Forrester Wave Leader 2026 — enterprise voice and chat agent platform (now NiCE Cognigy).
Tool UseVoixMemoryRAG
Demo · hover to playKore.ai vs Shortwavewhich AI support agent should you pick in 2026?
Enterprise agent platform with prebuilt vertical agents for banking, healthcare, and retail.
Tool useVoiceMemoryRAG
AI email client — natural-language search, summary, scheduled send, and AI-drafted replies grounded in your inbox.
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Kore.ai vs Shortwave — specs
| Spec | Kore.ai | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| Agent Rank | 70 / 100 (B) | 73 / 100 (A) |
| Autonomy | Autonomous | Assistant |
| Pricing | Subscription | Freemium · from $9 |
| Open source | No | No |
| Capabilities | Tool use, Voice, Memory, RAG, Multi-agent | RAG, Memory, Tool use |
| Integrations | 4 apps | 3 apps |
| Verified | — | Verified |
| Released | Nov 2024 | Feb 2025 |
Agent Rank breakdown
Kore.ai
Agent Rank
70/ 100
- Autonomie
- 9
- Capacités
- 10
- Intégrations
- 6
- Tarification
- 4
- Maturité
- 7
- Vérifiabilité
- 6
Calculé automatiquement à partir de l'autonomie, des capacités, des intégrations, de la tarification, de la maturité et de la vérification éditoriale. Mis à jour à chaque déploiement. Comment est-ce calculé ?
Shortwave
Agent Rank
73/ 100
- Autonomie
- 7
- Capacités
- 6
- Intégrations
- 6
- Tarification
- 8
- Maturité
- 7
- Vérifiabilité
- 10
Calculé automatiquement à partir de l'autonomie, des capacités, des intégrations, de la tarification, de la maturité et de la vérification éditoriale. Mis à jour à chaque déploiement. Comment est-ce calculé ?
Pros & cons
Kore.ai
Pour
- +Forrester Wave Leader 2026 — top "strength of offering" score
- +Largest library of prebuilt vertical agents (banking, healthcare, retail, telco)
- +Massive enterprise install base (Coca-Cola, Cisco, Pfizer, major US banks)
Contre
- −Best value for enterprise verticals; SMB pricing not competitive
- −UI/UX denser than newer competitors (Sierra, Decagon)
- −India-based engineering — time-zone friction for some US/EU customers
Shortwave
Pour
- +Best AI-native email client in 2026 — search, summarize, draft all natural-language
- +Built specifically for Gmail; faster + smarter than Gmail itself
- +Cheap relative to Superhuman with better AI features
Contre
- −Gmail-only — no Outlook support
- −AI assistant is helpful but not yet revolutionary
- −Smaller user base means fewer integrations than Gmail/Outlook ecosystems
Pricing
Kore.ai
Standard
Sur mesure
Mid-market
- +Pre-built vertical packs
- +Voice + chat
- +Standard governance
Recommandé
Enterprise
Sur mesure
Large orgs
- +Custom verticals
- +Multi-agent orchestration
- +Advanced governance
Sovereign
Sur mesure
Regulated
- +EU/US/India data residency
- +BYO LLM
- +Dedicated tenants
Shortwave
Free
Gratuit
Personal
- +Basic AI summary
- +90-day search
Recommandé
Plus
$9/mois
Individuals
- +Unlimited search
- +AI assistant
- +Scheduled send
Business
$14/siège/mois
Teams
- +Shared inboxes
- +Send delegation
- +Admin controls
Which one should you pick?
Kore.ai
Pick Kore.ai if you want the highest autonomy and the verification loop is in place.
Try Kore.ai →Shortwave
Pick Shortwave if cost is the main constraint or if you want a vendor we've verified for accessibility and pricing accuracy.
Try Shortwave →Affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Frequently asked
Should I pick Kore.ai or Shortwave in 2026?+
Pick Kore.ai if you want the highest autonomy and the verification loop is in place. Pick Shortwave if cost is the main constraint or if you want a vendor we've verified for accessibility and pricing accuracy. Most working teams running both can use Kore.ai for primary work and Shortwave for the workflows where its specific strengths matter.
What's the price difference between Kore.ai and Shortwave?+
Kore.ai starts at Subscription; Shortwave starts at Freemium · from $9. Shortwave is the cheaper entry option. For team deployments the TCO can differ — use the AI Agent Rank TCO calculator for your specific volume.
Which is more autonomous, Kore.ai or Shortwave?+
Kore.ai is the more autonomous of the two (Autonomous vs Assistant). Higher autonomy ships throughput faster but requires verification loops in place — see our autonomous-vs-copilot framing for when each tier wins.
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See more alternatives: alternatives to Kore.ai · alternatives to Shortwave
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