Chatbots are computer software that simulate conversations with humans in chat applications. Beyond that, they are extremely powerful programs that can grow to do much more than just chat. Chatbots are used in a wide variety of situations and over a number of different platforms. Bots are used for customer service, for product suggestion, for sales, for scheduling, for marketing, engagement and so much more. Chatbots work by using predetermined conversational elements to interact with a human user over the internet. Some chatbots use machine learning and artificial intelligence while others use natural language processing to maintain these human-like interactions.

Chatbots can vary in price pretty drastically depending on the level of functionality, placement of the bot, and the type of chatbot. These powerful little pieces of software can be free, or they can be thousands of dollars of custom development every month. Free chatbot platforms will typically include a chatbot builder complete with customization tools for a simple bot that uses dialogues and FAQ trigger words. You might find templates for different types of businesses with different needs to copy or edit to best serve your chatbot’s purpose. On the other hand, a more advanced user-friendly graphical interface chatbot building platform could cost $9 to $1000 per month. These are custom solutions that will vary by features, functions, integrations, and more.