6.3 AI Chatbot
Options by Budget
- Free/Low cost: Tidio (free tier, AI add-on from $29/mo) -- good for simple Q&A bots with a visual builder
- Mid-range: Intercom Fin ($39/mo + $0.99/resolution) -- AI that learns from your content, handles complex conversations
- Custom: Build your own using Claude (Anthropic) or GPT (OpenAI) APIs, trained on your business data. Higher setup cost, much lower per-conversation cost at scale, and complete control over personality and responses.
Step-by-Step
Define what your chatbot should handle
Write down the 10--15 most common questions your business receives. These become your chatbot's knowledge base. Typical examples:
- "What are your prices?"
- "Do you service my area?"
- "How do I book?"
- "What's included in [service]?"
- "What are your hours?"
- "Can I see examples of your work?"
Also define what the chatbot should NOT handle: complaints, refund requests, sensitive personal information. These should be escalated to a human.
Set up the chatbot and train it
For hosted solutions (Tidio, Intercom):
- Create an account and install the chat widget on your site (usually a script tag in the head)
- Upload your FAQ content, service descriptions, and pricing as the bot's knowledge base
- Set the bot's tone to match your brand -- friendly and professional, not robotic
- Configure the greeting message: "Hi! I'm [Bot Name], [Business]'s assistant. I can help with pricing, availability, and booking. What can I help with?"
Configure lead capture
The chatbot should capture contact details when the conversation indicates buying intent:
- After answering a pricing question: "Would you like a personalised quote? I just need your name and email."
- When the bot can't answer: "I'll get [Owner Name] to follow up. What's the best email to reach you?"
- At conversation end: "Can I book you in for a quick call to discuss further?" with a link to booking system
- Captured leads should feed into your CRM or trigger an email notification to you
Set business hours and handoff rules
Configure when the bot operates vs. when a human takes over:
- After hours: Bot handles everything, captures details, promises follow-up next business day
- During hours: Bot handles initial questions, escalates to human live chat if available, or captures details for callback
- Escalation triggers: Customer mentions complaint, refund, urgent, or the bot can't answer after 2 attempts
Test and refine
Have 3--5 friends or family test the chatbot by asking real questions. Watch for:
- Questions it can't answer (add to knowledge base)
- Awkward or incorrect responses (refine training)
- Dead ends where the user gets stuck (add fallback options)
- Mobile experience -- is the chat widget usable on small screens?
- Review chat transcripts weekly for the first month and adjust
AI chatbots using GPT-4 or Claude can cost $0.01--0.10 per conversation. For a small business with 20--50 chats per day, that's $6--150/month -- far cheaper than missing leads or paying for live chat staff. Use a smaller, faster model (like Claude Haiku or GPT-4o mini) for simple FAQ responses to keep costs under $5/month.
You're Done When
- Chatbot widget is live on your website
- It correctly answers your top 10 most common questions
- Lead capture is working -- you receive an email when the bot captures contact details
- Escalation rules are in place for questions it can't handle
- After-hours messaging is configured
- Tested on both desktop and mobile