Rule-based (keywords and buttons)
The customer taps buttons or types a keyword and the bot replies from prepared answers. It cannot get things wrong, because it invents nothing — but it does not understand a question phrased differently either.
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- Good when: questions repeat and there are few of them — hours, address, price, order status.
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- Poor when: people write freely, in their own words.
Cheapest and fastest to launch. The bot on this site is exactly this type.
AI-powered
It understands a naturally written question, in Romanian or Russian, and answers from your information — if you give it any. It can hold a conversation, not just answer from a list.
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- Good when: customers ask varied, complex questions, or you have a lot to explain.
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- Poor when: it has no correct information from you. An AI without good data invents answers, which is worse than not answering.
Costs more and carries a monthly cost, because every conversation consumes resources.
Hybrid — AI plus rules
Simple questions go through rules, complicated ones go to the AI, and when the bot is unsure it hands the conversation to a human. In practice this is what works best for most companies.
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- Good when: you want fast, cheap answers to 80% of questions without losing the other 20%.
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- Poor when: there is nobody to take over when the bot gives up.
Mid-range cost. The best price-to-result ratio in most cases.