Test beyond the ideal conversation
After a service is selected, the bot asks for contact details and confirms handoff. Include branches for free text instead of a button, corrected details, cancellation and human help. On restart, make it clear whether the previous request continues or a new one begins.
- The user can correct an answer and leave the workflow.
- Submission is confirmed only after the enquiry is saved.
What a chatbot can do
A chatbot is a program in a messaging app that holds a conversation following set scenarios. The customer taps buttons or types a message, and the bot replies, asks follow-up questions and takes action: it creates an enquiry, books a convenient time or shows the order status.
A bot replies instantly at any hour, but speed isn't the only benefit. It collects data in one format and passes it to wherever your team works with it.
Good tasks to start with
- Taking enquiries and orders with contact details checked
- Booking a service or consultation
- Answers to common questions: terms, timing, locations, opening hours
- Order status and customer reminders
- Team notifications about new enquiries
Buttons or AI
A scripted bot guides customers with buttons and short questions. It's predictable, quick to launch and well suited to enquiries, bookings and status updates. A bot with a language model understands questions written in people's own words and answers from company materials, but it needs quality checks and clear limits.
Often the best option is a mix: the main actions on buttons, with AI helping wherever a customer types freely.
Which messaging app to choose
Choose the messaging app your customers already use. Bot features and connection terms differ between apps, so check them against your scenario before development. If your audience uses different channels, the same logic can be connected to several apps with all enquiries kept in one place.
How to design the flows
Start with real questions: list what customers ask most often and what details you need to handle an enquiry. A good flow is short — within a few steps the customer gets an answer or leaves an enquiry.
- A greeting that shows right away how the bot can help
- A few steps to the result, not a long questionnaire
- Checks on phone numbers and other key details
- A way to reach a person from any point in the conversation
- An honest reply when the bot doesn't know what to say
Connecting to your CRM and team
A bot is useful when data doesn't stay buried in the chat. An enquiry from a chat should land in your CRM or a spreadsheet with its source, and the person responsible should hear about it straight away. Then messaging app enquiries are tracked just like website enquiries.
When to bring in a person
A bot shouldn't hold on to a customer at any cost. A complex question, a complaint or an unusual order is a reason to pass the conversation to a team member along with the chat history, so the customer doesn't have to repeat themselves. If nobody can reply right now, the bot says honestly when someone will be in touch.
Common mistakes
- Long menus where it's hard to find anything
- A bot pretending to be a real person
- No way to reach a team member
- Enquiries stay in the chat and never reach the CRM
- Answers haven't been updated in a while and contradict the website