AI chatbot development
An AI support chatbot for your website that captures leads
A chatbot on your site that answers visitors' questions from your own content and collects their details when they're interested. Setup is $300, paid once. AI usage and hosting are billed to you directly by the providers.
$300 one-time
A good fit if
- Visitors ask the same questions before they buy or book
- Enquiries arrive outside working hours and go cold
- Your answers are already on public pages, in docs or in FAQs
Probably not a fit if
- Answers must come from internal or confidential documents. That's custom RAG development
- You need a live-chat inbox with a team of agents
How the chatbot works
01Data sources
I index your website pages plus any docs and FAQs you provide. When your content changes, the index can be refreshed so answers stay current.
02Lead capture
When a visitor shows interest, the bot asks for their name, email and what they need, and sends it to your email or one CRM.
03Handoff rules
The bot offers a person when it can't find an answer in your content, when the visitor asks for a human, or when the topic is one you've marked as sensitive, such as refunds or complaints. It collects contact details and notifies you, or shows your WhatsApp, email or booking link.
04Guardrails
It's instructed to answer only from your content and to hand off rather than guess about prices, policies or promises.
05Works on your site
It embeds with one script tag, so it works on WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix or a custom site.
Setup versus recurring costs
The $300 covers setup. Running costs go straight to the providers, on your accounts.
$300 one-time
- Answers from your website, docs and FAQs
- Captures names, emails and enquiry details
- Leads sent to your email or one CRM
- Embeds on any website or platform
- Offers to connect visitors with a person when it can't answer
- You pay providers directly
- AI model API usage, billed to your own account
- Hosting, if it isn't added to a server you already have
- Not included
- Internal or permission-restricted documents (that's custom RAG development)
- More than one CRM, a live-chat inbox or multiple languages, quoted separately
- After launch
- Bug fixes for 14 days. After that, changes are quoted, or you can hire me monthly.
- SetupMe, one time: $300
- Indexing your content, the chat widget, lead capture, one email or CRM destination, handoff rules and deployment.
- Model usageYour AI provider, monthly
- Billed per token to your own account. It depends on how many conversations the bot has.
- HostingYour hosting provider, monthly
- Nothing extra if it runs on a server you already have, otherwise a small server.
- ChangesMe, optional
- Bug fixes are covered for the support window. Extra integrations, more languages or new features are quoted separately.
How we'll work
You work with me directly from the first call to handover. No account managers, no hand-offs.
01
Free scoping call
30 minutes on what you need, your data and what a good result looks like.
02
Written scope and quote
What's included, what isn't, running costs and the support window, in writing before work starts.
03
Working demo early
You see it working on your own data early and can steer before the rest is built.
04
Build, test, deploy
I build the app and its infrastructure, test it and deploy it to your accounts.
05
Handover and support
Code, documentation and a walkthrough, then bug fixes for the support window.
Questions
Which websites does it work on?
Any site where you can add a script tag, including WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix and custom sites.
Can it answer in other languages?
Multiple languages are quoted separately, because each one needs its own testing.
Can it look up orders or bookings?
Not in this package. Connecting it to order or booking systems is custom work, quoted after a short call.
Related guides
How Much Does a Custom RAG System Cost to Build and Run?
What drives the cost of building a custom RAG system, how to estimate monthly running costs from token volumes, and three worked scenarios with every assumption written down.
How to Hire an AI Developer: A Checklist for Startups and Small Teams
How to evaluate an independent AI developer: a scoping checklist, questions to ask, what to check in the code at handover, an evaluation plan and a delivery process that protects you.
Tell me about your project
A 30-minute call is enough to tell whether this fits and what it would cost. You'll get the scope and quote in writing afterwards.