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AI Chatbot

CustomGPT Alternative: Free Plan, Real Model Choice, Built-in Live Chat

Looking for a CustomGPT alternative? AI Chatbot starts at $29/month with a free plan (CustomGPT is trial-only), built-in live chat and human handoff, and full model choice instead of being locked to one model.

Last updated: July 15, 2026

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TL;DR

CustomGPT starts at $99/month with no free plan, locks its Standard tier to a single model, and routes human handoff into your existing helpdesk. However, AI Chatbot starts at $29/month with a free plan, model choice across OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI, and a built-in inbox for live chat and human takeover.

The best CustomGPT alternatives, ranked

We compared the top CustomGPT alternatives on price, live chat, human handoff, and AI model choice. Here is how they stack up.

1

AI Chatbot BEST OVERALL

Moreover, it includes a free plan, built-in live chat and human handoff, model choice across OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI, plus free sentiment analysis and the ability to connect your own API or database. From $29/mo.

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2

Chatling

No-code chatbot with a free plan and handoff, but no API/database connect or bring-your-own-keys. Plans start at $40/mo.

3

Botsonic

Low entry price, but live handoff needs an external helpdesk and API access is a paid add-on. Plans start at $19/mo.

4

Salesloft Drift

However, this is enterprise-only chat with recent multi-week outages and an uncertain roadmap post-acquisition. Pricing is custom.

5

Wonderchat

However, it is a website- and doc-trained chatbot with steep pricing tiers. Plans start at $124/mo.

Pricing and features as of July 2026. Compare all alternatives →

Why people look for CustomGPT alternatives

CustomGPT is known for accurate, source-cited answers, but it asks for a premium price and locks down a few things teams expect.

No free plan on CustomGPT

Indeed, CustomGPT only offers a 7-day trial that requires a card. AI Chatbot has a free plan, so you can build and test a chatbot before paying anything.

Real model choice, not one locked model

Specifically, CustomGPT’s Standard plan is locked to a single model and only lets you customize the model per agent on its Enterprise plan. Meanwhile, AI Chatbot lets you pick from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI, with BYOK on Pro.

Built-in live chat and human takeover

By comparison, CustomGPT routes handoff into the external helpdesk queue your team already uses. AI Chatbot includes its own inbox so a human can take over a live conversation without a separate tool.

AI Chatbot vs CustomGPT

Compare features and see why AI Chatbot is the better choice

FeaturesAI ChatbotCustomGPT
Free Plan✓ Yes✕ No (7-day trial only)
Starting PricingFrom $29/monthFrom $99/month
AI ModelsOpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAIOpenAI, Anthropic, Google
Per-agent Model Choice✓ YesEnterprise only
Built-in Live Chat✓ Yes✓ Yes
Native Human Takeover✓ Yes✕ No (routes to external helpdesk)
API Access✓ Yes✓ Yes (paid plans)
Multilingual✓ Yes✓ Yes (92 languages)

How to switch from CustomGPT to AI Chatbot

A simple step-by-step guide to migrate without losing conversations.

1

List your CustomGPT training sources

Firstly, note the URLs, documents, and PDFs your CustomGPT project was trained on. Then, AI Chatbot can re-crawl the same sources directly.

2

Create your AI Chatbot chatbot

Then, sign up for the free plan, create a chatbot, and paste your website URL as the first training source. As a result, the crawler indexes reachable pages automatically.

3

Add supplementary sources

Additionally, upload the same files you used in CustomGPT. Connect your own API or database if you want the chatbot to fetch live data, not just answer from static content.

4

Pick your model and tone

After that, choose your AI model, customize the widget colors and avatar, and set the bot persona and fallback message.

5

Swap the embed code on your site

Subsequently, replace the CustomGPT embed with the single-line AI Chatbot snippet. As a result, AI chat, live chat, and the inbox all activate from the one snippet.

6

Cancel CustomGPT

Lastly, once the new chatbot is validated, cancel your CustomGPT subscription. As a result, most teams drop from $99/month to $29/month on the base tier.

Choose the model that fits each chatbot

Besides, AI Chatbot lets you pick from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI models, and bring your own keys on the Pro plan. Instead of being locked to one model, you can choose the one that gives the best answers for your content and budget.
Walter Goodman, online marketing manager, AI Chatbot customer

Walter Goodman

Online Marketing Manager

The platform is very intuitive to set up and use. I was able to train the chatbot directly from our site maps with ease. After creating a test page and sharing it with leadership, customer service, sales, and marketing, the reaction was unanimous, everyone was impressed!

AI Chatbot Botpress alternative - features, tools and actions dashboard
AI Chatbot Botpress alternative - live chat inbox with human handoff

Built-in live chat and human takeover

AI Chatbot includes a full inbox where a human can step into a live conversation when the AI needs help. Moreover, there is no external helpdesk to wire up, the handoff happens inside the same tool your visitors are already chatting in.
Michael Evers, marketing specialist, AI Chatbot customer

Michael Evers

Marketing Specialist

I think AI Chatbot is a super easy and extremely powerful tool to start installing into your website.

Train your chatbot on all of your content

Train AI Chatbot on your website, knowledge base, support docs, PDFs, and CSVs, and connect your own API or database for live data, so answers stay grounded in your real information.

Donald Smith, co-founder, AI Chatbot customer

Donald Smith

Co-Founder

I stumbled across AI Chatbot AI while having a chat with my ChatGPT. I am absolutely gobsmacked at how good it is and how easy it has been to setup. Any concerns I had have disappeared and this certainly is the way forward. I will be using AI Chatbot AI on all my websites now.

AI Chatbot Botpress alternative - training sources for auto-sync

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about AI Chatbot. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Start a free trial and see it in action.

What is the best alternative to CustomGPT?
Overall, AI Chatbot is a strong CustomGPT alternative for teams that want a free plan, a lower price, real model choice, and a built-in inbox for live chat and human takeover. Both products also ground answers in your own content with source citations.
By comparison, AI Chatbot starts at $29/month with a free plan. Meanwhile, CustomGPT starts at $99/month ($89/month billed annually) with no free plan, only a 7-day trial. Furthermore, AI Chatbot Pro is $79/month and adds all models, BYOK, and API and MCP access.
Yes, AI Chatbot lets you pick from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI, with bring-your-own-keys on the Pro plan. In contrast, CustomGPT’s Standard plan is locked to a single model, and per-agent model choice is reserved for its Enterprise plan.

Yes, AI Chatbot includes its own inbox where a human agent can take over a live conversation. CustomGPT hands conversations off into the external helpdesk queue your team already uses, rather than a built-in agent inbox.

Yes, add the same website URLs, documents, and PDFs you used to train CustomGPT, and AI Chatbot will crawl and index them automatically.

CustomGPT vs AI Chatbot

Overall, CustomGPT has built a reputation for accurate, source-cited answers and strong anti-hallucination handling. If citation accuracy is your single priority and budget is not a constraint, it is a respected option. AI Chatbot also grounds answers in your own content and cites sources, using retrieval with reranking, and it does so at a lower price with fewer restrictions.

However, the practical differences show up in three places: the free plan, model choice, and human handoff.

Free plan, price, and model choice

By comparison, CustomGPT has no free plan, only a 7-day trial that needs a card, and starts at $99/month. AI Chatbot has a free plan and starts at $29/month, so you can build and test on a real site before paying.

Also, model choice is the other gap. For example, CustomGPT’s Standard plan is locked to a single model, and choosing the model per agent is reserved for its Enterprise tier. In contrast, AI Chatbot lets you pick from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI on paid plans, and bring your own keys on Pro.

Human handoff

When a conversation needs a person, CustomGPT routes it into the external helpdesk queue your team already runs. That works if you already pay for a helpdesk, but it means another tool in the loop. AI Chatbot includes its own inbox, so a human can take over the live conversation in the same place your visitors are chatting.

Overall, for teams that want grounded answers plus a free plan, real model choice, and built-in live chat, AI Chatbot covers more of the job for less.

Connects with the tools you already use

In short, from your website builder to your CRM, AI Chatbot fits right in.