9 Chatbot builders to enhance your customer support

Chatbots are strategic assets that enhance your customer care and marketing strategies. The technology has come a long way from being simply rules-based to offering features like artificial intelligence (AI) enabled automation and personalized interaction.

Integrating chatbots can transform your customer relations by automating responses to common queries and collecting feedback, freeing your team to focus on more complex issues. These bots boost engagement by providing 24/7 support, making businesses constantly accessible. They also streamline the customer journey with personalized assistance, improving customer satisfaction and reducing costs.

But where do you start with building a chatbot?

This article will dive into all the details about chatbot builders and explore their features. We’ll also compare some of the leading platforms in the market so you’re equipped to select the best solution for optimizing your customer connections.

What is a chatbot builder?

A chatbot builder is software that helps you create automated messaging with customers without extensive coding knowledge. These builders offer a user-friendly interface with customizable templates and network integrations.

A user-friendly chatbot builder enables brands to design chatbots that precisely meet their requirements. It helps you engage with customers, answer inquiries and perform automated tasks.

6 features to look for in a chatbot builder

When choosing a chatbot builder, some features will be more valuable than others depending on your business needs and how you want it to interact with customers and integrate into your marketing strategy. Here are a few to consider.

Ease of use

The best chatbot builders are designed to be user-friendly. They should offer a straightforward, intuitive interface that enables you to build and customize your chatbot without extensive technical expertise. Look for platforms that provide drag-and-drop functionality, pre-built templates and clear onboarding. Your team should be able to efficiently create, deploy and manage chatbots so they can focus on improving the user experience rather than navigating complex software.

Advanced natural language processing (NLP) capabilities

NLP capabilities like text analysis help the chatbot process and interpret human language and understand a comment contextually. NLP works synergistically with functions such as machine learning algorithms and predictive analytics. These technologies enable the bot to continuously learn from user interactions, improving its ability to provide accurate responses and anticipate user needs over time.

Multi-platform integration

Customers engage with businesses online in many ways, such as through messaging apps, social media and websites. To deliver omnipresent customer support, your chatbot needs to meet your customers where they are. Multi-platform integration ensures that your chatbot provides a consistent and cohesive experience, regardless of where the interaction starts.

Analytics and reporting

Understanding how users interact with your chatbot and identifying areas for improvement helps you optimize your chatbot performance. A good chatbot builder should offer comprehensive social media analytics and social media reporting tools that track performance metrics like engagement rates, user satisfaction and resolution rates. These insights let you refine your chatbot’s responses, adjust functionality and enhance effectiveness.

Customization and personalization

Customization and personalization are important in creating chatbots that match your brand’s voice. A high-quality chatbot builder should offer customization options, covering everything from the chatbot’s appearance and conversation style to its workflows and responses. With personalization capabilities, your chatbot can accurately represent your brand while providing customized user experiences, enhancing interactions and making them more productive and engaging.

Scalability and performance

As your business grows, your chatbot should be able to scale accordingly. Scalability ensures that your chatbot handles increasing customer interactions without compromising performance. A chatbot builder should also offer reliable uptime and fast response times so users receive timely and efficient assistance.

9 chatbot building tools to boost efficiency

1. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a social media management platform with an integrated chatbot builder. Sprout’s Bot Builder is designed for businesses that aim to automate and personalize customer care on social media.

Best for: Overall chatbot builder

Highlights:

• Integrated with Sprout’s comprehensive social media management tools

• Easy to design chatbots with automated conversational workflows for X (formerly known as Twitter) Direct Messages and Facebook Private Messages

• Advanced targeting options for personalized messaging

• Live preview feature to test chatbot interactions in real-time

• Pre-configured chatbot templates

Building chatbots with Sprout is straightforward, with blank and preconfigured templates, making it easy to develop chatbots that align with your brand voice and customer service goals.

Its customizable chatbot appearances and configurable conversational components, like Welcome Messages, Quick Replies and Auto-Responses, enhance user engagement and help streamline customer service.

Sprout’s live preview feature lets you test and tweak chatbot interactions, ensuring an optimal user experience. Once live, you can seamlessly monitor customer conversations within Sprout’s inbox along with your other social media engagement, facilitating a smooth and consistent customer experience across social channels.

Watch this video to see how quickly you can use Sprout to build, deploy and manage chatbot conversations within one platform.

2. HubSpot

HubSpot is a leader in marketing and sales platforms, offering a versatile chatbot builder as part of its Service Hub product.

Best for: Integration with other HubSpot services

Highlights

• Free basic plan, users can access a powerful AI chatbot builder at no initial cost

• Handles tasks from qualifying leads to booking meetings and collecting feedback

• Integrates with HubSpot’s suite of marketing and sales tools

HubSpot’s chatbot creator enables integration with marketing and sales platforms and is good for tasks like lead qualification, scheduling meetings, handling FAQs and feedback collection, all within HubSpot’s ecosystem.

3. Botpress

Botpress is known for its conversational AI capabilities and user-friendly platform. It offers large language models (LLM) and generative AI, facilitating personalized and engaging chatbot experiences.

Best for: AI capabilities

Highlights:

• User-friendly workflows accessible to users of any skill level

• Utilizes advanced AI for automated programming codes and productive tasks

• Available in over 100 languages

Botpress automates managing customer queries and tasks to save time and improve customer interaction quality. Its no-code approach and integration of AI and APIs make it a valuable tool for non-coders and developers, offering the freedom to experiment and innovate without upfront costs.

4. IBM Watsonx Assistant

IBM Watsonx Assistant is known for its advanced conversational AI capabilities, which enable you to build virtual and voice assistants that offer fast, consistent and accurate customer support across any messaging platform.

Best for: Voice interactions

Highlights:

• Advanced AI learning improves customer conversations for first-time issue resolution

• Can be deployed in any cloud or on-premises environment

• Knows when to seek answers from a knowledge base, ask for clarity or direct users to human agents

IBM Watsonx Assistant is an AI chatbot builder that addresses numerous customer service challenges. It reduces wait times, eliminates the need for tedious searches and enhances the customer experience by providing accurate answers. Its NLP and ML capabilities enable it to understand and respond to user queries effectively.

5. Google Cloud Dialogflow

Google Cloud Dialogflow is a market-leading platform for creating advanced conversational AI experiences. Backed by Google’s powerful AI, its advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) allows it to understand nuances and context effectively, enabling more sophisticated and natural-feeling chatbots.

Best for: Enterprise-grade conversational AI

Highlights:

• Leverages Google’s advanced NLU and machine learning to accurately interpret user intent

• Deploys seamlessly across websites, mobile apps and messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger

• Accelerates development with a visual flow builder and customizable pre-built agents

Dialogflow is built for technical teams that need a robust, scalable and feature-rich environment. Its integration with the broader Google Cloud ecosystem—including services like Speech-to-Text and BigQuery for deep analytics—makes it a forward-thinking choice for companies building data-driven customer experiences.

6. Tidio

Tidio is a user-friendly platform designed to help small and mid-market businesses boost sales and customer support. It combines live chat with AI chatbots, allowing businesses to automate conversations and engage customers effectively.

Best for: Small and mid-market businesses

Highlights:

• No-code visual flow builder with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface and templates

• Integrates with websites, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp into a single inbox

• AI-powered responses (Lyro) that learn from your website content to answer questions 24/7

Tidio empowers marketers to create and launch customized chatbots quickly, without needing technical expertise. Its freemium model makes powerful AI accessible to businesses of all sizes, providing a strategic asset for converting website visitors into customers and delivering instant support across key social channels.

7. Manychat

Manychat offers a convenient solution for D2C brands, retail stores, non-profits, restaurants and real estate companies. It allows you to engage with customers seamlessly across various channels, including Instagram Direct Messages, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and SMS.

Best for: Omnichannel support

Highlights:

• Intuitive platform with drag-and-drop functionality and pre-made templates

• Integrates with GPT API

Use this tool to automate and improve customer communication across multiple channels. Its ease of use and social media features, like responding to post comments, along with integrations with Stripe and ConverterKit, make it an essential tool for conversational strategies.

8. Chatfuel

Chatfuel is a chatbot builder designed for freelancers and startups that focus on enhancing client interactions through social media. Using NLP, Chatfuel aims to deliver engaging conversational flows. The service provides many Messenger bot templates, enabling users to choose the best fit for their needs.

Best for: Smaller businesses and freelancers

Highlights:

• Chatbot templates alongside comprehensive reporting and analytics for performance monitoring

• Shared inbox for streamlined communication across multiple platforms

Chatfuel streamlines the creation and management of social media chatbots, particularly for Facebook and Instagram. Despite some limitations regarding customization and complexity, its user-friendly nature and integrations and analytics make Chatfuel a cost-effective option for businesses aiming to boost their social media engagement and automate customer interactions effectively.

Build chatbots like a pro

The right chatbot can improve your team’s efficiency and enhance customer experiences. After reviewing our list, evaluate your options thoroughly. Experimentation is key; we encourage you to test out different chatbot builders firsthand for ease of use and to discover which best aligns with your goals.

If enhancing your social media strategy is a priority, Sprout stands out for its ability to foster genuine connections. By unifying every customer interaction in one place, your team can offer personal, positive engagement without depleting resources. You can explore Sprout and test it right away on your social media channels with a no-commitment free 30-day trial.