Chatbot Development
A chatbot is a conversation with a job to do: take a booking, qualify an enquiry, report an order status, answer a common question. The best ones are short. They ask what they need, do the job, and get out of the way.
We build two kinds. Scripted bots follow a decision tree with buttons and fixed replies. Language-model bots understand free text and compose their replies. Many projects combine them, with a script for the transaction and a model for the open questions.
The chat window on this website is our own work. It answers only from the content of this site, and tells you when a question falls outside it.
Scripted or language-model
Neither is better in general. They fail in different ways, and the choice follows the task.
Scripted: predictable
Every path is written in advance, so the bot never says anything you have not approved. Suitable for bookings, payments links, order tracking and anything regulated.
Scripted: rigid
A visitor who types a sentence instead of pressing a button may hit a dead end. Each new question means editing the tree.
Language model: flexible
Understands misspellings, mixed languages and questions phrased in unexpected ways. Useful where the range of questions is wide.
Language model: fallible
It can misread intent or state something untrue. We restrict it to supplied content and keep a person in the loop for anything sent as a commitment.
Where the conversation happens
Each channel has its own rules. A bot designed for one does not transfer unchanged to another.
Website widget
Loads after the page content so it does not slow the site. Works with keyboard and screen reader. Remembers the conversation across pages.
WhatsApp
Runs on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Replies inside the customer service window are free-form. Messages you start yourself must use templates approved by Meta, and the customer must have opted in.
Inside your application
A help panel in your portal or mobile app that already knows who is logged in, so it can show that customer their own orders.
Shared inbox
All channels feed one agent screen. We connect to the help desk you use, or set up an open-source inbox on your server.
Building a bot in five moves
Most of the effort goes into the conversation design, not the code.
Pick one job
A bot that tries to do everything does nothing well. We agree the single most valuable task for the first version.
Map the conversation
Every question, every answer, every exit. You approve the wording before anything is programmed.
Connect the systems
Calendar, order database, CRM or help desk, through their APIs.
Test privately
On a staging page or a test phone number, with your staff trying to break it.
Launch and read transcripts
The first weeks show where visitors give up. Those points are rewritten.
Included in every bot we deliver
These are not optional extras.
- A visible way to reach a person
- A clear statement that the visitor is talking to software
- An out-of-hours message with a realistic reply time
- Consent wording before personal details are collected
- Conversation logs with an agreed retention period
- Rate limiting against abuse and spam
- A fallback reply when a connected system is down
- An editing screen so your staff can change wording
Does your business need a chatbot?
Probably, if
- Enquiries arrive outside office hours and go cold by morning.
- Staff spend their day answering the same five questions.
- Your customers already message you on WhatsApp.
- A form on the site is long and most visitors abandon it.
Probably not, if
- You receive a few enquiries a week and each needs a considered reply.
- Nobody will be available to pick up conversations the bot hands over.
- The goal is to send bulk promotional messages.
- A clearer contact page would solve the problem.
Common queries about chatbots
How is this different from a virtual assistant?
A chatbot is built around a channel and a task, such as taking a booking on WhatsApp. A virtual assistant is built around a body of documents and answers questions from it. The two can share a chat window.
What does WhatsApp charge?
Meta bills the business for certain message categories, and the price list changes. We check the current one for your country during planning and include it in the running-cost estimate.
Can we keep our existing WhatsApp number?
Usually, after it is moved from the phone app to the Business Platform. The number then stops working in the ordinary app, so plan the switch.
Can the bot take payments?
It can send a link to your payment provider. Card details are never typed into the chat.
Will it answer correctly every time?
No. Scripted bots are limited to their script and language models make errors. That is why a route to a person is always present.
Tell us the one job the bot should do
Mention the channel, the rough number of conversations a week, and which system holds the data. A response is sent within one business day.