AI chatbot development services for after-hours inquiries
Our AI chatbot development services are for businesses where whoever answers first wins the job. The bot answers your common questions, checks if the job is a fit, and books it.
It says it is not a person, and hands over to one when it should.
- Three to four weeks
- Most of it is writing the answers with you.
- Uses your answers
- It does not make up prices you do not offer.
- Every conversation saved
- You can read exactly what it told people.
The value is in the hours nobody is answering
People look for a plumber at 9pm and a roofer on Sunday, because that is when they notice the problem. If the only way to reach you is a phone call during business hours, most will contact someone else before Monday.
A good bot keeps it simple. It answers the questions you really get, checks if the job is one you want, and books it if so. When the fastest reply wins the job, that is worth real money.
A bad bot is a general AI tool put on your website and told to be helpful. That is the one that makes up a price.
Not sure a bot is right for you? AI consulting tells you before you build anything. A bot is only as good as where it sends bookings, which is CRM integration. If nobody visits your site at all, start with SEO instead.
It is built from your answers, not a generic script
First, we list every question you get asked again and again, with the right answer to each. It takes about two hours. It is useful even if you never build the bot, because most businesses have never written this down.
Then we set the limits: what it can quote, what it must hand over, and what it should never try. The bot is only as good as that list, so we write it with you.
What our AI chatbot development services produce
Four jobs. The fourth is always included.
Answering the questions you get every week
The questions most people askDo you cover my area? How soon can you come? Do you charge for a quote? Do you take cards? Are you licensed? Written down, that list is usually 20 or 30 questions. They cover most of what you get asked.
The bot uses your answers, not a generic script. It only says what you told it. That stops it making up a price you do not offer.
Checking the job is a fit
Before it reaches your teamWhat kind of work, where, how soon, and whether you take that kind of job. A bot that books everything makes more work, because someone has to cancel the bad ones.
When a job is not a fit, it says so and points the person somewhere useful. That stops a bad match turning into a bad review.
Booking, or handing over to a person
Your calendar, or a real personFor a job it understands, it books it on your calendar and sends a confirmation. For anything else, like a complaint, an odd request or a question it cannot answer, it stops and hands over. It does not make things up.
The handover includes the whole conversation, so nobody has to ask everything again.
Honesty and records
Always includedIt says up front that it is not a person. Getting caught pretending costs more trust than the bot saves. In some states, saying so is the law.
Every conversation is saved, so you can read what it told people. The first month of those records also shows you exactly what your customers want to know.
What you get, written down before you pay
All of this goes in the agreement before you pay anything.
In the build
- Your answers written down and agreed
- Rules for the jobs you do and do not take
- Booking into your calendar, with confirmation
- Handover to a person, with the whole conversation
- Saved conversations you can read
After launch
- Answers corrected as you spot gaps
- Conversations reviewed monthly for new common questions
- Running costs billed to your own account
- Connected to your CRM so leads land with the rest
- You can switch it off at any time
Not included
- A bot that pretends to be a person
- A general AI tool allowed to say anything about your business
- Using your customers' conversations to train an AI
- Replacing the person who answers the phone
Tell us the five questions you get asked most, and we will tell you if a bot is worth it.
Three things to ask before you hire anyone
- Ask to see real conversations
- Any company selling a bot should show you what one said to real people.
- Ask what it will refuse to answer
- If there is no written list, nobody planned for what happens when it goes wrong.
- Ask about the data setting
- Ask if your conversations are used to train an AI. We will show you where that is turned off.
Common questions
What do AI chatbot development services cost?
A fixed price to build and connect it, set after we see the questions it needs to answer. Then a running cost for the AI service, usually tens of dollars a month, not hundreds. Ask yourself how many extra booked jobs a month would cover that.
Will it embarrass us?
Not if it only uses your answers. Ours stick to what you gave us, stop when they are out of their depth, and hand over to a person. The bots that embarrass people are general AI tools put on a website with no limits.
Will it make up a price?
No. It quotes what you told it and says a person will confirm anything else. Made-up answers come from bots told to help with everything, with no limits.
Do we still need someone answering the phone?
Yes. The bot covers the hours when nobody is around, and people who would rather type than call. Many people who reach out after hours never call back the next day. That is the gap it fills.
How long does it take to build?
Three to four weeks. Most of that is writing the answers with you and testing odd cases, not writing code.
Does it use our customer data to train an AI?
No. Your conversations are only used to answer your customers. That is written into the agreement, and we will show you the setting that makes sure of it.
What if it gets something wrong?
You see it in the records and we fix the answer. Like a new employee, it will sometimes get things wrong. What matters is how fast you find out and how easy it is to fix.
Related: AI overview · AI consulting · CRM integration · Websites
Saying a bot is not a person is also the law in several states. California's bot disclosure law is the best known, and more states are following.
Tell us what people ask you at 9pm, and we will tell you if a bot should answer
We reply in writing within one business day, even when the answer is no.