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AI chatbots for small businesses: costs and options (UK)

Most self-serve AI chatbot tools I checked on 30 September 2026 start at about US$19 to US$45 a month, and they usually charge extra once an allowance of AI answers runs out. UK done-for-you services publish prices from £19.99 to £275 a month, custom agency builds start in the thousands, and M1’s Website Chat Assistant is £1,800 fixed with AI usage billed at cost.

By Sammy Morgan, who runs M1 Studio in Chichester. Updated .

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Prices for M1 come straight from the price list, so they’re always current. Outside figures are linked to their sources.

The four ways to get one

An AI chatbot on your website answers visitors’ questions from information you give it and passes them to you when they need a person. Whether it’s worth having at all is covered in the guide to AI chatbots for small businesses. This guide is about what it costs.

RouteWhat it costsWho it suits
A self-serve chatbot builderMostly about US$19 to US$45 a month to start (one builder below starts at US$150), plus extra AI answersOwners happy to write the brief and test it themselves
A helpdesk with an AI agentA price per seat, plus a price per AI answer or outcomeBusinesses that already handle lots of messages and email
A done-for-you monthly serviceFrom £19.99 to £275 a month on the UK pages below, sometimes with a set-up feeOwners who want someone else to run it
A one-off buildA fixed fee, plus AI usage and any tool feeOwners who want it set up properly once, on their own site

Self-serve chatbot builders and their published prices

These tools let you train a chatbot on your own content. Most showed US dollar prices to a UK visitor, and Landbot showed euros; they’re quoted as shown. Only Crisp’s page mentions VAT, saying it isn’t included. The list is in order of starting price, not quality.

ToolFirst paid planAI allowanceWhen you go over
ChatBot.comUS$19 a user a month billed yearly, or US$25 monthly10 AI resolutions a month on the first planUS$49.50 for 50 more
tawk.toLive chat has a £0 plan; the AI Assist add-on is US$29 a month1,000 message credits a month on that AI planUS$30 for 1,000 more credits
Landbot€32 a month billed yearly (€40 shown alongside)100 AI chats a month€0.10 per AI chat
ChatbaseUS$40 a month700 message credits a monthUS$40 for 1,000 more credits
CrispUS$45 a month per workspaceAI credits worth about US$5, which Crisp says is around 90 automated conversationsHigher plans include more credits
BotpressUS$150 a month billed yearly250 conversations a month, with US$0.10 of AI usage covered per conversationPacks of 100 more conversations for US$65; extra AI usage is sold at cost

The pattern is the same everywhere: a monthly fee for the tool, and a limit on AI answers. Work out roughly how many chats you’d get in a busy month before you compare.

Helpdesks with an AI agent

Bigger customer service tools sell an AI agent alongside seats for your staff:

  • Intercom lists seats from US$29 a month and its Fin AI agent from US$0.99 per outcome. It also sells Fin without seats.
  • Zendesk showed UK prices: its Support Team plan is £15 an agent a month, paid yearly. It says AI agents are included in every plan, priced on successful outcomes, but the page doesn’t give the outcome price.
  • Freshdesk lists US$19 an agent a month billed yearly, with its Freddy AI agent including 500 sessions, then US$49 per 100 sessions.
  • LiveChat lists US$19 a person a month billed yearly for chat, and sells its AI agent as a separate product from US$19 a user a month.

Per-outcome pricing means you pay more when the AI does more. That’s fair, but ask for a monthly cap so a busy week doesn’t surprise you.

UK done-for-you chatbot services

These UK providers publish prices on their own pages:

  • Delegait, in Crewe, lists an AI assistant trained on your business from £395 to set up, then £275 a month.
  • AskMind lists plans from £19.99 a month for 1,000 conversations, and says the final plan is scoped to your content and integrations.
  • Softomate, in London, lists custom FAQ chatbot builds from £5,000 to £15,000, with ongoing costs of typically £150 to £800 a month at its mid tier.

None of these pages says whether VAT is added. With any done-for-you service, ask who owns the chatbot’s brief and conversation history if you leave, and what the monthly fee covers.

What the AI itself costs

Under every chatbot is an AI model, charged by the amount of text it reads and writes, in “tokens” (small pieces of words). The published rates for the smaller models are low:

  • OpenAI: gpt-5-nano at US$0.05 per million tokens in and US$0.40 per million out.
  • Google: Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite at US$0.10 in and US$0.40 out, per million tokens.
  • Anthropic: Claude Haiku 4.5 at US$1 in and US$5 out, per million tokens, before tax.

As a worked example, not an average: a chat that sends the model 3,000 tokens and gets 500 back would cost about half a US cent on Claude Haiku 4.5, and far less on the cheaper models. That’s why AI usage is rarely the big cost for a small business. The tool, the set-up and your time are.

One caution: Google’s page says content sent on its no-charge tier is used to improve its products. Don’t send customers’ messages through a tier like that.

Handing chats to WhatsApp

Many small businesses have the chatbot hand people to WhatsApp when they want a person. Meta’s per-message rates apply to its WhatsApp Business Platform, the route software uses to send messages for you. Replies you type yourself in the WhatsApp Business app on your phone aren’t sent that way.

From 1 October 2026, Meta’s rate card for the UK lists £0.0458 per marketing message and £0.0159 per utility, authentication or service message. Service messages, the replies to customers who message you, become chargeable from that date after a monthly allowance of 1,000 per business phone number. Messaging tools often add their own fee on top.

The UK rules that apply

  • Say it’s automated. The CMA’s guidance on AI agents says to consider whether you need to label one “so you do not mislead customers into thinking that a service is being provided by a real person”.
  • Its answers are yours. The same guidance says: “You are responsible for what an AI agent does in the same way you are responsible for what an employee does.” It also says to keep a human in the loop, checking its answers.
  • Tell people how their data is used. The ICO says you must tell people your purposes, how long you keep their data and who it’s shared with, which for a chatbot includes the AI provider.

I’m not a lawyer and this isn’t legal advice. The chatbot explainer goes further into the risks and how to set one up responsibly.

Where M1’s Website Chat Assistant fits

To be upfront: M1 sells a chat assistant, so I have an interest here. If a self-serve tool does the job and you’re happy to write its brief and check it each month, that’s the cheapest route.

The Website Chat Assistant is a one-off £1,800, with no VAT, paid £900 to start and £900 at launch, typically 2 to 3 weeks. I set it up on your current website with your prices, services and FAQs, in your colours, and it hands people to you on WhatsApp when they want a person. AI usage (the cost of each answer) and any chat tool fee are billed at cost or paid directly by you, and listed before you agree.

If most of your enquiries come by phone, a chatbot isn’t the first fix: see the missed call text back comparison instead, or take the Scorecard to find your biggest leak.

Sources

Every price is as shown on the provider’s own page on the date below. Prices change often, so check the current page before you buy. No provider paid to be included, and none was asked.

Where M1 can help.

Fixed prices, or a fixed quote before any work starts. No VAT is charged.

  • Website Chat Assistant £1,800

    An AI assistant on your current site, briefed with your prices and FAQs, for £1,800 fixed.

    Questions answered day and night, then passed to you on WhatsApp.

  • Missed-Call Rescue £800

    If most enquiries come by phone, a text back and one enquiry list is the better first fix.

    Missed calls get a text back, automatically.

  • Growth Build from £6,500

    A new website with a chat assistant and follow-up built in, from £6,500.

    Turn enquiries into bookings.

Before you decide.

Something else? Ask Sammy on WhatsApp.

How much does an AI chatbot cost for a small business in the UK?
Most self-serve tools I checked start at about US$19 to US$45 a month plus extra AI answers; UK done-for-you services publish from £19.99 to £275 a month; custom builds start in the thousands. M1’s Website Chat Assistant is £1,800 fixed, with AI usage at cost.
What does the AI part cost to run?
Usually little. Small models are priced at cents or fractions of a cent per conversation. The tool fee, the set-up and the time to keep its brief up to date cost more.
Which AI chatbot is best for a UK small business?
The one that answers only from your content, says it’s automated, hands over to you cleanly, explains how data is used and has a cost you can cap. Compare what counts towards the AI allowance and what happens when you go over.
Do chatbot prices include VAT?
Mostly the pages don’t say. Crisp says VAT isn’t included and Anthropic says tax isn’t included. Many tools show US dollar prices, so the pound cost moves with the exchange rate.
Do I have to tell customers they’re talking to AI?
The CMA’s guidance says to consider labelling an AI agent so customers aren’t misled into thinking they’re talking to a person, and that you’re responsible for what it says. The ICO says you must tell people how their data is used.
Does WhatsApp charge for chatbot messages?
Meta charges per message for messages sent through its WhatsApp Business Platform, the route chat software uses; from 1 October 2026, UK service messages cost £0.0159 each after 1,000 a month per number.

For your industry.

Words in this guide: AI chatbot, Missed-call text-back. Full glossary

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