Table of Contents
- What is an AI chatbot for a website?
- What are the types of website chatbot?
- Which type of website chatbot do you need?
- What is the best AI chatbot for a business website trained on your own documents?
- Which tools fit each type?
- How much does an AI chatbot for a website cost?
- What does a website chatbot cost at 500 conversations a month?
- How do you set up an AI chatbot on your website?
- Where does the chatbot script go on each platform?
- What does a website chatbot look like in practice?
- What mistakes should you avoid when adding a chatbot to your website?
- Which website chatbot should you pick for common situations?
- Frequently asked questions
- Basics
- Choosing
- Pricing
- Setup
- Sources
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Apr 27, 2026 06:49 PM
For most websites, the right AI chatbot is a content-trained one that answers from your own pages and documents and hands off to a person when it cannot help.
TL;DR
- A website chatbot comes in five types: content-trained AI chatbot, live chat with an AI add-on, helpdesk AI agent, scripted flow builder, and custom build.
- Choose the type on three questions: where your answers live, who handles the hard conversations, and how the vendor meters usage.
- Pricing models differ more than list prices. At 500 conversations a month, the three worked examples in this guide cost $59, $95, and $247.50 a month.
- Setup takes six steps: add content, train, customize, test, paste one script tag, and check the handoff to a person.
- SiteGPT is a content-trained chatbot. It trains on 12+ source types and starts at $59 a month billed monthly, or $39 a month billed yearly.
Key takeaways
Question | Short answer |
What is an AI chatbot for a website? | A chat widget that answers visitor questions with a language model, using your own content as the source. |
Which type fits most sites? | A content-trained AI chatbot, because most sites already have the answers written on their pages and in their documents. |
When is another type better? | Pick live chat when a person should answer first, a helpdesk AI agent when you already run tickets, and a scripted flow for fixed lead or booking paths. |
What does it cost? | From $0 on a free live chat plan to $0.99 per resolved conversation on a helpdesk AI agent. SiteGPT's flat plan starts at $39 a month billed yearly, or $59 billed monthly. |
How long does setup take? | Under 10 minutes for a chatbot trained on a website URL. The install is one script tag. |
What is an AI chatbot for a website?
An AI chatbot for a website is a chat widget that answers visitor questions with a large language model. The useful ones answer from your own content: your pages, help articles, policies, and product documents.
The method behind that is retrieval-augmented generation. The chatbot finds the most relevant passage in your content, then writes an answer from it. A chatbot with no access to your content can only give general answers, and it can invent details about your prices or policies.
A website chatbot does four jobs:
- Answers repeat questions. Opening hours, shipping, returns, pricing, and how-to questions get an answer at any hour.
- Captures leads. The chatbot collects a name and email when a visitor wants a quote, a demo, or a callback.
- Helps visitors find the right product or page. A chatbot trained on your catalog answers compatibility and sizing questions from the product pages.
- Hands off to a person. When the chatbot cannot answer, it routes the conversation to your team with the context attached.
What are the types of website chatbot?
The types of website chatbot are content-trained AI chatbots, live chat with an AI add-on, helpdesk AI agents, scripted flow builders, and custom builds. They differ in where the answers come from and how you pay.
Type | Where answers come from | How you usually pay | Main limit |
Content-trained AI chatbot | Your website, files, and help center, read automatically | Flat monthly plan with a message cap | Only as good as the content you give it |
Live chat with an AI add-on | Your agents first, plus an AI trained on your FAQ content | Free or low base plan, plus AI conversations sold in bundles | AI volume is a separate, metered add-on |
Helpdesk AI agent | Your help center and ticket history, inside a ticketing system | Per resolved conversation, often plus agent seats | Cost rises with every conversation the AI resolves |
Scripted flow builder | Buttons and paths you write by hand | Per plan, with a chat cap | Dead-ends on any question you did not script |
Custom build | A model API plus retrieval code you write | Developer time, hosting, and model usage | You maintain the widget, retrieval, and handoff yourself |
A scripted bot and a content-trained bot fail in different ways. The scripted bot has no answer to an unscripted question. The content-trained bot answers poorly when the source content is missing or out of date. The full comparison is in SiteGPT vs generic chatbots.
Which type of website chatbot do you need?
You need the type that matches where your answers live, who handles the hard conversations, and how you want to be billed. The table below maps the common situations to a type.
If you need... | Pick... | Why |
Answers from your existing pages, PDFs, and help articles | Content-trained AI chatbot | It reads the content you already have, so there is nothing to script. |
A person answering first, with AI covering nights and repeat questions | Live chat with an AI add-on | The inbox is the core product and the AI is added on top. |
AI inside the ticketing system your agents already use | Helpdesk AI agent | It works from your help center and ticket data, in the same queue. |
A fixed lead capture, quiz, or booking flow | Scripted flow builder | Every visitor gets the same path, which suits forms and qualification. |
A chatbot that is part of your own product | Custom build | You control the model, the retrieval, and the interface. |
Something free while traffic is low | Free live chat plan | Several live chat tools have a free plan. AI answers are limited or absent on them. |
One bot that answers in many languages | Content-trained AI chatbot | A language model answers in the visitor's language from the same content. |
Some situations have their own guide:
- If you run a small business and want the buying criteria in more depth, read the small business guide to AI chatbots.
- If your budget is zero, the options are listed in free chatbots for a website.
- If you want ChatGPT itself on your site, the methods are in how to embed ChatGPT in your website.
- If you are still deciding between a ChatGPT project, a custom GPT, the OpenAI API, and a chatbot platform, the five methods are compared in how to train ChatGPT on your own data.
- If your pages and files need cleaning and restructuring before a chatbot can answer from them, follow the seven steps in how to train an AI chatbot on your own data.
- If you want a bot with its own persona, instructions, and branding, see how to create a custom AI chatbot.
- If your visitors write in several languages, the tools are ranked by language count and agent translation in multilingual chatbots compared.
- If the chatbot only needs to answer common questions, the scripted and content-trained routes are compared in how to build an FAQ chatbot.
What is the best AI chatbot for a business website trained on your own documents?
The best AI chatbot for a business website trained on your own documents is a content-trained chatbot that reads every place your documents live. No single tool is best for every site, so compare tools on four points.
- Source coverage. Count the source types the tool reads. A website crawl misses PDFs, help centers, and files in cloud storage.
- Freshness. Check how the tool re-reads your content when a page changes, and on which plan.
- Metering. Find out whether you pay per message, per credit, or per resolved conversation.
- Handoff. Confirm how a visitor reaches a person and how your team is notified.
SiteGPT is best for sites whose answers are spread across many sources. It trains on 12+ source types: websites, sitemaps, file uploads (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, CSV, TXT, MD), Google Drive, Notion, Dropbox, OneDrive, SharePoint, Box, GitHub, YouTube, and help centers on Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, Confluence, and Gitbook.
Two other content-trained tools are worth a look. SiteGPT vs Chatbase and SiteGPT vs CustomGPT compare them on sources, metering, and price. If Chatbase is on your shortlist, read the Chatbase review for its plan limits and credit math before you start a trial. If DocsBot is the other candidate, the DocsBot AI review shows which plan unlocks unbranded widgets and escalation tickets. If you want a wider shortlist, the no-code AI chatbot builders ranking compares eight builders on price, free plan, and content sources.
Which tools fit each type?
Six tools show how the types differ in practice. Each one has a public price list, a G2 listing, and a clear fit to one type. The order follows the types above and is a list of examples, with no overall winner.
Tool | Type | Best for | Entry price | G2 rating |
Live chat with an AI add-on | Small stores that want free live chat first | Free plan. Starter $24.17 a month billed annually. Lyro AI add-on from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations. | ||
Content-trained AI chatbot | Answering from your own website and documents | Starter $59 a month billed monthly, or $39 a month billed yearly. 7-day trial, credit card required. | ||
Fin (formerly Intercom Fin) | Helpdesk AI agent | Teams already on a helpdesk | $0.99 per outcome. Intercom seats from $29 per seat a month billed annually. | |
Live chat with an AI add-on | Small teams that want one shared inbox | Free plan with 2 seats and no AI credits. Mini $45 a month per workspace. | ||
Scripted flow builder | Scripted lead capture flows | Free plan with 100 chats a month. Starter $45 a month billed monthly, or $36 a month billed annually. | ||
Scripted flow builder with an AI agent | Visual flow design with a small AI allowance | Essential $25 per user a month billed monthly, or $19 billed annually, with 10 AI resolutions a month. |
Prices come from each vendor's pricing page and ratings from each G2 listing, read on 3 October 2026.
SiteGPT has real limits. It has no free plan, and the trial needs a credit card. The Starter plan has one seat, no chat integrations, and manual content refresh only. Slack, Crisp, Messenger, and other chat integrations start on Growth, at $129 a month billed monthly or $79 a month billed yearly.
Tidio is the stronger pick when you want a free plan and a live chat inbox before any AI. Fin is the stronger pick when your agents already work in a helpdesk and you prefer to pay only for resolved conversations. The head-to-head detail is in SiteGPT vs Tidio and SiteGPT vs Fin.
How much does an AI chatbot for a website cost?
An AI chatbot for a website costs from $0 on a free live chat plan to several hundred dollars a month on per-outcome pricing. The pricing model decides the bill more than the list price does.
Pricing model | How it works | Example | What to watch |
Flat plan with a message cap | One monthly price covers a set number of messages | SiteGPT Starter: $59 a month billed monthly, up to 4,000 messages on GPT-4.1-mini | The cap. On GPT-4.1 the same plan covers 400 messages. |
Per outcome | You pay each time the AI resolves a conversation | Fin: $0.99 per outcome | The bill grows with every conversation the AI resolves. |
Base plan plus AI bundle | A live chat plan, with AI conversations sold separately | Tidio: Lyro AI add-on from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations | Two meters. Check both the chat quota and the AI quota. |
Per workspace with AI credits | One price per workspace, with a credit allowance for AI | Crisp Essentials: $95 a month, about 450 automated conversations by Crisp's estimate | Usage beyond the included credits. |
Per user with a resolution cap | A seat price, with a small number of AI resolutions included | ChatBot Essential plan: 10 AI resolutions a month | The included AI volume is low on entry plans. |
What does a website chatbot cost at 500 conversations a month?
A website chatbot costs between $59 and $247.50 a month at 500 conversations, on the three examples below. The scenario assumes four messages per conversation and that the AI resolves half of the conversations.
Tool and plan | How the 500 conversations are billed | Monthly cost | Yearly cost |
SiteGPT Starter | 2,000 messages, inside the 4,000-message cap on GPT-4.1-mini | $59 billed monthly, or $39 billed yearly | $708 billed monthly, or $468 billed yearly |
Crisp Essentials | About 450 automated conversations included in AI credits, by Crisp's estimate | $95 | $1,140 |
Fin, used on another helpdesk | 250 outcomes at $0.99 each, no seats | $247.50 | $2,970 |
On these assumptions, SiteGPT Starter billed monthly costs $2,262 a year less than Fin. That is 76% lower. Billed yearly, the gap is $2,502 a year, or 84% lower.
The comparison has caveats. Fin charges nothing for conversations it does not resolve, and it has a 50-outcome monthly minimum when it runs on another helpdesk. Crisp Essentials includes a shared inbox with 10 seats. SiteGPT Starter includes one seat and no chat integrations.
For more vendors and volumes, see the AI chatbot pricing comparison. If your volume is closer to 2,000 conversations a month, the AI chatbot pricing and cost guide runs six pricing models at that volume and at enterprise scale.
How do you set up an AI chatbot on your website?
You set up an AI chatbot on your website in six steps: add content, train, customize, test, embed, and check the handoff. With a content-trained tool the whole flow takes under 10 minutes and needs no code.
- Add your content. Paste your website URL or sitemap. Then add the sources a crawl misses, such as PDFs, a help center, or a cloud folder.
- Train the chatbot. Select the pages and files to include and start training. The platform cleans and indexes the content.
- Customize it. Set the name, welcome message, colors, and logo. Write a short persona and instructions so replies match your brand.
- Test it. Ask your last 20 real customer questions. Where an answer is thin or wrong, add the missing page and retrain.
- Embed it. Copy the script tag from the dashboard and paste it into your site. It is one line.
- Check the handoff. Ask to speak to a person and confirm the notification reaches your team.
Run the final check in a private browser window. A logged-in session or a cached page can hide a problem that a real visitor would hit.
The longer step-by-step version is in how to create an AI chatbot. An older video walkthrough is in how to make a chatbot.
Where does the chatbot script go on each platform?
The chatbot script goes in the site-wide custom code area of your platform, so it loads on every page. Each platform names that area differently.
Platform | Where the script goes | Platform guide |
WordPress | The connector plugin, or a code-snippets plugin set to the site footer | |
Shopify | The theme code, before the closing body tag | |
Wix | The site's custom code settings | |
Webflow | The site-wide footer code in site settings | |
Squarespace | Code injection, in the footer field | |
Custom or React site | The root layout or template, before the closing body tag | No separate guide. The same script tag applies. |
WordPress has more moving parts than the others, because caching and speed plugins can block the widget. The SiteGPT for WordPress page covers the plugin, and the eleven plugin options are ranked in best chatbot for WordPress website.
What does a website chatbot look like in practice?
A website chatbot in practice answers product and service questions after hours and passes the rest to staff. Two published SiteGPT case studies show the pattern. The figures come from SiteGPT's own case study pages.
Business | Setup | Reported result |
CBS Bahamas, a home improvement retailer | A SiteGPT chatbot answering product questions | Monthly support cost fell from $5,000 to $500, a 90% reduction. About $10,000 a month in sales is attributed to the chatbot. |
A lighting ecommerce group | Five chatbots across five stores, one per language | 33% fewer phone calls. Revenue grew 12% year over year. The case study presents that growth as correlated with the chatbot, with other factors involved. |
Both businesses already had the answers on their product pages. The chatbot changed how customers reached those answers. The full write-ups are in SiteGPT chatbot case studies and the CBS Bahamas retail case study. For examples from larger companies such as Bank of America, Lyft, and Klarna, see the list of companies using chatbots for customer service.
What mistakes should you avoid when adding a chatbot to your website?
The mistakes to avoid when adding a chatbot to your website are choosing on list price, training on the site crawl alone, skipping the handoff test, and letting content go stale.
- Choosing on list price. A $0.99 per-outcome price looks small next to a $59 plan. At 250 resolved conversations a month it costs $247.50.
- Training on the website crawl alone. If your real answers live in PDFs or a help center, add those sources. A crawl only reads published pages.
- Skipping the handoff test. A chatbot with no route to a person leaves the visitor stuck. Best AI chatbots with human handoff compares how tools route those conversations.
- Letting content go stale. A chatbot trained on last quarter's pricing page quotes last quarter's prices. Check how often the tool re-reads your content. On SiteGPT, refresh is manual on Starter, monthly on Growth, and weekly with a daily scan on Scale.
- Scripting open-ended questions. A flow builder suits a fixed path. Customer questions rarely follow one.
- Ignoring the message cap. A flat plan still has a limit. Estimate your monthly conversations and multiply by four messages before you pick a plan.
Which website chatbot should you pick for common situations?
The website chatbot to pick for common situations depends on your platform, team, and volume. This cheat sheet maps ten situations to a type.
Situation | Best pick | Why |
Content site or documentation with many pages | Content-trained AI chatbot | The answers already exist as pages. |
Online store with pre-sale product questions | Content-trained AI chatbot | It answers from product pages and policies. |
Store that needs order lookups inside the chat | Live chat with an AI add-on | Store apps connect chat to order data. |
Team of agents working tickets all day | Helpdesk AI agent | The AI works in the queue the agents already use. |
One-person business with no inbox to staff | Content-trained AI chatbot | It answers alone and notifies you about the rest. |
Lead capture on a landing page | Scripted flow builder | A fixed set of questions qualifies every lead the same way. |
Agency building bots for clients | Content-trained AI chatbot | One workflow repeats across client sites. |
International audience | Content-trained AI chatbot | One bot answers in the visitor's language. SiteGPT supports 95+ languages. |
Zero budget and low traffic | Free live chat plan | It costs nothing until volume grows. |
Chat is a feature of your own app | Custom build | You need control of the model and the interface. |
Frequently asked questions
Basics
What is an AI chatbot for a website?
An AI chatbot for a website is a chat widget that answers visitor questions with a language model. A content-trained chatbot answers from your own pages and documents. It can also capture leads and hand a conversation to a person.
What is the difference between a website chatbot and live chat?
A website chatbot answers automatically, and live chat connects the visitor to a person. Many tools now combine both. The difference is which one answers first and which one you pay for by volume.
Can an AI chatbot learn from my website content?
Yes. A content-trained chatbot reads your website from a URL or sitemap and answers from those pages. Most also accept files and help center articles, so the chatbot is not limited to published pages.
Choosing
What is the best AI chatbot for a website?
There is no single best AI chatbot for a website. A content-trained chatbot such as SiteGPT is best when your answers are in your content. Tidio is best for free live chat first. Fin is best for teams already on a helpdesk.
Are free website chatbots worth it?
Free website chatbots are worth it for low traffic and live chat. Tidio, Crisp, and Landbot each list a free plan. Crisp's free plan has no AI credits and Landbot's has no AI chats, so AI answers usually need a paid plan.
Do I need a chatbot or an AI agent?
Most websites need a chatbot that answers questions and hands off. An AI agent also takes actions, such as issuing a refund. The difference is explained in AI agent vs chatbot.
Pricing
How much does an AI chatbot for a website cost?
An AI chatbot for a website costs from $0 to several hundred dollars a month. SiteGPT Starter is $59 a month billed monthly, or $39 a month billed yearly. Fin is $0.99 per outcome. Tidio's Lyro AI add-on starts at $32.50 a month for 50 conversations.
Why can per-outcome pricing cost more than a flat plan?
Per-outcome pricing charges for every conversation the AI resolves, so the bill rises with volume. At 250 outcomes a month, Fin costs $247.50. A flat plan stays at one price until you reach its message cap.
Does SiteGPT have a free plan?
No. SiteGPT has a 7-day free trial on every self-serve plan, and the trial requires a credit card. Paid plans start at $59 a month billed monthly, or $39 a month billed yearly.
Setup
How do I add an AI chatbot to my website?
Train the chatbot on your content, copy the script tag from the dashboard, and paste it into your site's custom code area. On WordPress, use the plugin or a code-snippets plugin.
How long does it take to set up a website chatbot?
Setup takes under 10 minutes for a chatbot trained on a website URL. Training lasts about as long as the crawl. Adding files, a help center, and a handoff route takes longer.
Do I need a developer to add a chatbot?
No. A hosted chatbot needs one script tag pasted into your site settings. A custom build on a model API does need a developer.
Sources
- SiteGPT pricing, plan prices, message caps, and trial terms.
- Tidio pricing, plans and the Lyro AI add-on.
- Fin pricing, the per-outcome price and the 50-outcome minimum.
- Intercom pricing, seat prices and the definition of an outcome.
- Crisp pricing, workspace plans and included AI credits.
- Landbot pricing, plans, chat caps, and AI chat allowances.
- ChatBot.com pricing, per-user plans and AI resolution limits.
- SiteGPT on G2, 4.9 out of 5 from 12 reviews.
- Tidio on G2, 4.6 out of 5 from 1,962 reviews.
- Fin on G2, 4.5 out of 5 from 3,918 reviews.
- Crisp on G2, 4.5 out of 5 from 205 reviews.
- Landbot on G2, 4.7 out of 5 from 334 reviews.
- ChatBot on G2, 4.5 out of 5 from 25 reviews.
- SiteGPT chatbot case studies, the CBS Bahamas and lighting group figures.
Ready to try a content-trained chatbot on your own site? Start a 7-day SiteGPT trial. A credit card is required and you can cancel before the trial ends.
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