Drift (Salesloft) vs Hiver
A detailed comparison of Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver. Find out which AI Support solution is right for your team.
πKey Takeaways
- 1Drift (Salesloft) vs Hiver: Comparing 6 criteria.
- 2Drift (Salesloft) wins 3 categories, Hiver wins 3, with 0 ties.
- 3Drift (Salesloft): 4.9/5 rating. Hiver: 4.4/5 rating.
- 4Both tools are evenly matched - choose based on your specific needs.
Drift (Salesloft)
Conversational AI platform for B2B with chatbots, live chat, and meeting scheduling for sales and support
Hiver
Gmail-based help desk with AI features for teams that want to manage customer support without leaving their inbox
3
Drift (Salesloft) wins
0
Ties
3
Hiver wins
Feature Comparison
| Criteria | Drift (Salesloft) | Hiver | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Accuracy | 5 | 3 | Drift (Salesloft) |
| Multi-language | 4 | 5 | Hiver |
| Handoff Quality | 5 | 3 | Drift (Salesloft) |
| Self-service | 5 | 3 | Drift (Salesloft) |
| Analytics | 4 | 5 | Hiver |
| Integration Depth | 4 | 5 | Hiver |
Detailed Analysis
Response Accuracy
Drift (Salesloft)Drift (Salesloft)
Drift (Salesloft)'s response accuracy capabilities
Hiver
Hiver's response accuracy capabilities
Comparing response accuracy between Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver.
Multi-language
HiverDrift (Salesloft)
Drift (Salesloft)'s multi-language capabilities
Hiver
Hiver's multi-language capabilities
Comparing multi-language between Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver.
Handoff Quality
Drift (Salesloft)Drift (Salesloft)
Drift (Salesloft)'s handoff quality capabilities
Hiver
Hiver's handoff quality capabilities
Comparing handoff quality between Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver.
Self-service
Drift (Salesloft)Drift (Salesloft)
Drift (Salesloft)'s self-service capabilities
Hiver
Hiver's self-service capabilities
Comparing self-service between Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver.
Analytics
HiverDrift (Salesloft)
Drift (Salesloft)'s analytics capabilities
Hiver
Hiver's analytics capabilities
Comparing analytics between Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver.
Integration Depth
HiverDrift (Salesloft)
Drift (Salesloft)'s integration depth capabilities
Hiver
Hiver's integration depth capabilities
Comparing integration depth between Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver.
Feature-by-Feature Breakdown
Conversational AI Chatbots
Drift (Salesloft)Drift (Salesloft)
Drift's conversational AI chatbots represent a significant advancement over traditional rule-based chat systems, utilizing sophisticated natural language processing to engage website visitors in human-like conversations. These AI-powered bots can understand complex queries, respond contextually, and adapt their approach based on visitor behavior and intent signals. The chatbots are trained on your specific business context, product information, and common customer questions, enabling them to provide accurate, relevant responses without human intervention. They can qualify leads by asking intelligent follow-up questions, schedule meetings directly on sales representatives' calendars, and seamlessly hand off conversations to human agents when complexity requires personal attention. The system learns continuously from interactions, improving its accuracy and effectiveness over time. Enables 24/7 lead qualification and customer engagement without requiring constant human monitoring, ensuring no opportunity is missed regardless of time zone or business hours.
β Enables 24/7 lead qualification and customer engagement without requiring constant human monitoring, ensuring no opportunity is missed regardless of time zone or business hours
Hiver
Hiver's shared inbox functionality transforms standard email accounts like support@company.com or help@company.com into collaborative workspaces where entire teams can access, manage, and respond to customer inquiries without forwarding emails or using CC/BCC. Each team member sees the same inbox view with real-time updates, ensuring no customer message falls through the cracks. The system prevents duplicate responses through collision detection, shows who is currently viewing or responding to a conversation, and maintains a complete audit trail of all actions taken on each email thread. Eliminates email chaos and ensures every customer inquiry receives a timely, coordinated response from the most appropriate team member.
β Eliminates email chaos and ensures every customer inquiry receives a timely, coordinated response from the most appropriate team member
Both Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver offer Conversational AI Chatbots. Drift (Salesloft)'s approach focuses on drift's conversational ai chatbots represent a significant advancement over traditional rule-based chat systems, utilizing sophisticated natural language processing to engage website visitors in human-like conversations., while Hiver emphasizes hiver's shared inbox functionality transforms standard email accounts like support@company.. Choose based on which implementation better fits your workflow.
Real-Time Visitor Intelligence
Drift (Salesloft)Drift (Salesloft)
Drift's real-time visitor intelligence system provides sales and marketing teams with comprehensive insights into who is visiting their website and what they're interested in at any given moment. The platform identifies visitors through IP address matching, cookie tracking, and integration with data enrichment services to reveal company information, industry, size, and technology stack. Beyond basic identification, Drift tracks visitor behavior including pages viewed, time spent, return visits, and engagement patterns to build a complete picture of buyer intent. This intelligence is surfaced to sales representatives in real-time, enabling them to initiate proactive conversations with high-value prospects at the exact moment of peak interest. The system also integrates with CRM data to highlight existing customers, open opportunities, and account history. Empowers sales teams to prioritize their engagement efforts based on real-time buyer signals, dramatically increasing the relevance and effectiveness of every conversation.
β Empowers sales teams to prioritize their engagement efforts based on real-time buyer signals, dramatically increasing the relevance and effectiveness of every conversation
Hiver
Harvey is Hiver's intelligent AI assistant that leverages machine learning to automate repetitive support tasks and enhance agent productivity. Harvey analyzes incoming emails to automatically suggest relevant template responses, detect customer sentiment, identify urgent issues requiring immediate attention, and even draft initial responses based on historical conversation patterns. The AI continuously learns from team interactions, becoming more accurate and helpful over time as it processes more conversations and receives feedback from agents. Reduces average handling time by automating routine tasks and providing intelligent suggestions that help agents respond faster and more accurately.
β Reduces average handling time by automating routine tasks and providing intelligent suggestions that help agents respond faster and more accurately
Both Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver offer Real-Time Visitor Intelligence. Drift (Salesloft)'s approach focuses on drift's real-time visitor intelligence system provides sales and marketing teams with comprehensive insights into who is visiting their website and what they're interested in at any given moment., while Hiver emphasizes harvey is hiver's intelligent ai assistant that leverages machine learning to automate repetitive support tasks and enhance agent productivity.. Choose based on which implementation better fits your workflow.
Intelligent Meeting Scheduling
Drift (Salesloft)Drift (Salesloft)
Drift's intelligent meeting scheduling feature eliminates the back-and-forth typically required to book sales meetings by enabling prospects to schedule time directly through chat conversations. The system integrates with sales representatives' calendars to display real-time availability, automatically accounting for time zones, meeting buffers, and scheduling preferences. When a chatbot or live agent qualifies a lead, they can offer immediate meeting booking without requiring the prospect to leave the conversation or navigate to a separate scheduling tool. The feature supports round-robin distribution for team scheduling, weighted routing based on rep performance or capacity, and automatic assignment to account owners for existing customers. Meeting confirmations, reminders, and follow-up sequences are handled automatically, reducing no-show rates and ensuring smooth handoffs. Reduces the average time from initial interest to scheduled meeting from days to minutes, capturing buyer intent at its peak and preventing prospects from going cold or choosing competitors.
β Reduces the average time from initial interest to scheduled meeting from days to minutes, capturing buyer intent at its peak and preventing prospects from going cold or choosing competitors
Hiver
Hiver's automated assignment system uses sophisticated rules and AI-powered analysis to route incoming customer inquiries to the right team members instantly. Administrators can configure round-robin distribution for equal workload balancing, skill-based routing that matches ticket topics to agent expertise, or priority-based assignment that ensures VIP customers receive immediate attention from senior team members. The system considers current agent workload, availability status, and historical performance to optimize assignments in real-time. Ensures customers always reach the most qualified agent while maintaining balanced workloads across the support team.
β Ensures customers always reach the most qualified agent while maintaining balanced workloads across the support team
Both Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver offer Intelligent Meeting Scheduling. Drift (Salesloft)'s approach focuses on drift's intelligent meeting scheduling feature eliminates the back-and-forth typically required to book sales meetings by enabling prospects to schedule time directly through chat conversations., while Hiver emphasizes hiver's automated assignment system uses sophisticated rules and ai-powered analysis to route incoming customer inquiries to the right team members instantly.. Choose based on which implementation better fits your workflow.
Account-Based Marketing Personalization
Drift (Salesloft)Drift (Salesloft)
Drift's account-based marketing (ABM) personalization capabilities enable B2B companies to deliver tailored experiences to their most valuable target accounts. The platform integrates with ABM tools like 6sense, Demandbase, and Terminus to identify when visitors from target accounts arrive on your website, triggering customized chat experiences, personalized messaging, and priority routing to dedicated account teams. Marketers can create account-specific playbooks that reference the prospect's company by name, acknowledge their industry challenges, and present relevant case studies or content. The system can also suppress generic chatbot interactions for key accounts, ensuring that high-value visitors receive white-glove treatment from human representatives. This level of personalization extends across the entire website experience, with dynamic content and offers based on account tier and engagement stage. Transforms anonymous website traffic into personalized account engagement, significantly improving conversion rates for target accounts and accelerating enterprise sales cycles.
β Transforms anonymous website traffic into personalized account engagement, significantly improving conversion rates for target accounts and accelerating enterprise sales cycles
Hiver
Hiver enables seamless team collaboration through internal notes, @mentions, and shared drafts that keep all communication about a customer issue in one place. Team members can discuss complex issues, seek guidance from colleagues, or escalate to supervisors without the customer ever seeing these internal conversations. The shared draft feature allows multiple agents to collaborate on crafting the perfect response before sending, while @mentions ensure the right people are notified when their input is needed. Facilitates knowledge sharing and team collaboration while maintaining a professional, unified front to customers.
β Facilitates knowledge sharing and team collaboration while maintaining a professional, unified front to customers
Both Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver offer Account-Based Marketing Personalization. Drift (Salesloft)'s approach focuses on drift's account-based marketing (abm) personalization capabilities enable b2b companies to deliver tailored experiences to their most valuable target accounts., while Hiver emphasizes hiver enables seamless team collaboration through internal notes, @mentions, and shared drafts that keep all communication about a customer issue in one place.. Choose based on which implementation better fits your workflow.
Conversational Analytics Dashboard
Drift (Salesloft)Drift (Salesloft)
Drift's conversational analytics dashboard provides comprehensive visibility into the performance of your chat programs, AI effectiveness, and team productivity. The platform tracks key metrics including conversation volume, response times, qualification rates, meeting bookings, and pipeline influence, presenting them in intuitive visualizations that reveal trends and opportunities. Advanced analytics capabilities include conversation sentiment analysis, topic clustering to identify common questions and concerns, and attribution modeling that connects chat interactions to downstream revenue. Team managers can monitor individual representative performance, identify coaching opportunities, and optimize chat routing rules based on data-driven insights. The dashboard also includes A/B testing capabilities for chatbot scripts and playbooks, enabling continuous optimization of conversation flows and messaging. Provides actionable intelligence that enables continuous improvement of conversational programs, helping teams identify what's working, what's not, and where to focus optimization efforts.
β Provides actionable intelligence that enables continuous improvement of conversational programs, helping teams identify what's working, what's not, and where to focus optimization efforts
Hiver
Hiver provides comprehensive analytics that give support leaders complete visibility into team performance, customer satisfaction trends, and operational efficiency metrics. The dashboard tracks key indicators including first response time, resolution time, customer satisfaction scores (CSAT), agent productivity metrics, and conversation volume trends. Customizable reports can be scheduled for automatic delivery, and real-time dashboards help managers identify bottlenecks, recognize top performers, and make data-driven decisions to improve support operations. Empowers support leaders with actionable insights to continuously optimize team performance and customer experience.
β Empowers support leaders with actionable insights to continuously optimize team performance and customer experience
Both Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver offer Conversational Analytics Dashboard. Drift (Salesloft)'s approach focuses on drift's conversational analytics dashboard provides comprehensive visibility into the performance of your chat programs, ai effectiveness, and team productivity., while Hiver emphasizes hiver provides comprehensive analytics that give support leaders complete visibility into team performance, customer satisfaction trends, and operational efficiency metrics.. Choose based on which implementation better fits your workflow.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Drift (Salesloft)
Strengths
- βConversational AI Chatbots: Drift's conversational AI chatbots represent a significant advancement over traditional rule-based chat systems, utilizing sophisticated natural langu...
- βReal-Time Visitor Intelligence: Drift's real-time visitor intelligence system provides sales and marketing teams with comprehensive insights into who is visiting their website and wh...
- βIntelligent Meeting Scheduling: Drift's intelligent meeting scheduling feature eliminates the back-and-forth typically required to book sales meetings by enabling prospects to schedu...
- βAccount-Based Marketing Personalization: Drift's account-based marketing (ABM) personalization capabilities enable B2B companies to deliver tailored experiences to their most valuable target...
- βConversational Analytics Dashboard: Drift's conversational analytics dashboard provides comprehensive visibility into the performance of your chat programs, AI effectiveness, and team pr...
Weaknesses
- βAI-generated content requires human review to ensure accuracy and brand voice consistency.
- βInitial setup and integration may require technical resources or onboarding support.
- βFeature depth means users may not utilize all capabilities, potentially reducing ROI for simpler use cases.
Hiver
Strengths
- βShared Inbox Management: Hiver's shared inbox functionality transforms standard email accounts like support@company.com or help@company.com into collaborative workspaces where...
- βAI-Powered Harvey Bot: Harvey is Hiver's intelligent AI assistant that leverages machine learning to automate repetitive support tasks and enhance agent productivity. Harvey...
- βIntelligent Ticket Routing: Hiver's automated assignment system uses sophisticated rules and AI-powered analysis to route incoming customer inquiries to the right team members in...
- βCollaboration Tools & Internal Notes: Hiver enables seamless team collaboration through internal notes, @mentions, and shared drafts that keep all communication about a customer issue in o...
- βAnalytics & Reporting Dashboard: Hiver provides comprehensive analytics that give support leaders complete visibility into team performance, customer satisfaction trends, and operatio...
Weaknesses
- βAI-generated content requires human review to ensure accuracy and brand voice consistency.
- βInitial setup and integration may require technical resources or onboarding support.
- βFeature depth means users may not utilize all capabilities, potentially reducing ROI for simpler use cases.
Industry-Specific Fit
| Industry | Drift (Salesloft) | Hiver | Better Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS | Drift is particularly well-suited for B2B SaaS companies where the sales cycle involves multiple touchpoints, product demonstrations, and consultative selling. SaaS organizations benefit from Drift's ability to qualify inbound leads based on company size, use case, and technical requirements, routing them to appropriate sales specialists. The platform's integration with product-led growth motions enables SaaS companies to engage free trial users with contextual assistance, identify expansion opportunities within existing accounts, and provide instant support that reduces churn. Drift's analytics help SaaS marketers understand which content and campaigns drive qualified conversations, optimizing their demand generation investments. | Not specified | Drift (Salesloft) |
| Financial Services | Financial services organizations leverage Drift to provide instant, compliant engagement with prospects researching complex products like lending, insurance, and wealth management services. The platform's ability to qualify leads based on specific criteria helps financial institutions route inquiries to appropriately licensed representatives while maintaining regulatory compliance. Drift enables banks, credit unions, and fintech companies to offer the immediate, personalized service that modern consumers expect while managing the complexity of product-specific expertise and geographic licensing requirements. The platform's security features and enterprise-grade compliance capabilities meet the stringent requirements of financial services environments. | Banks, insurance companies, and financial advisors require secure, compliant customer communication channels. Hiver's enterprise-grade security and audit trails meet regulatory requirements while enabling efficient handling of account inquiries, claims processing, and advisory communications. The platform's ability to route sensitive matters to appropriate specialists ensures customers receive expert assistance. | Drift (Salesloft) |
| Technology and IT Services | Technology and IT services companies use Drift to engage with technical buyers who often conduct extensive online research before engaging with sales. The platform enables these organizations to provide instant access to technical resources, product documentation, and specialist conversations that address complex requirements. Drift's visitor intelligence helps technology companies identify when IT decision-makers from target accounts are evaluating solutions, enabling proactive engagement at critical moments in the buying process. The platform's integration capabilities are particularly valuable for technology companies with complex tech stacks and sophisticated CRM implementations. | Not specified | Drift (Salesloft) |
| Manufacturing | Manufacturing companies leverage Drift to modernize their customer engagement in an industry traditionally reliant on trade shows, distributor relationships, and lengthy sales cycles. The platform enables manufacturers to capture and qualify leads from their digital properties, routing technical inquiries to appropriate product specialists or regional sales teams. Drift helps manufacturing organizations provide instant responses to RFQ requests, product specifications, and availability inquiries that would otherwise languish in email queues. The platform's ability to integrate with ERP and inventory systems enables real-time responses to common operational questions. | Not specified | Drift (Salesloft) |
| Professional Services | Professional services firms including consulting, legal, and accounting organizations use Drift to qualify potential clients and route them to appropriate practice areas or specialists. The platform enables these firms to provide immediate engagement with prospects researching their services while maintaining the professional, personalized approach that high-value clients expect. Drift's meeting scheduling capabilities are particularly valuable for professional services where initial consultations are a critical step in the client acquisition process. The platform helps firms capture leads outside business hours when potential clients are often conducting research. | Law firms, consulting agencies, and accounting practices use Hiver to manage client communications professionally and efficiently. The platform ensures client inquiries receive timely responses even when primary contacts are unavailable, while internal notes enable collaboration on complex matters without exposing internal discussions to clients. | Drift (Salesloft) |
| Healthcare Technology | Healthcare technology companies leverage Drift to engage with healthcare administrators, clinicians, and IT professionals evaluating solutions for their organizations. The platform enables HIPAA-compliant conversations that address the unique regulatory and operational requirements of healthcare buyers. Drift helps healthtech companies qualify leads based on organization type, size, and specific use cases, routing them to sales specialists with relevant expertise. The platform's ability to provide instant access to compliance documentation, case studies, and technical resources addresses the extensive due diligence requirements of healthcare purchasing decisions. | Not specified | Drift (Salesloft) |
| Education Technology | Education technology companies use Drift to engage with administrators, educators, and institutional buyers navigating complex procurement processes. The platform enables edtech organizations to provide immediate responses to questions about pricing, implementation, and pedagogical approach that influence purchasing decisions. Drift's seasonal awareness helps education companies manage the cyclical nature of academic purchasing, with different engagement strategies for budget planning periods versus implementation phases. The platform's ability to route conversations based on institution type and size ensures appropriate handling of enterprise district deals versus individual school inquiries. | Not specified | Drift (Salesloft) |
| Real Estate Technology | Real estate technology companies leverage Drift to engage with agents, brokers, and property managers evaluating software solutions for their businesses. The platform enables proptech organizations to qualify leads based on brokerage size, market focus, and specific pain points, routing them to appropriate sales specialists. Drift's instant engagement capabilities are particularly valuable in the fast-paced real estate industry where professionals expect immediate responses and have limited time for lengthy sales processes. The platform helps real estate technology companies demonstrate the responsiveness and service quality that their customers will experience as users. | Not specified | Drift (Salesloft) |
Our Verdict
Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver are both strong AI Support solutions. Drift (Salesloft) excels at conversational ai chatbots. Choose based on which specific features and approach best fit your workflow and requirements.
Choose Drift (Salesloft) if you:
- βYou need conversational ai chatbots capabilities
- βYou need real-time visitor intelligence capabilities
- βYou operate in B2B SaaS
Choose Hiver if you:
- βYou operate in SaaS & Technology
- βYou prefer Hiver's approach to ai support
- βYou prefer Hiver's approach to ai support
Need Help Choosing?
Get expert guidance on selecting between Drift (Salesloft) and Hiver for your specific use case.
Find a Strategy PartnerFrequently Asked Questions
Sources & Evidence
AI-powered conversational routing that automatically qualifies leads and routes them to the right sales rep based on intent, account data, and real-time availability
Source: Drift's core differentiator lies in its sophisticated AI engine that analyzes conversation context, visitor behavior, firmographic data, and CRM information to instantly qualify leads and route them to the optimal sales representative. Unlike basic chatbots that follow rigid decision trees, Drift's system uses natural language understanding to interpret buyer intent from free-form conversations, then cross-references this with account-based data to determine lead quality and urgency. The platform integrates directly with Salesforce, HubSpot, and other CRMs to pull in existing account information, ensuring that high-value prospects are immediately connected with their assigned account executives while new leads are distributed based on territory, expertise, and current workload. This intelligent routing has been shown to reduce lead response times from hours to seconds, with customers reporting 40-50% increases in qualified pipeline generation.
AI-powered email automation and intelligent ticket routing within Gmail and Outlook native interfaces
Source: Hiver's core differentiator is its seamless integration directly into Gmail and Outlook, allowing teams to manage customer support without leaving their email client. According to Hiver's platform documentation, the AI automatically categorizes, prioritizes, and routes tickets to appropriate team members based on content analysis, historical patterns, and team member expertiseβreducing manual triage work by up to 80% and improving first-response times significantly. This native email integration approach is unique compared to competitors like Zendesk or Freshdesk that require separate platforms and constant context-switching between applications.