Table of Contents
- Key takeaways
- What is a lead qualification chatbot?
- Lead generation vs lead qualification vs lead scoring
- What can SiteGPT do for lead qualification?
- How to build a lead qualification chatbot in 7 steps
- Step 1: Write your criteria and a simple score
- Step 2: Train the chatbot on buying-stage pages
- Step 3: Write instructions and pick a persona
- Step 4: Add your criteria as lead form fields
- Step 5: Choose the trigger and add your booking link
- Step 6: Route hot leads to sales
- Step 7: Install the chatbot and test all three bands
- Worked example: scoring a demo request
- What is the best lead qualification chatbot builder?
- The stack: which tool does which job
- How to choose your setup
- What does a lead qualification chatbot cost with SiteGPT?
- Common lead qualification chatbot mistakes
- Frequently asked questions
- Basics
- What is a lead qualification chatbot?
- What questions should a lead qualification chatbot ask?
- Can a chatbot qualify leads before asking for contact details?
- Scoring and routing
- Can SiteGPT score leads automatically?
- Does SiteGPT integrate with HubSpot?
- How does a hot lead reach a salesperson quickly?
- Does the lead email include the conversation transcript?
- Booking
- Can a chatbot book meetings automatically?
- Can the booking link show only to qualified leads?
- Setup and compliance
- Which SiteGPT plan do I need for a lead qualification chatbot?
- Does the chatbot need to say it is AI?
- Can a healthcare business use a qualification chatbot?
- Start with your criteria
- Sources
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May 28, 2026 11:13 AM
To build a lead qualification chatbot, write your qualification criteria first, train an AI chatbot on your buying-stage pages, turn each criterion into a lead form field, and send every completed form to sales with a clear rule for what counts as a hot lead.
TL;DR
- A lead qualification chatbot answers a buyer's questions, collects budget, timeline, and fit answers, and passes those answers to sales.
- With SiteGPT, qualifying answers go in lead form fields with fixed options. Only form fields reach the lead record, the lead email, and the webhook.
- SiteGPT does not score leads and has no built-in CRM connection. Score by hand from the lead email, or score in your CRM from the leads webhook on Scale and above.
- SiteGPT shares a booking link. It does not book inside the chat. Your booking tool holds the calendar.
- Lead forms work on every plan. Starter is $59 a month, or $39 a month billed yearly ($468 a year). Scale, which adds webhooks, is $429 a month, or $259 a month billed yearly ($3,108 a year).
Key takeaways
Question | Short answer |
What does the chatbot qualify on? | The 3 to 5 criteria you define, usually budget, timeline, company fit, and role |
How are answers collected? | In a form inside the chat, using Select Dropdown fields so answers stay comparable |
Who scores the lead? | Your team or your CRM. SiteGPT stores the answers and does not calculate a score. |
How does a hot lead reach a person? | Through a custom Escalation Policy, Auto-escalate on lead capture, or the lead email |
Can it book a meeting? | It shares your booking link with the lead form. The visitor books in your booking tool. |
How does a lead reach a CRM? | Through the leads webhook on Scale and above, or by CSV export on any plan |
What is a lead qualification chatbot?
A lead qualification chatbot is a website chat assistant that checks whether a visitor fits what a business sells before sales spends time on the conversation. Salesforce describes lead qualification as a process that determines whether a lead is a good fit, based on fit, finances, and interest or need.
The chatbot does two jobs in one conversation. It answers the buyer's questions from your content, and it collects the answers sales needs to prioritize the lead.
This guide covers qualification: the criteria, the scoring, and the routing. The lead generation chatbot tutorial covers general lead capture in more detail. The appointment booking chatbot guide covers the booking tool setup.
Lead generation vs lead qualification vs lead scoring
These three terms describe different jobs, and each one happens at a different point.
Term | Job | Result |
Lead generation | Collect contact details | A name and an email |
Lead qualification | Check fit against set criteria | Answers on budget, timeline, fit, and role |
Lead scoring | Assign a number to each lead | A rank that tells sales who to call first |
Salesforce defines lead scoring as assigning a numerical score to leads. A SiteGPT chatbot handles the first two jobs. The third happens in your CRM or by hand.
What can SiteGPT do for lead qualification?
SiteGPT can answer buying questions from your content, collect qualifying answers in a lead form, share a booking link, and hand a conversation to a person. It cannot score leads, read your calendar, or write to a CRM directly.
Task | SiteGPT | Plan |
Answer pricing, product, and integration questions from your content | Yes | Any plan |
Collect budget, timeline, and fit in lead form fields | Yes, with the Custom template | Any plan |
Share a booking link when it collects a lead | Yes, with Booking System URL | Any plan |
Book a time inside the chat | No. The visitor books in your booking tool. | Not available |
Calculate a lead score | No. Score by hand or in your CRM. | Not available |
Hand a conversation to a person | Yes, with human support | Any plan |
Email each new lead to your team | Yes | Any plan |
Send each new lead to a CRM automatically | Through the leads webhook and a tool that receives webhooks | Scale and above |
Create a CRM contact directly | No. There is no built-in CRM connection and no HubSpot integration. | Not available |
The SiteGPT docs state one more limit. The chatbot does not look up live data, so it cannot check a booking or an account in your other systems.
How to build a lead qualification chatbot in 7 steps
Building a lead qualification chatbot in SiteGPT takes seven steps and no code. The running example is a B2B software company that sells to teams of 11 or more and wants demos with buyers who can start this quarter.
Step 1: Write your criteria and a simple score
Write the criteria before you open any tool, because the form fields come from this list. HubSpot's guide to sales qualification lists budget, authority, need, and timeline as the BANT framework, and it is a good starting point.
Keep the list to 3 to 5 criteria. Each extra field asks more of a visitor who has not spoken to anyone yet. If you sell in the EU, the GDPR data minimisation principle also says personal data must be limited to what is necessary.
This starter score uses four criteria and a maximum of 10 points. Adjust the points after you compare scores with closed deals.
Criterion | Answer | Points |
Timeline | This month | 3 |
Timeline | This quarter | 2 |
Timeline | Just researching | 0 |
Budget | At or above your entry price | 3 |
Budget | Not sure yet | 1 |
Budget | Below your entry price | 0 |
Company size | Inside your target range | 2 |
Company size | Outside your target range | 0 |
Role | Makes or shares the decision | 2 |
Role | Researching for someone else | 1 |
Then set three bands:
- Hot, 7 to 10 points: a salesperson replies the same day.
- Warm, 4 to 6 points: the lead gets a follow-up email and a booking link.
- Not a fit yet, 0 to 3 points: the lead goes into a nurture list.
Step 2: Train the chatbot on buying-stage pages
Training the chatbot means adding the pages buyers read while they compare options. In SiteGPT, add a website with Scrape Website, a sitemap, or a list of links, and upload files such as a product sheet.
Add these sources first:
- The pricing page, so the chatbot answers cost questions without guessing.
- Product and feature pages, so it can confirm fit.
- Integration and security pages, which answer the objections that delay a purchase.
- Case studies, so it can point to results you have published.
The chatbot answers from this content. A visitor who asks about a feature you never documented gets no answer, and the form may never appear. The chatbot training guide covers how to prepare the content.
Step 3: Write instructions and pick a persona
Instructions are the rules the chatbot follows in every answer, and only one instruction set is active at a time. Open Chatbot Instructions, select Add New Instructions, and write one rule per line.
SiteGPT has 12 built-in personas. Consultant fits qualification best: the docs describe it as a persona that "Advises, asks qualifying questions, then suggests solutions." Sales Expert is the other option if you want a more direct tone.
Example instructions:
You are the website assistant for [Company Name].
Answer the visitor's question first, using only the content you were trained on.
After you answer, offer one clear next step, such as a demo.
Do not ask for budget, timeline, or contact details in chat. The lead form collects them.
Never invent a price, a discount, a feature, an integration, or a customer result.
If the content does not answer the question, say so and offer to have the team follow up.Keep prices and plan details on your pages. The SiteGPT docs say content holds the facts and instructions hold the rules. They also warn against putting secrets in instructions.
Step 4: Add your criteria as lead form fields
Lead form fields are where qualification data lives. Open Leads, then Leads Settings, and turn on Enable Lead Collection. Email Address is always collected. Name and Phone Number are optional.
Under Industry Template, pick Custom to build your own fields. If you start from a template such as SaaS/Software, select Custom afterward to edit its fields. The current fields stay.
- Under Custom Form Fields, select Add Field.
- Enter a Display Label, such as Budget Range, and a Field Name, such as budget_range. The field name shows in exports and webhooks.
- Set the Field Type to Select Dropdown and enter one option per line.
- Turn on Required field for the criteria you score on.
- Select Save Changes.
Do not use message or reason as a field name. Both are reserved. These four fields match the score in Step 1:
Display Label | Field Name | Dropdown options |
Timeline | timeline | This month, This quarter, Just researching |
Budget Range | budget_range | Under $500 a month, $500 or more a month, Not sure yet |
Company Size | company_size | 1-10, 11-50, 51-200, 201 or more |
Your Role | role | Makes or shares the decision, Researching for someone else |
The budget options above are examples. Set them around your own entry price.
A dropdown beats free text here because every answer maps to a fixed number of points. Answers typed into the chat stay in the conversation. Only form fields appear in the lead email, the webhook, and the CSV export.
Step 5: Choose the trigger and add your booking link
The trigger decides when the form appears, and you can select only one. The AI is told to show the form one time per conversation.
Trigger | What happens | Use it for qualification when |
When user shows interest (Recommended) | The AI shows the form when the visitor shows real interest, for example a pricing question | You sell by demo or quote. This is the best default. |
When unable to answer | The AI shows the form when it needs more details to answer well | Your answer depends on the visitor's situation |
After N messages (static form) | The form shows after the visitor's Nth message, with N from 1 to 20 | You want the same moment in every chat |
With the Custom template, you can also add keywords under Custom Trigger Keywords, such as pricing, demo, quote. Keywords do not apply to After N messages.
Avoid setting Pre-Chat User Details to Required on a qualification bot. That form appears before the chatbot has answered anything.
To add a booking link, turn on Enable booking integration and enter your link in Booking System URL. Any scheduling page works, such as Calendly or HubSpot Meetings. The AI includes the link when it collects the lead.
The link goes with the lead form, so it reaches every visitor who gets that form. It is not limited to high scores. Put the filter in the booking tool if you need one, for example by asking the same questions on the booking page and routing by answer.
Step 6: Route hot leads to sales
Routing decides who sees a lead and how fast. Every lead lands in Leads, then Leads Dashboard, where your team can search, star, and archive it, and open the conversation behind it.
- Lead email. Under Lead Capture Email Notifications, add recipients. The email shows the name, email, phone, custom fields, capture time, and page URL. It has a Reply to button and a link to the lead. It does not include the transcript, so open the lead to read the conversation.
- Custom escalation rules. In Leads, then Human Support, write your own rules in Escalation Policy, up to 2,000 characters. Your rules replace the default triggers completely, so include the rule for a visitor who asks for a person.
- Auto-escalate on lead capture. Turn this on to hand every submitted form to a person. Human support must be set up first. Use it only if your team can reply quickly.
- Leads webhook. In Settings, then Webhooks, enter a Leads Webhook URL and a token. SiteGPT sends a JSON POST for each new lead, and your custom fields arrive in customData. This needs Scale or above.
- CSV export. In the Leads Dashboard, select Export CSV. It works on any plan and has no date range. It exports every lead that matches the current filter and search.
Example Escalation Policy for hot leads:
Escalate when the visitor asks for a person.
Escalate when the visitor is frustrated after an answer that did not help.
Escalate when the visitor says they want to start this month and asks to talk to sales.An escalation rule is an instruction to the AI. It reads the conversation and decides, so it is not a fixed filter on a score. Test each rule in Step 7.
Three limits matter for a CRM. The webhook is sent one time, with no retry if your endpoint is down. A returning visitor who submits the same email updates the existing lead and sends no webhook. SiteGPT's lead alerts are email and iPhone push, so a Slack ping needs the webhook and an automation tool.
Step 7: Install the chatbot and test all three bands
Installing the chatbot takes one script. In Installation, copy the JavaScript embed and paste it in the head section or just before the closing body tag. The SiteGPT install docs give steps for WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, and HTML.
Then test in a private browser window. A failed conversation is costly: in a 2026 Gartner survey, only 27% of customers said they would try a chatbot again after a negative experience. Use a new email for each test, because a repeat email does not fire the webhook.
Test visitor | What to do | Expected result |
Hot | Ask a pricing question, then pick This month and a budget above your entry price | The form appears, the booking link shows, and the lead email has the right fields |
Warm | Ask about a feature, then pick This quarter and Not sure yet | The lead is saved with the right answers for a follow-up |
Poor fit | Ask a basic question, then pick Just researching | The chatbot stays helpful and the lead scores 0 to 3 points |
Off content | Ask something your pages do not cover | The chatbot says so and does not guess |
Asks for a person | Type that you want to speak to someone | The conversation escalates and the recipient gets an email |
Also tell visitors they are talking to AI. The European Commission says people must be notified from the start of the first interaction, in a clear and distinguishable manner.
Worked example: scoring a demo request
A qualified demo request follows four moves: answer, offer, collect, route. This illustrative example uses the fields and score from the steps above.
Turn | Visitor | Chatbot |
1 | Do you support single sign-on? | Answers from the security page and names the plan that includes it. |
2 | What would that cost for 40 users? | Explains the price from the pricing page, then offers a demo. |
3 | Yes, a demo would help. | Shows the lead form with the booking link. |
4 | Selects This quarter, $500 or more a month, 11-50, and Makes or shares the decision | Confirms the details were saved and keeps answering. |
The score is 2 for timeline, 3 for budget, 2 for company size, and 2 for role. That totals 9 out of 10, so this lead is hot and a salesperson replies the same day.
Now the effect on rep time, with illustrative numbers. Assume 40 form submissions a month and a 30-minute first call. Calling every lead takes 20 hours. If 12 leads reach the hot band, calls take 6 hours, which saves 14 hours a month.
The budget math is similar. On Starter billed yearly, $39 a month across those 12 hot leads is $3.25 per hot lead.
What is the best lead qualification chatbot builder?
The best lead qualification chatbot builder depends on where your data lives and how varied your buyers' questions are. Judge each option on three criteria: how well it answers unscripted questions, how it books meetings, and how it reaches your CRM.
Tool | Best for | How it qualifies | Limit to know |
Answering unscripted buyer questions from your own content | AI answers plus a lead form with custom fields | No scoring, in-chat booking, or built-in CRM connection | |
HubSpot rule-based chatbot | Teams already on HubSpot that want bookings and CRM data in one place | A Qualify leads bot template with a series of questions and responses | The bot is rule-based, and if/then branches need Professional or Enterprise |
Teams that want a no-code builder that also covers WhatsApp | No-code AI agents that qualify leads and book meetings | You design the agent yourself, so setup depends on how much you build |
If buyers mostly ask the same few questions and you live in HubSpot, its rule-based bot is the simpler choice. If buyers ask detailed product questions, a chatbot trained on your content gives you answers you did not have to script.
The stack: which tool does which job
A lead qualification setup with SiteGPT uses more than one tool, because SiteGPT is the answer and collection layer. Your booking tool and CRM keep their own jobs.
Layer | Job | Tool |
Answers and collection | Answers buyer questions, shows the lead form, shares the booking link | |
Calendar | Shows open times and confirms the meeting | Calendly, HubSpot Meetings, or the booking tool you use |
Connector | Receives the webhook and maps fields | Your CRM's webhook feature or an automation tool |
Record and score | Stores the contact and calculates the score | Your CRM |
Follow-up | Replies to hot leads and takes over chats | Your sales team, in the SiteGPT dashboard or by email |
How to choose your setup
Choose your setup by how many leads you get and where your team already works.
If you need | Pick | Why |
A small team alerted in its inbox | Lead email on any plan | Each lead arrives with all form fields |
Scoring with no extra tools | Score from the email, then star hot leads | A short field list takes seconds to score by hand |
A weekly import into a CRM | CSV export on any plan | No webhook needed, so Starter is enough |
Every lead in a CRM with no manual work | SiteGPT Scale with the leads webhook | The docs name the webhook as the route into a CRM |
Automatic scoring | Scale, plus a score rule in your CRM | customData carries each answer by field name |
A rep in the chat for hot leads | Custom Escalation Policy on any plan | The AI hands over when your rule applies |
Meetings booked inside the chat window | A tool with in-chat booking, such as HubSpot's chatbot | SiteGPT shares a link instead |
What does a lead qualification chatbot cost with SiteGPT?
A SiteGPT lead qualification chatbot costs $468 a year on Starter billed annually, or $59 a month billed monthly. Automatic CRM delivery needs Scale, which costs $3,108 a year billed annually, or $429 a month billed monthly.
Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | What it adds for qualification |
$59 a month | $39 a month ($468 a year) | 1 chatbot, 4k messages, lead form, custom fields, lead emails, CSV export, human support | |
$129 a month | $79 a month ($948 a year) | 2 chatbots, 10k messages, 4 members, iOS app, weekly digest | |
$429 a month | $259 a month ($3,108 a year) | 3 chatbots, 40k messages, 10 members, webhooks | |
SiteGPT Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom limits |
The math:
- Annual billing: Starter saves $240 a year (34%), Growth saves $600 (39%), and Scale saves $2,040 (40%).
- The webhook step-up: moving from Starter to Scale adds $2,640 a year on annual billing, or $220 a month. Compare that with the time your team spends on manual imports.
- Message volume: Starter includes 4k GPT-4.1-mini messages or 400 GPT-4.1 messages a month, with any mix between them.
SiteGPT has a 7-day free trial with a credit card required, and no free plan.
Common lead qualification chatbot mistakes
The most common mistakes come from asking too early or trusting the bot to do what it does not do. These five show up most often.
- Requiring details before the first answer. A Required pre-chat form asks before the chatbot has helped.
- Using free text for scored fields. Typed answers are hard to compare. Use Select Dropdown.
- Collecting answers only in chat. Those answers stay in the conversation and never reach the lead email or webhook.
- Replacing the default escalation triggers by accident. A custom Escalation Policy removes them, including the visitor who asks for a person.
- Assuming a webhook always arrives. There is no retry. SiteGPT's docs suggest reading missed leads with the API.
Frequently asked questions
Basics
What is a lead qualification chatbot?
A lead qualification chatbot is a chat assistant that checks whether a website visitor fits your target customer. It answers the visitor's questions, collects criteria such as budget and timeline, and passes the answers to sales.
What questions should a lead qualification chatbot ask?
A lead qualification chatbot should ask about timeline, budget, company size, and the visitor's role in the decision. Keep it to 3 to 5 questions and use fixed answer options so leads are easy to compare.
Can a chatbot qualify leads before asking for contact details?
A SiteGPT chatbot can answer questions before it asks for anything. Its lead form then collects the email and qualifying fields together. Email is always collected, so the form cannot qualify anonymously.
Scoring and routing
Can SiteGPT score leads automatically?
SiteGPT does not score leads. It collects the answers in custom fields. To score automatically, send leads to your CRM with the leads webhook on Scale and above, then build the score rule there.
Does SiteGPT integrate with HubSpot?
SiteGPT has no HubSpot integration and no built-in CRM connection. On Scale and above, the leads webhook can send each lead to a tool that receives webhooks, which can then update HubSpot.
How does a hot lead reach a salesperson quickly?
A hot lead reaches a salesperson through a custom Escalation Policy or Auto-escalate on lead capture. Each escalation emails the chatbot owner by default, and you can add other recipients. The iOS app, on Growth and above, also sends push alerts.
Does the lead email include the conversation transcript?
The lead email does not include the transcript. It shows the lead's details, custom fields, capture time, and page URL. Open the lead in the dashboard to read the conversation.
Booking
Can a chatbot book meetings automatically?
Some chatbots can. HubSpot's chatbot has a meeting action, and Landbot says it books meetings. SiteGPT shares your booking link with the lead form, and the visitor books in your scheduling tool.
Can the booking link show only to qualified leads?
The booking link goes with the lead form, so it reaches each visitor who gets the form. To filter by answer, use routing in your booking tool.
Setup and compliance
Which SiteGPT plan do I need for a lead qualification chatbot?
Any plan covers the lead form, custom fields, lead emails, CSV export, and human support. Choose Scale or above if each lead must reach a CRM automatically.
Does the chatbot need to say it is AI?
In the EU, people must be informed they are interacting with an AI system, unless that is obvious. Put the disclosure in your welcome message.
Can a healthcare business use a qualification chatbot?
A healthcare business can, with limits. A HIPAA BAA is available on Enterprise only, and industry templates are not available on HIPAA workspaces. Lead records stay until you delete them, so keep patient details out of lead fields. The SiteGPT HIPAA docs explain how those workspaces behave.
Start with your criteria
Write your four criteria and your score today, then test them in a 7-day SiteGPT trial. A credit card is required, and you can cancel before the trial ends.
Sources
All pages below were opened on October 30, 2026.
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