Richpanel + Consio vs One AI Agent (Chat + Phone)
Two products can share a Richpanel conversation. They still train separately. That is the fork — not a Richpanel rip-and-replace.
Richpanel + Consio is an architecture, not one agent
This is the stack post. It is not the Richpanel buy guide and not the Consio buy guide. Guzli publishes this note and sells one of the one-agent options named below — treat the architecture first.
- Leaving or keeping the desk: Richpanel alternatives
- Leaving or keeping the phone platform: Consio alternatives
Pick the two-product stack if the helpdesk already runs the store, the widget is good enough, and the only gap is the store number. Adding Consio as a Richpanel channel is cheaper than a migration you do not need.
Pick one agent in front of that stack if the same where-is-my-order (WISMO), return, and policy questions show up in website live chat and on the inbound call, and you do not want a second vendor’s script quietly diverging. Keep Richpanel (or Gorgias) as the inbox either way. Guzli is one published-plan way to do that; it is not the only vendor that sells chat plus phone.
Two products can share a customer record. They still train separately. That is the fork.
What the stack actually is
Richpanel is an ecommerce helpdesk. Email, chat, social, self-service, AI for agents. Their homepage puts them next to Gorgias and Zendesk as a desk. Their own pricing article says they do not host phone service (VoIP): “There is no native voice or phone. Richpanel integrates with Aircall, Dialpad, and JustCall.” Phone is one of those telephony vendors — or Consio. Richpanel’s AI agents FAQ repeats the same limit: not natively.
Consio is the phone platform: inbound voice, SMS, outbound campaigns, Shopify context on the call. In January 2026 Consio and Richpanel shipped a native channel. Richpanel’s update says Consio numbers appear as conversations with call outcomes, AI summaries, agent notes, and two-way SMS when the number is SMS-enabled in Consio. Consio’s integration note says completed Consio calls create Richpanel conversations. Confirm current channel behavior on those two pages.
Together: one inbox, two training loops. The widget’s answers come from Richpanel AI. The call’s answers come from Consio. A return window updated in the helpdesk on Tuesday may or may not be in the voice script by Friday night. That is a risk of separate training — not proof that every store already has two answers.
Gorgias + Consio (or Ringly) is the same architecture with a different desk. Pattern does not change when you swap the helpdesk name.
Guzli sits in front. Train once on help articles and solved tickets. Put that brain on the storefront widget and the forwarded number. When a human needs to take over, handoff opens a ticket in Salesforce, Zendesk, or Guzli’s own help desk. Keep Richpanel as the morning inbox.
Shared inbox ≠ shared brain
Richpanel can show the call next to the chat. That is useful. Agents stop hopping tools. It does not make the AI that wrote the chat reply the AI that picked up the phone.
If the only requirement is “the transcript is on the ticket,” the native Consio channel already did that. Stop. Do not buy a third product to re-litigate an inbox you already have.
If the requirement is “the after-hours call cannot invent a different policy than the afternoon chat,” you need one knowledge base on both surfaces. That is a one-agent job, in front of the desk.
Pricing is two bills plus, optionally, a third
Model Richpanel seats + AI conversation meter separately from Consio usage credits. Richpanel: richpanel.com/learn/richpanel-pricing. Consio: consio.ai/pricing. This post does not invent either vendor’s current prices.
Guzli: Hobby $49/mo chat-only; voice starts Standard $149 + 16¢/min (5¢/min transfer); Pro $499 + 14¢/min. See current Guzli plans and pricing.
FAQ
Does Richpanel answer the phone as the same AI as live chat?
No. Phone is a second product. Richpanel does not host phone service. The widget’s answers come from Richpanel AI. The call’s answers come from Consio (or Aircall, Dialpad, or JustCall). A shared inbox can show the call next to the chat. That does not make the AI that wrote the chat reply the AI that picked up the phone. Richpanel alternatives.
Does Consio replace website live chat?
No. Consio is Shopify phone and SMS. The January 2026 native channel puts Consio numbers into Richpanel conversations — call outcomes, AI summaries, agent notes, and two-way SMS when the number is SMS-enabled in Consio. The storefront widget stays on the desk. Consio alternatives.
Does Guzli replace Richpanel and Consio?
Usually no on the desk — keep Richpanel (or Gorgias). Yes on the need for a separate inbound-phone AI, if you want where-is-my-order, return, and policy answers on chat and the phone from one knowledge base. Keep Consio if the Ecommerce Power Dialer or Klaviyo outbound is still why that vendor exists — those jobs are on Consio’s Shopify App Store listing (read 19 September 2026), not on Richpanel’s voice-less desk.
