
50
LiveAgent

liveagent.com

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 5

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%
Claim
51
Let's Chat

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 6

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
52
Tinode

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 6

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%
Claim
53
Tinode Web Chat

tinode.co

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 6

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%
Claim
54
Wire

wire.com

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions · avg pos 13

first pick 0%

GEMINI 5%
Claim
55
Dev.to

dev.to

Best for: AI recommends Dev.to most when buyers ask what self-hosted live chat solution works best for a developer team that wants to customize everything (44.4% of those answers)

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
56
Gleap

gleap.io

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
57
Hostinger

hostinger.com

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
58
OpenAlternative

openalternative.co

Best for: AI recommends OpenAlternative most when buyers ask open-source live chat alternatives to expensive per-seat hosted chat platforms (33.3% of those answers)

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
59
SourceForge

sourceforge.net

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim
60
WordPress.org

wordpress.org

Best for: AI recommends WordPress.org most when buyers ask how do I self-host a live chat widget on my website without sending data to third parties (33.3% of those answers)

2.1%

95% CI 0.411.1%

1 mentions

first pick 0%

PERPLEXITY 5%
Claim

Reading the numbers: Share is a point estimate on 47 sampled answers, so each row also shows its 95% CI — the Wilson score interval around that share. When two products' intervals overlap, the gap between them isn't statistically meaningful at this sample size. First pick is the share of a product's recommending answers where it was named first, which separates “always mentioned” from “usually the top recommendation”. Full methodology.

Independence: Orbator customers are badged for disclosure. Customer status does not affect prompts, sampling, extraction, or ranking — see the methodology. Your product on this list? Claim it to see the prompts behind your rank and track it weekly.

Related categories

What AI recommends in adjacent categories — same method, fresh weekly.

Not in the answer? That's fixable.

Check Your AI Visibility →
[ORBATOR]

© 2026 Orbator. All rights reserved.