Partner Playbook · Competitors
Every company on this page is selling AI into your base right now. Their pitch has the same hole every time: the AI costs extra, and your customer has to leave you to get it. You can beat all of it with one sentence. The only way you lose is if they hear the AI story from someone else first.
RingCentral is $60 a person. Zoom is $66. Nextiva is $75. The AI line on the bill is usually bigger than the phone line sitting next to it.
8x8 took theirs off the website. Your customer has to fill in a form and wait for a sales call just to find out what it costs.
Every option here only works on their own phone system. That is the part your customer has not thought about yet, and it is the part that costs you the account.
You are the only one who can say yes to all three. Included, priced, and on the phones they already have.
Your customer does not go looking for a new phone company. They go looking for AI. Then someone sells them AI with a phone system attached to it, and the phone system is yours. That is how these deals actually get lost, and it happens quietly.
A customer who has heard the AI story from you is not shopping. A customer who has not heard it is already listening to someone else.
What the phone companies now charge for AI add-ons. Four years ago these charges did not exist.
| Company | What your customer hears | What the AI actually costs | Works on the phones they have? |
|---|---|---|---|
| RingCentral | RingCentral has AI built in. | A $25 phone plan plus the $60 AI product. | Only on RingCentral phones. No |
| 8x8 | It is all one system, phones and call center together. | No published price for the AI. Getting it means buying their call center plan. | No |
| Zoom | Zoom's AI is free, we already have it. | On top of your existing Zoom seats. The top version is $99.99. | No |
| Microsoft | We already pay Microsoft for everything. | The $10 option only covers meetings. Copilot needs a paid Microsoft 365 plan underneath it. | No |
| Dialpad | AI is included in every plan, even the cheap one. | The $15 plan only writes calls down. The useful product starts at $80 a person. | No |
| Nextiva | It is fifteen dollars a seat. | Five times the cheap plan, and paying yearly locks you in for 12 months. | No |
| Vonage | It starts at thirteen ninety nine. | Recording adds $49.99 a month. Write-ups and reports cost more again. | No |
| Your phones plus Intelligence Cloud | It is already on the phone. | Included. Example price $14 per phone per month. | Yes |
Every number comes from a published price or an independent pricing review from the last six months. Links are at the bottom of this page. Business phone lines commonly run $14 to $42 per person per month depending on the plan (business phone pricing benchmarks, early 2026 deal data).
Each company has its own sales brief and its own customer handout. The brief tells you what your customer will say and how to answer. The handout is written for the customer and is safe to send.
RingCentral charges $60 a seat for AI. That is more than the phone service.
8x8 will not tell you what their AI costs.
Zoom's free AI takes meeting notes. The one that helps you sell costs $66.
Microsoft's $10 AI covers meetings. It never hears your phone calls.
Dialpad says AI is included. The AI you would actually use is $80 to $150.
Nextiva's AI starts at $75. Their $15 plan cannot even record a call.
Vonage sells a cheap seat. Then charges for everything that makes it work.
If they name someone, open that brief before the next call. If they name nobody, you are early, which is the best place to be.
Bringing this up costs you one conversation. Not bringing it up costs you the account, and you usually find out months later. Every customer you talk to about AI is a customer who is not taking the other call.
The $14 shown here is an example, not a price list. Your provider sets its own price. Competitor prices are published rates checked in August 2026 and can change at any time.