Website chatbot: when it pays off and how to start

What does a website chatbot do?

A chatbot takes over part of the first contact. Think of:

• Answering questions about prices, opening hours, delivery times or how you work.
• Guiding visitors to the right service or page.
• Collecting the details for a quote or appointment request and preparing it for you.
• Looking up the status of an order or repair.
• Capturing contact details when a question needs to be picked up by a person.

An example: at half past ten in the evening, a visitor asks whether you also work in their town. The chatbot checks your service area, says yes, mentions the starting price and asks whether they'd like to request an appointment. The visitor leaves their details and you see the request neatly in your inbox the next morning. Without a chatbot, that same visitor might have clicked through to a competitor.

Rule-based chatbot or AI chatbot?

There are roughly two types.

• Rule-based: the visitor clicks through fixed choices, like a menu. Predictable and cheap, but limited. A question that isn't in the menu, it can't handle.
• AI chatbot: understands questions in everyday language and writes its own answer. Much more flexible, but you need to control carefully where it gets its knowledge from.

A good AI chatbot only answers based on your own information: your website, price list, terms and FAQs. That stops it from making things up. A mix often works best: fixed buttons for the most common questions, and AI for the rest.

When does a website chatbot pay off?

A chatbot makes sense if a few of these points apply to you:

• You get the same questions every day by email, phone or WhatsApp.
• Visitors often come to your site outside office hours.
• You have lots of services or products and people don't know where to look.
• A request needs a few standard details that you currently have to chase every time.

Only get a few questions a week? Then a clear FAQ page and a good contact form often deliver more than a chatbot.

How to set up a website chatbot properly

• Collect the twenty questions you get most often, with the right answer.
• Decide what the chatbot can and can't do. Can it mention prices? Make appointments?
• Choose which sources it uses, and keep them up to date.
• Give the chatbot a clear opening message, for example: "I'm the digital assistant. I can help with questions about prices and appointments."
• Make sure there's always a way out to a person: a button, phone number or form.
• Test with real questions, including odd and difficult ones.
• Read back the conversations in the first few weeks and improve the answers.

Also plan who keeps the chatbot's knowledge up to date. If your prices, opening hours or terms change, the chatbot needs to know straight away. It's easiest if it uses the same source as your website. Then you change it in one place and it's right everywhere.

Common mistakes with a website chatbot

• A pop-up that jumps over the page straight away and blocks the content.
• No way to talk to a person.
• Outdated information, such as old prices or opening hours.
• A chatbot that pretends to be a human.
• A heavy chat tool that slows your website down. Only load the chat window when someone clicks on it.
• Nobody reading back the conversations and learning from the questions.

Pay attention to accessibility too. The chat window should work with a keyboard and with a screen reader. Use enough contrast, a readable font size and buttons big enough to tap on a phone. That way the chatbot works for all your visitors, not just some of them.

Chatbots, privacy and the AI Act

In a chat, people often share personal data, such as their name, address or phone number. Explain in your privacy policy what you do with those conversations, where they're stored and for how long. Choose a provider that handles data properly and sign a data processing agreement where needed.

The European AI Act also requires that people know they're talking to AI. So just say so in the opening message. For legal questions, you can turn to a lawyer or the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens).

What does a chatbot cost for your business?

There are ready-made chat tools with a monthly subscription. They're quick to set up, but often can't do much with your own systems. A custom chatbot costs more one-off, but can check your calendar, look up an order or put a request straight into your CRM. On top of that you pay a small amount per conversation to the AI model. Prices of tools and models change, so treat figures online as an indication and check the current price.

What mainly determines the price of a custom chatbot:

• The number of sources it draws its knowledge from.
• Integrations with your calendar, webshop, CRM or accounting software.
• Whether it only answers questions or also takes actions, such as scheduling an appointment.
• The number of languages.
• How many conversations you expect.

Having a website chatbot built by Violexa

At Violexa we build chatbots that answer with your own information and connect to the software you already use. We make sure the chat window doesn't slow down your website and that visitors can always reach a person. Want the same assistant in WhatsApp too? Read automating WhatsApp Business. For a broader plan, see AI customer service and our AI and automation service.

A project starts from €1,799 excl. VAT (€2,177 incl. VAT), one-off. Larger projects get a fixed price in writing up front.

Not sure whether a chatbot on your website would pay off? Book a free quickscan. In 30 minutes, online or at your location, we look at your questions and your site. Afterwards you get short written advice with a price indication, with no obligation.

Frequently asked questions