How to Create a Chatbot From Scratch?

By Prerna Pundir | Last Updated on January 6th, 2025 6:44 am | 4-min read

Imagine you're in a rush, craving your favorite Starbucks coffee, but the drive-thru line stretches endlessly. Instead of waiting, you open the Starbucks app, order your usual drink through their AI chatbot, and by the time you arrive, it’s ready.

This smooth experience isn’t just limited to coffee runs. Retail giant H&M also uses a chatbot, allowing customers to take style quizzes, receive personalized fashion recommendations and shop easily, all through a messaging platform.

These examples show just how crucial chatbots have become in smooth customer interactions for big brands. But here’s the best part: you don’t have to be a tech giant to offer this level of convenience. Are you ready to create one for your business without needing any coding skills? Let’s get started!

Create Your AI Chatbot

How to Create a Chatbot From Scratch Using Appy Pie?

Here is the detailed process for how to create a chatbot for website:

1. Go to the Appy Pie website and log in to your existing account or sign up in case you are a new user. Once logged in, scroll to the ‘Products’ section and select Appy Pie Chatbot Builder.

2. Enter a name for your AI chatbot in the textbox that appears.

3. Choose the bot category as per your need. Here i am selecting “Inquiry Bot” to create a lead generation chatbot. Once selected, click "Start Customization" to begin building your chatbot.

4. Click on the button that says ‘Edit Bot Flow’ to open the bot editor screen.

5. Edit the flow of conversation and add greeting messages, information retrieval messages, feedback collection prompts, buttons, handoff nodes etc. according to your requirements.

6. Click on “Design Customization” to personalize the appearance of your banking application chatbot widget.

7. After designing and customizing the text, go to the "Set up" section to implement the bot's widget on your website. Simply click the copy icon to copy the code portion, then paste it into the section of each page of your website.

And you’re done! You will now be able to see your bot in a fully functional state.

Why Should You Make a Chatbot?

No Customer Loss

Imagine missing out on customers because your support team cannot reply at odd hours. You can avoid this with a chatbot that works 24/7 and all year round. A chatbot starts conversations with visitors on your website and keeps them interested. It guides them to explore your business and helps them make decisions. It answers their questions at any time and offers support when needed.

Multi-Lingual Responses

According to Forbes, 75% of customers prefer to make purchases in their native language. Having a multi-lingual support team is not always feasible but a chatbot can handle responses in different languages. Many businesses now use multi-lingual chatbots to understand user needs and respond in their language, ensuring smoother interactions.

Lead Generation

Every business wants more leads and sales. Chatbots assist by engaging with customers as soon as they visit your website. They understand customer needs and offer appropriate solutions. This boosts the likelihood of customers sharing their information and making a purchase. Chatbots deliver the details they need to make an informed choice.

Personalized Experience

Customers appreciate a personalized experience. They prefer to see content that interests them. Chatbots provide this by understanding their questions, even if words are misspelled. The chatbot interprets their intent and responds in a way that makes them feel understood. This personal touch improves customer satisfaction with your business.

Customer Insights

Chatbots gather valuable data about customers and their behavior. This helps businesses see whether the chatbot addresses customer needs properly. By analyzing these insights, companies can improve their services, make better decisions and increase engagement.

Automation for Repetitive Tasks

Repetitive tasks often lead to boredom and mistakes. With chatbot automation, tasks like answering common questions, scheduling meetings, and conducting searches are handled in a prompt manner. This improves efficiency and reduces human errors, allowing your team to handle more creative tasks.

Cost-Saving

Maintaining a customer support team involves many expenses—training, salaries, and other costs. A chatbot serves as a cost-effective solution by handling simple tasks, allowing your team to focus on important work. This reduces the need for a large support team, saving time and money.

Do's and Dont's of Building a Chatbot

Define Clear Goals

Set specific goals for your chatbot. Think about what you want it to achieve. Is it for customer service, lead generation, or product information? Defining clear goals helps the chatbot serve its purpose. This way, it performs better for your business.

Keep Conversations Simple

Make sure the chatbot talks in simple language. Use short sentences and avoid technical words. The easier it is to understand, the better. This ensures users don’t get confused. Simple conversations lead to better experiences.

Don’t Overcomplicate the Bot

Do not add too many features to your chatbot at once. Start with basic tasks. A simple bot works better than a confusing one. Overloading it with options can confuse users. Focus on doing a few tasks really well.

Don’t Use Lengthy Responses

Keep the chatbot’s replies short. Long messages are hard to read. Users prefer quick and simple answers. A short and clear message is better than a long explanation. It makes the conversation smooth and easy to follow.

Don’t Forget to Test

Always test your chatbot before launching it. Try it out in different scenarios. Testing helps you find any problems before real users interact with it. A well-tested chatbot performs better and provides a better user experience.

Don’t Ignore User Feedback

Listen to feedback from users. If they say something is wrong, fix it. Ignoring feedback can hurt your chatbot’s performance. User complaints are a way to make your bot better. Respond to their concerns to improve the bot.

Continuously Update the Bot

Keep your chatbot updated regularly. As your business grows, the chatbot should learn new things. Add answers to new questions. This makes it more helpful to users. Updating the chatbot helps it stay relevant and useful.

Following the above tips and overcoming various customer support bot development challenges becomes especially necessary because the key to business success is good customer support and a well-built chatbot can help you achieve that with efficiency.

Conclusion

Building a chatbot with Appy Pie is simple. It can improve your business's customer service. It also helps with lead generation and increases efficiency. A chatbot gives instant, 24/7 support to customers. It personalizes interactions and gathers useful insights. This also helps you save money on running costs. Don't let your business fall behind. Start building your chatbot today with Appy Pie. It will change how you talk to your customers. Ready to improve your customer experience? Create your chatbot now!