A chatbot is only as good as the material you give it and the handoff you set up. The software is the easy part. This guide walks through a setup that works for a small business, with plan limits from Tidio, Chatbase and Crisp.
Plan details come from the vendors' published pricing pages, checked October 20, 2026. We have not set up each product, so treat the steps as a plan, not a tested recipe.
Step 1: Write down your top questions
List the 10 to 20 questions customers ask most: pricing, delivery, refunds, how to book. Answer each in plain words. These answers are what the bot will rely on.
Step 2: Collect your source content
Gather help pages, FAQs, policies and product descriptions. Remove anything outdated. Content limits matter: Chatbase's Hobby plan lists a 40 MB training content size.
Step 3: Pick a tool that fits your volume
Plan limits to check
Match the plan to the conversations you expect.
- Tidio Free
- 50 AI conversations in total, not monthly
- Tidio Lyro
- From $32.50/month for 50 AI conversations
- Chatbase Hobby
- $40/month, 700 message credits, 1 agent
- Crisp Free
- 2 seats, no AI credits
For a fuller comparison, read the best AI chatbots for small business support.
Step 4: Train it on your content
Upload or link your content. Keep one source of truth: if your refund policy changes, change it in one place and refresh the bot.
Step 5: Set boundaries
Tell the bot what it must not do: promise refunds, give legal or medical advice, or quote prices you have not published. Ask it to say it does not know rather than guess.
Step 6: Build a human handoff
Make sure a customer can reach a person. Show an email address or a button that hands over to live chat. This is the single most important setting.
Step 7: Test with real questions
Ask your 20 questions, plus awkward ones: a misspelled question, an angry message, something outside your business. Fix the content, not the bot, when it gets something wrong.
Step 8: Launch and review weekly
Read the conversations for the first few weeks. Questions the bot misses show gaps in your content. Add answers and repeat.
Tell people it is a bot
Say so in the first message. Check local rules on chatbot disclosure and on storing customer chats, and mention the chatbot in your privacy policy.
How we compared
Plan limits come from published pricing pages. The steps are our own recommended approach.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take?
It depends mostly on how ready your content is. The tool setup is usually quicker than writing good answers.
What if the bot gives a wrong answer?
Correct the underlying content and test again. Keep the human handoff visible.