Customer-support software types

A shared inbox and a help desk solve different stages of the same problem. If two people only need to share support@, an inbox with assignments and collision detection may be enough. Ticketing becomes more useful when work needs statuses, priorities, service targets, structured fields or reports.

Live chat and chatbots are channels, not substitutes for ownership. Before adding either, decide who covers the conversation, what happens out of hours and how a customer reaches a person.