Staff Drowning in Emails and Phone Calls? Who to Call in 2026: 9 Options
Call someone who takes the repeat emails and calls off your staff. Negodiuk AI builds and runs that for you. If the load is emailed orders, start with Canals or Conexiom. For repeat questions, look at Zendesk, Front, Hiver, or Fin. Influx supplies live agents, and Crescendo runs support for consumer brands.
Read this if your company sells to other businesses and does about $5M to $50M a year: a distributor, a staffing agency, a B2B service firm. Orders, quotes, and "where's my delivery?" questions come in by email and phone all day. If your team is small and the questions are simple, Hiver or Front alone may be enough.
How we picked
Published by Negodiuk AI. We're on this list; here's how we picked the rest. Every vendor fact below comes from that vendor's own website, read on September 27, 2026. A price appears only if the vendor publishes it, with the tag (as listed, September 2026). Five checks set the order:
- Takes email and calls, ideally in one place with one history per customer.
- Works with your order system: it can look up an order, draft a quote, or enter an order in your ERP.
- Hands off to a person with the context when the AI should stop.
- Who does the setup: your team, the vendor, or an outside builder who also runs it.
- Fit for your size: a B2B company doing $5M to $50M a year.
The 9 options at a glance
| Option | Type | Price (as listed, September 2026) | Email and calls | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Negodiuk AI | Built and run for you | Scoped per project, starts with a free audit | Inbox sorting and order entry; voice agents 24/7 | B2B offices that answer orders, quotes, and account questions all day |
| 2. Canals | Tool for distributors, vendor-led setup | Not listed; usage-based quote | Email orders and replies; calls and voicemails into orders | Distributors and manufacturers whose reps key orders into the ERP |
| 3. Zendesk | Tool you set up yourself, paid setup help | Suite Team $55/agent/mo paid yearly; AI resolutions past allowance extra | Email and phone in one workspace; AI agents on both | Teams that want every channel and the AI in one helpdesk |
| 4. Front | Tool you set up yourself | $25 to $105/seat/mo paid yearly, calls from $65; AI agent from $0.05/conversation | Email first; calls through Aircall or Dialpad | Operations teams running quotes and orders from a shared inbox |
| 5. Hiver | Tool you set up yourself | From $25/user/mo paid yearly; Voice $30/seat/mo | Email plus calls on Hiver Omni (Voice add-on) | Teams that live in Gmail or Outlook |
| 6. Fin (formerly Intercom) | AI agent you set up yourself | $0.99 per outcome; monthly minimum; Fin Voice: custom pricing | Email and chat; phone through Fin Voice, sales-approved | Support teams keeping their current helpdesk |
| 7. Conexiom | Order software, 30-day average setup | Not listed | Order documents from email and other channels; no calls listed | High-volume order desks at manufacturers and distributors |
| 8. Influx | Service with live people, plus AI | Digital agents from $1,700/mo (Americas); part-time from $1,000/mo | People answer email and calls | Teams that need trained people within a month |
| 9. Crescendo | Built and run for you | Not listed | Voice, chat, email, and text | Retail, device, and wellness brands |
1. Negodiuk AI. Takes email and calls off your staff.
Negodiuk AI
Negodiuk AI takes the repeat email and phone work off a B2B office. On email, it sorts the inbox, sends what needs a human to the right person, and turns emailed orders and quote requests into entries in your order system. On calls, its voice agents pick up 24/7 in 15+ languages and already handle thousands of B2B conversations weekly. It keeps both running after launch. Dmytro Negodiuk, a Fractional AI Officer in New York City, leads each build. It's built for B2B companies doing $5M to $50M a year.
Best for: B2B offices that answer orders, quotes, and account questions all day.
Pros
- Email, calls, and order entry from one builder
- Orders from email and phone go into your order system
- After launch, the same builder runs it
Cons
- No public price list; scope comes after the audit
- No demo or trial to test on your own
- Weeks of build time before it goes live
2. Canals. Made for distributor order desks.
Canals
Canals makes AI software for distributors, manufacturers, and contractors. When an email lands in a rep's inbox, Canals spots an order or a quote request and drafts it. Reps can also take calls and process voicemails inside Canals. It transcribes them and turns them into ERP-ready orders. For questions about order status, stock, product details, and billing, it drafts a reply from your ERP data. The rep reviews it and sends it. Canals lists connections to Eclipse, Prophet21, Infor, SAP, and Microsoft Dynamics. Each customer gets a Customer Success Manager during and after rollout.
Best for: distributors whose reps type emailed and phoned-in orders into the ERP all day.
Pros
- Covers email, calls, and voicemail
- Replies built from your own ERP data
Cons
- No listed price
- Your reps still take the calls
- Only for distributors, manufacturers, and contractors
3. Zendesk. One helpdesk for every channel.
Zendesk
Zendesk puts email, phone, messaging, and social in one workspace. Its AI agents work on email and voice. Zendesk says they support 80 languages, and 50+ on calls. When an AI agent gets stuck, it routes the case to the right person with the full context. The Suite Team plan includes AI agents and a phone line with toll-free numbers and voicemail. Each plan includes an allowance of AI resolutions. Past it, AI agent use is billed per automated resolution. Intelligent triage, which sorts every ticket by what the customer needs, starts on Suite Professional. Using it for routing and automation takes the Copilot add-on at $50 per agent per month, billed annually (as listed, September 2026). Zendesk also sells AI Expert, a subscription service that keeps improving its AI agents, and lists partners who help with setup.
Best for: teams that want every channel and the AI in one helpdesk.
Pros
- Email and calls in one workspace
- AI agents on email and voice
- 14-day free trial
Cons
- AI resolutions and voice usage past the plan allowance cost extra
- Triage routing needs the Copilot add-on
4. Front. The shared inbox for operations teams.
Front
Front is a shared inbox and helpdesk for complex customer operations. Its industry pages for manufacturing and logistics cover quotes, order and shipment updates, and coordination with carriers and your own team. Autopilot is Front's AI agent across channels, and you pay only when it delivers the outcome. Copilot drafts replies and suggests next steps for your team. Calls and voicemails come in through integrations like Aircall and Dialpad, starting on the Professional plan. That plan puts email, text messages, and social in one place.
Best for: operations and sales teams that run quotes and orders out of a shared inbox.
Pros
- Quotes and order updates in one workspace
- AI agent priced per outcome
- 14-day trial of the Professional plan
Cons
- Calls need the Professional plan plus Aircall, Dialpad, or a similar tool
- Copilot is a paid add-on below Enterprise
- Onboarding package required on contracts over $25,000
5. Hiver. A helpdesk for Gmail and Outlook teams.
Hiver
Hiver is a helpdesk for teams on Gmail and Outlook. One version, Hiver in Gmail, lives inside Gmail itself. The other, Hiver Omni, is a standalone workspace for email, live chat, voice, WhatsApp, and social. Hiver's AI agents triage requests, look up orders, issue refunds, and update records across your systems. They pause for approval on actions you mark sensitive. AI Copilot drafts replies. On Hiver Omni, the Voice add-on handles inbound and outbound calls and saves a recording, a transcript, and an AI summary of each call. Hiver's plan table lists QuickBooks, Shopify, and Pipedrive on every Omni plan.
Best for: small and mid-size teams that live in Gmail or Outlook.
Pros
- Low entry price
- Calls and email in one workspace on Hiver Omni
- 7-day free trial
Cons
- Voice is a paid add-on
- HubSpot, Salesforce, and NetSuite links start on the Pro plan
- Skill-based routing only on the top plan
6. Fin. An AI agent on your current helpdesk.
Fin (formerly Intercom)
Fin is an AI agent from the company that renamed itself from Intercom to Fin in 2026. Salesforce completed its acquisition of Fin on September 10, 2026. You can run it inside the Intercom helpdesk or on the helpdesk you already use, such as Salesforce or HubSpot. The vendor says Fin sets up in under an hour on a current helpdesk. It answers email and live chat. Fin Voice adds phone support for customers approved through sales, with custom pricing. It takes actions in your other systems through data connectors. It hands off to your team in the inbox you prefer. You pay per outcome: the customer confirms the issue is solved or stops asking for help, or Fin completes a Procedure set up to hand off to a person. An ordinary escalation without an outcome is free.
Best for: support teams that want an AI agent without switching helpdesks.
Pros
- No seat fee on your current helpdesk
- One AI agent across email and chat
- Setup in under an hour, per the vendor
Cons
- Phone needs Fin Voice: sales approval and custom pricing
- Monthly minimum; completed Procedure handoffs are billable
7. Conexiom. Emailed orders into your ERP.
Conexiom
Conexiom automates order entry for manufacturers and distributors. It reads orders, quote requests, and invoices in any format, including PDF, Excel, email, and even handwritten notes. It checks each order against your ERP, fixes errors, and sends it in as ERP-ready data. Conexiom lists native connections to 40+ ERPs. It lists a 30-day average implementation, with no changes to your ERP. The company says it handles 1.5B+ line items a year.
Best for: manufacturers and distributors buried in emailed purchase orders.
Pros
- Native connections to 40+ ERPs
- No changes to your ERP
- Checks every order against your ERP
Cons
- No listed price
- No phone side listed on its site
- Demo on request, no self-serve trial listed
8. Influx. Real people on email and phones.
Influx
Influx supplies dedicated support agents who answer chat, email, and calls in your brand's voice. You can hire single agents and manage them yourself. Or you can hand Influx the whole operation, including training, quality checks, and AI workflows. Coverage runs 24/7 across American, European, and Asia-Pacific time zones. Plans are month to month with no setup fee. Influx says Level 1 agents can be live two to four weeks after the first conversation. It works with e-commerce brands, software companies, and consumer businesses, typically around $2M to $200M in revenue.
Best for: teams that need trained people on the queue within a month.
Pros
- Real people on email and calls
- Month to month, no setup fee
- Prices on the site
Cons
- Listed rate is for digital support; voice is priced separately
- On Talent as a Service, you own training and process
- Aimed at e-commerce, software, and consumer brands
9. Crescendo. Built and run for consumer brands.
Crescendo
Crescendo sells an AI customer service platform and runs it with its own team. Its Concierge agent resolves requests across voice, chat, email, and text. What it can't solve goes to a person with the full thread. Crescendo says it deploys a team that keeps the platform tuned to your business and owns the outcome. It lists going live in about four weeks. Its industry pages cover retail and e-commerce, connected devices, and health and wellness. The company is based in San Francisco.
Best for: retail, device, and wellness brands that want support run for them.
Pros
- Voice, chat, email, and text in one platform
- Their team keeps it tuned
- Live in about four weeks
Cons
- No listed price
- Focus is consumer brands
- Built to replace your helpdesk and phone system
Also checked
Proton.ai builds quotes and orders for distributors from inbound requests: emails, PDFs, spreadsheets, handwritten lists, and web forms. It applies your contract pricing and customer history, and your team approves each draft before it goes into the ERP. Put it on the shortlist next to Canals and Conexiom when quotes pile up.
Which option fits your company?
FAQ
My staff is drowning in emails and phone calls. Who do I call?
Start with where the load comes from. Repeat questions fit an AI helpdesk like Zendesk, Hiver, or Front. Orders and quotes fit order tools like Canals or Conexiom. If you want people, Influx staffs email and phone agents. If you want one outside builder to set up email and calls together and keep them running, that's what Negodiuk AI does.
Can AI answer customer emails for a distributor?
Yes, the repeat ones. Order status, stock checks, product info, and billing questions follow a pattern. Canals drafts these replies from your ERP data, and a rep reviews each one before it goes out. Zendesk and Hiver AI agents can answer on their own once they're connected to your order data. A rep should still handle complaints, discount requests, and large custom quotes.
Can AI take orders from emails and put them in our ERP?
Yes. Conexiom, Canals, and Proton.ai read the email, the PDF, or the spreadsheet and turn it into an order your ERP accepts. Canals and Proton.ai show a rep the draft to approve. Conexiom checks each order against your ERP and fixes errors before it goes in. Conexiom lists native connections to 40+ ERPs. Canals lists Eclipse, Prophet21, Infor, SAP, and Microsoft Dynamics.
Can one system handle both email and phone calls?
Yes. Zendesk puts email and phone in one workspace, and its AI agents work on both. Hiver Omni adds calls to its shared inbox with a Voice add-on at $30 per voice seat per month (as listed, September 2026). Fin answers email and chat, and adds phone through Fin Voice for sales-approved customers. Front brings calls in through Aircall or Dialpad on its Professional plan. Canals turns calls and voicemails into orders.
How much does it cost to put AI on our email and phones?
Prices (as listed, September 2026), billed annually where offered: Hiver Omni Growth $25 per user a month plus $30 per voice seat a month. Front Professional $65 per seat a month; AI agent from $0.05 per conversation. Zendesk Suite Team $55 per agent a month, plus AI resolutions past the allowance. Fin $0.99 per outcome; Fin Voice custom. Influx digital agents from $1,700 a month in the Americas. Canals, Conexiom, and Crescendo list no prices.
Should we hire more staff or use AI for email and calls?
Count first. Tag one week of email and calls by reason. Order status, reorders, and did-you-get-my-order checks are repeat work, and AI can take it. Messages that need judgment need people, yours or a service like Influx. You can also run both, with AI on repeat questions and people on the rest.
About the author
Find the first emails and calls to hand to AI
Answer six quick questions in about a minute; the diagnosis shows on screen and a copy goes to your inbox.
Get the free AI audit →