AI chatbot for your website: what it achieves and what it does not
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Short answer: an AI chatbot on a website answers visitors around the clock and in their language, based on the business's own content, collects contact details from interested visitors and notifies the business. An AI chatbot does not replace people: it needs a proper knowledge source, a handover to a person when it does not know, and from 2 August 2026 the EU AI Act requires that visitors are informed they are talking to an AI system.
What does an AI chatbot do on a website?
An AI chatbot on a website reads the business's pages and answers visitors' questions in natural language, instead of fixed menus. The visitor writes "do you have availability in August for 4 people?" or "how much does maintenance cost?", and the chatbot answers from the website content, the price list or the PDFs the business has provided.
What does an AI chatbot achieve for a business?
- 24/7 answers: an AI chatbot replies at night, at weekends and on holidays, when the office is closed.
- Any language: an AI chatbot replies in the visitor's language, which is useful for tourism, accommodation and exports.
- Customer enquiries: an AI chatbot asks interested visitors for a name, phone or email and notifies the business immediately.
- Fewer repetitive questions: opening hours, prices, areas, cancellation policy are answered without a phone call.
- Better-qualified enquiries: an AI chatbot can ask for dates, number of people or company size before the enquiry reaches a person.
- Insight into what the site is missing: questions the chatbot could not answer show which information should be added to the website.
What is the difference between a good and a bad chatbot?
| Criterion | Good chatbot | Bad chatbot |
|---|---|---|
| Source of answers | Only the business's own content | General knowledge from the internet |
| When it does not know | Says so and asks for contact details | Guesses or makes things up |
| Disclosure that it is AI | States clearly that it is an AI assistant | Pretends to be a person |
| Personal data | Asks only for what is needed, with a privacy notice | Asks for everything without notice |
| Handover to a person | Notifies the business of every enquiry | The conversation is lost |
| Improvement | Monthly review of questions and answers | Nobody looks at it |
Can an AI chatbot give a wrong answer?
Yes, an AI chatbot can give a wrong answer, like any AI system. The risk drops when the chatbot answers only from the business's own content, says "I do not know" instead of guessing, and someone reviews the conversations regularly. For prices, availability and terms, the chatbot should refer to confirmation by a person (our own practical estimate).
Is a chatbot legal without telling people it is AI?
No, from 2 August 2026 a chatbot that talks directly to people must disclose that it is an AI system. Article 50(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act) requires that AI systems interacting directly with natural persons are designed so that those persons are informed they are interacting with an AI system, unless this is obvious. The Regulation applies generally from 2 August 2026. Last checked: 27 October 2026.
The GDPR also applies to any chatbot that collects a name, phone number or email. The business must inform the visitor of the purpose, the retention period and their rights (Article 13 GDPR) and ask only for the data it needs.
How do you measure whether an AI chatbot is worth it?
An AI chatbot is measured with four numbers every month:
- Conversations: how many visitors asked something.
- Enquiries: how many left contact details.
- Unanswered questions: what the chatbot did not know, and therefore what the site is missing.
- Out-of-hours enquiries: how many enquiries arrived while the business was closed.
Who is an AI chatbot right for?
An AI chatbot is right for you if:
- you get the same questions again and again,
- you have customers from abroad or tourists,
- many visitors come in the evening or at weekends,
- your website already has useful content (services, prices, terms).
An AI chatbot is probably not right yet if the website has very little text, because the chatbot will have nothing to answer from.
Does a chatbot help you appear in AI assistants?
An AI chatbot does not on its own make the website appear in ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews. AI assistants read public pages, not chatbot conversations. The chatbot's unanswered questions, however, show which pages and FAQs to write, and those pages are what AI assistants find, together with structured data and an up-to-date Google Business Profile.
ITHACA, an IT and cybersecurity company in Athens, sets up AI chatbots for websites that answer only from the business's own content, state clearly that they are AI assistants and send a notification for every enquiry.
Frequently asked questions
What does an AI chatbot do on a website?
An AI chatbot on a website answers visitors' questions in natural language, around the clock and in their language, based on the business's own content. When someone is interested, it asks for contact details and notifies the business. When it does not know an answer, it says so and suggests contact with a person.
Does the chatbot have to say it is AI?
Yes. Under Article 50 of the AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), from 2 August 2026 AI systems that talk directly to people are designed so that people are informed they are talking to an AI system, unless it is obvious. The simplest solution is a clear "AI assistant" label in the chat window.
Does an AI chatbot replace a customer service employee?
No. An AI chatbot takes over repetitive questions and out-of-hours enquiries, so the employee can focus on customers who are ready to buy or have a complex issue. For prices, availability and terms, the final confirmation should come from a person.
Does the GDPR apply to a chatbot?
Yes, the GDPR applies to any chatbot that collects personal data, such as a name, phone number or email. The business must explain the purpose, the retention period and the visitor's rights (Article 13), ask only for what it needs and delete conversations after a set period.
Can a chatbot reply in English and German?
Yes, an AI chatbot usually replies in the language the visitor writes in, even if the website is only in Greek. This particularly helps accommodation, restaurants and businesses with customers from abroad, who receive questions in many languages and at different times.
How do I know whether the chatbot brings customers?
Each month you measure conversations, enquiries with contact details, out-of-hours enquiries and unanswered questions. If enquiries from the chatbot become customers, the chatbot is worth it. Unanswered questions show what to add to the website.