
AI Chatbots are an important part of any customer engagement strategy.
They’re cost-effective automation tools that can improve your customer service and cut down your agent’s workload. With the right bot, you can deliver better help desk support to your site visitors and generate more leads for your business.
In this article, I’ve covered the software and apps that are ideal for both B2B and B2C brands.
But let me briefly introduce AI chatbots before we explore the platforms.
What is an AI Chatbot?
AI Chatbots are digital assistant apps that interact with site visitors and answer frequently asked questions.
Most businesses deploy them to manage basic queries and collect contact information. However, you can also use them to automate sales prospecting to generate leads faster.
In any case, companies typically go for three common types of bots for customer engagement;
- Rule-based bots that are programmed to follow specific scripts.
- AI-powered bots that adjust conversations based on visitors’ intent.
- Social messaging bots that automate comments and DMs.
Why are AI Chatbots Important?
Today, prospects want quick answers to their queries and instant access to information to make a purchase decision.
With an AI bot, you can automate almost 68% of the communication, making it easier to entertain site visitors 24/7.
They’re incredibly time-saving tools that can help you deliver customer service at scale and significantly improve your response rate.
Let’s go over the below listed 15 AI chatbot software and apps listed below to explore their features.
1. Landbot
Landbot delivers chatbots for websites and WhatsApp. It has a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor that makes it easier to design AI bots and conversation flows.
You can access its library to find versatile lead generation templates or use the API to build custom bots. You can also apply advanced formulas and conditions to produce complex message sequences.
Apart from that, it lets you develop WhatsApp marketing campaigns, run A/B testing to measure performance, and monitor chat to discover areas for improvement.
Core Features
- Chatbot builder.
- Template library.
- Customizations.
- WhatsApp campaigns.
- Automation.
- Integrations.
- Analytics.
- Team management.
- Mobile app.
Price
Landbot’s basic plan costs €30 per month. For mid-size companies, it charges €80.
2. HubSpot Chatbot
HubSpot is a popular CRM software that offers a suite of marketing and sales products for customer management.
Chatbot Builder is one of its free products that’s included in its Sales hub premium package. With this tool, you can embed a basic bot to your website to answer visitors’ queries and book meetings.
In addition, you can automate your workflow and set up canned responses to create conversation sequences for different scenarios.
The best thing about HubSpot’s chatbot is its integration with CRM. You can leverage its data to develop personalized messages.
Core Features
- User-friendly builder.
- Brand theme customization.
- Auto-responses.
- Email marketing.
- Integration with CRM.
Price
HubSpot’s chatbot is free. To remove the branding and access premium features, buy its starter plan for $45.
3. ZOHO Sales IQ
Zoho is a SaaS application that sells versatile productivity apps to help businesses optimize their operations. One of its products is called Sales IQ, which offers AI-powered bots and Live chat widgets.
Here, you can set up a chatbot to interact with visitors and deliver product information. You can program it to initiate small talk to engage your audience, or turn it into a knowledge base to help visitors learn more about your business. It’s up to you.
In addition, you can monitor your site traffic to identify return visitors and get insights into their browsing behavior.
The app is packed with tons of useful features and multi-language support.
Core Features
- AI-powered chatbots.
- Visitor tracking.
- Live chat.
- Team collaboration.
- Advanced Analytics.
- Multi-language.
- CRM integrations.
Price
Zoho is free to use. It charges $7 for its paid plan.
4. ZenDesk
ZenDesk shares one of the most comprehensive customer service automation solutions.
Here, you can develop an intelligent chatbot, create a self-serving help center, manage multiple platform messages, and perform several sales functions.
With its agent workspace and built-in routing, your team can easily track conversations and respond to messages on time. You can also design a cross-channel ticketing system to offer an accessible portal for lodging complaints.
Other helpful functions of ZenDesk are its AI-powered answers and reporting.
Core Features
- AI-bots.
- Self-serving help centers.
- Multi-platform messaging.
- Agent workspace.
- Workflow automation.
- App marketplace.
- Reporting and analytics.
- Data storage.
- Customer portal.
Price
Zendesk’s monthly prices range between $49 and $99.
5. Mobilemonkey
MobileMonkey is also a multi-channel tool. It allows you to create chatbots for different platforms and manage your communication from one place.
You can use it to launch website bots, run campaigns on Facebook messengers, and automate SMS messages. It shares several customer engagement templates to help you develop efficient conversation flows.
Other things you can do with MobileMonkey include broadcasting messages, sending DMs to fans, and switching from bot to live chat.
Core Features
- Chatbot builder.
- Cross-channel automation.
- Broadcasts and trigger messages.
- Send DM and respond to comments.
- Drip Campaigns.
- Email marketing.
- Analytics.
- Integrations.
Price
MobileMonkey offers three separate products, starting at $119 per month.
6. Chatwoot
If you’re looking for a basic live chat function to get started, go for Chatwoot.
It’s an open-source platform that comes with a built-in chat widget and bot integrations to establish an efficient online customer service system.
You can connect with your audience on multiple social media channels, centralize your conversations in a shared inbox, and segment visitors to develop targeted messages. Moreover, you can set custom rules and triggers to automate repetitive conversations.
Chatwoot also has several team collaboration features. For instance, you can automatically assign visitors to agents and monitor your team’s response time to measure their performance.
Core Features
- Live chat.
- Workflow automation.
- Chatbot integration.
- Team collaboration.
- Reporting.
- Self-hosting.
- Integration.
- Mobile app.
Price
Chatwoot’s starter plan is free. For small businesses, it charges a minimum of $19 per month.
7. Drift
Drift offers AI-powered chatbots to capture, nurture, and convert site visitors into qualified leads.
It’s easy to use and provides plenty of personalization and data-driven insights to optimize conversations.
You can set triggers to notify you when someone visits your site, automate responses to let the bot engage prospects, and direct visitors to the designated representative.
It additionally shares advanced B2B sales and analytics tools to centralize your visitor data so you can easily prioritize your leads.
Core Features
- AI-bot.
- Live chat.
- Marketing and prospecting tools.
- Email management.
- Analytics.
- Audience targeting.
- A/B testing.
- Workflow automation.
- Salesforce integration.
Price
Drift shares prices upon request. Explore its plans and contact sales to get the prices.
8. Tidio
Tidio is ideal for eCommerce businesses.
It delivers over 35 chatbot templates and automation for product recommendations and cart abandonment interactions. The chatbot additionally comes with sales functions to let buyers place orders directly via messenger.
Tidio also has a live chat widget. It comes with a tracking function that instantly highlights repeat visitors to allow you to capture prospective buyers.
Another feature you’ll love is the multi-channel tool. With it, you can create Instagram and Facebook bots to automate responses to standard queries.
Core Features
- Chatbot.
- Live chat.
- Visitor tracking.
- Analytics.
- Multi-channel tool.
- Shared inbox.
- Shopify Integration.
- Mobile app.
Price
Tidio’s starter plan is free. Its premium plans begin from $16 a month.
9. Crisp
Crisp is best for solopreneurs, startups, and small businesses.
You can use this platform to build a custom AI chatbot, feed versatile engagement scenarios to deliver a personalized experience, and route conversations to the right agent. Additionally, you can create a ticketing system and develop a knowledge base to let people find answers at their convenience.
Other notable functions of Crisp include a CRM to manage data, auto-campaigns to capture leads, and a status page to keep visitors informed of any site issue.
Core Features
- Chatbot
- Live chat
- Knowledge base and ticketing.
- Automation.
- CRM.
- Visitor tracking.
- Shared inbox.
Price
Crisp is free for personal sites. For startups and established companies, it charges $25 to $95 per month.
10. ManyChat
ManyChat is an exclusive social media chatbot.
It’s a robust tool with omnichannel features to help you engage visitors across various social media platforms. You can use it to automate Instagram DMs, set fixed responses to comments, and announce sales deals through SMS.
It further delivers advanced flow templates and powerful analytics to test and measure your bot’s performance.
ManyChat also works well with CRM and email marketing tools. It allows you to segment customers to develop targeted scripts.
Core Features
- Social media bot.
- Customization.
- Cross-channel campaigns.
- DM automation.
- Flow templates.
- Analytics.
- Integrations.
Price
ManyChat’s basic plan is free while its pro plan costs $15 per month.
11. Botsify
Botsify lets you deploy chatbots to multiple platforms.
You can create custom AI bots for your website, connect it with your social media channels, engage customers on SMS, and run campaigns on WhatsApp and Telegram.
With this tool, you can set trigger messages to grab attention and automate comments to respond faster.
Another core feature of Botsify is the live chat. It allows sales representatives to take over the bot anytime and switch languages to optimize conversations.
Core Features
- Omnichannel live chat.
- Multiple chatbots.
- Templates and data store.
- Customization.
- Automation.
- Language translation.
- WordPress integration.
Price
Botisify’s monthly subscriptions cost $49 to $149. You can also ask for an enterprise solution.
12. AIVO
AIVO delivers advanced chatbots for websites, social media, and WhatsApp messenger. Its bots use AI-powered technology to analyze your visitor’s intent to offer the most relevant answers.
You can deploy them to automate responses, launch promotional messages and manage multi-channel customer support. You can also gain insights into your customer’s behavior with their powerful analytics to optimize your responses.
Additionally, you can embed a live chat widget and personalize your communication with media, links, and emojis. You’ll have the flexibility to switch live chat with an AI-Bot anytime during the conversations.
Core Features
- Omnichannel chatbot.
- Conversation AI.
- Web ads.
- Automation.
- Analytics.
- Multi-languages.
- Integrations.
Price
AIVO’s starter plan costs $75 per month.
13. Chatra
Chatra helps startups and small businesses automate customer communication to save time.
With its bot, you can welcome site visitors, answer product queries, share opt-in forms via messenger and save conversations for the agent.
It has an offline and live chat mode, along with a tracking feature that lets you know who visits your site.
You can also use Chatra to entertain your Facebook and Instagram fans.
Core Features
- Live chat.
- Omnichannel bot.
- Automation.
- Email marketing.
- Visitor tracking.
- Powerful analytics.
- Desktop and mobile app.
- Integrations.
Price
You can get started on Chatra for free. To get all the premium features, go for its Pro plan. It costs $23 per agent.
14. Intercom
Intercom provides a comprehensive customer engagement solution to help you boost your site conversions.
You’ll find almost everything here, from chatbots and conversation starter campaigns to promotional messages and push notifications. You can customize the bots as you see fit and tailor questions to deliver a personalized experience.
You can also automate some of your workflow, such as routing leads to the relevant agent or setting trigger announcements.
Core Features
- Human support features.
- AI-Chatbot.
- Marketing tools.
- Customer segmentation.
- Workflow automation.
- Targeted messages.
- Product tours and surveys.
- Email and push notifications.
- Mobile friendly.
- AMB messenger.
Price
Intercom prices start from $74 per month. You can also try it for free to explore it.
15. Engati
Engati provides simple, smart, and flexible chatbots for customer engagement.
With its AI-powered technology and drag-and-drop interface, you can quickly create cross-channel flows and interactive messages.
You can deploy bots on 16 different channels and centralize your messages in a shared inbox. Moreover, you can initiate live chat and auto-translate conversations on the spot to deliver seamless customer support.
Engagi additionally lets you build a self-serving knowledge base for site visitors.
Overall, it’s a good option for established businesses.
Core Features
- Multi-platform chatbot.
- Automation.
- AI-powered tools.
- Live chat.
- Video calling.
- Omnichannel campaigns.
- Language translation.
- Integrations.
Price
Engati prices are not listed on the website, but you can take a trial to explore its features.
Final Word
Half of the companies now use chatbots to connect with their audience.
They’ve become one of the most popular communication channels to share product information and solve customer queries quickly.
Identify the qualities you expect in a chatbot and purchase the one you can easily tailor to your business.