The chatbot
It follows a tree someone drew: "Press 1 for prices, 2 for opening hours". If the customer writes "hang on, what if I already have my own domain?", it replies "Sorry, I didn't understand". It's fine for highly repetitive questions (opening hours, address, order status) and falls over as soon as the conversation becomes an actual conversation.
The AI sales agent
It reads the whole thread, understands the intent ("interested, but worried about the price") and writes a fresh reply every time, following the rules you gave it. It knows when to stop: if someone asks for a call or starts haggling, it pauses and alerts a person.
One question, two answers
Customer: "The website looks good, but what if it doesn't work out for me? Could you do it for 25?"
Chatbot: "For pricing information, press 1."
AI agent: "Yes, you can cancel whenever you like, there's no contract. The price is €35 + VAT, that's the one we have. Shall we get it set up?" And it flags the conversation for a person, because there's a negotiation going on.
When to choose each
- Chatbot: identical questions, thousands of times, with no sale involved.
- AI agent: sales conversations, where every person asks something different and a poor answer costs you a customer.
At MultiChats we use an agent with explicit limits: it doesn't drop prices, doesn't make promises and doesn't chase people. Here's how it works.
Our honest take
If your customers always ask the same thing and a fixed answer is enough, a chatbot will do the job cheaply. If you sell something that needs questions, explanations and a bit of persuasion, an AI agent is much closer to what a good salesperson would do.
Frequently asked questions
Is an AI chatbot the same as an AI agent?
They're similar: both understand free text. What makes an agent an agent is that it decides: whether to ask a question, wait, follow up or hand the conversation to a person.
Which is cheaper?
A button chatbot is usually cheaper to run if the questions are always the same. An agent costs more, but it wins back sales that a menu loses.
Can I switch from a chatbot to an agent without changing number?
With MultiChats, yes: you link your existing number by QR, like WhatsApp Web, and the agent starts in draft mode.