AI chatbot development: a chatbot that answers from your content and hands off to a person
HeliumSol builds AI chatbots that answer only from material you approve: your pages, service descriptions, price lists and documents. They answer common questions around the clock, collect a name and contact details when a visitor wants to go further, and hand the conversation to a person when asked or when they cannot help. The chatbot on this site is one of them, running live rather than as a mockup.
What is included
- A knowledge base built from your website, documents and FAQs, reviewed with you
- A chatbot persona and rules written in plain language: what it may and may not say
- Lead capture that reaches your inbox, CRM or sheet, with the conversation attached
- Human handoff: a person can join the chat or receive it by email
- A rate limit and monthly usage cap so there is no runaway API bill
- A chat widget for your website, or deployment to the channel you use
- A monthly transcript review in the first weeks to tighten answers
What is a knowledge-base chatbot, and how is it different from a generic AI chat?
A generic AI chat box will answer anything, including things about your business that are wrong. A knowledge-base chatbot is given your content and told, in writing, to answer from that and nothing else: your services, your process, your hours, your policies. When the answer is not in the material it says so and offers a person instead of improvising.
The rules matter as much as the content. The assistant on this site, for example, is told never to quote a price, never to promise a result and never to invent a client. Those rules are what let a business put an AI in front of customers without worrying about what it will say.
What can a chatbot do for a business?
- Answer the questions that fill your inbox and voicemail: hours, areas served, what is included, how to get started.
- Qualify an enquiry with one question at a time, then capture a name, email and phone so a person can follow up.
- Book or request appointments by handing a visitor to your scheduling link at the right moment.
- Support existing customers with how-to answers drawn from your documentation.
- Escalate: when a visitor asks for a person, a person is notified and can join or reply, with the full transcript.
- Run on your website, and on other channels where a chat interface exists, with the same knowledge base.
How is a chatbot built and launched?
- 1
Gather the knowledge
Your site, documents, FAQs and the questions your team answers every week. Gaps are written up together, in your words.
- 2
Write the rules
Persona, tone, what it must never do, when it must offer a person. These are reviewed with you as text, not buried in code.
- 3
Build and connect
The chatbot, the lead capture, the handoff route, usage caps and the widget. Everything is tested against real questions before it goes live.
- 4
Launch and tune
Transcripts are reviewed in the first weeks. Wrong or weak answers become knowledge-base fixes, not patches to the model.
What does a chatbot cost to run?
Build cost is quoted after discovery. Running cost is mostly the AI provider’s API usage, which is public and small per conversation. The full breakdown, with current published prices, is in what does an AI chatbot cost.
| Cost | Who charges it | How HeliumSol keeps it predictable |
|---|---|---|
| Model API usage | The AI provider, per token | A small model for routine answers, a monthly token cap, and a rate limit per visitor |
| Hosting | Your hosting provider | The chatbot runs on the same server as your website; no extra service to pay for |
| Knowledge updates | HeliumSol, if you want help | Content changes are text edits; you can make many yourself |
Get the chatbot free, with a website
The free offer includes a knowledge-base chatbot on a new website, with hosting, API usage and email covered for the first month. What the free chatbot includes spells out its knowledge, rules and limits. It is the fastest way to see one answering your customers.
Claim the free website and chatbotAI chatbots: questions buyers ask
How much does an AI chatbot cost?
Two costs: the build, which HeliumSol quotes after discovery based on how much knowledge there is to prepare, which channels it runs on and what it connects to; and the running cost, which is mostly the AI provider’s per-token API pricing. Published API prices make the running cost small per conversation, and a monthly cap keeps it bounded. Specific numbers are only given by a person after discovery.
How long does it take to launch a chatbot?
It depends mainly on how ready your content is. A business with a clear website and written FAQs is faster than one where the answers live in someone’s head. The timeline is set with the scope after discovery.
Will it make things up?
It is built not to: it answers from your approved content, is instructed in writing to say when it does not know, and offers a person instead. No system is perfect, which is why transcripts are reviewed after launch and the knowledge base is corrected where an answer was weak.
Which AI model does it use?
A current model from a major provider, chosen for the job: a small, inexpensive model handles routine questions well and keeps running costs low. The choice is explained in your scope and can change as models improve, without rebuilding the chatbot.
What happens when a visitor wants a human?
The chatbot offers a person at any point and whenever it cannot help. Your team is notified with the transcript and can join the conversation live or reply by email or phone, depending on how you want it set up.
Does it work on channels other than my website?
The knowledge base and rules are channel-independent. The website widget is standard; other channels are scoped case by case, depending on what interface they offer.
What do I need to provide?
Your content: the website, any documents, price lists if you want them answered, and the questions you hear most. Plus decisions on tone and on what the chatbot must not discuss. The team helps draft all of it.
Is my customers’ data safe?
Conversations are stored in a database you control, lead details go only where you direct them, and the AI provider’s API terms apply to message content. The privacy policy on your site is updated to describe the chatbot, as HeliumSol’s own policy does.
Related pages
- AI chatbot for small businessWhat it can and cannot do for a small team.
- AI customer support chatbotDeflection without dead ends: grounding and handoff.
- Lead generation chatbotQualify, capture and route enquiries.
- AI assistant for your websiteTrained on your site, free with a new one.
- What does an AI chatbot cost?Build and running costs, with public API prices.
- What the free chatbot includesKnowledge base, rules, lead capture and limits.
Start with a free website and chatbot
HeliumSol will build and host your website, add a knowledge-base chatbot trained on your business, and set up email on your domain. Hosting, chatbot API usage and email are included for the first month. One short form, and a person reads it.
Why free? It is part of the Founding Partner Program: a small number of businesses, honest feedback in return, everything in writing first.