Drift
Customer CommunicationConversational marketing and sales platform
About Drift
Drift is a conversational marketing platform that uses AI-powered chatbots and live chat to engage website visitors in real-time, qualify leads, and accelerate pipeline for B2B sales teams.
Editorial Assessment
Drift is a conversational marketing and sales platform that uses AI-powered chatbots, live chat, and video messaging to engage website visitors, qualify leads in real time, and book meetings without form fills or email back-and-forth — reducing the friction between a buyer's first interest and a sales conversation. Founded in 2015 by David Cancel and Elias Torres in Boston, Massachusetts, Drift pioneered the 'conversational marketing' category and grew rapidly from 2017–2020 by positioning chatbots as a replacement for lead capture forms on B2B websites. Drift was acquired by Salesloft in February 2023, making it part of Salesloft's Revenue Orchestration Platform. The platform's chatbots (Driftbots) engage website visitors based on segment, firmographic data, and page behavior — greeting high-intent accounts with personalized greetings and routing them to available sales reps via a live chat widget. Drift Video allows sales reps to send personalized video messages embedded in chat conversations. Drift Prospector identifies target accounts visiting the website even when they don't initiate a chat. Pricing is enterprise — Standard, Pro, Premium, and Enterprise tiers require sales engagement. Drift is best used as part of a broader ABM strategy where target account identification drives personalized, timely website engagement. Post-acquisition, Drift is being integrated with Salesloft's sales engagement platform as the buyer-facing channel.
- Real-time lead qualification and meeting booking without form fills or email friction
- Account-based personalization — greeting target accounts by name based on firmographic data
- Drift Prospector identifies anonymous company visitors from target account lists
- Drift Video for personalized video messages in sales conversations
- Integration with Salesforce, Marketo, Pardot, and HubSpot for CRM and marketing sync
- Meeting booking embedded directly in chat — Calendly-style booking without leaving the conversation
- Salesloft integration brings chat engagement into the sales engagement workflow
- Enterprise-only pricing — no self-serve or SMB-accessible plan
- Post-Salesloft acquisition, standalone Drift product roadmap is less clear
- Chatbot effectiveness depends heavily on playbook configuration quality
- Less suitable for transactional or e-commerce websites where Intercom's support depth is needed
- Implementation and playbook setup requires significant time investment
Best For
Not Ideal For
Key Features
Who It's For
Integrations
Platforms
Founders
- David Cancel
- Elias Torres
Products & Tools
AI-powered conversational marketing platform for qualifying leads, booking meetings, and engaging target accounts in real time via chatbots and live chat.
Sources & Verification
- Drift PlatformOfficial Product Page
- Drift WebsiteOfficial Website
Last reviewed September 2026
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HubSpot
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Drift FAQs
What is the difference between Drift and Intercom?
Drift is primarily focused on B2B pipeline generation and account-based marketing. Intercom is broader, covering both marketing/sales and customer support use cases.
Is Drift free?
Drift no longer offers a free plan. Paid plans start at $2,500/month, positioning it as an enterprise tool.
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