Top 7 Alternatives to Drift for Spas

Intercom is a well‑established customer messaging platform that offers live chat, help desk, and automated messaging flows. For spas, Intercom’s ability to segment visitors by intent—such as “looking for a massage” or “inquire about pricing”—allows staff to target promotions and upsell services. The platform supports one‑click integration with booking systems like Acuity Scheduling and integrates with popular CRMs such as HubSpot and Salesforce, enabling seamless data flow between chat conversations and customer records. Intercom’s live chat widget is highly customizable via its UI editor, offering control over colors, greeting messages, and call‑to‑action buttons. The platform also provides automated bots that can answer FAQs, schedule appointments, and collect contact information. For spas that need to manage multiple locations, Intercom’s multi‑agent support and role‑based permissions help keep conversations organized. While Intercom does not offer a native “knowledge base” in the same sense as AgentiveAIQ, its help center feature allows the creation of searchable articles that can be surfaced within the chat window.

Zendesk Chat (formerly Zopim) provides a lightweight, real‑time chat solution that integrates seamlessly with the broader Zendesk customer support suite. For spas, Zendesk Chat’s ability to trigger live chat based on page visits—such as when a visitor scrolls to the pricing page—helps capture leads at the right moment. The platform offers pre‑built chat flows that can guide guests through booking services, answer common questions, and collect contact details. The chat widget is highly configurable through Zendesk’s UI editor, allowing spa owners to match their brand colors and fonts. Zendesk Chat also supports outbound messaging, enabling staff to proactively engage visitors who have lingered on a page. With its API, developers can customize triggers and integrate chat data into spa booking or point‑of‑sale systems. Zendesk’s knowledge‑base, the Zendesk Guide, is separate from chat but can be linked via the chat window, providing guests with quick access to FAQs and informational articles.

LiveChat is a popular live‑chat platform that emphasizes speed, ease of use, and a clean user interface. For spa businesses, LiveChat offers a simple setup process where a single line of code embeds a floating chat window that can be customized to match the spa’s brand. The platform’s automated bots can answer frequently asked questions, provide service recommendations, and even schedule appointments via integrations with Calendly or other booking tools. LiveChat also provides a knowledge base feature that allows spa owners to create searchable articles which can be surfaced within the chat interface. The company offers a range of integrations including Shopify, WooCommerce, and various CRM systems, making it straightforward to pull product or service data into the chat. The platform’s analytics dashboard offers insights into chat volume, response times, and customer satisfaction scores, which can help spa managers optimize staffing and messaging.

Tidio blends live chat with chatbot automation, offering spas a single platform to manage both human and bot interactions. The chat widget is highly customizable via a visual editor that lets users adjust colors, placement, and greeting messages. Tidio’s chatbot builder uses a drag‑and‑drop interface, making it easy to create flows that can answer FAQs, gather contact information, or direct visitors to booking pages. Tidio offers a range of integrations, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Mailchimp, and CRMs like HubSpot. The platform also supports an embedded knowledge base, allowing spa owners to provide self‑service articles within the chat. For spas that need to handle multiple locations, Tidio’s multi‑agent support ensures conversations can be routed appropriately. Analytics dashboards provide insights into chat volume, bot performance, and visitor behavior, helping spa managers refine their outreach strategies.

Crisp is a lightweight live chat platform that focuses on simplicity and real‑time collaboration. For spas, Crisp offers a floating chat widget that can be customized to reflect the spa’s branding. The platform’s bot feature can answer common questions, collect email addresses, and schedule appointments through integration with Calendly or other booking services. Crisp provides a knowledge base feature where spa owners can create articles that are searchable in the chat. The platform also offers integrations with e‑commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, as well as CRMs such as HubSpot, making it easier to sync customer data across systems. Crisp’s analytics panel tracks chat metrics, enabling spa managers to monitor engagement and response times.

Freshchat, part of the Freshworks suite, offers a modern live chat experience with robust automation and AI features. For spa owners, Freshchat can be embedded on the website with a single code snippet and customized to match brand colors and messaging. The platform’s chatbot builder uses a visual flow editor, allowing the creation of conversational paths that can answer FAQs, recommend services, and direct users to booking pages. Freshchat integrates with Freshsales (CRM), Freshservice, and popular e‑commerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce. It also supports integrations with Google Calendar and external booking tools, enabling real‑time appointment scheduling. The knowledge base feature allows spa owners to host self‑service articles that can be surfaced within the chat. Analytics dashboards provide insights into chat volume, agent performance, and customer satisfaction. Freshchat also offers multi‑agent support and role‑based permissions.