AI chatbot for SMEs: how it works, pricing and benefits.
Your customers keep asking the same questions: opening hours, prices, lead times, availability. Often in the evening or on weekends, when you are not there. An AI chatbot trained on your content answers in your place, right away. Here is how it works, what it costs, and what it returns.
More than a button chatbot
Old chatbots followed a rigid tree of buttons and stalled off script. An AI chatbot understands a real question and answers from YOUR content: your pages, your documents, your catalogue. Not a vague world knowledge, your own information.
How it works
The mechanism is called RAG. Your content is indexed once; for each question, the system finds the right passages and composes the answer from them, source cited. It relies on your text instead of making things up:
What it costs
Two line items, whoever the provider is.
The setup. Grafting a chatbot onto an existing site is the lightest option; a new site with a chatbot costs more, a true business tool more still. The gap comes down to scope: sources to connect, integrations, customisation. Always ask for a clear range before you sign.
The usage. Each conversation costs a few cents of AI model, on a pay-as-you-go basis. Add maintenance if you want to hand off the follow-up.
What it returns
A well-built chatbot works while you sleep: it answers 24/7, captures evening and weekend requests, qualifies visitors before your first exchange, and frees your support from the repetitive. And because it cites its sources, the customer trusts it instead of doubting.
The limits
An AI can be wrong. That is why RAG exists: it anchors it on your content and shows the source, so the answer stays verifiable. The scope is framed up front, and the chatbot points to a human or a form outside its field. Data: European model by default, no training on your content, GDPR compliant.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to set up an AI chatbot?
On a site with an AI chatbot, it is built in from delivery, in 5 to 7 days. On a site already online, we graft it on in a few days through the integration offer.
Does it work on my existing site?
Yes. The chatbot grafts onto a site already in place, whatever its technology. It is trained on your current pages and documents, without rebuilding everything.
Is my data protected?
The right reflex: require in writing a model hosted in Europe or matched to your sensitivity level, with no training on your data, GDPR compliant. Also ask where conversations are stored and for how long.
What is the difference with a 50 €/month chatbot plugin?
A generic plugin answers with fixed rules or a vague world knowledge. A custom AI chatbot is trained on YOUR real pages, cites the source of every answer, and is built into your site rather than floating on top of it.
This article is by Willsofts, which builds websites and applications with AI built in. If you are considering an AI chatbot for your business, we can talk it through with no commitment on a discovery call, and the full offering is on the services page. To go further, see AI inside your business tools.