Definition

What is AI Chatbot?

Older chatbots followed rigid scripts and decision trees, so they failed whenever a visitor asked something unexpected. Modern AI chatbots are typically built on large language models, which let them understand questions phrased in many different ways and respond in natural language.

Small businesses use AI chatbots on websites and messaging channels to answer common questions about services, hours, service areas, and pricing ranges, collect contact details, qualify leads, and book appointments outside business hours. A chatbot connected to a CRM or calendar can turn a late-night website visit into a scheduled job.

A chatbot is only as good as the information and rules it is given. It should draw on an approved knowledge base, avoid inventing prices or promises, identify itself as automated, and hand off to a person when a question is sensitive or outside its scope.

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