Website Chat Agent Setup
Put a chat agent on a small business website that answers from their own pages and hands over when it does not know.
- Tool costs
- $0 - $50/mo
- Ongoing time
- 8-15 hours per week for building, testing and monthly fixes.
- Difficulty
- Medium
How it works, step by step
- Collect the real answers (Claude): Turn the website's prices, hours and FAQs into a short answer sheet, including questions the agent must refuse.
- Build the agent (Chatbase): Train the chat agent on that sheet and the public pages. Tell it to say it is an automated assistant.
- Test the awkward questions (ChatGPT): Ask about refunds, emergencies and things the business does not do. The right answer is often a handover.
- Send handovers to a person (Make): Email or message the team when the agent cannot answer, with the question attached.
- Log the leads (HubSpot): Save the visitor's name and question only when they asked to be contacted, and review unanswered chats each month.
What this can become
A chat agent for a plumbing company that answers service-area and booking questions, for a $1,200 setup and $300 a month.
Who it suits
People who like testing questions and writing short, careful answers.
How to test it
Train a free agent on one public FAQ page, ask it ten questions including three it should refuse, and show the transcript to the owner.