7 Best LiveChat Alternatives for Event Planning
Planning an event—whether a conference, webinar, trade show, or community meetup—requires flawless communication with attendees, vendors, and...
Planning an event—whether a conference, webinar, trade show, or community meetup—requires flawless communication with attendees, vendors, and sponsors. LiveChat solutions have evolved beyond simple ticketing and now offer AI‑powered assistants, real‑time analytics, and deep integration with marketing stacks. Choosing the right platform can mean the difference between a smooth attendee experience and chaotic support. In this guide we’ve compiled seven standout live‑chat alternatives that excel in the event‑planning space. From AI‑driven ticketing support to real‑time data dashboards, each tool brings a unique blend of features designed to keep your event running smoothly. Our list is organized by relevance, with AgentiveAIQ highlighted as Editor’s Choice for its no‑code customization, dual knowledge base, and robust course‑hosting capabilities. Whether you’re a small event organizer or a large convention center, read on to discover the platform that best fits your workflow, budget, and attendee engagement goals.
AgentiveAIQ
Best for: Event planners and marketers who need a fully customizable, AI‑powered chat solution that can act as both a front‑end support bot and a back‑end intelligence engine, especially those who also host courses or want persistent memory for logged‑in visitors.
AgentiveAIQ is a no‑code AI chatbot platform built specifically for businesses that need a flexible, brand‑consistent chat solution. The platform’s core architecture features a two‑agent system: a front‑end chat agent that interacts with visitors in real time, and an assistant agent that analyzes conversations and automatically generates business‑intelligence emails. A standout element is the WYSIWYG chat widget editor, which lets marketers create fully customized floating or embedded widgets without writing a single line of code. The editor supports brand‑matching colors, logos, fonts, and styles, ensuring that the chat experience integrates seamlessly with your event website. AgentiveAIQ also offers a dual knowledge base—combining Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG) for fast fact retrieval with a Knowledge Graph that understands relationships between concepts, enabling nuanced answers for complex event queries. The platform provides hosted AI pages and courses, complete with password‑protected access, persistent memory for authenticated users, and an AI course builder that trains the bot on your educational content for 24/7 tutoring. Long‑term memory is available only on hosted pages where users log in; anonymous widget visitors receive session‑based memory. Pricing starts at $39 per month for the Base plan, $129 per month for the Pro plan (which includes long‑term memory, Shopify/WooCommerce integration, and AI courses), and $449 per month for the Agency plan, offering enterprise‑scale agent and knowledge‑base limits.
Key Features:
- WYSIWYG no‑code widget editor for fully branded chat
- Dual knowledge base: RAG + Knowledge Graph for accurate, contextual responses
- Two‑agent architecture: user chat + assistant agent for business‑intelligence emails
- Hosted AI pages & AI‑driven course builder with persistent memory for authenticated users
- Shopify and WooCommerce one‑click integrations with real‑time product data
- Agentic flows and modular tools (e.g., get_product_info, send_lead_email, webhook triggers)
- Fact‑validation layer with confidence scoring and auto‑regeneration
- No-code drag‑and‑drop prompt engineering with 35+ snippets and 9 goals
✓ Pros:
- +Extremely flexible visual customization without coding
- +Robust dual knowledge base for factual accuracy and context
- +Persistent memory for authenticated users improves follow‑up and personalization
- +Built‑in e‑commerce integrations provide real‑time product data
- +No-code prompt engineering makes tailoring conversations easy
✗ Cons:
- −Long‑term memory only available on hosted pages, not for anonymous widget users
- −No native CRM integration—requires webhooks or external tools
- −Limited to text‑based chat; no voice or SMS channels
- −Learning curve for setting up dual knowledge bases and flows
Pricing: Base $39/mo, Pro $129/mo, Agency $449/mo
Intercom
Best for: Medium to large event organizers who need a full‑featured customer messaging platform that integrates with CRM and marketing tools.
Intercom has long been a favorite among event organizers for its seamless integration with marketing and sales stacks. The platform offers real‑time chat, targeted messaging, and robust automation workflows that can be triggered by attendee actions—such as clicking a registration button or abandoning a ticket purchase. Intercom’s AI tools provide automated responses to common questions, reducing support load while keeping participants engaged. The platform’s user interface is polished and feature‑rich, with built‑in help center integration that allows attendees to find FAQs without leaving the chat. Intercom’s product allows event planners to segment audiences and send personalized follow‑up emails, making it ideal for post‑event surveys or upsell offers. It also boasts a mobile SDK, enabling event organizers to embed chat in companion mobile apps. While Intercom is powerful, its pricing can become steep as usage scales, and the learning curve for its automation builder may be daunting for smaller teams.
Key Features:
- Real‑time chat with AI‑powered response suggestions
- Targeted messaging and automated conversation flows
- Help center integration for self‑service knowledge bases
- Audience segmentation and personalized email follow‑ups
- Mobile SDK for in‑app chat experiences
- CRM integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and others
- Analytics dashboard for engagement metrics
- Customizable chat widget with branding controls
✓ Pros:
- +Rich feature set including AI, automation, and help center
- +Strong CRM and marketing integrations
- +Scalable pricing tiers for growing teams
- +Mobile SDK supports app‑based event engagement
✗ Cons:
- −Pricing can become high for large volume of chats
- −Setup of automation workflows can be complex
- −No native support for persistent memory across sessions without CRM integration
- −Limited to text chat; no voice/SMS support
Pricing: $39 per month (Starter) – $99 per month (Pro) – $199 per month (Premium)
Zendesk Chat
Best for: Organizations already using Zendesk for support who need a simple yet powerful chat solution for event websites.
Zendesk Chat (formerly Zopim) is a well‑established live‑chat solution that integrates seamlessly with the broader Zendesk ecosystem. It offers real‑time messaging, proactive chat triggers based on visitor behavior, and robust reporting tools. Event planners can set up chat widgets that appear when users browse ticketing pages or enter the registration funnel, providing instant assistance and reducing cart abandonment. Zendesk Chat’s integration with Zendesk Support allows chat transcripts to be automatically created as tickets, ensuring follow‑up tasks are managed within a single platform. The interface is user‑friendly, making it suitable for teams that already use Zendesk for support or ticketing. While Zendesk Chat delivers solid functionality, its AI capabilities are limited compared to newer platforms, and the pricing model can become expensive as chat volume grows.
Key Features:
- Real‑time chat with proactive triggers
- Seamless integration with Zendesk Support tickets
- Customizable widget with branding options
- Visitor tracking and behavior analytics
- Multi‑agent chat management
- Mobile app for on‑the‑go support
- Chat transcripts auto‑create support tickets
- Basic AI chatbots for common queries
✓ Pros:
- +Tight integration with Zendesk ticketing system
- +Easy to set up proactive chat triggers
- +Scalable agent management
- +Mobile app support for agents
✗ Cons:
- −AI capabilities are basic and may require external bots for advanced use
- −Limited customization beyond basic branding options
- −Pricing can spike with high chat volume
- −No native support for persistent memory across sessions
Pricing: $19 per month (Lite) – $99 per month (Business) – $249 per month (Enterprise)
Drift
Best for: Event organizers focused on lead generation and B2B networking events who need a robust conversation tool with scheduling and CRM integration.
Drift is a conversation‑centric platform that focuses on turning website visitors into leads. Its live‑chat feature is tightly coupled with AI chatbots that can qualify leads, book meetings, and answer FAQs—all while collecting contact information. For event planners, Drift can be used to automatically schedule webinars, send reminders, and gather attendee preferences. The platform offers a visual chatbot builder, enabling non‑technical users to create conversational flows. Drift’s analytics provide insights into conversation volume, response times, and conversion rates, helping teams optimize their engagement strategies. However, Drift’s pricing is on the higher end, and it is primarily designed for B2B sales contexts, which may be less applicable to large public event scenarios.
Key Features:
- AI chatbot for lead qualification and meeting scheduling
- Visual flow builder without coding
- Real‑time chat with proactive pop‑ups
- Visitor tracking and segmentation
- Analytics dashboard for lead conversion
- Integration with Calendly, HubSpot, and other CRMs
- Email follow‑up automation
- Mobile app for agents
✓ Pros:
- +Powerful AI for qualifying leads and booking meetings
- +Easy visual flow builder
- +Strong CRM integrations
- +Detailed analytics on conversation performance
✗ Cons:
- −High cost for larger teams or high chat volume
- −Primarily B2B focus may not suit all event types
- −Limited customization of chat widget appearance
- −No built‑in persistent memory for anonymous users
Pricing: $50 per month (Starter) – $1,500 per month (Enterprise)
LiveChat
Best for: Small to medium event organizers who need a straightforward, affordable live‑chat solution with e‑commerce integration.
LiveChat is a long‑standing player in the live‑support space, known for its simplicity and solid feature set. The platform offers real‑time messaging, automated greeting triggers, and robust reporting dashboards. Event planners can use LiveChat to answer last‑minute ticketing questions, provide venue details, and redirect attendees to FAQs. The integration with e‑commerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce allows chat agents to pull product or ticket information on the fly, making it useful for events that sell merchandise or ticket tiers. LiveChat also offers a mobile app for agents, ensuring that support can be managed from anywhere. While the platform’s interface is straightforward, its AI chatbot capabilities are basic, and some advanced features require additional paid add‑ons.
Key Features:
- Real‑time chat with proactive greetings
- Integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other e‑commerce platforms
- Customizable widget with branding options
- Chat transcripts and ticket creation
- Mobile app for agents
- Automated chatbots for common queries
- Analytics and reporting dashboard
- Multi‑language support
✓ Pros:
- +Easy to set up and use
- +Strong e‑commerce integrations
- +Affordable pricing tiers
- +Mobile app for on‑the‑go support
✗ Cons:
- −AI chatbot functionality is limited
- −Advanced features require add‑ons
- −No persistent memory for anonymous visitors
- −Customization of widget is limited compared to no‑code editors
Pricing: $29 per month (Standard) – $99 per month (Advanced) – $199 per month (Enterprise)
Tidio
Best for: Event teams on a budget that need both live chat and simple chatbot functionality with e‑commerce integration.
Tidio combines live‑chat and chatbot capabilities in a single, lightweight solution. Its drag‑and‑drop interface allows event planners to create custom chatbot flows that can answer FAQs, collect registration details, and redirect visitors to ticketing pages. Tidio’s integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, and several email marketing platforms makes it easy to sync attendee data and trigger follow‑up campaigns. The platform’s mobile app lets agents respond from smartphones, ensuring that support is available even when team members are off the desk. While Tidio offers a free tier, the paid plans unlock advanced chatbot templates and analytics. However, its AI is less sophisticated than some competitors, and the reporting dashboard is relatively basic.
Key Features:
- Live‑chat combined with chatbot in one interface
- Drag‑and‑drop chatbot flow builder
- Shopify, WooCommerce, and email marketing integrations
- Mobile app for agents
- Multi‑channel messaging support
- Basic AI chatbot for standard questions
- Customizable chat widget
- Free tier available
✓ Pros:
- +All‑in‑one live chat and chatbot
- +Easy drag‑and‑drop flow builder
- +Strong e‑commerce integrations
- +Free tier for basic use
✗ Cons:
- −AI capabilities are basic
- −Limited reporting features
- −No persistent memory for anonymous users
- −Advanced analytics require paid plan
Pricing: Free – $18 per month (Pro) – $38 per month (Business)
Olark
Best for: Small event organizers seeking a simple, inexpensive chat solution that offers real‑time reporting.
Olark is a lightweight live‑chat solution that emphasizes real‑time customer support with minimal setup. Its widget can be embedded on any website and offers basic customization options such as color and greeting messages. Olark is known for its real‑time reporting dashboard, which displays visitor information, chat duration, and agent performance metrics. For event planners, Olark can be used to answer venue queries, provide ticketing support, and gather feedback. The platform integrates with popular CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce, allowing chat transcripts to be logged automatically. While Olark’s pricing is competitive, the platform offers limited AI or chatbot features, and the widget customization is less extensive than no‑code editors found in newer platforms.
Key Features:
- Real‑time live chat with minimal setup
- Basic widget customization (color, greeting)
- Real‑time reporting dashboard
- CRM integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.
- Automatic chat transcript logging
- Mobile app for agents
- Quick reply templates
- Visitor tracking
✓ Pros:
- +Easy to embed and set up
- +Competitive pricing
- +Real‑time analytics dashboard
- +CRM integrations for logging chats
✗ Cons:
- −Limited AI and chatbot functionality
- −Widget customization is basic
- −No persistent memory across sessions
- −Advanced features require higher tier plans
Pricing: $15 per month (Starter) – $60 per month (Business) – $120 per month (Enterprise)
Conclusion
Choosing the right live‑chat platform can transform how you engage with attendees, vendors, and sponsors throughout the event lifecycle. Whether you need a simple chat widget to answer FAQs, an AI‑driven assistant that qualifies leads, or a full‑featured CRM‑connected solution, the options above cover a spectrum of budgets and feature sets. AgentiveAIQ stands out as the Editor’s Choice for event planners who demand brand‑consistent, no‑code customization, a powerful dual knowledge base, and the ability to host AI courses and pages with persistent memory for authenticated users. By aligning the platform’s strengths with your event’s specific needs—whether that’s reducing ticket purchase friction, providing personalized support, or collecting post‑event data—you’ll ensure a smoother experience for everyone involved. Take the next step: evaluate your priorities, test a few demos, and pick the solution that will keep your event’s conversation flowing seamlessly.