20 Best AI Chatbot Platforms

Want to create the best AI chatbot out there?

One of the key trends emerging post-pandemic is that customers have started to use self-service channels like chatbots more. 

In fact, the majority of customers prefer self-service for simple tasks.

Button-Based Chatbots vs. AI Chatbots
The 20 best AI chatbot platforms
What are the benefits of using an AI chatbot?
How to pick the best AI chatbot platform

So, let’s get started.

What is an AI Chatbot?

An AI chatbot is an online program that uses NLP (natural language processing) to simulate human conversations on websites and mobile apps and is powered by artificial intelligence.

They are designed to understand human intent based on the user’s written text and address their needs without the involvement of a human operator. 

In some of the best, well-designed artificial intelligence chatbots, it’s honestly hard to tell that you are actually talking to a program, not a real human.

Typically, they answer frequently asked queries and provide resources that help you find what you are looking for. From banking to travel and healthcare, AI chatbots have multiple use cases across industries and verticals. 

Unless you’re living under a rock, chances are you’ve already come across an AI chatbot on a website or mobile app.

Here is an example of an AI chatbot:

Image via Business Wire

Button-Based Chatbots vs. AI Chatbots: What’s the Difference?

In this section, let’s understand how an AI chatbot is actually different from a button-based chatbot. For this, let’s first define what a button-based chatbot is.

What is a Button-Based Chatbot?

Button-based chatbots give users an option to choose their responses from several options. Typically, they’re presented as buttons or menus. Depending on the option that the user clicks, a button-based chatbot then provides another set of options that they can choose from.

Think of it as a flow chart.

Button-based chatbots are designed to map out customer conversations. By anticipating the kind of questions that customers are likely to ask, the chatbot is programmed to respond appropriately.

Typically, these rule-based chatbots use simple or even complicated rules at times. However, they can not answer any question outside the pre-defined rules. 

They don’t learn via customer interactions. Instead, they only respond to anticipated questions and scenarios that you define for them in advance 

Here is an example:

Giosg has an option to help you design such button-based chatbots. In fact, they even have pre-defined templates to create them quickly.

Image via giosg

That’s all about button-based chatbots.

Now, let’s move on to understanding AI chatbots.

What are AI-Based Chatbots?

On the other hand, AI chatbots are designed to understand each customer query that is typed into the chat along with its context and intent. 

With NLP and machine learning capabilities, they can generate suitable responses to these queries. The more you train these AI-based chatbots, the more they understand customer preferences and behaviour. 

In a nutshell, they get smarter with each interaction. Over a period of time, they get better at processing queries and providing accurate answers. 

AI-based chatbots have many advantages over rule-based chatbots, including:

• They continuously improve through data collection
• They can analyze and understand patterns of user behaviour
• They have a wide range of decision-making capabilities
• They provide more accurate answers
• They may understand multiple languages
  
  

The 20 Best AI Chatbot Platforms 2023

In this section, we have compiled a list of the best AI chatbot builders that you can use to build your own bot. 

We’ve done all the research so that you don’t have to spend hours digging into each platform’s features and pricing plans.

Here is a quick overview of some of the best AI chatbot builders in the market today:

1. Giosg

Image via Giosg

If you want to get more leads, you should check out giosg’s AI chatbot builder. It promises to be 4x more effective than any static lead generation form on your website.

The best part is that you can request a free demo before you are ready to commit to the paid pricing plans.

Key Features

• Add images, videos, emojis, and GIFs to AI chatbots
• Built-in chatbot A/B testing tool
• Detailed visual reports for performance tracking
• Ability to create lead capture forms and pop-ups
• Integrations with CRM and marketing automation software
• Live chat integration
• 30+ targeting rules to trigger conversations

Pros

• Easy-to-use AI chatbot platform
• No coding experience needed
• Customised pricing plans are available
• 30-day free trial
• Option to request for a demo
• Comprehensive reports

Cons

• No A/B Testing option in the basic plan.

Usability

Easy to use

Tool Level

Beginner/Intermediate/Expert

Price

Giosg Interaction Builder:

• Essential Plan: €69 per month, billed annually 
• Professional Plan: €199 per month, billed annually
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing

Giosg Live Chat:

• Starter Plan: €49 per month 
• Growth Plan: €149 per month 
• Performance Plan: €399 per month 
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing
  
  

Pro Tip: Opt for their live chat software program so that you can easily create and manage a knowledge base of responses. You can add phrases based on customer data and a history of past interactions with a drag-and-drop option.

2. Botsify

Image via Botsify

Botsify is one of the best fully-managed AI chatbot platforms that enable you to boost your presence on multiple channels. Along with your website, it enables you to create a bot for WhatsApp, Telegram, WordPress, and other platforms. 

Another standout feature of this AI chatbot platform is that it enables you to seamlessly transfer queries between bots and customer service representatives.

This can make a big difference in terms of boosting customer satisfaction and providing a better experience.

Some of the big brands that use this AI chatbot platform include Toyota, Spotify, Unilever, World Health Organisation (WHO), and others.

Key Features

• Multi-channel AI chatbot platform
• 190+ languages available for AI chatbots
• Option to store user data 
• 100+ integrations
• Option to get fully managed AI-powered chatbots
• Basic analytics and reporting capabilities

Pros

• Multi-channel platform
• Dedicated account manager
• 14-day free trial
• Live chat option

Cons

• Requires coding to enable advanced responses

Usability

Easy to use to build basic AI chatbots

Tool Level

Beginner/Intermediate/ Expert

Price

Personal Plan: €34 ($40) per month, billed annually

Professional Plan: €106 ($125) per month, billed annually

Business Plan: €352 ($415) per month, billed annually

Custom Plan: Custom pricing is available for enterprises that require high usage.

Pro Tip: Use their free training sessions in the Business Plan to learn how to make the most of this AI chatbot platform.

3. MobileMonkey

Image via MobileMonkey

MobileMonkey is another one of the best AI chatbot platforms, known for its multi-channel approach to chatbot marketing. Using this AI chatbot builder, you can reach more customers on Facebook Messenger, Instagram, web chat, and SMS. 

One of the most unique features of this AI chatbot platform is that you can set up alerts when you get quality leads. When an interested prospect is chatting with your bot, you can get alerts via Slack, SMS, or other apps.

What’s more, you can also integrate business applications, including platforms for CRM, email marketing, order fulfilment, and more.

Key Features

• Multi-channel AI chatbot builder
• Chat blasts for Facebook Messenger and SMS marketing
• Unified chat inbox
• Live chat handoff
• Chatbot analytics 
• Audience-based drip campaigns

Pros

• Multi-channel bots
• Detailed training materials
• Great customer support
• Constant updates/add-ons

Cons

• The learning curve can be a bit steep for some users.

Usability

Moderately easy

Tool Level

Intermediate/Expert

Price

MobileMonkey has different plans for SMBs, in-house marketers, and agencies. Please get in touch with their sales team to get an accurate quote.

Pro Tip: This AI-powered chatbot platform automatically increases the total number of sends for your subscription plan if you exceed your limit. So, keep an eye on your send limit!

4. Activechat.ai

Image via Activechat.ai

This conversational AI platform is great to build customer service chatbots for conversational marketing. It has building blocks that enable you to connect frameworks within the bot platform. 

It has integrations with Google Sheets, Shopify stores, WooCommerce, and other popular apps. 

The best part is that you can handle multiple interactions across different channels from a single platform. This is how it works for live chats as well as automation with online assistants.

Activechat.ai matches customers across channels automatically. Furthermore, it allows you to pick the conversations where it is convenient for your agents and customers.

This can save a lot of your time and effort.

Key Features

• Multichannel bot builder
• Multiple integrations, including e-commerce apps
• Live chat CRM
• Funnel analytics
• Customer scoring

Pros

• User-friendly platform
• Easy setup
• 14-day free trial

Cons

• Some customers complain of compatibility issues with certain browsers.

Usability

Easy 

Tool Level

Beginner

Price

Team Plan: €28 ($33) per month, billed annually

Company Plan: €1061 ($1249) per month, billed annually

Custom Contract Terms: Available on request for large enterprises

Pro Tip: If the Team plan doesn’t meet your basic needs, add extra agents to your plan for an added fee.

5. Flow XO

Image via Flow XO

This multi-channel AI chatbot builder enables you to create bots, build custom workflows, and even train them. It gives you complete control over the design and provides flexibility to tailor the bot to your needs.

If you want to build a chatbot quickly, you can also use their readymade workflows. You can also link different workflows on this AI chatbot platform.

Using Flow XO, you can build chatbots for Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, SMS, and the web.

The best part is that you can sign up for free and try some of the basic functions before you commit to a paid pricing plan. 

Key Features

• Multi-platform bot builder
• Live chat option
• Simple and complex bot workflows
• User data download 
• Ability to accept payments via AI chatbots

Pros

• 500 interactions allowed in the Free plan
• Ability to remove the messenger branding
• Ability to add bots/active flows for a low cost

Cons

• This AI chatbot platform has a long learning curve

Usability

Moderately easy

Tool Level

Beginner/Intermediate

Price

Standard Plan: €16 ($19) per month [For up to 5000 interactions]

Other Add-Ons: 

Interactions: Add 25,000 interactions for €21.25 ($25) per month

Bots/Active Flows: Add five bots or active flows for €8.50 ($10) per month

Pro Tip: Calculate the number of interactions you estimate per month before choosing this, as the pricing seems less but can rise quickly with more interactions.

6.  Chatfuel

Image via Chatfuel

Chatfuel solely focuses on helping you build smarter AI chatbots for Facebook Messenger and Instagram. This no-code chatbot build comes with a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to design and customise your chatbot.

The best part is you can try out all its features for free for a limited number of users even if you don’t have a credit card. In the Free Plan, they even provide basic email support for the first 30 days. 

What sets this AI chatbot platform apart is its simplicity and affordability. 

Key Features

• Intuitive interface
• Integrations available via API
• Easy setup process
• Drip sequences and triggered messages
• Attributes to segment audience
• Basic analytics

Pros

• Free plan available
• Ability to copy messaging tracks for multiple pages

Cons

• Lacks advanced features to design slightly complex bots
• The free version comes with a watermark

Usability

Easy 

Tool Level

Beginner

Price

• Free Plan: Free plan [Only for up to 50 users]
• Pro Plan: Starts from €12.75 ($15) per month [Cost increases with the increase in the number of users]
• Premium Plan: Custom pricing available. Please contact their sales team for more details.
• Agency Plan:  Custom pricing available. Please contact their sales team for more details.

Pro Tip: If you want a dedicated account manager and bot-building guidance, opt for the Premium Plan. 

7. ManyChat

Image via ManyChat

This is one of the best AI chatbot platforms if you want to focus on marketing your business via chatbots. Using ManyChat, you can generate new leads, engage prospects, and drive sales via Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and SMS.

The platform is designed keeping in mind the needs of marketing and sales teams. So, it makes it easy to collect user data, book appointments, and sell products via AI chatbots.

In addition to this, it has integrations with popular apps like Shopify, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Google Sheets, ConvertKit, and Zapier. Overall, this AI chatbot platform provides all the functionalities you need to create a cohesive sales and marketing strategy. 

It can help you reach prospects at multiple touchpoints in their buying journey and even build long-lasting relationships.

Key Features

• Unlimited custom chatbot flows
• Audience segmentation with 10 tags
• Built-in growth tools
• A/B testing option

Pros

• Free plan for Facebook Messenger
• Pay as you go option for the Pro Plan

Cons

• Can build better online documentation

Usability

Easy 

Tool Level

Beginner/Intermediate

Price

• Free Plan
• Pro Plan: Starts at €8.50 ($10) per month [Up to 1000 contacts]
• Business Plan: Custom pricing available. Please get in touch with their sales team to get a quote based on your needs.

Pro Tip: Use the Facebook Ads JSON growth tool in ManyChat to connect your ad to a specific flow in the platform. It can be a great way to collect leads and run giveaways for your business.

8. Pandorabots

Image via Pandorabots

Among all the other best AI chatbots discussed here, Pandorabots has something unique to offer — it lets you build a chatbot character. It enables you to bring your chatbot to life with special animation integration with Rapport.

You can take chatbot marketing to the next level with their embodied conversational AI live stream option. 

What’s more, they have a Small Talk library that covers inputs for the most popular queries. This means you don’t have to waste time working on those responses again. The library is 100% free and open-source, so it is easily accessible.

This chatbot also has turnkey integrations with Telegram, Twitter, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, LINE, and other platforms.

Key Features

• Open-source chatbot library
• Development Sandbox
• API access
• Live training
• Unlimited Sandbox messages
• Chatbot avatar
• Add Speech-text and Text-to-speech

Pros

• Work on both text and voice mediums
• Option to own and download code
• Code and no-code options

Cons

• It can be a bit confusing for beginners

Usability

Moderately difficult to use

Tool Level

Expert

Price

• Free Plan

• Developer Plan: ~€16.15 ($19) per month
• Pro Plan: ~€169.20 ($199) per month
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing available. Please get in touch with their sales team to get a quote for your business.

Pro Tip: To get started with the basics of crafting complex AI conversational agents, you can check out their free course on Udemy.

9. Imperson

Image via Imperson

Imperson is an AI chatbot platform that enables you to create bots for marketing and customer service. 

It also supports all kinds of media inputs, including audio, video, and text. Soon, they are planning to launch Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) capabilities.

With Imperson, you can create bots for Slack, Kik, Twitter, Messenger, website, and other channels. 

Their conversational engine is designed to create personalised conversational flows with the help of factors like user profiles, support case history, past purchases, customer goals, conversation history, and other such factors.

They also have a special customer success team that promises to handhold you through the processes of ideation, initial deployment, and operation.

Key Features

• Multi-platform bot builder
• Reporting and analytics capabilities
• Fully-managed chatbot services
• Supports text, audio, and video inputs
• Interactive storytelling capabilities

Pros

• Great customer support
• Comprehensive educational material
• Bots determine conversation flow based on context and relationship history.

Cons

• Pricing details not disclosed 

Usability

Easy 

Tool Level

Intermediate

Price

Pricing details are not disclosed on their website. Please reach out to their team to get a quote. 

Pro Tip: Use celebrity personalities and gamified options in this AI chatbot platform to keep your audience engaged and entertained.

10. Boost.ai

Image via Boost.ai

Boost.ai is one of the best AI chatbot platforms if you want to build a chatbot that can help you generate sales and answer customer queries. It offers integrations with multiple platforms, including Slack, Facebook Messenger, Zendesk, Salesforce, and others.

This AI chatbot platform has been designed keeping in mind the needs of enterprises. If there is a spike in traffic, it can be scaled to handle it smoothly. 

They also have special solutions for different sectors, including banking, insurance, telecom, and others.

Key Features

• Automated answers to FAQs
• Conversation flow editor for training
• API documentation
• Pre-built industry modules
• Multi-level intent hierarchy
• Multiple integrations

Pros

• No-code builder
• Easy to scale
• Has more than 2,500 ready-to-go user intents
• GDPR-compliant privacy features

Cons

• Limited features for marketing products and services

Usability

Moderately easy to use

Tool Level

Intermediate

Price

They have three pricing plans: Trial, Standard, and Enterprise Plans.

However, pricing details are not disclosed for any of the plans on their website. Please reach out to their sales team to get a quote. 

Pro Tip: If you are hesitant to opt for the paid pricing plans, ask their team for proof of concept. They have a special 10-day POC plan so that you can make a risk-free assessment.

11. SnatchBot

Image via SnatchBot

SnatchBot is a multi-channel messaging platform that aims to remove the complexity in the process of building new AI chatbots. 

While user-friendliness is its focus, this AI chatbot does not compromise on security either. It has enterprise-grade security features that are in complete compliance with the regulations.

This omnichannel platform is designed to support the whole lifecycle of a chatbot. On SnatchBot, you can develop, test, deploy, publish, host, track, and monitor your chatbots. 

Using this AI chatbot platform, you can develop an automated AI chatbot or a hybrid chatbot even if you don’t have any coding skills.

Their proprietary Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities enable bots to understand, memorise, and learn user behaviour based on their responses. Based on this context, chatbots can respond appropriately.

Key Features

• Multi-channel chatbot platform
• Sentiment analysis capabilities
• Text-to-speech and speech-to-text conversion ability
• Conversation history storage
• Agent-handoff ability

Pros

• Robust administrative features
• Ability to create hybrid bots
• Multiple pricing plans

Cons

• Advanced features may seem confusing for first-time users.

Usability

Easy 

Tool Level

Beginner/Intermediate

Price

• Free Plan

• Pro Plan: Starting from € 25.51 ($30) to  €849.39 ($999) per month. 
• Enterprise Plan: Please contact their team to get an accurate quote.

Pro Tip: In the Pro Plan, the pricing is based on the number of messages. Make sure you invest time estimating your needs before you sign up or your cost can increase dramatically. 

12. BotCore

Image via BotCore

BotCore is one of the best AI chatbot platforms for enterprises. Using it, you can train, build, and deploy customised AI-powered bots. You can use them as virtual assistants who can guide users through the sales funnel and answer their queries. 

It is designed such that you can deploy this AI chatbot platform on-premise as well as in a cloud environment. It allows you to connect your chatbots across technologies into the BotCore platform to create a virtual assistant network. 

Key Features

• Guided conversations
• Ability to connect multiple bots
• Integrated Knowledge Graph
• Trigger-based conversations
• Sentiment analysis
• Integration with Line of Business (LOB) systems

Pros

• Easily scalable AI chatbot platform
• Has specific bots for supply chain and fulfilment
• Multiple security parameters

Cons

• Multichannel support works only on Microsoft Bot Framework.

Usability

Moderate to difficult

Tool Level

Intermediate/Expert

Price

Their website does not mention any pricing plans. Please get in touch with their sales team to get a quote. 

Pro Tip: If you are expecting a large volume of trigger messages, make sure you use the message queuing option.

13. Xenioo

Image via Xenioo

This omnichannel AI chatbot platform lets you develop, deploy, and analyse online chatbots on multiple platforms. You can use it for WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Alexa, Microsoft Teams, websites, and other channels.

Xenioo comes with a special preview feature that lets you take a final look at your chatbot before you publish it. This makes it easy to find errors and fix them easily. 

Key Features

• Multichannel platform
• Ability to set variables, conditional switches, and tags to design bots
• Built-in NLP (natural language processing) engine
• Third-party integrations
• Team collaboration options
• API Integration

Pros

• Activate chatbot on all common channels
• Ability to freely modify bots without affecting the active bot
• Assign roles for teams
• Ability to make offline copies of your work

Cons

• Provides basic reporting capabilities

Usability

Easy to moderate

Tool Level

Beginner/Intermediate

Price

• Free Plan

• Starter Plan: €29.99/month ($35 approximately)
• Professional Plan: €99.99/month ($118 approximately)
• Business Plan: Please contact their sales team to get a quote. 

Pro Tip: Create chatbots that use dynamic content with Xenioo Cloud Scripting.

14. Verloop.io

Image via Verloop.io

This AI chatbot platform makes use of advanced NLP and ML technologies to build effective customer service chatbots. It is available on multiple channels, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, website, and others. 

They have features that can help you design chatbots that are relevant for Banking, Travel, Real Estate, Insurance, Foodservice, E-commerce, Logistics, and other industries. 

To make it easier to maintain a unified customer profile, they have integrations with apps like Zapier, Google Analytics, Google Sheets, Shopify, Zendesk, and others. 

Key Features

• Multi-channel chatbot platform
• Multiple integrations
• Multi-factor authentication
• Live chat plugins
• Supports 15+ languages 
• Basic analytics

Pros

• Scalable live support
• Role-based access control
• Ability to protect user data
• GDPR compliant

Cons

• Pricing details not disclosed

Usability

Easy 

Tool Level

Beginner/Intermediate

Price

Please get in touch with their sales team to get a quote.

Pro Tip: To track what your chatbot is accomplishing, set multiple goals in the chat flow. Keep an eye on the goal completion rate to check the overall progress.

15. Dialogflow

Image via Google

This AI chatbot building solution is designed by Google. So, it connects easily with Google Assistant. It is one of the most scalable AI chatbot platforms out there. All types of businesses can use it to create efficient chatbots. 

It is designed to seamlessly integrate across different platforms, including mobile, web, Cisco, Genesys, and others. It can handle supplemental questions as well. This makes it possible for customers to deviate from the main topic and return to it later gracefully.

This AI chatbot platform can support up to 20 conversation flows along with 40,000 intents. Additionally, it has multi-turn simulators that can help you evaluate both quality and uncover bugs. 

Key Features

• Multi-platform bot builder
• Supports 30+ languages
• Advanced analytics
• 9 production-ready agents
• Visual flow builder
• Multiple integrations

Pros

• Rich functionality
• Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities
• Ability to define transitions intuitively
• Ability to create test cases for evaluation

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Coding skills needed
• Complex pricing structure

Usability

Difficult 

Tool Level

Expert

Price

This platform’s monthly pricing plan is based on the edition as well as the number of requests made in the given time period. 

For CX Agent (2021-09)

• Text Feature:  €0.00060 ($0.0007) per request
• Design-time requests: €0
• Audio input.output: €0.051 ($0.06) per minute
• Other session requests: €0

For more details, check out their pricing page.

Pro Tip: Dialogflow has two editions: Dialogflow CX and Dialogflow ES. If you only need basic functions, opt for the latter option. 

16. Wit.ai

Image via Wit.ai

This conversational AI chatbot platform is built on advanced NLP capabilities and can help you develop voice and text-based bots. The program is designed so that it can easily understand voice commands, making it perfect to create bots for mobile apps, smart homes, and wearable devices. 

Wit.ai is a free and open-source platform that has an active community of more than 20,000 developers. This makes it easy for developers to share their knowledge and create better natural language bot interactions.

What’s more, they also have an active community of developers on Facebook and GitHub. You can join it to file issues and get help from other developers around the world.

Key Features

• Multi-channel bot builder
• Ability to make voice and text bots
• Advanced Machine Learning model
• Consistent APIs

Pros

• Open-source platform
• Free for all
• Great educational resources
• Great community support

Cons

• No customer support
• Not easy to use for beginners, best for developers

Usability

Moderate to Difficult

Tool Level

Intermediate/Expert

Price

Since it is an open-source platform, it is free for all. 

Pro Tip: They provide tons of learning resources like guides and other educational resources that you can use to learn how to use it.

17. Lobster

Image via Lobster

This chatbot platform is developed by EBI.AI, an AI-based company that caters mainly to B2C businesses. Using their bot-building platform, you can create chatbots for multiple platforms, including smart home devices and mobile apps. 

It is a browser-based platform that you use just to manage your virtual assistant and check out how it is performing. While they have a ready-made bot available on their platform, you can also tailor it to suit your business needs.

Key Features

• Multilingual chatbot
• Multi-channel bot platform
• Detailed reporting
• AI to agent handover

Pros 

• Fully branding option
• Great customer support

Cons

• Pricing details are not disclosed on their website

Usability

Easy

Tool Level

Beginner

Price

Please get in touch with their sales team to get a quote.

Pro Tip: Use the live chat feature to make sure it’s easy for your visitors to connect with customer service representatives.

18. Rasa

Image via Rasa

This open-source AI chatbot platform can help you personalise your online customer interactions. It is built keeping in mind the needs of enterprises. If you are looking for a bot-building platform that is easily scalable, this is the right platform for you. 

However, you do require coding skills to use it. If you want access to advanced features, you should opt for their paid plans. 

They also have an active community of developers, data scientists, conversational AI enthusiasts, and graphic designers. 

You can join this community to discuss how to use the platform and build better bots. You can also discuss any issues and bugs you may encounter on the platform.

Key Features

• Role-based access control
• Easy integration with APIs and messaging channels
• Multiple deployment environments
• Detailed analytics
• Ability to view and annotate bot conversations

Pros

• Great community culture
• Option to get feedback from testers
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are available.

Cons

• Not for beginners
• Requires coding knowledge

Usability

Difficult 

Tool Level

Expert

Price

Since it is an open-source platform, it is free to use. However, they also have customised plans for enterprises. Please get in touch with their sales team to get a quote.

Pro Tip: For maximum security, you can authenticate your users via the SSO system on the Rasa chatbot platform.

19. ProProfs Chatbot

Image via ProProfs Chat

ProProfs Chatbot allows you to provide 24x7 support to customers. It helps you conduct human-like conversations with visitors and capture leads in the process. The best part is that the tool doesn’t require any coding skills to set up. 

With popular CRM integrations like Salesforce, Zoho CRM, MS Dynamics, etc., the captured leads can be directly transferred to the desired tools. 

You can design your chatbot to route chats to live operators for quick issue resolution. You also connect the chatbot with your helpdesk to convert chats into tickets. 

ProProfs Chatbot comes with a free trial of 15 days. You can get started for free and pick up the basics in no time!

Here’s what sets this solution apart from the rest.

Key Features

• Pre-designed chatbot templates
• Chatbot workflows
• Supports 90+ languages
• Chat routing
• Branching logic 
• Chatbot reports & analytics 

Pros

• Affordable and great for SMBs.
• Customized conversation flow
• Solid customer support 
• Supports intelligent routing.

Cons

• Needs more social media integrations.

Usability

Easy to use.

Tool Level

Beginner/Intermediate

Price

Starts from $10/operator/month. 

Pro Tip: 

If you face any issues with the solution, the ProProfs help centre will guide you through each functionality.

20. Ultimate.ai

Image via Ultimate.ai

Ultimate is a virtual agent platform, helping global brands scale their customer support with artificial intelligence. Ultimate's deep learning artificial intelligence technology works in partnership with agents, learning from historical chat data to provide reply suggestions in real time.

Ultimate.ai learns from agent behaviors and grows in accuracy. Ultimately, the most common questions in customer service are fully automated, freeing agents to focus on what really matters, the customer.

Key features

• Chat automation
• Ticket automation
• No coding required

Pros

• Supports many different languages
• Integrates with e.g. Zendesk and Salesforce
• Quick and helpful customer service

Cons

• No WhatsApp and other social media integrations
• New released features can look unfinished when using them

Usability

Easy to use

Tool level

Beginner/Intermediate

Price

Contact sales for more information

What Are the Benefits of Using the Best AI Chatbots?

Now you know what an AI chatbot is. 

But, why should you add it to your website or app? 

Adding AI chatbots to your website has multiple benefits. In this section, let’s take a look at them.

1. Identify and Nurture Leads

The most obvious benefit of using the best AI (artificial intelligence) chatbots is that you can identify and capture qualified leads. 

Here’s how:

Whenever someone visits your website or app, AI-powered chatbots can initiate conversations with them. They can ask a series of questions to understand what they prefer and require.

It’s like a shortcut to getting a sense of what they want.

Based on their needs, the best AI-powered chatbots for lead generation can show them relevant posts, products, services, or offers. In fact, some of the best AI chatbots can even help them with things like site navigation.

All in all, the best AI chatbots can help you move your leads further down the sales funnel.

2. Get Insights into Customer Behaviour

Every time a user interacts with an AI chatbot, the chatbot platform records their responses. From this data, the best AI chatbots can provide insights to help you understand your target audience, their preferences, and their behaviour. 

Honestly, it’s a goldmine of user data.

This user data can help you with sales, product development, content marketing, and innovation. 

What’s more, chatbots collect this data continuously in the background. That saves you a lot of time that you would otherwise spend compiling information.

3. Boost Customer Satisfaction

It’s not just you who is going to be happier with the best AI chatbots. Your customers will be more satisfied as well.

Here’s why:

The best AI chatbots enable you to answer customer queries instantly without making them wait in a queue to get in touch with a customer service representative. 

Not only is it more convenient, but it also saves their time. This, in turn, can provide a better customer experience, leading to increased customer satisfaction.

4. Cut Operational Expenses

Regardless of your industry and company size, you want to try to minimise your overhead costs. When you add chatbots to your website or apps, you can save money on hiring customer service representatives.

Of course, the best AI chatbots require a one-time investment. But, in the long run, you will end up cutting your overall costs.

How to Pick the Best AI Chatbot Platform For Your Business

The best AI chatbot platforms can help your business generate new leads, convert them, and nurture them in the long term. 

They have a lot to offer, but only if you find the right AI chatbot platform.

While picking the best AI chatbot platform for your business, here are some of the main criteria that you should consider.

1. User-Friendliness

One of the main features of a good AI chatbot platform is that it is easy to use. You shouldn’t need to have design or coding skills to make a functional chatbot. 

Instead, the best platforms should allow you to make changes as and when required. Typically, AI-based chatbot platforms that offer drag-and-drop functionality are quite user-friendly.

2. Automation Grade

One of the main features to look out for in AI-based chatbots is the kind of automation they provide. 

Most of the options out there make it possible for you to answer customer queries quickly and efficiently. But the best ones also provide the option to route complex queries to live chat agents easily. Such instant routing can boost customer satisfaction.

But that’s not all.

Once you have a potential lead’s contact information, you should be able to contact them quickly. With the chat routing feature, chatbot platforms can send lead details easily to your sales teams. 

If you want more conversions, you should ensure that your conversational AI platform for chatbots offers this feature. 

3. Accuracy

While choosing an AI chatbot building platform, invest time in research so that you are certain that the chatbot can provide accurate answers.

How do you do that?

Keep an eye on the number of times your AI-based chatbot returns an inaccurate answer or error. You should also check how accurately your chosen bot can personalize answers and offers to users. 

4. Targeting Capabilities

Another important feature that you should consider while picking a chatbot platform is how well it enables you to target your website visitors. Based on this, you’ll be able to customise your content according to certain pre-set criteria.

The best AI chatbot platform allows you to target options related to a visitor’s site behaviour, location, device, and other factors. 

5. Integrations

If you want to collect user data in real-time and leverage it, your chatbot platform will need to provide seamless integration with various CRM, social media, and email marketing tools. 

This will enable you to reach out to potential leads on different platforms.

Some platforms may not provide integration with your existing CRM platforms. In such a case, you should see if they have open APIs. If they do, it may be possible for you to integrate new systems.

6. Branding Options

Does the chatbot platform allow you to edit your chatbot design to make it in sync with your company’s branding? 

This is a question you should ask if you want to customise your chatbot. 

7. A/B Testing

Through A/B testing, you can gain insight into your site visitors’ overall preferences. 

Based on it, you can filter your audience and test auto-suggestions. 

Make sure the chatbot platform you choose has options to A/B test chatbot placement, size, and images. 

Image via giosg

8. Reporting and Analytics Capabilities

A good chatbot platform will enable you to get quick insights into your chatbot’s overall performance. 

Looking at these reports can help you understand the background of your site visitors and their intent. Make sure that your chatbot platform offers detailed reports that let you track visitor behaviour.

9. Customer Support

What if you get stuck while creating your own AI chatbot or face issues once it is deployed? 

The best AI chatbot platforms provide prompt customer support so you are not stranded in such situations. Before you finalise a chatbot platform, make sure that their customer support team is responsive. 

Do your own research and check out online reviews to get a true sense of a platform’s customer service experience.

FAQs

1. What is an AI chatbot?

An AI chatbot is an online program that can simulate human-like customer interactions on mobile apps and websites through the use of NLP and Machine Learning.

They are designed to understand a user’s intent, preferences, and needs without the involvement of a human operator. 

2. Which is the best AI chatbot platform?

There isn’t a definitive answer. The best AI chatbot platform will depend on your needs and budget. Some of the most popular AI chatbot platforms include:

• Giosg
• MobileMonkey
• Botsify
• Chatfuel
• Activechat.ai

3. Why do I need an AI chatbot?

AI chatbots have many applications in different aspects of a business. You can use AI chatbots to:

• Identify qualified leads
• Collect user data and build email lists
• Provide better customer service
• Upsell and cross-sell your products and services
• Automate repetitive tasks

In a nutshell, you need an AI chatbot to improve your efficiency and provide a better customer experience.

4. Which is the best AI chatbot platform for beginners?

The best AI chatbot platform will depend on your business requirements. Giosg, Activechat.ai, MobileMonkey, Lobster, and ChatterOn are examples of beginner-friendly bot-building platforms.

5. What is the main use of an AI chatbot?

AI chatbots have multiple use cases in customer service, marketing, and sales. Here are some examples of how you can use AI chatbots:

• Answer customer queries
• Get registrations or event bookings
• Provide personalized recommendations
• Process return and exchange requests
• Collect user data and feedback
• Upsell and cross-sell products

6. How much does it cost to develop an AI chatbot?

Developing an AI chatbot can cost anywhere between GBP 10 to GBP 200 per month. The overall cost will depend on the kind of features/tools you want to add to your AI chatbot. You can even set up a basic AI chatbot for free on some chatbot platforms.

7. How many days will it take to create an AI chatbot?

The overall time required to build a chatbot could range from just a couple of hours to 2-3 weeks, depending on the complexity of your bot or the functions you’d like to automate. 

8. Is it hard to create an AI chatbot?

With the use of the best chatbot platforms, it becomes fairly easy to deploy a chatbot even if you have zero coding experience. 

9. How do I make an AI chatbot for free?

Here are some of the best platforms that you can use to create an AI chatbot for free:

• Giosg
• Botsify
• Activechat.ai
• Flow XO
• Chatfuel

10. Which features should I look for to find the best AI chatbot platforms?

While picking a chatbot builder for your business, here are some of the factors that you should compare in different platforms:

• Accuracy
• Automation grade
• User-friendliness
• Targeting options
• Integrations
• Branding options
• Chat routing
• A/B testing feature
• Reporting and analytics capabilities
• Customer support
  
  

Ready to Build Your Own AI Chatbot?

Building the best AI chatbot for your business is easier than ever with the help of a chatbot builder. While there are many platforms available out there, you should ensure that you are clear on your preferences and needs.

Next, compare different platforms based on their user-friendliness, integrations, reporting capabilities, and other factors mentioned above.

If you are looking for rich capabilities at a nominal rate, consider opting for giosg. It has a user-friendly interface and comes with tons of features that make the process of building an AI chatbot hassle-free.