Quick answer: Choose Ada if you need published language breadth (60 languages on messaging and email, 42 on voice) or PCI DSS and AIUC-1 attestations, and can work with quote-only, mostly per-conversation pricing. Choose Lorikeet if you want published per-resolution rates ($0.90 to $0.99 per chat resolution on a $2,100 or $5,100 monthly plan) and ISO 27001. Facts as at 30 September 2026.
Ada and Lorikeet both sell autonomous AI agents that resolve customer-service conversations rather than deflect them, and both cover voice, SMS, WhatsApp, web chat and email. Ada (Canadian, AI-native since 2016, 350+ enterprise customers per its Why Ada page) is the broad enterprise platform with deep language coverage, a travel-systems integration shelf (Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo by Travelport) and contact-centre handoffs into Genesys, NICE CXone and Amazon Connect. Lorikeet (a team spanning Sydney and the US, per its About page) is built for fintech, healthtech and insurance, publishes its prices, and bills per resolved ticket. Every vendor fact below comes from that vendor’s own page, linked, and was read as at 30 September 2026. Neither vendor’s competitor-comparison pages were used for facts about the other.
Ada vs Lorikeet for AI customer service: the side-by-side
The table is the whole comparison at a glance. Where a cell says a thing is not documented, the named page was read in full and a positive control (a string known to be on that page) was found in the same saved copy before the absence was recorded.
| Criterion | Ada (as at 30 September 2026) | Lorikeet (as at 30 September 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Enterprise agentic customer-experience platform; ecommerce, financial services, gaming, insurance, SaaS and travel industry pages | AI support concierge for complex and regulated companies; financial services, healthcare and insurance industry pages |
| Channels | Voice; messaging (chat, in-app, web widgets, WhatsApp, SMS, Messenger, Instagram, custom channels); email (messaging FAQ) | Phone, SMS, chat, email and WhatsApp (how-it-works FAQ); Messenger and Instagram not listed on its home, product, how-it-works or pricing pages |
| Voice geography | Not stated as a country list; docs say Ada Voice can integrate with any contact-centre platform (contact-centre integration docs) | Voice available in the US, UK and Australia (how-it-works FAQ) |
| Languages | 60 on messaging and email; 42 on voice (full list on voice page); English always on, cannot be disabled | Automatic mid-conversation switching; no language count on product, FAQ or pricing pages; voice languages include Mandarin and Hindi (Lorikeet article) |
| Billing unit | Conversation-based for most customers; resolution-based offered for enterprises with specific needs (platform FAQ) | Per successful resolution, on top of an annual plan (pricing page) |
| Published prices | None; pricing page is a demo-request form | Start $2,100/mo; Scale $5,100/mo (both paid annually, USD); Signature custom with a $75K platform fee |
| Chat/email/SMS resolution rate | Not published | $0.99 (Start), $0.90 (Scale), custom (Signature) |
| Voice resolution rate | Not published | $1.50 (Start), $1.20 (Scale); based on a 3-minute average, with an outcomes consultation to determine full pricing |
| Trial and entry | 30-minute call, then custom demo (pricing page) | 30-day free trial or demo |
| Time to live | Not stated on pricing, platform, channel or getting-started pages | As little as hours; average under 29 days to first live ticket |
| Compliance it publishes | SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, AIUC-1 (trust page); SOC 3, CCPA, CPRA and PIPEDA on its Trust Center | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001:2022, HIPAA, GDPR; signs BAAs (trust page) |
| Data residency | Specified in the enterprise agreement; legal team contracts jurisdiction-specific requirements | US primary hosting on Google Cloud; storage residency available in Australia and the EU; pricing table lists USA on Start and Scale, custom on Signature |
| LLM data handling | Zero data retention with all LLM providers; models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Cohere | Zero data retention with all model vendors; sub-processors include Google Cloud, OpenAI, Anthropic and Baseten |
The three questions that decide Ada vs Lorikeet: the Unit, Language, Paper test
Most comparisons of these two vendors list features, and on features they overlap heavily: both take actions through APIs and MCP tools, both hand off to humans with context, both test changes before release. The differences that actually change a buying decision reduce to three questions. We call this the Unit, Language, Paper test, and it is designed to be answered in one meeting with your own numbers.
- Unit: what do you want to be billed for? Ada bills most customers per conversation. Lorikeet bills per successful resolution. If your automated resolution rate is uncertain, per-resolution pricing moves the risk to the vendor; if it is high and stable, per-conversation pricing can come out cheaper. The worked calculation below turns this into a number.
- Language: which languages must work on which channel? Write your language map by channel, not overall. Ada publishes 60 languages for text channels and 42 for voice. Lorikeet publishes automatic switching and names some voice languages, but not a count, and its voice channel is available in three countries.
- Paper: which attestation does your security review actually require? The two vendors overlap on SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA and GDPR. The split is ISO 27001 (Lorikeet publishes it) against PCI DSS and AIUC-1 (Ada publishes them). A procurement checklist that names one of these usually settles the shortlist before any demo.
The quotable version: Ada vs Lorikeet is decided by the billing unit, the voice language map and the one certificate your security team will not waive; features are a tie-breaker.
Per-conversation vs per-resolution: what does each vendor bill you for?
Ada’s platform page answers the question directly: with its conversation-based model you pay for every conversation your AI agent has with end users, and a resolution-based model is also offered for enterprises with specific needs, though it says most customers choose conversation-based pricing for its predictability, transparency, and lower total cost of ownership. No per-conversation price is published; the pricing page routes to a demo request, and Ada says it will reach out within one business day to schedule a 30-minute call.
Lorikeet publishes its Start and Scale prices; Signature is custom. Its pricing page lists three plans, and its machine-readable pricing.md adds that unresolved or unsatisfactory tickets cost nothing and escalations to a person are not charged. Triage (routing or analytics tagging) and automated QA are separately priced line items at $0.30 on Start and $0.27 on Scale; Lorikeet’s FAQ separately quotes automated QA as an optional add-on from $0.10 a ticket, so confirm which rate applies to you. One inconsistency is worth knowing: the how-it-works FAQ says Lorikeet charges for resolutions rather than seats or platform fees, while the pricing page lists a $75K platform fee on the Signature plan. Go by the pricing page.
Worked calculation: the real cost per Lorikeet resolution
The per-resolution rate is not the cost per resolution, because the monthly plan fee is fixed. Effective cost per resolution = (plan fee + resolutions × rate) ÷ resolutions. Using Lorikeet’s published chat, email and SMS rates:
| Plan | Chat resolutions per month | Plan fee | Usage (resolutions × rate) | Monthly total | Effective cost per resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | 1,000 | $2,100 | 1,000 × $0.99 = $990 | $3,090 | $3.09 |
| Start | 2,500 | $2,100 | 2,500 × $0.99 = $2,475 | $4,575 | $1.83 |
| Start | 4,500 | $2,100 | 4,500 × $0.99 = $4,455 | $6,555 | $1.46 |
| Scale | 5,000 | $5,100 | 5,000 × $0.90 = $4,500 | $9,600 | $1.92 |
| Scale | 10,000 | $5,100 | 10,000 × $0.90 = $9,000 | $14,100 | $1.41 |
| Scale | 20,000 | $5,100 | 20,000 × $0.90 = $18,000 | $23,100 | $1.16 (1.155) |
Two things fall out of the arithmetic. First, at low volume the plan fee dominates: 1,000 chat resolutions a month on Start costs $3.09 each, more than three times the headline $0.99. Second, on unit price alone Scale never overtakes Start at the volumes Lorikeet recommends each plan for. Setting $2,100 + $0.99n equal to $5,100 + $0.90n gives n = 3,000 ÷ 0.09 = 33,333 chat resolutions a month; for voice ($1.50 against $1.20) the crossover is 3,000 ÷ 0.30 = 10,000 voice resolutions a month. Lorikeet positions Start for under 5,000 monthly tickets and Scale for 5,000 to 20,000, so the reason to move up is what Scale includes (a dedicated deployment and the FDE Plus support package), not a cheaper rate. The fixed commitment is $25,200 a year on Start and $61,200 a year on Scale, before any resolution is billed.
Converting an Ada quote so you can compare it
When Ada quotes a price per conversation (call it P), the comparable figure is P divided by your automated resolution rate r, because you also pay for the conversations that do not resolve. An Ada quote beats Lorikeet Scale’s $0.90 marginal rate only when P is below 0.90 × r:
| Your measured automated resolution rate (r) | Ada per-conversation price that equals Lorikeet Scale’s $0.90 per resolution | …and equals Lorikeet Start’s $0.99 |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | $0.45 | $0.50 (0.495) |
| 60% | $0.54 | $0.59 (0.594) |
| 70% | $0.63 | $0.69 (0.693) |
| 80% | $0.72 | $0.79 (0.792) |
This compares marginal usage rates only. Add each vendor’s fixed fees on top, and measure r in your own pilot rather than taking either vendor’s headline figure. Ask each vendor, in writing, how it defines a resolution: a ticket that closes without a human and without the customer returning within a set window is a different event from a conversation that simply ends. That definition is where most of the money moves. For a general method of weighing a vendor’s marketing claims against its documentation, see our evidence hierarchy for vendor marketing pages vs docs.
Comparing support agents because your phone line is also your sales line? Zian AI runs 24/7 AI agents across phone, SMS, email and WhatsApp in 30+ languages, with CRM integrations for HubSpot, Salesforce, HighLevel and Zapier. It is in partnership-application beta.
Which languages do Ada and Lorikeet actually support?
Ada publishes the most specific language commitment of the two. Its About multilingual support documentation states 60 supported languages with native response generation and knowledge ingestion in every one, all 60 on messaging and email, and a subset on voice. The voice page lists that subset in full: 42 languages, from English, French and Spanish through Arabic, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. The same documentation carries the constraints: English is always enabled and cannot be disabled, English is the fallback when the agent cannot determine a language or find content in it, and the Ada dashboard is available only in English.
Lorikeet describes its multilingual approach rather than counting languages. Its guide to multilingual AI support says the agent detects and switches languages at runtime across voice, chat and email without restarting the workflow, and its multilingual platforms article says voice covers languages including Mandarin and Hindi and multiple Spanish and English accents. A numeric language list is not documented on Lorikeet’s product, how-it-works, FAQ, pricing or integrations pages, its llms.txt, or its public release notes as at 30 September 2026; its product documentation sits behind a login, so that rung could not be walked. If your language map includes anything beyond the major languages, ask Lorikeet for a written list per channel.
Voice geography matters as much as the language list. Lorikeet’s how-it-works FAQ says voice is available in the US, UK and Australia. An Australian or UK contact centre is covered; a team answering calls in, say, Germany should confirm availability before the pilot. We cover the wider multilingual field in our guide to multilingual AI customer support platforms.
Which compliance attestations does each vendor publish?
Both vendors publish their attestations on their own trust pages. The table records exactly what each page lists, not what either vendor might hold unlisted.
| Attestation or framework | Ada (trust page, Trust Center) | Lorikeet (trust page) |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type II | Listed | Listed |
| HIPAA | Listed; compliance package on request for healthcare, financial services and insurance | Listed; states it signs Business Associate Agreements |
| GDPR | Listed | Listed |
| ISO 27001 | Not listed on the trust page, Trust Center overview, pricing page or docs index as at 30 September 2026; Ada says its information security programme primarily follows Center for Internet Security practices (CIS 8.0) | ISO 27001:2022 listed |
| PCI DSS | Listed; Trust Center carries a PCI Attestation of Compliance | Not listed on the trust page or pricing security table as at 30 September 2026; FAQ says it does not store or process raw card data and uses processors’ secure tokens |
| AIUC-1 (AI-agent standard) | Certified; Ada describes itself as the first CX company to achieve it | Not listed on the trust page as at 30 September 2026 |
| SOC 3, CCPA, CPRA, PIPEDA | Listed on the Trust Center | CCPA named in the FAQ compliance answer |
One detail for regulated email programmes: Ada’s email page lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, PCI DSS and AIUC-1 for its email product, while its voice and messaging pages also list HIPAA. If protected health information will travel by email, ask Ada to confirm HIPAA coverage for that channel specifically. On retention, Ada’s data retention docs state that end-user data is automatically deleted after two years, and transcripts can be exported before deletion.
Integrations and deployment: what setup actually involves
Both are cloud platforms that sit beside your existing helpdesk rather than replacing it. The integration shelves differ in emphasis.
- Helpdesks. Ada’s integrations page names Zendesk, Salesforce, Kustomer, Gladly, Gorgias, Help Scout, Freshworks, Dixa, Microsoft Dynamics and ServiceNow. Lorikeet’s integrations page names Zendesk (including Zendesk Messaging), Intercom, Salesforce (including Salesforce Messaging), HubSpot, Front, Help Scout, Kustomer, Slack and Genesys Cloud, plus webhook-based Flexible Ticketing for anything else. Intercom and HubSpot appear on Lorikeet’s page but not on Ada’s integrations page or docs index as at 30 September 2026; if either is your helpdesk, ask Ada how it connects.
- Telephony. Ada’s voice page names Twilio, Genesys, NICE CXone, Avaya and Amazon Connect, and its docs cover SIP trunking. Lorikeet says anything that forwards calls works, naming Amazon Connect, Twilio, Five9, AirCall, Dialpad, Vonage and Talkdesk.
- Actions. Ada Computer gives the agent API, code and MCP tools; Ada also lists Amadeus, Sabre and Galileo by Travelport, which matters for airlines and travel sellers. Lorikeet acts through APIs, webhooks and MCP servers, and names Stripe, Shopify and SendGrid.
- Who does the work. Every Lorikeet plan includes forward-deployed engineering support, and Lorikeet deploys topic by topic. Ada offers hands-on guidance from what it calls ACX Experts and starts with a scoped demo.
If you are still deciding whether an agent should sit in front of your support queue at all, our overview of AI customer support agents and tier-1 resolution covers the triage and escalation design that applies to both vendors.
Who each option is wrong for
Each vendor’s own pages contain the sentence that should stop some buyers.
Lorikeet is wrong for simple FAQ deflection. Its FAQ says so in plain words: if you only need a chatbot, it is probably overkill. It is also a poor fit if you need voice outside the US, UK and Australia, or if your procurement requires a PCI DSS attestation (none is listed on its trust page or Trust Center as at 30 September 2026). If you need Australian or EU data residency on Start or Scale, get it in writing: the pricing table lists USA for those plans, while the trust page says storage residency is available in Australia and the EU. Lorikeet says roughly 80% of its customers are US financial institutions and fintechs.
Ada is wrong for teams that need a price before a call. There is no list price, and the default billing unit charges for conversations that do not resolve, which punishes a low early resolution rate. It is also a harder fit if your security review demands ISO 27001 by name, if your admins need a dashboard in a language other than English, or if you need a language on voice that is only in the 60-language text list.
Both are wrong if your inbound volume is mostly pre-sale. Ada and Lorikeet are built to resolve service issues. If most of the calls and messages you are trying to automate are prospects asking about price and availability, the job is qualifying and booking, which is a sales-agent problem; the distinction is set out in our comparison of an AI receptionist vs an autonomous sales agent. That is the category Zian AI works in, with a Customer Support Agent (24/7, 30+ languages) alongside appointment-setting agents.
Choose Ada if… choose Lorikeet if…: the decision rule
Run the Unit, Language, Paper test in order. The first row that matches your situation is your answer; if none matches, run a two-week pilot with both on the same historical tickets.
| If this is true for you | Choose | Why, from the vendor’s own page |
|---|---|---|
| Your security review names PCI DSS or AIUC-1 | Ada | Ada lists PCI DSS (with an AOC) and AIUC-1; neither is listed on Lorikeet’s trust page, pricing security table or Trust Center as at 30 September 2026 |
| Your security review names ISO 27001 | Lorikeet | Lorikeet lists ISO 27001:2022; Ada’s trust pages do not as at 30 September 2026 |
| You need voice in a country other than the US, UK or Australia | Ada (confirm your country and that your language is in the 42) | Lorikeet voice is available in those three countries |
| You need more than a handful of text languages and must see the list before signing | Ada | Ada publishes 60 text languages and 42 voice languages by name or count |
| You want a published price and a free trial before talking to sales | Lorikeet | Rates, plan fees and a 30-day trial are on the pricing page |
| Your automated resolution rate is unknown or below about 50% | Lorikeet | Unresolved and escalated tickets are not charged |
| Your resolution rate is proven high and you can negotiate a low per-conversation price | Ada (check P < 0.90 × r) | Most Ada customers choose conversation-based pricing |
| Your helpdesk is Intercom or HubSpot | Lorikeet, or ask Ada | Both named on Lorikeet’s integrations page; not on Ada’s as at 30 September 2026 |
| You sell travel and need PNR or itinerary lookups | Ada | Amadeus, Sabre and Galileo by Travelport are on Ada’s integrations page |
| You handle fewer than about 1,000 tickets a month | Price both carefully before choosing | Lorikeet’s $2,100 plan fee works out at $3.09 per chat resolution at 1,000; Ada positions itself on 350+ enterprise customers and publishes no entry price |
Frequently asked questions
Is Ada or Lorikeet cheaper for AI customer service?
It depends on your resolution rate, because the two bill different units. Lorikeet publishes per-resolution rates on its pricing page: $0.99 per chat, email or SMS resolution on the Start plan ($2,100 a month, paid annually) and $0.90 on Scale ($5,100 a month). Ada publishes no list prices; its platform page says most customers choose conversation-based pricing. Divide your Ada per-conversation quote by your pilot resolution rate to get a comparable per-resolution figure.
Does Lorikeet charge for tickets it escalates to a human?
No. Lorikeet’s FAQ says you are never charged for escalated tickets, only successful resolutions, and that you are not charged for tickets you mark as bad. You still pay the annual plan fee. Lorikeet’s FAQ states both points, read as at 30 September 2026.
How many languages does Ada support compared with Lorikeet?
Ada’s documentation lists 60 languages on messaging and email and says voice supports a subset; its voice page lists 42. Ada also notes that English is always enabled and is the fallback language (Ada docs, About multilingual support). Lorikeet describes automatic mid-conversation language switching, but a language count is not documented on its product, how-it-works, FAQ or pricing pages as at 30 September 2026.
Which is better for a regulated business, Ada or Lorikeet?
Both publish SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA and GDPR. Lorikeet adds ISO 27001:2022 and states that it signs Business Associate Agreements. Ada adds PCI DSS and AIUC-1 certification. If your security review requires a PCI DSS attestation, Ada publishes one, though both describe the same card-handling pattern: Ada’s trust page says cardholder data flows directly between the customer and your processor and Ada never stores or touches it, and Lorikeet’s FAQ says it does not store or process raw card data and works through payment processors’ secure tokens.
Can Ada or Lorikeet answer phone calls?
Yes, both run voice agents. Ada’s voice page says it integrates with Twilio, Genesys, NICE CXone, Avaya and Amazon Connect, and its docs cover SIP. Lorikeet’s how-it-works FAQ says voice is available in the US, UK and Australia, and its integrations page says anything that forwards calls works, naming Amazon Connect, Twilio, Five9, AirCall, Dialpad, Vonage and Talkdesk.
Does Lorikeet have a free trial?
Yes. Lorikeet’s pricing and FAQ pages state a 30-day free trial. Ada’s pricing page is a demo-request form and does not list a trial or prices as at 30 September 2026.
How long does it take to go live with Lorikeet or Ada?
Lorikeet’s pricing page states a time to first live ticket of as little as hours, with an average under 29 days. A go-live timeline is not stated on Ada’s pricing, platform, channel or getting-started pages as at 30 September 2026, so ask Ada for one in writing during the demo.
Where every figure on this page comes from
| Figure | Who published it | Link | Date read |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 languages on messaging and email; voice a subset; English always enabled and the fallback; dashboard English-only | Ada | docs.ada.cx About multilingual support | 30 September 2026 |
| 42 voice languages (list) | Ada | ada.cx/platform/voice | 30 September 2026 |
| Conversation-based pricing for most customers; resolution-based for specific needs | Ada | ada.cx/platform | 30 September 2026 |
| No list prices; 30-minute call; reply within one business day | Ada | ada.cx/pricing | 30 September 2026 |
| 350+ enterprise customers; AI-native since 2016 | Ada | ada.cx/why-ada | 30 September 2026 |
| SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, AIUC-1; CIS 8.0; zero data retention; OpenAI, Anthropic, Cohere models | Ada | ada.cx/platform/trust and Ada Trust Center | 30 September 2026 |
| Email product attestation list (no HIPAA) | Ada | ada.cx/platform/email | 30 September 2026 |
| End-user data deleted after two years | Ada | docs.ada.cx Data retention | 30 September 2026 |
| Start $2,100/mo, Scale $5,100/mo; $0.99/$0.90 chat, $1.50/$1.20 voice, $0.30/$0.27 triage and QA; $75K Signature platform fee; FDE Platinum $25K+; 5,000 and 20,000 ticket bands; 3-minute voice average; under 29 days to first live ticket; 30-day free trial; USA residency on Start and Scale | Lorikeet | lorikeetcx.ai/pricing and pricing.md | 30 September 2026 |
| Escalated and bad-marked tickets not charged; does not store raw card data; only-need-a-chatbot limitation | Lorikeet | lorikeetcx.ai/faq | 30 September 2026 |
| SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001:2022, HIPAA, GDPR; BAAs; US primary hosting, Australia and EU storage residency | Lorikeet | lorikeetcx.ai/product/trust | 30 September 2026 |
| Voice available in the US, UK and Australia; channel and helpdesk list | Lorikeet | lorikeetcx.ai/product/how-it-works and integrations | 30 September 2026 |
| Roughly 80% of customers are US financial institutions and fintechs; voice languages including Mandarin and Hindi | Lorikeet | Lorikeet multilingual guide and multilingual platforms article | 30 September 2026 |
| Effective cost per resolution; 33,333 and 10,000 crossovers; per-conversation break-even prices | Zian AI calculation from Lorikeet’s published rates (inputs above); r is the reader’s own pilot figure | This page, worked calculation | 30 September 2026 |
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