Smith.ai vs. Drift

Smith.ai’s Web Chat features 24/7 coverage using a unique combination of AI technology and live agents. Together, we answer questions, capture and qualify leads, and book appointments. With Drift, you need to staff the chat software yourself. Not only is that expensive, but it can be a challenge to operate 24/7 — leading to missed opportunities and lost revenue. Our comprehensive solution takes the burden off your shoulders and allows your team to focus on more important tasks. 

Drift is a DIY solution — so you’ll need to set up the chat software on your own. They offer a lengthy guide for you to follow. From there, you’re responsible for customizing your chat widget’s appearance, adding pre-built chat responses, and managing all conversations with customers. At Smith.ai, we take a “do it for you” approach with our white-glove setup. Our onboarding team will take care of your no-code playbooks, add Q&A, customize your widget’s branding, and add instructions for our agents.

Our AI technology is another differentiator as it ingests your website’s data — and any other public URLs you supply — to populate your knowledge base. Using large language models, our AI pulls from those data sources to quickly and accurately reply to customers via chat. Our Q&A feature allows you to add any additional information that may not be on your website that your customers need to know. For instances that are more complex or sensitive, our bilingual, North America-based agents are ready to take over the conversation and help address customer needs. 

Drift starts at $2,500 per month and is billed annually. On top of that, you need to purchase seats for every staff member who will use the chat software. And understand this — their AI features cost extra, too. Smith.ai’s Web Chat solution (including both live agents and AI) starts at $7/chat for 20 chats. We also offer an à la carte option, which starts at $10/chat, where you only pay for chats you need. Our chat plans are month-to-month and you only pay for relevant chats. We won’t bill you for any spam, sales, or incomplete chats. And unlike Drift, our AI technology is included and baked right into our solution.

Another benefit of Smith.ai is our 360-degree coverage. You can add our Virtual Receptionists to any chat plan, which starts at $285/mo. This allows our team to manage all of your inbound calls on your behalf. We also offer Outreach Campaigns where we act as an extension of your SDR team and can make outbound calls for you — along with follow-up texts and emails. Pricing starts at just $600/mo.

We offer plenty of technology integrations, too. Not only do we integrate with hundreds of CRMs, scheduling software, billing systems, and payment processing programs, but we also connect with Make and Zapier — giving you access to thousands of more workflow solutions. 

For a totally hands-off approach, 24/7 coverage, next-generation AI, and rich technology integrations, Smith.ai is the superior choice over Drift.