You probably need an AI chatbot on your website if enquiries arrive outside working hours, you answer the same questions again and again, or customers need to book a time with you. You probably do not if you only get a handful of enquiries a week, your customers expect a personal conversation from the first message, or your site's main job is simply to show your work and your phone number. A chatbot earns its place when it catches enquiries you would otherwise miss or gives you back time, and if it will not do either, you are better off without one.
We build chatbots, and we also build plenty of websites without them, so this page tries to give you an honest answer either way.
What a website chatbot actually does
A modern AI chatbot is not the clunky menu of buttons many people remember. It is trained on your business, including your services, your prices, the area you cover and the questions customers usually ask, and it answers in plain language. A good one also captures the visitor's details and what they need, books a call or appointment into your calendar, and passes the enquiry on to your email or CRM, so it lands with you ready to act on.
When a chatbot helps
Enquiries that arrive out of hours. If people browse your site in the evening or at the weekend, a contact form can sit unanswered until you are back, by which time they may have contacted someone else. A chatbot replies straight away and takes the details, so the conversation is already under way when you pick it up.
The same questions, over and over. Do you cover my area, how much is it roughly, are you open on Saturdays, how long is the wait. If you answer these every day, a chatbot can handle them consistently and leave you the conversations that need you.
Booking. When the next step is a quote visit, a consultation or an appointment, a chatbot connected to your calendar lets the visitor pick a slot without any back and forth.
Getting the details before you call back. A chatbot can ask the questions you would ask on the phone, so you know what the job is before you ring, and you can spot the enquiries that are not a fit.
When it does not
You get very few enquiries. If a handful of people get in touch each week and you reply quickly anyway, a chatbot adds a monthly cost without changing much.
The first conversation has to be personal. Some work involves sensitive or complicated situations where people want a human from the very first message. A chatbot can still help with simple questions like opening hours, but it should not be the front door.
Nobody will keep it up to date. A chatbot is only as good as the information behind it. If your prices or services change and nobody tells the chatbot, it will confidently give out the old answers.
Your site just needs to look good and be easy to call. For many businesses a fast, clear site with a phone number and a simple contact form is all they need. We built the site for Hole Hearted Piercing, a local piercing studio, with no AI at all.
What to check before you add one
Data protection
A chatbot that takes names, phone numbers or email addresses, or even just stores the conversation, is collecting personal data, so UK data protection law applies. Your privacy notice should explain what the chatbot collects, why, who it is shared with and how long you keep it, and people should be able to find that information when they start chatting. The ICO's guidance on the right to be informed sets out what that information needs to include. Ask whoever builds your chatbot where the conversations are stored and which outside AI providers are involved, and if you need a data processing agreement, ask for one. If the chatbot, or anything else on your site, stores information on visitors' devices, the cookie rules apply as well.
Telling visitors it is an AI
Make it obvious that visitors are talking to an AI assistant and not a person. It is the honest thing to do, it sets the right expectations from the first message, and transparency runs right through UK data protection law. A short line at the top of the chat window is usually enough.
Handing over to a human
Every chatbot should have a clear way out to a real person. That might be your phone number, an option to leave details for a call back, or a handover to your inbox when the question is beyond it. The worst chatbots trap people in a loop, and that loses you the very customers you were trying to catch.
Accuracy
AI can get things wrong, so only train it on information you are happy to stand behind, and keep an eye on what visitors ask. If it keeps struggling with a question, that is a sign the answer needs adding or improving. A chatbot that cannot answer should say so and offer a way to reach you, rather than guess.
Running costs
AI chatbots cost money to run, and the cost usually rises with the number of conversations. Ask what is included each month and what happens if you go over, so there are no surprises on the bill.
What Marvanova charges
If we are building your website, an AI chatbot is standard on our website packages, which start from £1,200, and it can be left out if your site does not need one. Our AI Care plan at £99 a month covers the chatbot's running costs up to 100 conversations a month, a monthly read-through of what visitors asked with answers improved where it struggled, updates when your prices, services or hours change, and a 20-minute review call every quarter. We contact you before any additional usage is charged.
If you already have a website and just want a chatbot added, our chatbot plans start with Starter at £99 a month plus a £299 one-off setup fee, then Business at £199 a month plus £499 setup, and Custom from £299 a month with setup priced to the project. Every plan includes training on your business and ongoing support, and monthly plans can be cancelled with 30 days' notice under our terms.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an AI chatbot on my small business website?
You probably do if enquiries arrive outside working hours, you answer the same questions repeatedly, or customers need to book appointments. You probably do not if you get only a few enquiries a week, your customers expect a personal conversation from the start, or your site mainly needs to show your work and phone number.
How much does an AI chatbot for a website cost?
At Marvanova, a chatbot for an existing website starts at £99 a month plus a £299 one-off setup fee, with a Business plan at £199 a month plus £499 setup. On a new Marvanova website a chatbot is standard on our packages from £1,200, and the AI Care plan at £99 a month covers running costs up to 100 conversations a month.
Do I have to tell visitors they are talking to an AI?
You should make it clear. It is the honest approach, it sets the right expectations, and transparency is a core principle of UK data protection law. A short line at the top of the chat window saying it is an AI assistant is usually enough.
Does a website chatbot have to follow UK GDPR?
Yes, if it collects personal data such as names, phone numbers, email addresses or the conversation itself. Your privacy notice should explain what it collects, why, who it is shared with and how long you keep it, and you should know where the conversations are stored.
Can I have a website without a chatbot?
Yes. Plenty of businesses do perfectly well without one. Marvanova builds straightforward websites with no AI as well as sites with a chatbot, and a chatbot is never forced on a build.