{
 "schema_version": "1.0",
 "id": "helpcenter",
 "name": "HelpCenter",
 "research_status": "researched",
 "vendor_domain": "helpcenterapp.com",
 "category": "Customer Support",
 "task": "Website or Shopify chat & FAQ deflection",
 "summary": "Shopify helpdesk with live chat and an AI FAQ builder: email, chat and Messenger in one ticket queue, plus SEO-friendly FAQ pages.",
 "best_for": "small Shopify stores that want ticketing, live chat and a searchable FAQ page from one app rather than bolting three together",
 "skip_if": "you already run a general helpdesk like Zendesk or Freshdesk for a business wider than the store — this is Shopify-shaped, not company-shaped",
 "honest_knock": "The free tier is the hook and the FAQ builder is the reason people stay. But the meter is tickets, not agents: Basic hands you unlimited support staff and then charges $0.16 for every ticket past fifty. At 300 tickets a month that is $45.99, against $19.99 for the Standard tier that includes them outright — so check your own ticket volume before you treat $5.99 as the price. One dependency worth knowing: translating FAQs into other languages is handed off to a separate app (LangShop), so a multilingual store is two subscriptions, not one.",
 "pricing": {
  "status": "public",
  "entry_price": "$5.99",
  "entry_price_terms": "Basic · per month, or $59.99 a year",
  "from_price_usd_month": null,
  "plans": [
   {
    "name": "Free",
    "price": "Free; $0.25 per ticket after allowance",
    "includes": "10 tickets a month, unlimited support agents"
   },
   {
    "name": "Basic",
    "price": "$5.99 a month or $59.99 a year",
    "includes": "Unlimited agents, 50 tickets, then $0.16 each"
   },
   {
    "name": "Standard",
    "price": "$19.99 or $199.99 a year",
    "includes": "300 tickets, then $0.15 each"
   },
   {
    "name": "Advanced",
    "price": "$49.99 or $498.96 a year",
    "includes": "1,000 tickets, then $0.10 each"
   }
  ],
  "plans_source": "summarised from pricing.notes; every plan name and amount appears verbatim in those notes",
  "notes": "(re-read 2026-08-29 on apps.shopify.com/helpcenter) Free to install, and the meter is tickets rather than agents — Basic already gives unlimited support agents, then bills for every ticket over the allowance. Free covers 10 tickets a month and charges $0.25 for each one after that. Basic is $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year, a 17% saving, and covers 50 tickets, then $0.16 each. Standard is $19.99 or $199.99 a year for 300 tickets, then $0.15. Advanced is $49.99 or $498.96 a year for 1,000 tickets, then $0.10. Every paid tier carries a 14-day free trial and all charges are billed in USD. Which means the headline $5.99 only holds to 50 tickets a month: at 300 tickets Basic works out at $45.99, because the 250 over the allowance add $40 — while Standard includes those same 300 for $19.99. Price the tier against your own ticket count rather than the entry rate. The App Store lists it as “SB: Helpdesk, Live Chat & FAQs” from Shark Byte, Inc — the product calls itself HelpCenter, so you will see both names. Rating 4.5 from 243 reviews.",
  "verified_at": "2026-09-13",
  "source_url": "https://apps.shopify.com/helpcenter"
 },
 "free_plan": true,
 "free_plan_evidence": "Free covers 10 tickets a month and charges $0.25 for each one after that.",
 "cost_traps": [
  {
   "id": "usage_metered",
   "label": "Usage-metered",
   "evidence": "(re-read 2026-08-29 on apps.shopify.com/helpcenter) Free to install, and the meter is tickets rather than agents — Basic already gives unlimited support agents, then bills for every ticket over the allowance.",
   "verified_at": "2026-09-13",
   "source_url": "https://apps.shopify.com/helpcenter"
  }
 ],
 "compare_with": null,
 "links": {
  "record": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/api/v1/products/helpcenter.json",
  "review": "https://zerotouchsupport.com/helpcenter-review.html",
  "marketplace": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/marketplace/helpcenter/",
  "vendor_site": "https://helpcenterapp.com"
 },
 "purchase": {
  "seller": "the vendor",
  "how": "AIBuilder Marketplace does not sell this software. Sign up, start a trial or buy on the vendor's site.",
  "handoff_url": "https://platform.shoffi.app/r/rl_WyzIuyMD",
  "affiliate": true,
  "disclosure": "Where purchase.affiliate is true, purchase.handoff_url is an affiliate link: AIBuilder Marketplace may earn a commission at no extra cost to the buyer. Commission never changes what a record says, and products are not ranked by commission. Where it is false the link is the vendor's plain site."
 },
 "provenance": {
  "research": "hand-researched dossier, read on the vendor's own pages",
  "researched_since": "2026-07",
  "method": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/how-we-review/",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0. Credit 'AIBuilder Marketplace' with a link to https://aibuildermarketplace.com/atlas/.",
  "note": "A rebuild is not a new measurement: pricing.verified_at is the date that matters."
 },
 "cost": {
  "status": "available",
  "engine": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/agents/#cost",
  "rules": {
   "currency": "USD",
   "unit": "agent",
   "axis": "users",
   "plans": [
    {
     "id": "free",
     "name": "Free",
     "model": "free",
     "evidence": "Free covers 10 tickets a month"
    },
    {
     "id": "basic",
     "name": "Basic",
     "model": "flat",
     "monthly": 5.99,
     "annual_year": 59.99,
     "evidence": "Basic is $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year"
    },
    {
     "id": "standard",
     "name": "Standard",
     "model": "flat",
     "monthly": 19.99,
     "annual_year": 199.99,
     "evidence": "Standard is $19.99 or $199.99 a year for 300 tickets"
    },
    {
     "id": "advanced",
     "name": "Advanced",
     "model": "flat",
     "monthly": 49.99,
     "annual_year": 498.96,
     "evidence": "Advanced is $49.99 or $498.96 a year for 1,000 tickets"
    }
   ],
   "not_computable": [
    "The meter is tickets, not agents: every tier includes a ticket allowance (10, 50, 300, 1,000) and bills each ticket beyond it ($0.25, $0.16, $0.15, $0.10). Price the tier against your own ticket count rather than the entry rate."
   ],
   "rules_verified_at": "2026-10-07"
  },
  "growth": {
   "annual": {
    "product_id": "helpcenter",
    "currency": "USD",
    "axis": "users",
    "unit": "agent",
    "billing": "annual",
    "rows": [
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      "units": 1,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
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       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": 0.0,
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       "standard": 16.67,
       "advanced": 41.58
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     },
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     },
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      "units": 25,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
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     },
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      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
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     },
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    ],
    "switch_points": [],
    "conflicts": [],
    "unknowns": [
     "The meter is tickets, not agents: every tier includes a ticket allowance (10, 50, 300, 1,000) and bills each ticket beyond it ($0.25, $0.16, $0.15, $0.10). Price the tier against your own ticket count rather than the entry rate."
    ]
   },
   "monthly": {
    "product_id": "helpcenter",
    "currency": "USD",
    "axis": "users",
    "unit": "agent",
    "billing": "monthly",
    "rows": [
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      "cheapest_plan": "free",
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     },
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     },
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      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
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      "ranges": [],
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     },
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      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
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      "ranges": [],
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     },
     {
      "units": 25,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
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       "standard": 19.99,
       "advanced": 49.99
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 50,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
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       "free": 0.0,
       "basic": 5.99,
       "standard": 19.99,
       "advanced": 49.99
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 100,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
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       "free": 0.0,
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       "standard": 19.99,
       "advanced": 49.99
      }
     }
    ],
    "switch_points": [],
    "conflicts": [],
    "unknowns": [
     "The meter is tickets, not agents: every tier includes a ticket allowance (10, 50, 300, 1,000) and bills each ticket beyond it ($0.25, $0.16, $0.15, $0.10). Price the tier against your own ticket count rather than the entry rate."
    ]
   }
  }
 },
 "unknowns": [
  "Contract terms (cancellation, data export, data location, minimum seats) are not researched as separate fields; pricing.notes mentions them only where the vendor's pricing page does.",
  "Not tested hands-on by us: what the product does comes from the vendor's pages and our reading of them."
 ],
 "task_evidence": null,
 "open_questions": [
  {
   "question_id": "helpcenter:cancellation_terms",
   "key": "cancellation_terms",
   "question": "Can a customer cancel at any time, and what happens to an annual plan that is cancelled mid-term?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "helpcenter:data_export",
   "key": "data_export",
   "question": "Which data can a customer export, in which formats, on which plans?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "helpcenter:data_location",
   "key": "data_location",
   "question": "Where is customer data stored, and can a customer choose the region?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "helpcenter:pricing_gap_1",
   "key": "pricing_gap_1",
   "question": "Our price check could not put a number on this part of the cost: The meter is tickets, not agents: every tier includes a ticket allowance (10, 50, 300, 1,000) and bills each ticket beyond it ($0.25, $0.16, $0.15, $0.10). Price the tier against your own ticket count rather than the entry rate. Can you publish the price or the rule?",
   "status": "open"
  }
 ],
 "vendor_answers": [],
 "agent_channels": {
  "vendor_mcp": null,
  "agent_checkout": {
   "status": "not_found",
   "detail": "No explicit support for purchases by AI agents on the vendor's own pages.",
   "checked_at": "2026-10-07",
   "method": "homepage, /pricing and the pricing page we cite, read as plain HTML (no JavaScript) and searched for explicit support of purchases by AI agents: Agentic Commerce Protocol, Instant Checkout, Agent Payments Protocol, buy in ChatGPT, agentic checkout"
  }
 },
 "task_scope": {
  "scope": "customer_support_helpdesk",
  "label": "Customer-support help desk",
  "why": "Shopify helpdesk with live chat and an AI FAQ builder: email, chat and Messenger in one ticket queue, plus SEO-friendly FAQ pages.",
  "source": "our dossier",
  "phrases": [
   "help desk",
   "helpdesk",
   "customer support",
   "customer service",
   "support inbox"
  ]
 },
 "feature_evidence": {
  "features": {
   "live_chat": {
    "label": "Live chat",
    "phrases": [
     "live chat",
     "website chat",
     "web chat",
     "chat widget",
     "chat"
    ]
   },
   "shared_inbox": {
    "label": "Shared inbox",
    "phrases": [
     "shared inbox",
     "team inbox",
     "shared team inbox",
     "shared email inbox",
     "shared support inbox"
    ]
   },
   "shopify_integration": {
    "label": "Shopify integration",
    "phrases": [
     "shopify",
     "shopify integration",
     "works with shopify",
     "shopify orders"
    ]
   },
   "ticketing": {
    "label": "Ticketing",
    "phrases": [
     "ticketing",
     "help desk ticketing",
     "helpdesk ticketing",
     "ticketing system",
     "ticket system",
     "support tickets",
     "email ticketing",
     "tickets"
    ]
   }
  },
  "evidence": [
   {
    "feature": "ticketing",
    "plans": null,
    "quote": "Ticketing",
    "context": "Feature list on the Shopify App Store listing; every plan states a monthly helpdesk ticket allowance (10, 50, 300 or 1,000)",
    "source": "https://apps.shopify.com/helpcenter",
    "read_on": "2026-10-07"
   },
   {
    "feature": "shopify_integration",
    "plans": null,
    "quote": "Built for Shopify",
    "context": "It is a Shopify App Store app that installs into your Shopify store; the badge is Shopify's own.",
    "source": "https://apps.shopify.com/helpcenter",
    "read_on": "2026-10-07"
   },
   {
    "feature": "live_chat",
    "plans": null,
    "quote": "Live chat",
    "context": "Listed among the app's features in the Shopify App Store; the listing does not tie it to a tier.",
    "source": "https://apps.shopify.com/helpcenter",
    "read_on": "2026-10-08"
   },
   {
    "feature": "shared_inbox",
    "plans": null,
    "quote": "Unified inbox",
    "context": "Listed among the app's features in the Shopify App Store; the listing does not tie it to a tier.",
    "source": "https://apps.shopify.com/helpcenter",
    "read_on": "2026-10-08"
   }
  ],
  "note": "From the vendor's own pages, with plan, source and reading date. Documented by the vendor, not tested by us; our own tests are in task_evidence."
 }
}