Forethought Solve

Forethought Solve is an AI customer-support platform for teams handling inquiries across digital and voice channels. It is best suited to support organizations that want automated resolutions alongside human escalation; teams seeking a self-serve product with a free plan or fixed public pricing should look elsewhere.

Overview

Solve is designed to take customer inquiries from first contact through resolution. Its strongest case is for teams that need more than automated answers: workflows can take actions through connected APIs, while conversations can move to human agents with their context intact. That combination can reduce routine work without forcing every difficult case through automation.

Forethought offers a Proof of Value using a customer’s data rather than a traditional free trial. That gives prospective buyers a way to assess the product in their own setting, but it is not a no-cost trial they can simply start on their own.

Key features

Automation that can act

Autoflows turn natural-language instructions into workflows without requiring teams to build manual decision trees. Custom Actions connect API endpoints, letting the AI do things such as process refunds or update accounts during a conversation. These features are most useful when support resolutions involve repeatable steps; teams should still account for the work of configuring actions and workflows around their systems.

Channels, handoffs, and measurement

Solve supports chat, email, voice, SMS, Slack, mobile, and API. Real-time handoffs carry full context to human agents, a practical safeguard when an inquiry needs judgment or falls outside automation. Its dashboard tracks CSAT, deflection rates, and speed, and recommends improvements to underperforming workflows. Forethought lists more than 70 connectors, including Salesforce, Zendesk, Intercom, and Confluence.

Security and data handling

Forethought states that Solve is compliant with ISO 27001 and certified for SOC 2, with data encrypted at rest and protected by TLS in transit. It says sensitive data is redacted during ingestion and the original data securely deleted within 24 hours, while cautioning that redaction is best effort. Organizations requiring FedRAMP certification should rule it out for now: Solve is not currently FedRAMP certified.

Pricing

Solve is paid software with custom pricing. There is no free plan or traditional free trial, so buyers should expect to discuss cost with Forethought and evaluate the Proof of Value option instead. No seat counts, quotas, renewal terms, or trial length are established for these plans.

All three plans have custom pricing, so the feature tiers clarify what each level adds but do not make it possible to compare costs in advance. Team gives up the broader channel coverage and custom handoffs of Professional; Enterprise adds APIs and governance features beyond that tier.

Platforms

Solve is available through web and API. Its customer-facing support channels include chat, email, voice, SMS, Slack, and mobile, though channel access varies by plan: Team covers chat and mobile agents, while Professional adds email, voice, and Slack agents. SMS support is part of the supported channel set, but no plan-specific SMS entitlement is given.

Who it's for

Solve makes the most sense for customer support and experience teams that need to scale service across several channels, automate routine work, and retain human handling for complex inquiries. Multilingual support, integrations, workflow actions, and analytics suit operations with established support processes to connect and improve. It is a weaker fit for small teams that need a transparent entry price, a capped free tier, or an ordinary trial, and for organizations that require FedRAMP certification.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Custom Actions let automated support complete API-connected tasks such as refunds and account updates, not just respond to questions.
• Pros: Real-time human handoffs preserve full context, helping teams keep complex cases out of a fully automated path.
• Pros: Analytics track CSAT, deflection, and speed and point to underperforming workflows, giving teams measures to guide iteration.
• Cons: Custom pricing across every plan makes upfront budget comparisons difficult.
• Cons: There is no free plan or traditional free trial, which limits low-commitment evaluation; the Proof of Value uses customer data instead.
• Cons: FedRAMP is not currently supported, ruling Solve out for buyers with that certification requirement.

Alternatives

Choose Help Scout if a free starting point matters: its free plan includes five users, one Inbox, one Docs site, 100 contacts per month, 10 saved replies, and 10 tags. Zoho Desk is another freemium option, with a free plan for three users.

Intercom may suit buyers who prefer a published per-seat entry price and a free trial: its Essential plan is $19 a month, billed annually, per seat/month, and includes Fin AI Agent, Messenger, shared inbox and ticketing, and pre-built reports. Choose Inbenta if a usage-based model and a free trial are preferable; it uses consumption-based pricing, with no published price or usage rates.

Capacity is a paid alternative with Core, Pro, and Enterprise plans differentiated by storage limits. Ada, Kore.ai, and Freshdesk are also alternatives to consider.

Browse Customer Self-Service Software, AI Customer Service Agents, Customer Service Automation Software, AI Customer Service Software, and Agent Assist Software for category options.

Verdict

Forethought Solve is a strong fit for established support teams that want multi-channel automation capable of taking actions, with analytics and contextual human escalation to keep service accountable. Its tiered capabilities are substantial, but custom pricing and the absence of a conventional trial make it a poor choice for buyers who need to evaluate cost or product access with minimal commitment; organizations requiring FedRAMP should look elsewhere.