How much does an AI chatbot cost in the UK?
Updated · By Roman M., co-founder of AutomateX
An AI chatbot answers customer questions on your website, WhatsApp or Instagram, day and night, and passes real enquiries on to you. The price depends mostly on who sets it up and what it needs to do. This guide sets out typical UK prices, the running costs that quotes often leave out, and the questions to ask before you choose.
The short answer
A DIY chatbot tool costs about £0 to £200 a month, and you set it up yourself. A chatbot set up for you by an agency usually costs about £300 to £2,500 to set up and £150 to £400 a month. Custom builds start at around £2,000 and go up to £25,000 or more for chatbots connected deeply to your systems.
Typical UK AI chatbot prices in 2026
- DIY chatbot tool
- About £0 to £200 a monthTidio, Intercom and similar. You set it up and train it yourself, and some charge per conversation on top.
- Set up for you by an agency
- About £300 to £2,500 to set up, then about £150 to £400 a monthTrained on your business, tested and looked after, often on your website, WhatsApp and Instagram.
- Custom build
- About £2,000 to £25,000 one-offBuilt from scratch for complex needs, then hosting and support on top.
- Connected to your systems
- £15,000 and upDeep links into bookings, CRM, stock or customer accounts for larger firms.
Rough guides drawn from published UK price guides (listed at the end), excluding VAT. Many are written by providers, so treat them as a starting point.
What changes the price
What it needs to do
Answering common questions is the simplest job. Booking appointments, taking payments, qualifying leads or looking up orders each add work.
Where it runs
Your website alone is cheapest. Adding WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and email means more set-up and testing, but every enquiry is handled the same way.
How much it needs to know
A chatbot trained on a few pages of FAQs is quick to set up. One that knows hundreds of products or a long price list takes longer to get right.
The systems it connects to
Sending leads to your inbox is simple. Writing them into your CRM or booking system takes more set-up.
Who builds and looks after it
A DIY tool is cheap but takes your time. An agency costs more but does the set-up, testing and upkeep for you.
Running costs to budget for
The set-up fee is only part of the cost. These are the monthly costs to ask about.
| Cost | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Platform or hosting fee | Monthly, often rising with the number of conversations |
| AI usage | A small charge per message or conversation, sometimes included in the plan |
| WhatsApp messaging | Meta charges per conversation for some message types |
| Updates | Changing its answers when your prices, services or hours change |
| Support | Checking real conversations and fixing answers that went wrong |
DIY tool or set up for you?
A DIY tool suits you if you have time to write its answers, test it and keep it up to date, and you only need it on your website. It is the cheapest way to start.
Having it set up for you suits you if you want it working across your website and messaging apps, booking appointments or sending leads to your CRM, without spending your own evenings on it. You pay more up front, but it is tested properly before customers see it.
Questions to ask before you buy
- Is there a limit on conversations, and what does each one over the limit cost?
- Does it only answer from your information, and does it hand over to a person when it is not sure?
- Can it book appointments or only collect details?
- Which channels does it work on: website, WhatsApp, Instagram, email?
- Where is customer data stored, and is it handled in line with UK GDPR?
- Who updates its answers when something changes, and what does that cost?
- Can you read every conversation, so you can see what customers are asking?
An AI chatbot from AutomateX
We are a small UK team based in Cambridgeshire. We build AI chatbots trained on your business for your website, WhatsApp, Instagram and email. It answers only from your information, hands over to you when it is not sure, and sends you every lead with the details filled in. It can also work alongside an AI receptionist that answers your phone. Not sure which you need? Read AI chatbot vs AI receptionist.
Our prices start from a £249 build fee plus £99 a month for a simple chatbot on your website that answers questions and captures leads. Every plan includes a fair allowance of conversations. The more conversations you need and the more it does, such as adding more channels or connecting to your booking system, the more the build and monthly fee. We confirm the price after a free call, before any work starts, and hosting and support are included.