Introduction

Most businesses are familiar with AI chatbots for customer service, yet many founders overlook their immense potential in sales. These chatbots do more than just provide quick responses 24/7.

They can also qualify leads, schedule meetings, and drive conversions like a digital sales development representative. If a customer prefers to speak with a representative, the chatbot can seamlessly transfer the conversation to a sales team member.

In less than a year, our AI chatbot has generated over $60K in annual recurring revenue (ARR) for our messaging solution, Superchat.

By following these steps, your AI chatbot can become a key driver of sales growth and customer engagement, too.

Step 1: Define your chatbot’s role

Before setting up an AI chatbot, you need to determine its primary role in your business. Defining its role before choosing a chatbot platform will help you build a chatbot that works efficiently.

Consider the following key questions:

• What is the chatbot’s primary goal? Will it handle sales, customer service, or both?
• Which tasks should the chatbot automate? (Product questions, recommendations, etc.)
• Where should the chatbot be placed on the website? (Homepage, blog, product pages, guides)
• Which communication channels will the chatbot use? (Website Live Chat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, etc.)
• How will the chatbot qualify leads? (Questionnaire)
• How will the chatbot support the sales team? (Lead form, booking demos, handing off to a sales representative)
• Which business tools should the chatbot integrate with? (e.g., HubSpot CRM, Sales Hub)

Step 2: Choose the right AI chatbot solution

Once you’ve defined your chatbot’s role, the next step is selecting the right platform to meet your needs. Businesses have three main options, and each offers different levels of customization, integration, and ease of use at varying price points.

Ready-to-use AI chatbot platforms

The simplest and most convenient option is a ready-made chatbot platform that requires minimal setup. These platforms are designed for businesses that need a quick, effective solution without technical complexity.

HubSpot Breeze is an AI-powered suite within the HubSpot ecosystem designed to streamline customer interactions. The HubSpot Breeze Customer Agent seamlessly integrates with HubSpot CRM, leveraging Breeze Intelligence for advanced data enrichment and optimized customer engagement. This unified approach provides a significant advantage over standalone AI live chat solutions.

If your business needs an AI chatbot that operates across multiple channels like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, consider a messaging platform. Superchat offers AI-driven chatbots that seamlessly integrate with HubSpot, allowing businesses to sync conversations and message history.

With Superchat, companies can manage inbound and outbound messages directly within HubSpot and automate WhatsApp template messages through workflows, streamlining customer communication.

AI chatbot builders

For businesses looking for more customization without starting from scratch, AI chatbot builders provide a practical solution. These platforms enable users to develop chatbots with advanced features, integrations, and flexible workflows.

Popular choices include Botpress, an open-source platform known for its high level of customization, and Dialogflow, a Google-developed AI solution with powerful natural language processing capabilities.

While chatbot builders offer greater flexibility than ready-made solutions, they still require some technical expertise, particularly for setting up custom workflows and API integrations. Developing integrations with existing tools takes time and effort, so businesses should be prepared for ongoing adjustments and optimizations.

Custom AI chatbot development

Custom development is the most suitable option for businesses that require full control over chatbot features. This approach enables highly personalized chatbot experiences tailored to specific needs but requires the most technical expertise, is more expensive, and takes longer to implement.

Popular solutions for custom chatbot development include the OpenAI API, which allows businesses to build advanced AI chatbots with personalized responses, and Rasa, a self-hosted AI chatbot framework that offers complete control over data and integrations.

Finding the right AI chatbot solution for your business

The best choice depends on your business needs, budget, and technical capabilities. Ready-to-use platforms like HubSpot Breeze and Superchat are ideal for startups looking for a fast, affordable solution that integrates with existing tools.

Chatbot builders are great for businesses that want more customization without having to build everything from scratch. Custom development is the right choice for enterprises with larger budgets and longer timelines that need full flexibility and deep integrations.

Step 3: Build the AI chatbot

After choosing the appropriate AI chatbot solution for your company, whether that’s a ready-to-use platform or a custom-built chatbot, the next step is to set it up for success.

To get the most out of your chatbot, follow these best practices.

Give your chatbot a personality

Your chatbot should create a natural and engaging experience. Choosing a friendly name and defining a tone of voice that matches your brand will create an engaging experience for users. A well-designed chatbot keeps conversations enjoyable and encourages interaction.

Structure your prompts clearly

Structure the chatbot prompts and responses in a clear and user-friendly way. A chatbot should provide quick answers to common questions, guide users through product recommendations or booking demos, and allow a handover to a human agent when necessary. For example, set up the chatbot to transfer queries to a sales representative if the customer wants to speak with a human or if the conversation is too complex.

Integrate your chatbot with your CRM and other tools

For the chatbot to be truly useful, connect it with your CRM, sales tools, and scheduling software. These integrations ensure that customer interactions are logged, sales leads are captured, and support teams have the necessary context when assisting customers.

Integration also helps boost sales productivity overall. Since integrating with HubSpot, the quality of our leads has significantly improved due to better data management and tracking.

Automate where it makes sense

Leverage automation to streamline repetitive tasks, freeing up sales teams to focus on high-value customer interactions. AI chatbots can streamline processes such as appointment scheduling and lead qualification. Automation reduces manual workload and improves customer communication.

Test, optimize, and improve continuously

To maximize the value of your chatbot, continuously monitor conversations, gather feedback, and refine responses. This iterative approach helps businesses create a more engaging, effective customer experience.

Start simple and optimize over time

By following the process outlined here, your AI chatbot can start selling today. For most startups, ready-made chatbots are the best choice because they are easy to set up, cost-effective, and come with powerful integrations.

Getting started is simple, and as your business grows, you can always customize or develop a tailored solution to fit your needs.

A well-designed AI chatbot can help convert leads and support sales teams in closing more deals. They do not replace sales teams but help them work more efficiently. By handling repetitive tasks and filtering out unqualified leads, AI chatbots free up sales teams to focus on what matters most—closing deals.