Website AI assistant · Kent and UK-wide
An AI assistant for your website that knows when to hand over
A good website assistant answers the questions you already answer every week, takes enquiries out of hours, and passes anything tricky to a person. A bad one invents prices. We set them up on established tools chosen for your site, and quote after a free call.
Set-up from £495
Based in Kent, working with businesses across the UK: on site in Kent, by video anywhere else.
How a website assistant works
You give the tool your own information: website pages, price list, opening hours, delivery terms and common questions with your answers. When a visitor asks something, the tool finds the relevant parts and an AI model writes a reply from them. The model isn't retrained on your business. It reads your material each time, like a new member of staff with the handbook open.
So out-of-date information means out-of-date answers. And when the answer isn't there, a well set-up assistant says so and takes the visitor's details instead of guessing.
What it should answer, and what it shouldn't
Let it answer
Facts you've written down
Opening hours, areas covered, what a service includes, how to book, parking, published prices, returns and delivery terms.
Hand to a person
Anything personal or disputed
Complaints, refunds, a specific order or booking, and anything about health, safety or money owed. It takes details and says when to expect a reply.
Keep it away from
Promises it can't keep
Discounts, delivery dates, availability and prices for custom work, unless they come from a live system.
Tools we'd consider, and how they charge
Each counts usage differently, which matters more than the headline price. You pay the provider directly, so the account stays yours.
| Tool | Free option | Paid from | Usage counted by | Where data is held |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatbase | 50 message credits a month; idle free agents deleted after 14 days | $40 a month (700 credits) | Credits per reply, 1 to 5 by AI model | United States, with a UK Addendum in its data agreement |
| Tidio with Lyro | First 50 AI conversations, once | Lyro add-on from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations | AI conversations | European Economic Area |
| Fin (formerly Intercom) | 14-day trial | $0.99 per outcome, plus seats or a 50-outcome monthly minimum | Outcomes, such as a resolved question or handover | US by default, EU on contract, no UK option |
| Shopify Inbox | Free app | Free | Answers from your product catalogue | See Shopify's terms |
| Wix Smart Chat | Up to 120 AI credits a month on a free Wix site | Credits included with Premium plans | AI credits; chat goes offline when they run out | See Wix's terms |
As published by each provider, checked October 2026. Chatbase, Tidio and Fin charge in US dollars, so the sterling cost moves with the exchange rate.
Working out the monthly cost
Start from how many questions your website gets. Say it's 200 a month. On Fin, if 150 end in a resolution or handover, that's about $149. On Tidio, 200 AI conversations needs a bigger allowance than the $32.50 entry level. On Chatbase, 700 credits means 700 replies on the cheapest model but only 140 on the most expensive, and one conversation is usually several replies.
Watch for extras too: removing the "Powered by Chatbase" label costs $99 a month. And tools change hands. Intercom now trades as Fin, and Salesforce agreed to buy it in June 2026. We pick tools you could move away from, and document how yours is set up.
Before it goes live
- Feed it real questionsAround 30 genuine questions from your inbox, each answer checked against your information.
- Try to break itRude questions, off-topic ones, attempts to wangle a discount. It should decline politely and offer a person.
- Check the hand-offA test enquiry must reach the right inbox with the conversation attached.
- Say it's an AIThe first message tells visitors they're talking to an AI assistant. If you sell into the EU, the AI Act's transparency rules have expected this since 2 August 2026.
- Update your privacy noticeChats are personal data. Name the assistant and its provider, and keep the provider's data processing agreement on file.
- Read the first fortnightFill gaps in the information, and decide honestly whether it's earning its keep.
Two ways to have it
Both quoted in writing after a free call. Managed AI also has a set-up fee of £500 to £2,500, agreed in advance.
Looking for something for your staff instead?
An assistant your own team uses, built on internal price lists and procedures, is a separate fixed-price job: custom AI assistants. To copy each enquiry into a spreadsheet or CRM, add an AI automation. Managed AI explains the run-for-you option.
Questions people ask
How much does an AI chatbot cost for a small business website?
Entry paid plans start at about $32.50 to $40 a month, paid to the provider; usage-based tools like Fin cost more as volume grows. My set-up starts at £495.
Can we add an AI chatbot to our website for free?
Within limits. Chatbase's free plan gives 50 message credits a month, Tidio 50 free AI conversations once, and Shopify Inbox is free. Fine for testing, tight for daily use.
Is a website chatbot GDPR compliant?
It can be, with the provider's data processing agreement, an updated privacy notice, and knowing where data is held: Tidio stores it in the EEA, Chatbase mainly in the US.
Does it work on WordPress, Squarespace or Wix?
Yes. Tidio has a WordPress plugin and Wix has Smart Chat built in. Squarespace has no visitor chatbot of its own, so one is embedded.
Will a chatbot bring in more sales?
We can't promise that. It can answer out of hours and stop enquiries going missing; what that's worth depends on your business.
Who you'll work with
James Hayes Consulting is led by Ross Hayes, who builds software for his own businesses and uses AI tools in them every day. We set AI up on your real work, explain it in plain English, and tell you straight if something isn’t worth paying for.
Every project starts with a free 15-minute call, and prices are agreed in writing before you commit.
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