Choosing the best chatbot development company: top 6 services

Are you looking to enhance customer experiences with a seamless and efficient chatbot?

The number of available options can seem overwhelming, but don't worry — we've already done the research for you.

In this article, we'll introduce you to the top 6 chatbot development companies that are revolutionizing customer interactions and setting new industry standards.

Top 6 picks for a chatbot development company

Chatfuel

Chatfuel is a code-free conversational AI platform. It offers powerful marketing and sales intelligent chatbots for WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and websites. It focuses on easy-to-use customization and advanced AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities.

7M+ chatbot developers from various industries use Chatfuel's competent AI chatbots to automate repetitive tasks and improve customer communication and operational efficiency.

Features

• Visual chatbot builder. Chatfuel’s conversational AI platform offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface to build a custom chatbot without coding or programming languages.

• Shared inbox. Chatfuel offers a collaborative messaging inbox that multiple team members can access and use to manage incoming messages. 

• Agent assignments. Chatfuel enables the process of assigning specific team members or agents to handle or respond to particular messages, tasks, or customer inquiries within a shared inbox. It helps ensure that each message is attended to by the right person and prevents duplication of efforts.

• Mobile inbox app. Chatfuel allows users to access and manage their messaging inboxes on the go, reading, replying to, and organizing messages from their mobile devices, providing flexibility and convenience.

• Flow triggers. Chatfuel involves setting up triggers to initiate chatbot actions or a conversation flow when specific events occur during a live chat session. For example, customer messages (user intents) in a live chat can trigger a follow-up sequence.

• AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP). The platform incorporates AI and NLP to process each conversational intent and provide relevant responses in multiple languages. 

• Broadcasting. It allows targeted broadcasting messages for announcements or event promotions.

• Integrations. Chatfuel conversational AI integrates with social media (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) and allows users to integrate thousands of apps via API.

• Analytics. Chatfuel provides analytics to track chat history and user satisfaction and measure chatbot performance.

• Ecommerce capabilities. Chatfuel supports Stripe, Shopify, and other ecommerce tools to facilitate transactions within chatbot solutions.

• Chatbot templates. Chatfuel created a pack of chatbot frameworks — ready-to-use free automation templates for the most popular use cases.

• Customization. Chatfuel offers extensive customization options for creating personalized conversational experiences and improving customer interactions. For example, you can customize the Fuely AI agent to perform specific tasks such as scheduling appointments, providing customer support, and handling sales.

• Live chat. It enables transferring chats from a chatbot to a human. It's useful when a chatbot can't answer a user question, doesn't understand user input, or when the user prefers to chat with a human.

• Audience segmentation. Chatfuel features segmenting the audience based on user data and interactions to improve customer satisfaction and sales. For instance, you can utilize segments to re-engage users, provide product recommendations, send promo codes, and more.

Additionally, Chatfuel developed Fuely AI mentioned above. It’s the burnout-free sales assistant and an agent for instant responses in customer chats, lead qualification, product recommendations, appointment management, and other daily tasks.

Pricing

Chatfuel offers a free 7-day trial. Paid business plan prices depend on the communication channels:

• Facebook & Instagram: $14.99 for 1,000 conversations per month. Each extra conversation costs $0.01.

• WhatsApp: $49.49 for 1,000 conversations per month and $0.03 for each extra conversation. 

For those who need a custom solution, Chatfuel offers two options:

• Enterprise plan: starts at $300 and includes everything from business plans and priority support, a personal account manager, and a dedicated bot builder specialist.

• Expert chatbot-building service based on customer request.

Also, Chatfuel offers a 7-day trial that allows users to test powerful chatbot solutions for free.

User ratings & customer feedback

With a rating of 4.5 stars on G2 and 4.4 on Capterra, Chatfuel stands out as one of the top-rated platforms for building custom chatbots. Users appreciate its AI chatbot development features, user-friendly interface, outstanding customer support, and built-in advanced natural language processing (NLP) feature.

Here are the results we helped Nissan Israel achieve: $380K generated revenue, 10x organic sales, and 3.5x qualified leads in the first month of using a Messenger chatbot.

'I’ve played around with many chatbot builders, and the key things I like about Chatfuel are its stability and speed. Each message gets delivered when it should be, without delays or lags.' — D. Kagan, Founder of Business Pineapple

Business Pineapple set up the Chatfuel chatbot for Nissan to analyze popular customer questions on Facebook, qualify leads, close deals efficiently, and re-engage leads for future purchases.

Recent Chatfuel reviews

Manychat

Manychat software enables businesses to automate interactive conversations on communication channels like Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and SMS.

The platform offers tools for automating responses, identifying sales prospects, collecting contact details, and reconnecting with previous leads. Manychat assists companies in increasing conversions and sales through conversational messaging on platforms.

See also: Best Manychat alternatives in 2024 [free & paid].

Features

• Flows. These are like decision trees for your bot, allowing you to create conversational paths for different user interactions.

• Growth tools. They include Overlay Widgets, Embeddable Widgets, Other Widgets, and Facebook Triggers.

• Tags. These help you organize your subscribers based on their behavior or interests, making it easier to send targeted messages.

Pricing

Besides a free plan with basic features, Manychat has two paid plans:

• Pro: starts at $15 per month and scales with a number of contacts.

• Premium: offers advanced features and dedicated automation expert support at a custom price.

User ratings & customer feedback

Some Manychat users mention its ease of use and integrations, while others point out the platform's high price. However, this tool has pretty high ratings: 4.6 out of 5 stars in G2 and 4.6 stars on Capptera.

Recent Manychat reviews

Cliengo

Cliengo is an automation platform designed to convert website visitors into customers. It streamlines business processes by automating customer touchpoints. The chatbot company seamlessly integrates with multiple channels like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and CRM. It also provides reports for optimizing service and increasing sales opportunities.

Features

• Visitor tracking. This lets you track and analyze your website visitor behavior to gain insights into their interactions and interests.

• Lead scoring. This helps you prioritize and focus on the 'warmest' leads based on their interactions and engagement.

• Email marketing. This feature helps you create and launch targeted email campaigns, nurture leads, and effectively engage with customers.

Pricing

Cliengo offers a free trial, and several paid plans:

• Starter: costs $39 per month and is recommended for individuals and small businesses.

• Premium: costs $39 per month and is advised for medium-sized and growing companies.

• Business: costs $239 per month and is created for companies with high traffic volumes.

• Corporate: a custom plan for large companies looking for a customized plan and priority support.

User ratings & customer feedback

Chatbot users like Cliengo's intelligent chatbots and its customization options, which they find easy to use. However, some users mention that CRM lacks some features, particularly in managing sales status and filtering prospect lists. Still, users rate Cliengo with 4.5 on G2.

Recent Cliengo reviews

ChatBot

ChatBot is a platform for creating, deploying, and tracking chatbots across channels. It offers various customizable templates with dragging and dropping elements. The platform's AI algorithms improve responses over time.

ChatBot integrates with multiple channels and platforms, including Facebook Messenger, Slack, LiveChat, WordPress, and more. You can also connect your AI chatbot to other tools using API.

Features

• Customizable chat widget. This lets you add a chatbot to your website and customize and match its look with your brand style and website design.

• More natural conversations. This feature matches chatbot replies within the conversational context.

• Collecting user information. Lets you collect and validate customer information while chatting.

Pricing

ChatBot offers several paid plans (prices listed below are for annual payments):

• Starter: costs $52 per month and is recommended for small companies.

• Team: after a free trial, it costs $142 per month and is recommended for growing companies.

• Business: costs $424 per month and is created for big companies.

• Enterprise: a custom plan for scale businesses.

User ratings & customer feedback

ChatBot clients find it quite user-friendly and customizable, with the added benefit of API integration. However, dedicated developers highlight its hefty price tag, the downside of delayed responses, and a steep learning curve. The ChatBot user rates are 4.4 stars on G2 and 4.7 on Capterra.

Recent ChatBot reviews

DoubleTick

DoubleTick is a platform that offers a WhatsApp Business API integration. It allows users to sell their B2B/B2C products, reach customers with bulk broadcast messages, manage them easily by assigning chats across teams with specific roles, and book direct orders.

Features

• Quick responses. This allows for quick responses to messages, making conversations more efficient and timely.

• Read receipts. DoubleTick provides read receipts to let users know when their messages have been read by the recipient.

• Message forwarding. This allows users to easily forward messages to other contacts within the app.

Pricing

DoubleTick doesn't offer a free trial. Its subscription plans are:

• Starter: costs $70 per month and is recommended for building simple chatbots.

• Pro: costs $100 per month and is suggested by DoubleTick for building complex chatbots.

• Enterprise: for creating AI and ChatGPT chatbots and available at custom prices.

User ratings & customer feedback

Users appreciate DoubleTick's support and find the platform easy to use, but wish for a full-fledged CRM to accompany the WhatsApp API solution. 

Recent DoubleTick reviews

WotNot

WotNot offers a chatbot solution for automating large-scale customer interactions. The platform can help businesses with lead generation, appointment booking, and customer support. WotNot chatbots are designed to provide a personalized 24/7 customer experience and respond instantly. They enhance user satisfaction and caters to various industries.

The platform provides tools for creating and managing multiple bots without coding knowledge. Additionally, WotNot delivers a service where experts design and optimize conversation flows based on business needs.

Features

• Flow designer. This allows you to create powerful chatbots without any coding knowledge.

• Multichannel deployment. This feature enables you to deploy your chatbots across various platforms such as websites, social media, and messaging apps, ensuring a seamless omnichannel experience.

• Analytics and insights. This feature helps you understand user interactions, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to improve your chatbot performance.

Pricing

WotNot offers a free trial and several paid plans:

• Starter: costs $99 per month, includes GPT and outbound chatbots, basic integrations, and ticketing support.

• Premium: costs $299 per month and has all the Starter plan's features plus live chat, HTTP requests, dynamic data, etc.

• Ultimate: costs $899 per month and offers basic and advanced features, professional automation services, priority support, etc.

• Enterprise: custom solution with personalized pricing.

User ratings & customer feedback

WotNot users find the platform easy to use for AI chatbot development and appreciate the continuous improvements and customer support. The platform is valuable for long-term chatbot solutions and AI integration. However, some users emphasize that the pricing structure should be improved so that developers can access more features in the free or lower-cost version.

Recent WotNot reviews

What to look for in a chatbot development company?

Features

Regarding features, chatbot development services should offer:

• A robust natural language processing (NLP) capability;

• Powerful AI and machine learning algorithms to ensure intelligent and contextual responses based on user inputs;

• Pop-up chat feature if you need to interact with your website visitors;

• The ability to create custom chatbots with personality, conversation flow, and responses based on the user context and business's specific needs.

Pricing

When it comes to pricing, transparency is critical. It's important to understand the chatbot pricing structure — whether it's based on usage, the number of interactions, or a flat fee.

Integrations

As for integrations, the chatbot should seamlessly integrate with:

• Popular mobile apps and messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp;

• CRM systems and ecommerce platforms;

• API (Application Programming Interfaces). API integration enables connecting multiple platforms or systems to improve customized chatbot solutions.

• Other tools that are vital to the business's operations.For example, some business owners prefer voice assistants with speech recognition in multiple languages over an omnichannel chatbot.

Best chatbot development company: comparison table

To help you make an informed decision and start with chatbot development, we collected all the above data in the comparison table:

All chatbot development services listed above feature the following:

• Audience segmentation,

• Chat widget,

• Analytics and reporting.

Ready to boost your customer service with chatbots?

If you want to ensure round-the-clock availability and deliver prompt, personalized assistance to your users, chatbots might be the perfect solution. Whether addressing common queries or guiding customers through purchasing decisions, AI-based chatbots can transform how you interact with your audience. 

Chatfuel is a leading chatbot development company that can help you increase customer satisfaction while boosting sales. Claim your free trial today.

FAQs

Can I build a chatbot?

Yes, with the right tools and platform, you can build a chatbot even without coding experience.

Can anyone create a chatbot?

Yes, anyone can develop chatbots, regardless of their technical background. There are user-friendly platforms like Chatfuel that allow you to build an AI chatbot using a visual chatbot builder, completely code-free. It's as simple as drag-and-drop.

Who develops chatbots?

Individuals or teams interested in automation, AI, and improving user experiences develop chatbot solutions. Whether you're a developer, marketer, or entrepreneur, you can try your hand at creating your very own chatbot.

Who is the chatbot developer?

Anyone can be a chatbot developer if they want to leverage the power of a custom chatbot for their business or project. With platforms like Chatfuel, chatbot developers are all users with creativity and a vision for enhancing customer interactions.