How much does an AI chatbot cost?
Quick answer
The cost of an AI chatbot depends on what it must answer, what information it needs access to, where it lives (website, WhatsApp, an app) and how much testing it needs. There is also a monthly running cost, charged by the AI provider per use. We estimate the monthly cost before you start and build in limits.
Vastavik Bajpai , Founder
· 2 min read
Chatbots range from a simple question-and-answer widget to an assistant that reads your documents, checks your systems and hands hard cases to a person. The price range is just as wide. Here is what decides where your project sits.
What moves the build cost
- What it must answer. Opening hours and prices are easy. Order status and account questions need connections to your systems.
- What it knows. Answering from a set of documents needs those documents prepared and connected. Messy or scattered information takes longer.
- Where it lives. A website widget is one channel. WhatsApp, a mobile app or a staff tool each add work.
- Handover to people. Routing unanswered questions to the right person, with the conversation attached, is a feature of its own.
- Testing. A good assistant is tested with real questions from your team before launch, and that time is part of the price.
The running cost
AI providers charge per message or per word processed. A busy assistant costs more to run than a quiet one. We estimate the monthly figure before you start, set limits so it cannot run away, and put the account in your name so you can see the bill.
What keeps the cost down
Start with the questions that arrive most often. Give the assistant only the documents it needs. Choose one channel first. And accept that some questions should go to a person; trying to automate everything is what makes projects expensive.
Read about our AI development, or tell us what your customers keep asking.
Questions people ask
Which AI models do you use?
OpenAI, Anthropic Claude and Meta Llama models, chosen per project. We tell you why, and the account is in your name.
Will the chatbot give wrong answers?
AI can make mistakes. We limit the assistant to your approved information and hand anything uncertain to a person, and we test it with real questions before launch.
Is our customer data safe?
Your information stays in your own accounts. We agree with you which provider is used and what it may see, and nothing is used to train public models.
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