The anatomy of a high-converting chatbot
- Greeting: one sentence, a friendly name, and what it can help with.
- Suggested questions: 3–4 buttons covering your most common customer needs.
- Helpful answer first: answer the question before asking for anything.
- Soft lead offer: “Want me to have someone send you an exact quote?”
- Minimal details: name and email (phone optional).
- Clear next step: when and how they’ll hear back.
Universal templates
Welcome message
“Hi! 👋 I’m [Name], [Business]’s assistant. I can answer questions about [services], prices and availability. What can I help with?”
Lead-capture offer
“I can have our team send you an exact quote. What’s your name and the best email to reach you?”
After-hours handoff
“Our team is offline right now (we’re back at 8am). Leave your name and email and we’ll reply first thing, or book a time here: [link].”
“I don’t know” answer
“I don’t have that information, and I don’t want to guess. Can I pass your question to our team? They usually reply within a few hours.”
Templates by industry
Dental & medical clinics
Greeting: “Hi! I can help with appointments, insurance and our services.”
- Are you accepting new patients?
- Which insurance do you take?
- How much is a visit without insurance?
- Book an appointment
Law firms
Greeting: “Hi! I can explain our practice areas and help you book a consultation. (I can’t give legal advice.)”
- Do you handle my type of case?
- How much does a consultation cost?
- What should I bring?
- Request a consultation
Real estate
Greeting: “Hi! Buying, selling or just browsing? I can help with all three.”
- What’s my home worth?
- Book a showing
- How does buying work?
- Which neighborhoods do you cover?
Restaurants
Greeting: “Hi! Ask me about our menu, hours or reservations.”
- Are you open today?
- Do you have vegan or gluten-free options?
- Book a table
- Catering & private events
Home services
Greeting: “Hi! Need a repair or an estimate? I can check if we serve your area.”
- Do you serve my ZIP code?
- How much does a typical job cost?
- Emergency service
- Book a free estimate
Online stores
Greeting: “Hi! I can help you find the right product, check sizing or answer shipping questions.”
- Help me choose a gift
- What size should I get?
- Shipping times & costs
- Returns & exchanges
SaaS & startups
Greeting: “Hi! I can answer questions about features, pricing and integrations.”
- Which plan is right for me?
- Do you integrate with [tool]?
- Is there a free trial?
- Book a demo
Hotels & rentals
Greeting: “Hi! Ask me anything about your stay, in any language.”
- Check-in and check-out times
- Is parking available?
- Are pets allowed?
- Book direct
Five rules for writing chatbot messages
- Short beats clever. Two to four sentences per reply.
- Be specific. “Most cleanings are $95–$140” beats “prices vary”.
- Admit limits. Saying “I’m not sure” builds trust; guessing destroys it.
- Disclose it’s AI. Visitors appreciate honesty, and some laws require it.
- One question at a time. Don’t ask for five details in one message.
Want these set up and tuned for your business automatically? That’s exactly what we do.
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