How do you add a chatbot to your website?

Decide what the chatbot is for, then pick the simplest type that does it: a fixed set of choices for simple routing, or an AI model answering from your own content for open questions. Always give a way to reach a human.

By Nazar Kashuba · Reviewed

A chatbot is a promise to answer. A poor one frustrates visitors more than having none, so start from the job it will do.

Types

  • Rule-based. Buttons and fixed paths: opening hours, booking, choosing a service. Predictable and cheap.
  • AI answering from your content. A language model answers using your pages, FAQs and documents. Flexible, but needs care to keep answers accurate.
  • Hybrid. Fixed paths for common tasks and AI for the rest.
  • Live chat with people, possibly assisted by AI.

What to decide

  1. The purpose: support, sales questions, bookings, qualifying enquiries.
  2. Which content it may answer from, and what it must refuse.
  3. What happens when it does not know: a handover to a person or a form.
  4. How you will review conversations and improve it.
  5. What data it collects, and how you tell visitors about it.

Common failures

  • Answers that sound right but are wrong, especially on prices, policies or legal matters.
  • No clear way to reach a human.
  • A bot that tries to do everything.
  • No monitoring after launch.

A well-scoped chatbot that answers ten common questions correctly beats an impressive one that guesses.

All questions