Best AI agents for after-hours lead capture in 2026: 7 options compared

Seven options are worth checking when enquiries arrive while nobody is there to answer. They cover the website, the phone and text messages, and they differ a lot in what they do and how they charge.

Decide first where your out-of-hours enquiries arrive. Website visitors, callers and people who text need different tools. The right choice may be one option or a combination.

About this comparison: Javo publishes this article and is one of the options listed, in first place. Placement reflects our focus on website enquiries, not an independent performance ranking. We checked the public vendor pages named in the sources on 16 October 2026. We did not run a head-to-head product benchmark. Prices are in US dollars unless marked €. Billing units differ, and the vendor can change them at any time.

How we chose and ordered the options

We listed vendors whose official pages describe a product for this job and whose pages we could read on 16 October 2026. We did not run a head-to-head test. Javo is first because Javo publishes this list, not because we measured it as the most accurate. After Javo, the order follows how closely each option matches the use case. For after-hours cover we also looked at which channel each option answers on: website, phone or text message.

The seven options

1. Javo

Best for: A service business whose website visitors arrive when nobody is available, and that wants contacts collected for the next working day.

Consider Javo when website visitors arrive after closing and you want their contact details waiting for the next working day. Javo official page.

2. Smith.ai

Consider Smith.ai when most after-hours enquiries come by phone and you want calls answered day and night. Smith.ai official page.

3. Podium

Consider Podium when you want chat leads continued by text message overnight and accept a quote. Podium official page.

4. Landbot

Consider Landbot when a marketer wants to build a website and WhatsApp flow that runs while you are closed. Landbot official page.

5. Tidio

Consider Tidio when the team covers live chat by day and wants an AI agent after hours. Tidio official page.

6. Intercom Fin

Consider Intercom when overnight messages should land in a support inbox for the morning. Intercom Fin official page.

7. HubSpot Customer Agent

Consider HubSpot when after-hours leads should be written to your HubSpot contacts. HubSpot Customer Agent official page.

Where each option fits

Option	Published pricing basis, checked 16 October 2026
Javo	€600 per month per product
Smith.ai	Starter $300 per month for 30 calls, Basic $810 for 90, Pro $2,100 for 300; extra calls $11.50, $10.50 and $8.50; optional add-ons priced per call
Podium	Not published. The page asks you to talk to sales, and lists AI Employee as an add-on
Landbot	Starter €40 per month (€32 billed annually) with 500 chats, 100 of them AI chats; Professional €100 (€80 annually) with 2,500 chats and 300 AI chats; extra AI chats €0.10 each; Business from €400 per month; prices before tax
Tidio	Lyro AI Agent from $32.50 per month for 50 Lyro conversations; Starter $24.17 per month; managed AI service only on Premium, by quote
Intercom Fin	Fin from $0.99 per outcome; Essential seat $29 per month
HubSpot Customer Agent	$0.50 per resolution for messaging; Professional or Enterprise edition required

When not to choose Javo

Do not choose Javo if your out-of-hours enquiries are mostly phone calls, where Smith.ai describes calls answered day and night, or text messages, where Podium describes continuing website leads by text. Javo works on your website and collects contact details for your team. Its published offer does not describe calling or texting anyone back.

Javo is a website agent set up for you at €600 per month per product. It does not include a shared inbox for your own team or a tool your team configures and maintains.

What to test out of hours

Run your test at the time that matters: an evening or a weekend. Send the same three realistic requests to each option and record the answer, how long it took and what reached your team the next morning.

Check that the message your team receives says who the person is, what they asked and how to reach them, without reading the conversation.

Best AI chatbots for hotels · Best AI chatbots for real estate agencies · Best AI chatbots for small business websites in France

Freshworks · Landbot · Smith.ai · Chatfuel

Request a Javo demo using your own website questions.