Last updated: January 2026
What Is Tidio?
Customer support across multiple tabs and tools fragments conversations, frustrates agents, and leaves customers waiting. Tidio consolidates live chat, AI chatbots, and helpdesk ticketing into a single platform where e-commerce businesses and service companies can handle every customer interaction from one dashboard.
The platform stands out for two reasons: Lyro, an AI agent that genuinely resolves routine questions without human intervention, and a generous free tier that lets small businesses start without financial commitment. Setup takes minutes, not days—install a plugin on Shopify, WordPress, or Wix, and you're live.
For businesses drowning in support tickets while trying to deliver personal customer experiences, Tidio offers automation that works without sacrificing the human touch when it matters.
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Key Features Explained
Live Chat and Visitor Tracking
The chat widget is lightweight, mobile-responsive, and fully customizable to match your brand. But what makes Tidio different from basic chat tools is the real-time visitor tracking that powers it.
See exactly who's browsing: which page they're on, what device they're using, how long they've been there, and whether they're a returning visitor. This context lets agents proactively engage high-intent visitors—offering a discount code to someone lingering on checkout, or answering questions before they're asked.
Canned responses, typing previews (see what visitors type before they send), and quick-access snippets keep agent response times fast.
Lyro AI Chatbot
Lyro is Tidio's headline feature—a natural language AI agent that pulls answers from your website content, knowledge base articles, or uploaded documentation. Unlike rule-based chatbots that follow rigid scripts, Lyro understands context and conversational flow.
The AI speaks 13+ languages natively, handles conversations across all connected channels (website, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp), and knows when to escalate complex issues to human agents. Train Lyro by pointing it at URLs or uploading PDFs; it indexes that content and refuses to hallucinate beyond your approved sources.
Expect Lyro to handle 70%+ of routine inquiries—"Where's my order?", "What's your return policy?", "Do you ship internationally?"—freeing your team for complex, high-value conversations.
Flows Automation Builder
The visual Flows builder lets non-technical users create automated customer journeys without code. Drag-and-drop triggers, conditions, and actions to build workflows like:
Cart abandonment recovery: trigger a chat message when someone has items in cart but hasn't checked out. Lead qualification: ask questions to segment visitors before routing to sales. Order status updates: automatically send shipping notifications when tracking updates.
Free users get 100 automated interactions monthly; paid tiers scale to thousands.
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Helpdesk Ticketing
Not every conversation resolves in one chat session. Convert ongoing issues into tickets with one click, tracking them through resolution. The helpdesk also ingests support emails so agents never need to leave the Tidio dashboard.
Priority tags, internal notes, and spam filtering keep queues organized. Ticket assignment rules route issues to appropriate team members automatically.
AI Copilot for Agents
While Lyro handles customers directly, Copilot assists human agents. Based on your knowledge base and saved articles, Copilot drafts response suggestions that agents can edit before sending. This slashes handle time while keeping tone consistent with your brand voice.
Available as an inbox feature or free Chrome extension that works across other platforms too.
Multichannel Integration
Connect Messenger, Instagram DM, WhatsApp Business, and email to handle all customer conversations from Tidio's unified inbox. Native plugins for Shopify, WordPress, Wix, and BigCommerce install in minutes with automatic product catalog sync for quick answers and upsell opportunities.
Real-World Use Cases
E-Commerce Stores
Online retailers use Tidio to answer pre-purchase questions instantly, recover abandoned carts through proactive chat, and handle post-purchase support without scaling headcount proportionally to order volume.
Service Businesses
Agencies, consultants, and local service providers use Tidio to qualify leads on their website 24/7, scheduling consultations automatically while filtering out poor-fit inquiries.
Growing Support Teams
Companies scaling from founders-handle-everything to dedicated support use Tidio to systematize their approach with ticketing, automation, and AI handling routine volume.
Multilingual Operations
Businesses serving international customers leverage Lyro's native multilingual capabilities to provide support in customers' preferred languages without hiring multilingual agents.
For phone support alongside chat, consider pairing Tidio with Aircall or CloudTalk.
Start for Free — No Credit Card Required
Pricing (2026)
See official pricing for current rates. Usage-based model—only threads with human replies count as billable conversations.
Free Forever — $0. Up to 50 billable chats/month, 100 Flow triggers, 3 agent seats. Full channel access including Messenger and Instagram.
Starter — From $29/month. 100 conversations, live visitors list, basic analytics, Lyro AI chat packs available.
Growth — From $59/month. 2,000 chats, advanced reports, proactive campaigns, reduced branding, more automation capacity.
Plus — From $749/month. Custom limits, dedicated success manager, OpenAPI access, multilanguage widgets.
Premium — Quote-based. Managed Lyro service, guaranteed 50% automation rate, pay-per-resolution model.
Every tier starts with a 7-day full-feature trial—no credit card required.
Pros and Cons
What We Like
Genuinely useful free tier (50 chats/month, forever)
Lyro AI handles routine questions automatically and accurately
No-code Flow builder accessible to non-technical users
Fast setup with native e-commerce platform plugins
Mobile apps for support on the go
Visitor tracking enables proactive engagement
What Could Be Better
Lyro AI chats cost extra beyond free allocation
Advanced features require Growth tier or higher
Tidio branding removal requires paid plan
Enterprise pricing becomes steep at scale
Limited CRM integrations compared to enterprise tools
Tidio vs. Alternatives
vs. Freshchat: Freshchat offers deeper omnichannel coverage (WhatsApp Business API, SMS) and enterprise features. Tidio wins on ease of setup, more generous free tier, and lower entry pricing for small businesses.
vs. Intercom: Intercom is feature-rich but expensive ($74+ per seat). Tidio delivers similar chat and bot capabilities at a fraction of the cost.
vs. Zendesk Chat: Zendesk has deeper ticketing integration for complex support organizations. Tidio is simpler and faster to deploy for smaller teams.
vs. ManyChat: ManyChat focuses on marketing automation and social messaging funnels. Tidio is more support-focused with helpdesk features and AI-powered resolution.
vs. LiveChat: LiveChat is more established but lacks Tidio's AI capabilities. Lyro gives Tidio a significant automation advantage.
Tips for Best Results
Train Lyro thoroughly: The more content you feed Lyro (FAQs, policies, product info), the more accurately it handles inquiries.
Use Flows for cart recovery: Set up abandoned cart triggers—this single automation often pays for Tidio's subscription.
Enable visitor tracking: Proactive chat based on visitor behavior converts better than waiting for customers to initiate.
Start with the free tier: Test everything before committing. The free plan is genuinely functional.
Connect your e-commerce platform: Product catalog sync enables quick order lookups and personalized recommendations.
FAQ
Is the free plan really permanent?
Yes. Free Forever includes 50 chats/month, 100 Flow interactions, and social channel connections indefinitely—no credit card required, no time limit.
Do I need to code to build Flows?
No. The visual builder uses drag-and-drop blocks. If you can sketch a customer journey on paper, you can build it in Tidio.
Does Tidio work with Shopify and WordPress?
Yes. Dedicated plugins install in under 5 minutes. Product catalogs sync automatically for quick answers and upsell opportunities.
How does Lyro learn my content?
Point Lyro to URLs, upload PDFs, or paste text directly. It indexes that material and strictly refuses to answer beyond those sources—no hallucination.
Is customer data secure?
End-to-end encryption, GDPR and CCPA compliance, optional role-based permissions. Enterprise customers can request SOC-2 documentation.
Final Verdict
Tidio wraps AI automation and human chat in a single interface that small and growing businesses can actually afford. The generous free tier makes testing risk-free, and Lyro AI genuinely reduces support workload without the clunky bot experiences customers hate.
If faster support and higher conversions are on your priority list, install the free plan and let the results speak for themselves.
