An AI chatbot for your website that answers from your own information

A website chatbot is a small chat window, usually in the corner of your site, that customers can type a question into. The older kind followed a fixed script of buttons. The newer kind uses AI, so customers can ask in their own words (“are you open on bank holidays?”) and get a sensible answer back.

The important part is where the answers come from. We set the assistant up to answer from your own information: your service pages, your price list, your FAQs, your opening hours and your policies. It isn’t meant to go off and search the internet, and it shouldn’t make up a price or promise a date you haven’t agreed to.

What we give it to work from

Before we build anything, we sit down with you (on a call is fine) and gather the questions you get asked most. Then we write a short, clear set of facts for the assistant: what you do, where you work, what things cost, how booking works and what you won’t do. Often this improves your website too, because the same answers belong on your service and FAQ pages.

What happens when it doesn’t know

This is where most chatbots go wrong. Ours are set up to say “I’m not sure, let me pass this to the team” rather than guess. When that happens, it asks for the customer’s name and a way to reach them, and sends the question to you by email, so you can reply in the morning. A customer who gets a quick, honest “we’ll get back to you” is much happier than one who gets a confident wrong answer.

Is it obvious it’s a bot?

Yes, and it should be. The chat window says it’s an assistant, and it never pretends to be a member of staff. Customers can always ask for a person.

Customer details and UK GDPR

The assistant only asks for what it needs to pass on an enquiry, usually a name and an email address or phone number. We add a line to your privacy policy explaining the chat, choose a tool and settings suitable for UK businesses, and make sure conversations aren’t kept longer than you need them. If you’d like the bigger picture, our page on writing a short AI policy covers it.

Is a chatbot worth it for a small business?

It’s worth it if you get a steady stream of the same questions, especially out of hours. A plumber who’s on a job all day, a holiday let owner fielding “is the cottage dog-friendly?” at 10pm, or a café asked about gluten-free options every weekend will all feel the difference.

It’s probably not worth it if you get a handful of enquiries a month, or if every enquiry is different and needs a proper conversation. In that case a clearer contact page and a better enquiry form will do more, and we’ll tell you so on the free call.

Does it work with my current website?

Usually, yes. Most assistants are added with a small piece of code, so they work on WordPress sites, our £47 a month managed websites and most other website builders. The AI work is a separate, fixed-price project from the website itself.