Optlo: the Gorgias alternative
Both resolve customer questions with AI. What differs is who owns the AI and how you pay for it.
Last updated July 2026
Gorgias is the help desk of choice for many ecommerce brands, with deep Shopify integration and a large marketplace of ecommerce apps. Its AI Agent resolves customer questions across email, chat, voice, and SMS, and you're billed by ticket volume rather than per agent.
The difference is the AI's economics. Gorgias manages the AI and bills the Agent per resolution, on top of ticket-based plans. Optlo runs on your own AI provider account (OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google Gemini), so you pay for tokens directly with no markup and no per-resolution fee, and you see what each conversation costs.
If you run a Shopify or ecommerce store and want deep native integrations, Gorgias is hard to beat. If you want to own your AI and its cost, and shape the agent's prompt and workflow, Optlo is built for that.
Choose Optlo if…
You want to own your AI, pay providers directly with no per-resolution AI markup, choose your models, and shape the prompt and workflow.
Try Optlo freeStick with Gorgias if…
You run a Shopify or ecommerce store that needs deep native integrations, voice and SMS channels, and ticket-based pricing, and you prefer AI managed for you.
| Feature | Optlo | Gorgias |
|---|---|---|
| Bring your own AI key (pay your provider directly) | OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini | AI is managed |
| No markup / no per-resolution AI billing | Yes | Pay per AI resolution |
| Predictable cost at high volume | Flat plan + your AI usage | Tickets + resolutions scale |
| Choose from multiple AI models | Yes | One managed model |
| Edit the system prompt | Full control | Guidance + config |
| Custom conversation workflows | Yes | Rules & automations |
| Shared inbox & human handoff | Yes | Yes |
| Trained on your content (site, docs, help center) | Yes | Yes |
| Support channels | Email & web | Email, chat, voice, SMS |
| Ecommerce / Shopify integration | Via workflow code actions | Deep native Shopify + 100+ apps |
| Free trial | 7-day trial | Yes |
| Starting price | From $16/mo | Ticket-based; AI per resolution |
Per-resolution AI on top of ticket-based pricing
Gorgias prices by ticket volume rather than per agent, and the AI Agent is billed per resolution, so you pay each time it resolves a conversation. That aligns cost with value, but both the ticket base and the AI bill climb with volume, and the underlying model cost is baked in rather than shown.
Optlo separates those costs. You pay a flat Optlo platform fee from $16/mo, and your AI provider bills you directly for the tokens used. There's no per-resolution markup, and you can watch usage in your provider dashboard and tune it. At volume this usually lands well below per-resolution pricing. Model it in the savings calculator.
One managed model vs your choice of models
Gorgias runs its AI Agent on a model it manages for you, so you can't swap to a cheaper model for simple questions or a stronger one for hard ones, and you can't adopt a new release the day it ships.
Optlo lets you bring your own key and pick the model, then mix models across a workflow. Use a fast, cheap model to route and a stronger one for harder questions. When OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google ships something better, you switch right away.
More control: your prompt, your workflow
Gorgias lets you guide the AI Agent and build rules and automations. That's flexible, but it stops at the edges of what the platform exposes.
With Optlo you start from a preset, then customize the system prompt and every step of the workflow: what the agent asks, when it looks something up, when it hands off to a human. Tweak as much or as little as you need.
Where Gorgias is the stronger choice
Gorgias is built for ecommerce. If you need deep native Shopify actions, a large marketplace of ecommerce integrations, and channels like voice and SMS, it's an excellent fit. Optlo focuses on email and web with a shared inbox and human handoff, and competes on owning your AI and its cost, not ecommerce breadth.
Which one wins comes down to whether ecommerce depth or cost ownership matters more to your store.
Pricing
Optlo: flat plans from $16/mo, plus your own AI provider usage billed directly by OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google, with no markup.
Gorgias: priced by ticket volume rather than per agent, with plans that scale from a low monthly base up through higher tiers, and the AI Agent billed per resolution, so you pay only when it resolves a conversation.
Competitor pricing and features are summarized from public sources as of July 2026 and may have changed. Verify current details on the vendor's own site.
Frequently asked questions
Is Optlo cheaper than Gorgias?
It depends on your ticket volume. Gorgias's ticket-based plans plus per-resolution AI add up as you grow. Optlo's flat plan plus paying your provider directly is often cheaper at volume. Use the savings calculator to compare with your own numbers.
Can I bring my own OpenAI or Anthropic key to Gorgias?
No. Gorgias manages the AI behind its Agent. Optlo is built around bringing your own provider key, so you pay OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini directly with no markup.
Is Gorgias better for ecommerce?
For Shopify and ecommerce stores, Gorgias's deep native integrations and channels like voice and SMS are a genuine advantage. Optlo focuses on email and web and competes on owning your AI and its cost.
Does Optlo integrate with Shopify?
Yes. You can connect Shopify from an Optlo workflow using code actions to look up orders, subscriptions, or customer data mid-conversation. It isn't as turnkey as Gorgias's deep native integration, but if owning your AI matters more than prebuilt ecommerce depth, Optlo works.
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