Last Tuesday, I got a message from a small business owner at midnight.

"I just lost a $3,000 sale because I was asleep when someone messaged asking about availability. By morning, they'd gone with a competitor."

This happens more than you'd think. Small businesses operate on tight margins with small teams. You can't staff 24/7 customer service. But your customers don't care—they want answers now, not tomorrow morning.

That's where AI chatbots come in. Not the clunky "press 1 for sales" bots from 2015. Modern AI chatbots that understand natural language, answer questions contextually, and actually help customers instead of annoying them.

I've tested 32 AI chatbot platforms over the past year. Most are garbage—either too expensive, too complicated, or too robotic. But ten of them actually work for small businesses.

These are the ones worth your money.

1. Heyy 

Starting Price: $49/month
Best For: Businesses managing customer conversations across multiple platforms

Let me start with Heyy because it solves the problem most small businesses face: customers text you everywhere.

Instagram DMs. WhatsApp. Facebook Messenger. Website chat. Email. Managing five separate inboxes is chaos. Heyy brings them all together with one AI chatbot that works across every channel.

Here's what makes it special: when someone asks about pricing on Instagram Monday, then messages on WhatsApp Wednesday, Heyy knows it's the same person. You see the complete conversation history. No repeating questions. No starting from scratch.

The AI is genuinely smart. It understands context, remembers previous conversations, and routes to humans when it hits its limits. The no-code builder means you can set up automation flows without touching code.

What works:

• All-in-one channel (one bot works everywhere)
• Conversation context preserved across platforms
• Setup takes under an hour

What to know:

• Higher entry price than basic tools
• Might be alot if you only use one channel

Try Heyy free for 14 days →

2. Tidio 

Starting Price: Free (paid from $29/month)
Best For: Small businesses just getting started with chatbots

Tidio is the "good enough" option when your budget is tight. The free plan includes basic AI chatbot functionality, enough to handle simple FAQs and collect customer info.

The AI isn't as sophisticated as Heyy or Intercom, but for straightforward questions like hours, shipping, and pricing, it works fine. The visual flow builder is simple enough that anyone can figure it out.

What works:

• Actually useful free tier
• Easy to set up (under 30 minutes)
• Good for e-commerce basics

What to know:

• AI capabilities are limited compared to premium options
• Gets expensive as you scale past 100 conversations/month

Try Tidio free →

3. Intercom 

Starting Price: $39/month
Best For: Software companies and tech startups

Intercom pioneered conversational AI for product companies. If you're running a SaaS product or app, Intercom's in-app messaging and behavioral targeting are unmatched.

The AI can trigger messages based on what users do in your product. Someone keeps abandoning the checkout? Automatic helpful message. User hits an error? Instant support offer.

The chatbot learns from your help center and past conversations to give increasingly accurate answers over time.

What works:

• Excellent in-app messaging
• Strong AI that learns and improves
• Behavioral targeting is powerful

What to know:

• Expensive as you scale (can reach $100-300/month)
• Overkill for non-tech businesses

Learn more about Intercom →

4. ManyChat 

Starting Price: $15/month
Best For: Social-media-focused small businesses

ManyChat built its reputation on Instagram and Facebook automation. If most of your customer interactions happen on social media, ManyChat handles it well.

The AI understands Instagram comments, DMs, and Facebook Messenger. You can create automated sequences, broadcast campaigns, and growth tools to build your subscriber list.

What works:

• Very affordable entry point
• Strong social media focus
• Active community with templates

What to know:

• Limited to social media (no website chat or email)
• AI is less sophisticated than premium options

Try ManyChat free →

5. Chatfuel 

Starting Price: Free (paid from $15/month)
Best For: Businesses running social media campaigns with high engagement

Chatfuel specializes in one thing: automating Instagram and Facebook comments. When someone comments on your post, Chatfuel instantly sends them a DM.

Running a giveaway where people comment to enter? Chatfuel DMs entry confirmation automatically. Promoting a product where people comment "INTERESTED"? Chatfuel sends product details instantly.

What works:

• Excellent comment-to-DM automation
• Free plan is actually functional
• Setup is extremely simple

What to know:

• Very limited functionality beyond comments
• Not ideal for comprehensive customer service

Try Chatfuel free →

6. Drift 

Starting Price: $2,500/month
Best For: B2B companies with significant sales budgets

Drift isn't cheap, but if you're selling B2B with long sales cycles and high deal values, it might pay for itself with one extra closed deal per quarter.

The AI qualifies leads based on behavior, routes hot prospects to sales instantly, and books meetings automatically. It's built specifically for revenue generation, not general support.

What works:

• Laser-focused on sales conversion
• Excellent account-based marketing features
• Speed-to-lead is measured in seconds

What to know:

• Extremely expensive for small businesses
• Not useful for customer support
• Overkill for B2C companies

Learn more about Drift →

7. HubSpot Chatbot 

Starting Price: Free (paid from $45/month)
Best For: Businesses using HubSpot for CRM or marketing

If you're already in the HubSpot ecosystem, their chatbot makes total sense. It's included in your subscription, integrates natively with your CRM, and the data flows automatically.

The AI bot can answer questions, book meetings, and update contact records—all without leaving HubSpot. No Zapier. No API connections. It just works.

What works:

• Zero integration friction if you use HubSpot
• Free tier includes basic bot functionality
• Data automatically syncs with CRM

What to know:

• Limited value if you don't use HubSpot
• Features are basic compared to specialized tools

Try HubSpot free →

8. Landbot 

Starting Price: Free (paid from $40/month)
Best For: Businesses wanting highly customized, visual chat experiences

Landbot lets you build chatbot conversations that feel like interactive experiences, not just Q&A. Think personality quizzes, product finders, assessment tools—all through chat.

The visual builder is incredibly intuitive. You see exactly what customers will see as you build. Great for creating memorable, on-brand experiences.

What works:

• Beautiful, highly customizable interfaces
• Visual builder is genuinely fun to use
• Excellent for lead generation campaigns

What to know:

• More focused on marketing than support
• Can get pricey as conversation volume grows

Try Landbot free →

9. Crisp 

Starting Price: Free (paid from $25/month)
Best For: Tech-savvy startups and modern brands

Crisp feels like what chatbots should've been from the start—fast, clean, modern. The interface is beautiful, the AI is competent, and the co-browsing feature (where you can see customer screens) is invaluable for technical support.

The AI learns from your knowledge base and past conversations. Over time, it gets better at answering questions accurately.

What works:

• Beautiful, modern interface
• Co-browsing for technical support
• Reliable and fast

What to know:

• AI is good but not cutting-edge
• Limited integrations compared to bigger platforms

Try Crisp free →

10. Ada 

Starting Price: Custom pricing (typically $500+/month)
Best For: Growing e-commerce brands with high conversation volume

Ada is built specifically for e-commerce. The AI handles order tracking, returns, product questions, and customer support—all integrated with your e-commerce platform.

If you're doing thousands of customer conversations monthly, Ada's sophisticated AI can handle 70%+ of them without human intervention.

What works:

• Purpose-built for e-commerce workflows
• Excellent for high volume
• Strong analytics and insights

What to know:

• Expensive (typically enterprise pricing)
• Overkill for businesses under $500K annual revenue

Learn more about Ada →

How to Choose the Right AI Chatbot for Your Business

With ten solid options, how do you actually decide? Ask yourself these questions:

Question 1: Where Do Your Customers Actually Message You?

Multiple channels (Instagram, WhatsApp, website, Facebook)? → Heyy
Primarily social media? → ManyChat or Chatfuel
Website only? → Tidio, Crisp, or Landbot
Inside a software product? → Intercom

Match the tool to your actual customer behavior.

Question 2: What's Your Realistic Budget?

Under $50/month: Tidio, ManyChat, Chatfuel, HubSpot free tier
$50-100/month: Heyy, Intercom, Crisp, Landbot
$500+/month: Ada, Drift (only if you're doing significant revenue)

Don't stretch your budget for features you won't use.

Question 3: What Problem Are You Actually Solving?

Too many repetitive questions? → Focus on FAQ automation (any tool works)
Conversations across multiple platforms? → Heyy
Lead generation and qualification? → Landbot, Drift, HubSpot
E-commerce customer support? → Ada, Tidio, Intercom

Pick the tool that solves your specific pain point.

Question 4: Do You Have Technical Skills?

No technical team? → Tidio, ManyChat, Chatfuel (simplest)
Some technical ability? → Heyy, Landbot, Crisp
Developer on team? → Intercom, Ada (most customizable)

Don't pick a difficult tool if your team can't use it.

Get Started This Week

Here's your action plan:

Day 1: Track customer questions for 24 hours. Write down every single one.

Day 2: Identify the 10 most common questions. These are what you'll automate first.

Day 3: Pick a platform based on budget and where customers message you.

Day 4: Sign up for a free trial. Connect your channels.

Day 5: Set up automated responses for those 10 questions.

Day 6: Test with friends/team. Fix anything that feels clunky.

Day 7: Go live. Monitor closely for the first week.

AI chatbots are about freeing humans to do what humans do best, handle difficult situations, build relationships, close deals.

Your team shouldn't be typing "We're open 9-5 Monday through Friday" for the 50th time this week. That's what AI is for.

Try Heyy free for 14 days and see what happens when AI handles your repetitive questions across Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and your website. No credit card required.

Your team gets time back. Your customers get instant answers. Stop losing sales while you sleep.

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