Customer service outsourcing is when a business hires an outside partner to handle support tasks. These can include answering questions, resolving issues, managing returns, or staffing your live chat.
In PwC’s 2025 Customer Experience Survey, 29% of consumers said they stopped using or buying from a brand because of poor customer experience online or in person. Especially for small teams, outsourcing customer service can improve customer support without adding full-time staff.
This guide covers the main customer service outsourcing models and companies to consider. It also explains how to choose a partner that can protect service quality as the business grows.
What is customer service outsourcing?
Customer service outsourcing means hiring a third-party provider to handle support for your business. It’s a form of business process outsourcing (BPO) that helps companies handle daily customer issues even if they have no in-house team, or a team that’s small.
Types of customer service outsourcing
Customer service outsourcing types can be grouped by location, channel, or staffing model:
- Location-based outsourcing. Focuses on where the support team works.
- Channel-based outsourcing. Focuses on where customers ask for help, such as the phone, email, or online chat.
- Staffing. Focuses on how much of the work the provider handles.
There are three types of location-based outsourcing:
- Onshore teams. Work in the same country as your business.
- Nearshore teams. Work in a nearby country, like Mexico, for a US company.
- Offshore teams. Work farther away, like India, for a Canadian company.
Channel-based customer service outservicing is categorized by the tools used, such as phone support and online chat handled by call center employees, or fully automated support via chatbots. Businesses typically employ a hybrid of AI chatbots and human agents to handle customer service queries.
In Deloitte’s 2025 Customer Service Excellence survey, email (89%) and calls (87%) were still the most common support channels. Grand View Research also found that voice (phone call) was the largest call and contact center outsourcing segment by type in 2024.
Common types of customer service outsourcing include:
Phone support
Phone support works best for urgent or complex issues. It’s also useful when customers need real-time help. A trained phone agent can ask follow-up questions, confirm details, and resolve the issue in real time.
Email support
Email support is ideal for issues that don’t need an immediate response. It gives customers space to explain the problem. It also gives agents time to check order details, policies, or account history before replying.
Live chat support
Live chat gives customers a way to ask questions while they’re on a website. It can help answer product questions, order questions, and policy questions before the customer leaves. In Deloitte’s 2025 survey, 46% of service teams supported chat.
Shopify Inbox is one option for Shopify merchants. It lets teams manage customer conversations from chat, social media, and email in one place.
Social media support
Deloitte’s 2025 survey found that 37% of service teams supported social media. Social media customer service addresses questions that come in via comments and direct messages. It can be part of the support mix when customers already use those channels to ask about orders, products, and complaints.
Technical support
Technical support handles product or service problems that require troubleshooting. Deloitte’s 2025 survey found 41% of service leaders cited technical problems as a reason customers contact support teams.
AI-assisted support
AI-assisted support can take repetitive work off human agents. Capgemini Research Institute’s 2025 report found 73% of customer service agents said Gen AI reduced the time they spent on tasks such as follow-up contact and note-taking.
Shopify Inbox also has AI-assisted service options through Shopify Sidekick, which generates suggested replies during Inbox conversations. It can also suggest instant answers based on store policies and chat history. Store owners are still responsible for reviewing generated content before using it with customers.
Advantages of customer service outsourcing
Outsourcing is a capacity decision. It helps add agents, extend hours, or cover more channels without building every function in-house.
That doesn’t mean it’s cheaper. Cost depends on request volume, service levels, contract terms, and how much management stays with your team.
Here are some of the advantages:
More flexible staffing
An outsourced team can add coverage when queues grow. That can help during product launches, sales, holidays, or other busy periods.
It can also help avoid permanent hiring for temporary demand. A business might contract out for after-hours coverage or overflow help.
Seasonal scaling
Customer service volume rises during holidays, sales, and busy retail periods. Outsourcing gives companies a way to add people for a defined period rather than staffing year-round for peak demand.
The trade-off is ramp time. Temporary agents need product context to answer questions well.
Wider channel coverage
Customers switch channels based on the situation. Five9’s 2025 Customer Experience Report found that nearly 59% of consumers said their preferred channel changes by context.
Outsourcing can cover phone, email, live chat, SMS, or social media. However, it works well only if the setup gives agents the customer’s order details and history. Without that context, more channels can create more handoffs.
Potential cost control
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a median hourly wage of $20.59 for customer service representatives in May 2024.
That does not include software, management, hiring, training, scheduling, or quality checks. Outsourcing reduces costs when a provider handles enough volume at a lower total cost.
Disadvantages of customer service outsourcing
- Less direct control
- Data and security exposure
- More handoffs
- Automation can frustrate customers
- Training still takes time
Outsourcing can add coverage, but it also adds another company to the customer experience. The risk depends on what you outsource, what data the provider can access, and how closely the work is managed.
Consider the following disadvantages of outsourcing customer service:
Less direct control
An outside team may not know your products or policies as well as your staff. Start with simple requests, give agents approved replies, and move more work over only when quality is consistent.
Data and security exposure
Support teams may need customer names, addresses, order history, or account details. Give agents the least access they need. Review the provider’s security practices before sharing data, as well as their contract terms for data handling and breach notice. Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Privacy and security rules vary by location and industry.
More handoffs
Outsourced teams may not have the authority to approve refunds, replace orders, or handle exceptions. When that happens, customers can get passed between teams. Give the provider clear rules for what they can resolve and when they need to escalate.
Automation can frustrate customers
Chatbots can answer basic questions and route simple requests. They should not block a customer from reaching a person when the issue is complex, sensitive, or tied to a high-value purchase. Use automation for common questions, and human agents when the answer requires judgment.
Training still takes time
Outsourcing does not remove onboarding. Providers need product context, current policies, and examples of acceptable replies. Assign someone internally to keep those materials updated and review quality after launch.
Customer service outsourcing costs and pricing models
According to industry benchmarks from Clutch, a marketplace for finding business services, standard customer service outsourcing costs break down as follows:
- Standard CS outsourcing: $25 to $49 per hour
- Basic call center services: Less than $25 per hour
- Typical project size: $10,000 to $49,999
Common pricing models include:
Factors that influence costs regardless of the model are:
- Volume. Higher interaction volumes require more agent hours and increase software routing fees.
- Channels. Managing multiple channels (phone, email, live chat, social media) requires more complex staffing than single-channel support.
- Coverage hours. 24/7, weekend, overnight, and holiday coverage costs more than standard business hours.
- Languages. Bilingual or multilingual support increases staffing costs.
- Team structure. Shared agents who support multiple clients are cheaper. Dedicated agents who work exclusively for your brand cost more but provide higher quality and consistency.
- Setup and training. Expect one-time upfront fees for onboarding, software integration, and initial agent training.
6 customer service outsourcing companies
If you run an ecommerce business without an in-house customer service team, here are some of the most popular third-party companies to consider:
1. SupportYourApp
Founded in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2010, SupportYourApp is a global customer service outsourcing company. Its services include call center outsourcing, live chat, help desk outsourcing, and technical assistance. The company works with clients in more than 30 countries and offers service in more than 60 languages.
Pricing: SupportYourApp provides custom quotes based on business needs, service type, and customer inquiry volume.
2. Influx
Established in 2013, Influx is a customer service and CX outsourcing partner that helps companies build 24/7 customer service teams.
Its services include customer service outsourcing, technical assistance, call center services, ecommerce customer service, and AI management. Influx works with businesses in ecommerce, fintech, startups, mobile apps, and gaming.
Pricing: Influx uses flexible pay-as-you-go and month-to-month pricing. Plans include training and management, with no setup fees.
3. AnswerFirst
AnswerFirst is a Tampa-based 24/7 inbound contact center and live answering service that has been in business since 1998. It handles incoming inquiries through US-based customer service professionals. Services include phone answering, inbound call center service, dispatching, and scheduling or reservation management.
Pricing: AnswerFirst uses pay-as-you-go pricing with a monthly base rate and a per-minute rate that adjusts based on call volume.
4. ResultsCX
ResultsCX is a customer experience and contact center company with decades of experience. It handles inbound and outbound customer interactions, customer acquisition, technical assistance, and contact center services across industries such as healthcare, retail, travel, and communications.
Pricing: Contact ResultsCX for current pricing.
5. HelpSquad BPO
HelpSquad is a US-managed outsourcing company based in Pennsylvania. Its service mix includes call center outsourcing, live chat outsourcing, virtual receptionist services, virtual assistants, and knowledge base management.
Pricing: HelpSquad pricing depends on the service. Virtual receptionist services start at $8 per hour. Some live chat services have been listed at $185 per month, though businesses should request a current quote.
6. Simply Contact
Simply Contact is a European customer service outsourcing company that offers multilingual and omnichannel customer service across phone, email, live chat, social media, and messaging apps.
The company has experience in travel and aviation, ecommerce and retail, fintech, and logistics. It has a global presence across the UK, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and Moldova.
Pricing: Contact Simply Contact for current pricing.
How to choose a customer service outsourcing provider
- Channels and coverage
- Systems and customer context
- Security and data access
- Escalation and reporting
- Automation and brand fit
Choose a provider based on fit, not price alone. A cheaper provider can create more work if agents lack customer context, miss handoffs, or escalate too many cases back to your team.
Use these criteria to compare providers:
Channels and coverage
Match the provider to the channels your customers already use. That might include phone, email, live chat, or social media. Check whether the provider can cover weekends, evenings, or seasonal spikes without changing the customer experience.
Systems and customer context
Agents need the right information to answer your customers’ questions well. Ask how they’ll access order history, returns, customer records, and past conversations to properly assist your customers.
Aviator Nation’s had customer service issues that came partly from online and retail data living in separate systems. After moving to Shopify, their team could see unified purchase history and account details.
Security and data access
Before hiring, review how the provider handles customer data, subcontractors, breach notice, and offboarding. Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Privacy and security requirements vary by location and industry.
Escalation and reporting
Define what the provider can resolve alone and what needs internal approval. Then review their reports for response time, resolution time, backlog, escalation rate, and customer satisfaction. Those numbers show whether the provider is reducing the queue or just moving work around.
Automation and brand fit
AI use is growing. Capgemini Research Institute reported that 56% of surveyed executives expected AI customer service agents to manage at least one support process daily within 12 months. Ask the provider whether AI will touch customer conversations or records. If they use AI, ensure they keep human review for complex or sensitive cases. Test the provider with real sample tickets before signing.
Customer service outsourcing FAQ
Is it cheaper to outsource customer service?
Outsourcing customer service can be a cheaper option than paying the salaries of an in-house customer service team. Customer service teams may operate call centers in countries with lower salaries, use specialized AI chat tools to handle routine queries inexpensively, and have streamlined processes that lead to savings across the board.
What are the disadvantages of outsourcing customer service?
Outsourcing customer service tasks can lead to a loss of control over the quality of the customer service process, data security concerns, and a lack of prioritization compared to an in-house team with only one company’s customer service to handle.
How do you choose a customer service outsourcing company?
Start with the work customers need help with most often. Choose a provider that can handle those requests in the right channels and show how agents will use customer history, escalate issues, and report performance.
How much does outsourced customer service cost?
According to Clutch benchmarks, standard customer service outsourcing often costs $25 to $49 per hour, while basic call center services can cost less than $25 per hour. Typical project sizes range from $10,000 to $49,999, though the final cost depends on volume, coverage hours, and the provider’s pricing model.
