19 rules in 6 groups, worth 100 points in all. They were set before any product was scored and apply the same way to all 11.
Version 1, published 10 Oct 2026
In short
Each rule is a yes-or-no fact, a list (such as the systems with an app) or a number with published thresholds, read from the vendor's own pages or from G2.
A fact the vendor does not publish earns nothing. A feature in beta or preview does not count.
The list follows the points. A tie goes to the lower price on "cost of 500 AI resolutions a month", then to the name.
AI agents sold as a product that answer and resolve support conversations on their own. Browser-based. Chatbot builders you assemble yourself, help desks without a stated AI agent and agent-assist tools are left out. Quote-only products are not listed. Counts only plans a company can buy online or trial.
Price 18 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Free plan or free trial
A free plan that includes the AI agent: a $0 plan with no end date. Free trial of the AI agent of 7 days or longer with no payment card required, as stated by the vendor: 2 points. A one-time free allowance (for example the first 50 conversations) counts as a trial. Trial that needs a card, a shorter trial, trial limited to some customers, or neither: 0.
3
Cost of 500 AI resolutions a month
Lowest published monthly price in US dollars for 500 AI resolutions or AI-handled conversations a month, billed yearly if a yearly price exists, at regular price. Per-resolution, per-conversation or per-ticket prices are multiplied by 500; a published tier of 500 (or the next one above) is used as shown. Credits count only if the vendor says how many one conversation uses. Help desk seat fees are left out unless the agent cannot be bought without them. Quote-only is null.
12
Pay only for resolved conversations
The vendor publishes a price per resolution (or per outcome) on at least one plan, so a conversation the agent does not resolve is not billed as a resolution.
3
Channels and integrations 18 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Channels the agent answers on
Channels the vendor names as ones the AI agent answers on, on at least one plan. Each earns 2 points.
12
Sold without the vendor’s own help desk
The vendor’s pricing or documentation page says the AI agent can be bought or used on its own, without buying the vendor’s own help desk, CRM or suite (for example ‘works with any help desk’ or a plan for the agent alone). If the page shows the agent needs the vendor’s own help desk, record false.
2
Works with named help desks
The vendor names the help desk as a supported connection for the AI agent, on at least one plan. The vendor’s own help desk counts only if it is one of the four listed. Each earns 1 point.
4
What it learns from 6 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
What it learns from
Knowledge sources the vendor documents for the agent, on at least one plan: a help centre, website pages or URLs you point it to; uploaded documents such as PDF, Word or text files; and past tickets or past conversations. Each documented source earns 2 points.
6
Actions and control 24 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Takes actions in connected systems
The agent can carry out tasks in other systems (for example look up an order, issue a refund, update a record) through documented actions, procedures or API calls, generally available and not beta.
7
Hands over to a human
The vendor documents handing a conversation from the agent to a human, with the conversation history passed on.
3
Guardrails on answers
The vendor documents settings that limit what the agent may answer or do, such as blocked topics, required rules or a restricted scope.
3
Test before going live
The vendor documents a preview, sandbox, playground or simulation where you test the agent before customers see it.
5
Versioning or approval of changes
The vendor documents version history, draft-and-publish or an approval step for changes to the agent's setup.
3
Reporting on the agent
The vendor documents reports on the agent's own conversations or resolutions (volume, outcomes or topics), on at least one plan.
3
Data protection 14 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001
The vendor names a SOC 2 Type II report or an ISO/IEC 27001 certification for this product or the company running it.
6
HIPAA agreement
The vendor publishes that it signs a HIPAA business associate agreement for the AI agent, on at least one plan.
2
GDPR data processing agreement
The vendor publishes a GDPR data processing agreement or says it signs one.
2
Choice of data region
The vendor documents that customer data can be stored in a chosen region such as the EU or US.
2
Customer data not used to train models
The vendor states on a security, trust, privacy or help page that customer conversations and content are not used to train AI models. A statement that covers only the vendor’s own models counts; a page that says providers or the vendor may train on the data does not.
2
Independent testing 20 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
G2 AI CX evaluation
Overall points in G2's AI CX Agent Evaluations, the leaderboard from the test G2 runs itself on the same 46 support tasks for every agent. Every 10 G2 points earn 1 point here, up to 20 at 200; fewer than 10 earn 0. Results run by partners rather than G2, and agents G2 has not evaluated or lists as under evaluation, earn 0. Added 9 October 2026 as a dated rules version.
20
Independent labs
Lab results are the only test results that earn points here: the labs run the same tests on every product and publish the numbers.