Hiver Review: Pros, Cons, Features, and Pricing
Hiver is an AI software designed to enhance email management within Gmail, making team collaboration more efficient. In my opinion, it best serves customer support teams and small businesses that rely heavily on email communication, such as e-commerce and service-based industries. Hiver enables teams to manage communication collaboratively without leaving their email inbox.
Hiver addresses common communication and collaboration issues for customer support and IT teams. In this article, I'll cover Hiver's features, pros and cons, use cases, and pricing to help you decide whether this software aligns with your email management needs.
Hiver Evaluation Summary
- From $25/user/month (billed annually)
- Free plan available
Why Trust Our Software Reviews
Hiver Overview
Hiver is a solid choice for teams looking to enhance email collaboration within Gmail. Its standout feature is its seamless integration with Gmail, ideal for customer satisfaction teams. Hiver excels in ease of use and customer support, with a straightforward onboarding process. However, it may not offer as many advanced features as competitors such as Zendesk and Freshdesk. If you need a more extensive feature set, the pricing for advanced plans can be steep. For small and medium-sized businesses focused on email management, Hiver offers a strong solution.
pros
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It offers an intuitive user interface that's easy to navigate.
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Hiver provides shared inboxes.
cons
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Customization options for more complex workflows are somewhat restricted.
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Your team may find that the task management capabilities are limited.
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It might not offer the advanced features some larger teams need.
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Our Review Methodology
How We Test & Score Tools
We’ve spent years building, refining, and improving our software testing and scoring system. The rubric is designed to capture the nuances of software selection and what makes a tool effective, focusing on critical aspects of the decision-making process.
Below, you can see exactly how our testing and scoring works across seven criteria. It allows us to provide an unbiased evaluation of the software based on core functionality, standout features, ease of use, onboarding, customer support, integrations, customer reviews, and value for money.
Core Functionality (25% of final scoring)
The starting point of our evaluation is always the core functionality of the tool. Does it have the basic features and functions that a user would expect to see? Are any of those core features locked to higher-tiered pricing plans? At its core, we expect a tool to stand up against the baseline capabilities of its competitors.
Standout Features (25% of final scoring)
Next, we evaluate uncommon standout features that go above and beyond the core functionality typically found in tools of its kind. A high score reflects specialized or unique features that make the product faster, more efficient, or offer additional value to the user.
We also evaluate how easy it is to integrate with other tools typically found in the tech stack to expand the functionality and utility of the software. Tools offering plentiful native integrations, 3rd party connections, and API access to build custom integrations score best.
Ease of Use (10% of final scoring)
We consider how quick and easy it is to execute the tasks defined in the core functionality using the tool. High scoring software is well designed, intuitive to use, offers mobile apps, provides templates, and makes relatively complex tasks seem simple.
Onboarding (10% of final scoring)
We know how important rapid team adoption is for a new platform, so we evaluate how easy it is to learn and use a tool with minimal training. We evaluate how quickly a team member can get set up and start using the tool with no experience. High scoring solutions indicate little or no support is required.
Customer Support (10% of final scoring)
We review how quick and easy it is to get unstuck and find help by phone, live chat, or knowledge base. Tools and companies that provide real-time support score best, while chatbots score worst.
Customer Reviews (10% of final scoring)
Beyond our own testing and evaluation, we consider the net promoter score from current and past customers. We review their likelihood, given the option, to choose the tool again for the core functionality. A high scoring software reflects a high net promoter score from current or past customers.
Value for Money (10% of final scoring)
Lastly, in consideration of all the other criteria, we review the average price of entry level plans against the core features and consider the value of the other evaluation criteria. Software that delivers more, for less, will score higher.
Core Features
Shared Inboxes
Manage group emails collaboratively with shared inboxes so your team can track and respond to conversations with ease. This keeps everyone on the same page and reduces response times.
Email Delegation
Assign emails to team members directly from Gmail, ensuring that the right person handles each query. Hiver's auto-assignment feature streamlines your workflow and prevents tasks from being missed.
Email Notes
Add private notes to emails for internal communication, allowing your team to discuss issues without cluttering the thread. This keeps your conversations organized and focused.
Analytics and Reporting
Access data on email response times and team performance, helping you identify areas for improvement. Use these insights to optimize your team's efficiency.
Collision Alerts
Get notified if someone else is responding to the same email, preventing duplicate responses. This ensures your team provides a consistent experience for your clients.
Email Templates
Create and use email templates to save time on repetitive tasks. This helps your team maintain a consistent tone and style in communications.
Ease of Use
Hiver's ease of use shines through its seamless integration with Gmail, allowing your team to work in a familiar environment. The intuitive interface means your team can quickly adapt without extensive training. Features such as email delegation and shared inboxes simplify collaboration, making it accessible for teams of all sizes. User reviews often highlight its straightforward setup and minimal learning curve. This ensures your team can focus on what matters most—efficient communication and task management.
Integrations
Hiver integrates with Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM, Copper, Shopify, WooCommerce, Jira, Asana, ClickUp, and monday.com. Hiver also offers an API and connects with third-party integration tools like Zapier, providing flexibility for custom integrations.
New Product Updates from Hiver
Hiver Omni Adds Support for Custom Email Providers
Hiver Omni now supports Custom Email Providers, enabling teams to connect any email service and manage conversations from a single dashboard. This improves inbox consolidation and simplifies multi-channel support workflows. Here are the details of the update:
- Custom Email Providers in Omni: This feature allows the integration of any email provider as a Shared Inbox, enabling seamless management of emails.
- Streamlined Communication: Users can now receive, send, and manage customer conversations from a unified workspace, improving workflow and reducing the need for multiple email accounts.
- Enhanced Collaboration: By centralizing emails, teams can collaborate more effectively on customer communications.
- Increased Flexibility: Organizations are no longer restricted to specific email services, allowing for greater adaptability and personalization of email management workflows.
- Improved Customer Interaction: With all email interactions in one place, customer queries can be addressed faster and more efficiently.
Visit Hiver's official site for more details.
for more details.
Hiver Adds Salesforce and NetSuite Conversation Sync
Hiver now syncs conversations directly to Salesforce and NetSuite, automatically attaching emails and threads to the right contacts. This update improves CRM visibility and saves time on manual data entry. Benefits include:
- Automatic Syncing of Conversations: Automatically syncs email conversations from Hiver to the correct contact in Salesforce and NetSuite, eliminating the need for manual export.
- Enhanced CRM Records: Provides a more complete record in CRMs, ensuring no important conversation details are missed.
- Faster Audits: Facilitates quicker audits by centralizing conversation records within CRM systems.
Visit Hiver's official site for more details.
Hiver Improves Ask AI Reply Review and Feedback Controls
Hiver adds reply review and feedback options to Ask AI, allowing teams to flag low-confidence or inaccurate responses and improve AI performance continuously. This makes AI-assisted replies more reliable and easier to refine. Here are the details of the update:
- Review Capability: Allows teams to review AI-generated responses to understand their context better and accuracy.
- Feedback Mechanism: Users can provide feedback on inaccurate or low-confidence replies, helping Ask AI learn and improve its output.
- Continuous Improvement: By enabling feedback, the AI system is designed to become more accurate and complete over time.
Visit Hiver's official site for more details.
Hiver Adds API Calls to Automations for External Integrations
Hiver adds API Calls to Automations, allowing users to push data, trigger external actions, and build custom end-to-end workflows. This improves integration flexibility while keeping operations synchronized and automated. Here are the details of the update:
- API Call Integration: This feature enables Hiver to connect with external services to automate data pushing and action triggering.
- Custom Workflows: Users can now build custom workflows that reduce manual intervention and ensure systems stay synchronized.
- Efficiency Enhancement: By integrating external tools through APIs, workflow efficiency is greatly increased, minimizing errors and saving time.
Visit Hiver's official site for more details.
Hiver Release: Shared Drafts, AI Tasks & More
Hiver's update is packed with features designed to boost accuracy, speed, and clarity across your team’s email and knowledge workflows. Key new capabilities include:
- Shared Drafts: Enable teammates to co-write and refine outbound emails, improving consistency and speeding up review cycles.
- AI Task Creation: Create AI Tasks that automatically extract key details from conversations, reducing manual effort.
- Data Integration: Push extracted data directly into Hiver notes and other tools for seamless information management.
- Easy Workflow Design: Describe the data you need, and Hiver AI builds the workflow for you, cutting setup time.
- Knowledge Base-Enhanced AI Replies: Ground AI-drafted replies in your Knowledge Base to boost response accuracy and relevance.
- Customizable AI Tone & Style: Choose from preset tones or define your own so Ask AI replies match your company voice.
- Nested Categories: Organize your Knowledge Base with parent and subtopics to make information easier to find as your content grows.
- Keyword Search within Notes: Search directly inside notes to locate specific information in seconds.
Visit Hiver’s website for more details about this update.
Hiver Introduces AI-Powered Customer Query Resolution
Hiver's latest update introduces AI Agents that enhance customer support by providing instant resolutions to customer queries. Users benefit from faster response times and improved query handling. Here are the details of the update:
- AI Training on Custom Knowledge Sources: AI Agents can now be trained on specific knowledge bases, allowing them to better interpret customer intent.
- Contextual Understanding: The AI can clarify ambiguities, ensuring customer queries are answered accurately and completely.
- Enhanced Response Speed: Customers get quicker answers without the need for human intervention, improving overall satisfaction.
Visit Hiver's official site for more details.
Hiver's Structured Flows for Streamlined Handling
Hiver adds Structured Flows to guide customers through predefined steps before a conversation reaches an agent, ensuring all required information is collected upfront. This reduces back-and-forth, speeds up resolution times, and helps agents focus on solving issues faster. Here are the details of the update:
- Structured Flows: Create no-code workflows to collect essential details before agent handoff.
- Pre-Conversation Context: Ensure agents receive complete request information upfront.
- Faster Resolution: Reduce follow-ups and improve overall support efficiency.
Visit Hiver’s official site for more details.
Hiver Adds Shared Inbox Support for Gmail Teams
Hiver adds the ability to turn Gmail or Google Group addresses into a Shared Inbox through Hiver Omni. This update helps teams manage, track, and respond to messages more efficiently from a unified interface. Here are the details of the update:
- Shared Inbox Creation: Connect a Gmail or Google Group address to Hiver Omni for collaborative email handling.
- Improved Accountability: Track ownership and response progress across team members.
- Centralized Collaboration: Manage, assign, and respond to emails from a shared team workspace.
Visit Hiver's official site for more details.
Hiver Adds Flexible Assignment Controls to Automations
Hiver now allows teams to choose between Round Robin and Load Balanced assignment methods within Automations. These options provide better visibility and control over how work is allocated, preventing overload and keeping support operations running smoothly. Here are more details of the update:
- Round Robin: Assignments are rotated evenly among team members, ensuring equal distribution of tasks.
- Load Balanced: Tasks are distributed according to each team member’s current workload, preventing overload and improving team efficiency.
Visit Hiver's official site for more details.
Hiver Enables File Uploads for Ask AI
Hiver has enhanced its Ask AI capabilities by allowing users to upload PDF documents directly. This update significantly improves the tool's functionality by enabling AI to interact with and understand document content. Here are the highlights:
- Understanding PDF Content: Ask AI can now comprehend and refer to contents from uploaded PDFs like contracts and invoices, enabling more informed responses.
- Enhanced Data Extraction: The ability to extract key details helps in efficiently drafting replies and determining necessary actions, especially useful in billing disputes.
- Complex Troubleshooting: By accessing full context, Ask AI assists in complex problem-solving scenarios, thereby improving workflow efficiency.
Visit Hiver's official site for more details.
Hiver Specs
- Analytics
- API
- Batch Permissions & Access
- Call Integration
- Chat
- Contact Management
- Contact Sharing
- CRM Integration
- Customer Management
- Customer Service
- Dashboard
- Data Export
- Data Import
- Data Visualization
- Email Integration
- Escalation Management
- External Integrations
- Instant Chat Integration
- Knowledge Base
- Lead Management
- Lead Scoring
- Multi-User
- Notifications
- Real-time Alerts
- Scheduling
- Self-service Portal
- Social Media Integration
- Support Forum
- Third-Party Plugins/Add-Ons
- Ticket Management
- Workflow Management
