AI
AI website chat
A chat window on your site that replies from the pages you already published and books visitors who are ready. Its first message says it is AI.
Updated October 16, 2026
In short
An AI website chat is a chat window on your site that answers visitors from the pages you already published and books the ones who are ready. Its first message says it is AI, and it is set never to claim to be a person. The written plan prices it for one site, and it runs on a care plan after launch.
AI website chat: Software on a business's website that holds a written conversation with a visitor in plain language. It runs on a language model given the business's own pages to answer from, so its replies are drawn from what the business has published. A question it cannot settle goes to a person, usually by taking the visitor's details. Unlike a scripted chatbot, it reads a question in the visitor's own words instead of offering fixed buttons. Unlike live chat, nobody on the team has to be watching a screen while it works.
Key facts
California's bot law, SB 1001, defines a bot as an automated online account where all or substantially all of the actions or posts are not the result of a person.
Source: California Business and Professions Code section 17940 (SB 1001), checked October 15, 2026
A person using a bot is not liable under section 17941 of California's Business and Professions Code if the person discloses that it is a bot.
Source: California Business and Professions Code section 17941 (SB 1001), checked October 15, 2026
Section 17941 of California's Business and Professions Code says a bot's disclosure must be clear and conspicuous, and reasonably designed to inform the people it talks with that it is a bot.
Source: California Business and Professions Code section 17941 (SB 1001), checked October 15, 2026
What it does in a chat
Set by the rules in your written plan, from its first message to the note it leaves your team.
It says it is AI
Its first message tells the visitor they are chatting with AI, and if someone asks whether a person is typing, it is set to say no.
It answers from your pages
It replies from what your site already says, and when your pages do not cover a question, it is set to say so and offer to pass it to your team.
It takes the booking
A visitor who is ready books into your booking tool when the written plan confirms the tool lets software book, or leaves a request your team confirms.
It sends a summary
A short summary of each chat, with the visitor's details when they leave them, goes to one inbox or CRM.
What you get
The smallest version covers one chat on one site, answering from its public pages. A second site, or a source past your pages like a catalogue, gets its own line in the written plan.
- A chat on your site that opens by saying it is AI
- Answers drawn from the public pages of your site
- Booking into one tool you already use, or a booking request when the tool has no way in for software
- A summary of each chat in one inbox or CRM, with the visitor's details when they leave them
- A test page where you can try the chat before it goes on your site
How it goes
We start by reading your site the way the chat will, page by page, and listing the questions visitors ask that your pages do not answer yet. The written plan sets what the chat may answer and when it hands a visitor to your team, with the price, before anything is built.
We build it on a test page you can chat with yourself, then put it on your site once its answers match what your pages say. After launch it runs on a care plan, which keeps it in step when your pages change.
Why it says it is AI
In short
The chat says it is AI in its first message, on any site it runs on. California makes it unlawful to use a bot online to fool someone in California about its artificial identity so as to knowingly deceive them about what it says, in order to drive a sale or sway a vote, and a person who discloses that it is a bot is not liable under that rule.
The rule sits in sections 17940 to 17943 of the Business and Professions Code, added in 2018 by SB 1001 and operative since July 1, 2019. Online, as the statute defines it, means appearing on a public-facing website or app, a social network or publication included.
Your lawyer is the one to say whether the rule reaches your chat. The chat we build says it is AI either way, in words you choose in the written plan, as long as they tell the visitor plainly.
Next to a contact form and live chat
In short
A contact form waits for your reply, and live chat needs someone at a screen. An AI chat answers from your pages while nobody is watching and passes the rest to your team.
Most small business sites already have a contact form, and some add live chat. The table sets them beside an AI chat.
| A contact form | Live chat | AI website chat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who replies | Your team, later by email or phone | A person on your team, at a screen | The chat from your pages, then your team for the rest |
| After hours | The message waits for the morning | Off, or an away message | It answers from your pages and takes requests |
| Bookings | Your team books by hand | Your team books during the chat | Into one tool the plan confirms, or a request |
| What it costs | Part of the site | Your team's time at the screen | A build priced in the written plan, then a care plan |
Swipe sideways to see every column
What it costs
Projects start at $2,500. Past that, a chat is priced by what it answers from and what it does for a visitor, so a catalogue past your pages or a customer's account behind a login adds to it.
- A care plan
- A monthly fee after launch
- AI usage
- At cost, on accounts in your name
What the smallest version covers: A chat on one website that answers from your own pages and tells visitors up front that it is AI, with booking for one tool you use, confirmed in the written plan.
A short call comes first, and the written plan with the exact price follows within two business days, before anything is built. Business days are Sunday to Thursday, and Friday until noon, Los Angeles time; a request after 1 p.m. (noon on Friday) counts from the next business day.
Your rules, your lawyer
In short
We build it and warn you in writing about the legal side. We do not give legal advice, so the rules your AI follows are yours, set with your lawyer.
No legal advice
We flag the questions in writing, and your lawyer answers them. This is general information, not legal advice. Your rules are yours to set with your own lawyer.
A worked example (hypothetical)
Picture a dog boarding kennel in Pasadena whose site already lists its rates and its vaccine rules. The phone still rings each evening with the same questions, and the owner answers them between walks.
One chat would answer those questions from the kennel's own pages and open each chat by saying it is AI. The kennel's booking tool has no way in for software, so a visitor who wants a stay leaves a request with the dates. The owner confirms it in the morning.
A care plan keeps the chat in step when the rates change. The owner still talks to anyone who would rather call, and the chat is set to answer only from what the pages say.
Common questions
Does the chat say it is AI?
Yes, in its first message. If a visitor asks whether they are talking to a person, it is set to say no and offer to pass the question to your team.
Where do its answers come from?
The public pages of your site. When a question goes past them, it is set to say it does not know and offer to pass it on. Documents beyond your pages, such as a catalogue or a menu in a PDF, are priced in the written plan.
Can it take bookings?
Yes, into one booking tool you already use, when the written plan confirms the tool lets software book. When it does not, the chat takes the request and your team confirms it.
Can it look up a customer's account?
Not in the smallest version. Customer data behind a login needs identity checks and rules for who sees what, so it is priced in the written plan.
Can it take payments?
Not in the smallest version. A payment needs its own flow and its own tests, so a chat that takes payments is priced in the written plan.
What does the chat cost after launch?
It runs on a care plan, and the AI usage is billed at cost on an account in your name, so each charge is yours to see.
Start with a written plan
Tell us about the business and what you need. We reply with questions, then a written plan that lists the work and its price, and nothing starts until you have read it.