Chatbot Integration: Top 7 Tools and How to Get Started in 2025

Customers don’t care that you “have a chatbot.” They care if you can pull their order, reschedule a delivery, or fix billing without waiting. The truth is, most bots can’t do that, because they’re not connected to your systems. At its simplest, a chatbot is just a program that talks to people through text or voice. The real difference comes when it’s integrated with your tools.

This guide shows exactly how chatbot integrations make the difference: which ones you need (CRM, help desk, e-commerce, social, analytics), how to wire them up, and how to measure if they’re actually reducing workload. 

We’ll compare top tools and share ready-to-copy flows you can launch this week.

Table of Contents

• What are Chatbot Integrations?
• Benefits of Chatbot Integrations
• 5 Essential Chatbot Integrations You Must Have
  • 1. CRM Integrations
  • 2. Help Desk Software Integrations
  • 3. Analytics and Reporting Tools
  • 4. Social Media Integrations
  • 5. E-commerce Integrations
• 7 Top Chatbot Integrations To Try
• Top Chatbot Integration Tools and Platforms
  • 1. Hiver
  • 2. Fin by Intercom
  • 3. Lyro by Tidio
  • 4. Paradox AI
  • 5. ProProfs Chat
  • 6. Avature Chatbot
  • 7. Yellow.ai
• How To Integrate Chatbots For Your Business?
  • Step 1: Add your chatbot
  • Step 2: Connect your knowledge sources
  • Step 3: Build conversation flows
  • Step 4: Set escalation rules
  • Step 5: Test with your own team
  • Step 6: Deploy gradually
  • Step 7: Monitor and improve
• How to Measure If Your Chatbot Is Actually Working?
  • 1. Run A/B testing
  • 2. Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs)
  • 3. Review transcripts regularly
  • 4. Benchmark against your goals
• Making Chatbots Work for Your Business
• Frequently Asked Questions

What are Chatbot Integrations?

For example, in an e-commerce, a connected bot can instantly check order status, share tracking links, or process returns, all without human input. 

This is where most companies fall short. They launch chatbots that can only repeat scripted answers. Customers see through that immediately. As one Reddit user put it, 

That frustration is the best argument for integrations. Without them, a chatbot is just another fancy tool. With them, it’s a real part of how your business serves customers.

Benefits of Chatbot Integrations

In a Forrester TEI commissioned by Microsoft, modernizing customer service delivered a 315% ROI over three years with <6-month payback (Dynamics 365 Customer Service). Your mileage will vary, but it shows why integration-driven automation pays back quickly.

1. Cut out repeat tickets: Connect your bot to the help desk or store so it can reset passwords, track shipments, or update account info instantly. Every resolved chat means one less ticket in your queue. On average, companies see a 30% drop in support costs every year once bots start handling these repetitive requests.

2. Give customers real, contextual replies: Instead of vague responses like “please check your email,” integrated bots can access your CRM or store data and provide precise answers like “Your order #4521 is out for delivery and will arrive tomorrow.” It’s faster for customers and builds trust through transparency. 

3. Make your workflows run on autopilot: The best chatbots don’t just answer questions; they keep your operations moving. When connected to tools like Jira, Slack, or Google Calendar, they can automatically create tasks, assign tickets, or schedule callbacks in the background.

4. Strengthen lead generation: By plugging into your CRM, bots can instantly capture and qualify leads. Sales teams don’t waste time chasing every form fill; they can focus on prospects that matter.

5. Keep data and experience consistent: Every chat syncs automatically with your CRM, help desk, or analytics tools. Agents see the full customer context, including past orders, prior tickets, and preferences, before jumping in. Customers enjoy a seamless experience, regardless of the channel they use.

6. Save your team’s time: Agents shouldn’t spend their day typing out tracking numbers. Bots take on the repetitive work so people can focus on cases where empathy and judgment are needed.

Put simply: without integrations, chatbots stay surface-level. With them, they become a real part of how your business runs, like reducing manual work, improving response times, and creating a smoother experience for customers and teams alike.

5 Essential Chatbot Integrations You Must Have

Below are the five chatbot integrations every business should implement in its daily processes across various departments.

1. CRM Integrations

A chatbot connected to your CRM does more than answer questions. It builds relationships that scale. Every chat becomes a data point that feeds your customer records, helping teams personalize interactions without manual effort.

When a customer asks, “Where’s my order?” here’s what happens behind the scenes:

• Input: customer shares email or order ID
• Action: bot checks the CRM and finds the contact and the most recent order.
• Output: “Order #1234 was shipped on Sep 16. Here’s your tracking link.”
• Fallback: no match found, and the bot asks for phone or ZIP code, then escalates to an agent.

For instance, Casper, the mattress and bedding company, uses its “Insomnobot” to interact with late-night shoppers. On the surface, it chats about sleep patterns and preferences. However, in the background, those conversations provide valuable behavioral data to Casper’s CRM, which helps tailor future recommendations and marketing messages.

That’s the real value of CRM integrations: they turn one-off chats into structured insights. Every interaction updates customer profiles, improves segmentation, and gives your team the context they need to act faster and smarter.

2. Help Desk Software Integrations

A chatbot connected to your help desk manages your workflow. Whether you use Hiver, Zendesk, or Freshdesk, this integration lets the bot log tickets, check their status, and walk customers through basic fixes automatically. It ensures that every interaction gets recorded and resolved without human bottlenecks.

Here’s what happens in the backend:

• Input: “Reset password”
• Action: trigger workflow, then send password reset link, then log the event in the help desk.
• Output: “I’ve sent you a reset link. Your ticket number is #5842.”
• Fallback: if the link fails, escalate to an agent with session logs attached.

For instance, imagine a customer typing “My login isn’t working.”

• The chatbot instantly triggers a password reset.
• The action is logged in Hiver or Zendesk, including the time, user ID, and resolution status.
• If the reset link fails, the bot shares session details with an agent, so the customer doesn’t have to repeat what happened.

With this setup, no ticket slips through, and your support team spends time only where it really matters. Integrations like these transform chatbots from surface-level tools into reliable extensions of your help desk.

3. Analytics and Reporting Tools

It’s hard to know if your chatbot works unless you track the numbers. Connecting it to tools like Google Analytics or Mixpanel lets you see where people drop off, what questions get asked most, and how many tickets the bot actually avoids.

Here’s how it works behind the scenes:

• Input: chatbot interaction (question, click, or message)
• Action: send event data (query type, resolution time, sentiment) to analytics tool
• Output: dashboards showing engagement rate, drop-offs, and resolution metrics
• Fallback: missing or incomplete data, then trigger alerts for review or logging errors

For example, one retailer discovered from analytics that most users dropped off when asking about returns. After linking the bot’s response directly to the return portal, drop-offs fell sharply, and satisfaction scores rose by 20%.

When your chatbot is plugged into reporting tools, every interaction becomes a learning loop. You can identify weak spots, refine scripts, and track ROI. This turns your chatbot into a measurable growth channel.

4. Social Media Integrations

Your customers are already talking to you on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger asking questions, tracking orders, or sharing feedback. If your chatbot isn’t active on these platforms, you’re forcing them to wait or switch channels. Integrating it with your social tools ensures every message gets an instant, helpful response, right where the conversation starts.

With nearly 5.52 billion active social media users in 2025, and each user accessing around seven different platforms monthly, businesses must ensure they’re meeting customers where they already spend time. 

Here’s how a social chatbot integration works behind the scenes:

• Input: customer sends a message on Instagram, WhatsApp, or Messenger
• Action: chatbot identifies intent, then retrieves details from CRM or order system, then crafts an accurate, contextual response
• Output: “Your order #4523 is out for delivery. Here’s your tracking link.”
• Fallback: unclear request, it logs conversation, then assigns ticket to agent with full chat history.

This setup ensures two things: customers get instant replies on the platforms they already use, and your team gets complete visibility.

Customers on these platforms expect quick responses. According to a recent Sprout Social survey, 69% of users want same-day replies, and 63% associate brand loyalty with the quality of service they receive on social channels.

If you can’t deliver that, someone else will. A bot that responds instantly and syncs details back into your CRM isn’t just “nice to have”; it’s now a basic table stake.

5. E-commerce Integrations

If your business sells products or services through an online store or digital platform, this integration delivers the most value. Customers often ask about product availability, shipping timelines, or order status, and without an e-commerce connection, your chatbot can’t help. It just passes the query back to your team.

Integrating your chatbot with platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or a custom marketplace changes that. Once connected, the bot can check stock in real time, share tracking links, process returns, update carts, and suggest add-ons. And because it’s tied directly to your store’s backend, every answer it gives is accurate, not generic.

Here’s what happens in the backend:

• Input: “Where’s my order?” or “Is size M still available?”
• Action: chatbot queries the e-commerce backend, then retrieves the product or order details, and then checks delivery status or stock.
• Output: “Your order #9842 was shipped on Oct 8 and will arrive tomorrow.”
• Fallback: order not found, then ask for phone or order ID, then escalate to an agent with all previous chat data.

E-commerce bots can also play a proactive role in sales like recommending products, applying discount codes, and reminding customers about items left in their carts.

For example, Sephora’s Kik chatbot worked exactly this way. It guided customers to products that fit their preferences and acted like a digital sales assistant. The results were hard to ignore: an 11% higher conversion rate and a 50% jump in customer loyalty compared to other channels.

In short, an e-commerce chatbot should actively contribute to sales and not just deflect support questions. 

7 Top Chatbot Integrations To Try

With so many chatbot platforms, it can be hard to see which best suits your business. Here’s a side-by-side look at the tools we will cover, what they do well, and how they’re priced.

Tool	Best For	Key Features	Pricing (as of 2025)
Hiver	Customer support across channels	AI chatbot built into inbox, connects to knowledge base and apps, smart triage, seamless human handoff	Forever Free plan; paid plans start at $19/user/month
Fin (Intercom)	High-volume support teams	AI chatbot answers from FAQs, customizable responses, smooth escalation to agents	$0.99 per resolved query + Intercom plan (from $39/agent/month)
Lyro (Tidio)	Small to mid-size businesses	Conversational chatbot with simple training, CRM integrations, FAQ handling	Free plan with limited chats; paid plans from $29/month
Paradox (Olivia)	Recruiting	Automates screening, scheduling, and candidate FAQs across channels	Custom enterprise pricing
ProProfs Chat	Small businesses and startups	Live chat plus basic chatbot, canned responses, CRM and email integrations	Forever Free plan; paid plans from $19.99/month
Avature Chatbot	Enterprises already using Avature	Candidate FAQs, application updates, ATS integration	Bundled into Avature contracts
Yellow.ai	Global enterprises	Omnichannel AI chatbot and voice bot, 100+ languages, transaction handling	Free plan with 1 bot, 2 channels; enterprise pricing custom

Top Chatbot Integration Tools and Platforms

Choosing the right chatbot integration tool can significantly impact a business’s customer experience and business operation efficiency. Top chatbot platforms offer robust integration capabilities, flexibility, and user-friendly features. 

Let’s look at some popular solutions and their key features to help you decide which tool best aligns with your business needs.

1. Hiver

Hiver is a modern AI-powered customer service platform that pulls together email, live chat, WhatsApp, voice, and SMS. Unlike other legacy help desks where chatbots are bolted on later, AI is built into the core of Hiver’s platform and enhances every part of the workflow.

Instead of a scripted chatbot, Hiver uses AI Copilot, which connects with your knowledge base, past conversations, and integrated tools to deliver accurate, context-aware responses. Think of it as an intelligent bridge between your support channels and the systems your business runs on.

• For customers, Copilot can pull answers from your knowledge base, past conversations, connected apps, or even the web like giving accurate, human-sounding replies instantly.
• For agents, Copilot drafts replies, adjusts tone, summarizes long threads, and lets them “Ask AI” to retrieve information from integrated tools like CRMs, e-commerce systems, or task managers.

Here’s how it works in practice, a customer asks, “Where’s my order?” Copilot automatically detects the order ID, checks your Shopify or WooCommerce backend, and replies with an update. If the query is complex or the customer sounds frustrated, it escalates the chat to an agent, with full context intact.

Because Hiver integrates with tools your team already uses like Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, Jira, and Asana, you can view customer details, update records, or create tasks without switching tabs.

Hiver’s automation layer extends those same integrations to reduce manual work. You can:

• Auto-tag and route customer requests based on intent or channel.
• Trigger follow-ups or reminders when SLAs are about to breach.
• Pull contextual data from connected systems so agents never work blind.

What I like about Hiver

• The “chatbot” experience is integrated, not siloed. Copilot connects to CRMs and store systems to give real answers, not scripted ones.
• Agents get live AI support too: draft replies, sentiment detection, and quick data lookups.
• Integrations cover the most common business stack like Shopify, Salesforce, Jira, Asana, and more.
• Setup is fast; teams can go live in hours instead of weeks.

What I don’t like about Hiver

• Advanced reporting and automation options are available only on higher-tier plans.

Pricing

• Forever Free: Shared inboxes, live chat, WhatsApp, voice, and collaboration tools for small teams.
• Lite – $19/user/month: Shared inboxes, live chat, WhatsApp, tags, and basic automations.
• Growth – $29/user/month: Adds analytics, reports, and deeper integrations.
• Pro – $49/user/month: Includes AI automation (as an add-on), CSAT surveys, and advanced workflows.
• Elite (Enterprise) – Custom: Built for scale — unlimited inboxes, skill-based routing, HIPAA compliance, and dedicated support.

If you’re looking for a platform that acts like a chatbot but works like a connected help desk, Hiver stands out. It doesn’t just automate conversations. It turns every customer chat into a data-driven interaction backed by your existing systems.

2. Fin by Intercom

Fin is Intercom’s AI-powered customer service solution designed to balance automation and human support. It comes in two parts:

• Fin AI Agent — an intelligent chatbot that can automatically resolve up to 50% of customer questions using your existing support content.
• Fin Copilot — an AI assistant that helps agents craft faster, more accurate responses inside the Intercom inbox.

Together, they make customer support both faster and more personal — automating the routine while keeping humans in control.

How Fin AI Agent Works

Fin connects directly with your existing help center or knowledge base, whether it’s Intercom Articles, Zendesk Help Center, Notion, or Confluence. It reads your content, understands context, and generates clear, conversational responses on the fly.

Here’s what that process looks like behind the scenes:

• Input: “How do I return my order?”
• Action: Fin searches connected content → identifies the right article or FAQ → composes a concise, accurate reply
• Output: “You can initiate a return by visiting our [Return Portal]. Orders must be returned within 30 days.”
• Fallback: if it can’t find an answer → automatically hands the chat to an agent → passes along the full conversation history for continuity

You can also train Fin with custom answers for recurring or brand-specific questions. Because it integrates with CRMs and help desks beyond Intercom, Fin can pull in context or pass data back to other systems, making it useful even if you’re not fully locked into Intercom’s ecosystem.

How Fin Copilot Helps Agents

When human agents take over, Fin Copilot provides real-time assistance by summarizing threads, drafting replies, and pulling verified information from your connected docs. Instead of replacing agents, it gives them the context and clarity to respond faster and with confidence.

What I like about Fin

• It’s good at deflecting repetitive queries if you’ve got strong support content to feed it.
• You can train it with specific FAQ answers, which makes it more relevant over time.

What I don’t like about Fin

• The “up to 50% deflection” claim depends entirely on how good your docs are. If your knowledge base is thin, Fin won’t magically fill the gaps.
• According to some users on G2, Fin can struggle with very niche and complex queries.

• Pricing by “resolved query” can get expensive fast if your bot is handling lots of volume.

Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️(G2)

Pricing

Fin is priced at $0.99 per resolved query, plus an active Intercom plan starting at $39/user/month.

3. Lyro by Tidio

Lyro, a conversational AI chatbot from Tidio, is designed to support customer service teams by managing routine customer inquiries. Like Intercom’s Fin, Lyro uses existing support content to train itself, delivering consistent and relevant responses based on this information. 

This capability not only reduces the workload on customer support agents but also minimizes First Response Time (FRT), creating a smoother customer experience. 

With Lyro available 24/7, customers can receive assistance at any time of day, which can be especially beneficial for global businesses. In addition, the platform integrates with multiple communication channels, including Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, allowing businesses to engage customers on their preferred platforms. 

What I like about Lyro

• It’s easy to set up, you don’t need a technical team to get it going.
• Works well for basic e-commerce customer inquiries like order status, shipping, or returns.
• Affordable compared to bigger platforms, which makes it realistic for smaller teams.

What I don’t like about Lyro

• It’s not built for complex workflows or enterprise use cases. If you need deep integrations or advanced routing, you’ll quickly encounter limitations.
• The quality of answers depends on the content you feed it. If your help documentation is not detailed, the answers will not be very helpful.
• Analytics and reporting feel lightweight compared to platforms like Intercom or Zendesk.

Rating: 4.7/5 ⭐️(G2)

Pricing

Lyro is available as an add-on to any Tidio plan, costing $39 monthly in addition to Tidio’s base subscription, which begins at $29 per month.

Lyro is a good fit for a smaller team that wants quick, affordable chatbot support without the complexity of enterprise tools. But it’s not going to keep up if you need deep customization or heavy analytics.

4. Paradox AI

Paradox AI is an AI-powered chatbot platform built specifically for HR and talent acquisition teams. It automates repetitive hiring tasks such as screening candidates, scheduling interviews, sending follow-ups, and sharing status updates. This frees up recruiters to focus on evaluating fit rather than managing logistics.

The chatbot, called Olivia, interacts with candidates through web chat, SMS, or WhatsApp, providing them with real-time answers about open roles, application status, and next steps. Instead of waiting days for a response, candidates receive instant updates, which improves both engagement and employer perception.

Here’s what happens in the backend:

• Input: Candidate applies or messages about a role
• Action: Olivia reviews the resume or form → matches it against predefined role criteria → schedules interviews automatically → updates applicant status in the ATS (e.g., Greenhouse, Workday)
• Output: Candidate gets confirmation: “You’re scheduled for a call with the recruiter tomorrow at 3 PM.”
• Fallback: Candidate asks a complex or sensitive question → escalates to HR team → logs chat in the HR system

By automating initial screening, such as checking for required skills, experience level, or location, Paradox removes repetitive filtering steps and helps reduce bias by using consistent, rules-based evaluations.

The real strength of Paradox is in its communication layer. Olivia keeps candidates engaged 24/7, answers FAQs instantly, and ensures every applicant feels acknowledged. That speed and responsiveness help recruiters maintain a steady pipeline without losing good candidates midway.

What I like about Paradox

• It eliminates the painful back-and-forth of scheduling interviews. The bot does it instantly.
• Candidates get quick answers to basic questions like role details, pay ranges, or timelines.
• Works across multiple messaging channels, which feels more natural for applicants than long email threads.

What I don’t like about Paradox

• It’s focused only on recruiting. This isn’t it if you want a broader chatbot for support or sales.
• Advanced use cases, like assessing candidate quality beyond simple screening, still need a human.
• Pricing isn’t transparent. You’ll need to request a demo, which usually means enterprise-level costs.

Rating: 4.7/5 ⭐️(G2)

Pricing

Paradox doesn’t list its pricing publicly. Contact the sales team to get a custom quote.

HR and TA teams that want to streamline hiring communication, reduce manual coordination, and deliver a faster, more engaging candidate experience.

5. ProProfs Chat

ProProfs Chat is a simple live chat and chatbot tool designed for businesses that want something lightweight. It doesn’t try to be an all-in-one platform. It gives you the basics: answer customer questions in real time, set up automated replies, and route chats to the right person.

It integrates with CRMs, help desks, and email systems, so your chat data doesn’t stay siloed. But the tool is more about covering common questions and capturing leads than handling complex workflows.

What I like about ProProfs Chat

• Quick to set up, you can get a chat widget running on your site in minutes.
• Works well for small teams that just need a straightforward chat + FAQ bot.
• Affordable compared to bigger platforms, so it’s accessible to startups.

What I don’t like about ProProfs Chat

• It feels limited if you need advanced AI, sentiment detection, or deep analytics.
• The chatbot builder is basic and good for FAQs, not nuanced conversations.
• Doesn’t scale as well for high-volume or enterprise teams.

Pricing

ProProfs Chat has a Forever Free plan with unlimited chats, one operator, pre-chat forms, canned responses, full chat history, and basic customizations. It’s enough for a single person to handle chats across one or more sites.

Paid plans start at $19.99/month, adding more operators, advanced routing, and integrations.

ProProfs Chat works if you need a simple, affordable live chat tool with basic automation. But if you expect advanced AI or enterprise-scale workflows, you’ll outgrow it quickly.

6. Avature Chatbot

Avature Chatbot is designed to make recruiting faster and more efficient by automating candidate communication. It answers FAQs, captures application details, and syncs everything directly into your Avature Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

Instead of recruiters spending hours replying to “What’s the next step?” or “Am I eligible for this role?”, the chatbot handles those questions immediately and keeps candidates moving through the process.

Because it’s fully integrated into Avature’s talent platform, every conversation and data point flows back into your ATS automatically. That means no manual updates, fewer missed follow-ups, and a smoother candidate experience from application to onboarding.

What I like about Avature Chatbot

• It makes the careers page feel alive. Candidates don’t feel ignored after hitting “Apply.”
• It takes pressure off recruiters by handling FAQs like job requirements, application status, or timelines.
• Being part of Avature’s ecosystem means it connects directly to the ATS, so data doesn’t get lost.

What I don’t like about Avature Chatbot

• It’s only useful if you’re already using Avature’s recruiting suite. It’s not worth adopting on its own.
• Customization is limited since it runs within Avature’s framework, not a fully flexible chatbot builder.
• No transparent pricing. It’s bundled into larger Avature contracts, which means enterprise-level cost.

Pricing

Avature doesn’t publish chatbot pricing separately. It’s sold as part of its talent management platform, which is priced for mid-to-large enterprises. Smaller teams likely won’t find it cost-effective.

Avature Chatbot is a good fit if you’re already running your hiring through Avature and want to improve candidate experience without extra tools. This isn’t the place to start if you’re not an Avature customer.

7. Yellow.ai

Yellow.ai’s core product is its AI chatbot. It’s built to handle customer conversations across web, mobile apps, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and even voice channels. Instead of just answering FAQs, the chatbot can check order status, process payments, book appointments, or hand off to an agent when needed. 

It supports over 100 languages and runs on 35+ channels, which makes it practical for businesses serving customers in multiple regions.

What I like about Yellow.ai

• It’s one of the few chatbots that handles voice and chat with the same AI engine. If your customers prefer calling, you don’t need a separate IVR system.
• Their language coverage is a serious advantage. If you serve international markets, it’s one of the few bots that can handle that scale.
• It goes beyond FAQ duty. You can actually complete transactions (bookings, payments, order updates) inside the bot, which makes it feel like a proper front desk.

What I don’t like about Yellow.ai

• Geared toward enterprises, smaller teams may find the setup and scale excessive.
• Many users report that post-sales communication is weak, with promised features are delayed or overpromised, and getting issues resolved often involves long waits or repeated follow-ups.

Pricing

Yellow.ai has a Free plan that gives you one chatbot, two channels, a custom integration, and usage for up to 100 monthly users, while paid enterprise plans add unlimited bots, channels, and higher usage limits.

Yellow.ai is a strong option if you need a chatbot that can handle multiple languages and channels while completing real tasks like bookings or payments. If your needs are simpler, it’s likely too complex and costly.

How To Integrate Chatbots For Your Business?

Most chatbots fail not because the technology is bad, but because businesses rush the setup. The right way is slower but far more effective: decide what the bot should do, connect it to the right data, and test it thoroughly before letting customers in. 

We’ll use Hiver Chatbots as an example here, but the setup process is similar across most modern chatbot platforms, whether it’s Intercom, Yellow.ai, or any other tool.

Step 1: Add your chatbot

In Hiver, you start by going to Chatbots, then select Add Chatbot. This is the setup foundation. Don’t treat it like naming a folder; be intentional here. If the bot is mainly for order tracking, call it Order Bot. If it’s for FAQs, call it FAQ Assistant.

A vague name like “Support Bot” will confuse your team and your reporting later. A clear, purpose-driven name keeps everyone aligned.

Step 2: Connect your knowledge sources

A chatbot is only as smart as what you feed it. In Hiver, you can plug in three main sources:

• Knowledge Base: The bot uses your existing FAQs and articles to answer routine questions. For example, “How do I reset my password?” can be answered instantly if that doc exists.
• Past Conversations: Train the bot on how your team responds to real customers. This makes the answers feel less robotic and closer to how a person would write.
• Apps and Integrations: Connect external systems like Shopify (to fetch order details), Salesforce (to pull up customer data), or Jira (to log or check bug tickets).

If you skip this step, your chatbot will give shallow, generic answers. Connecting data lets the bot solve problems instead of repeating “Please contact support.”

Step 3: Build conversation flows

Flows are the backbone of any chatbot. They define how the bot interacts step by step. Start by identifying your top 5–10 questions. Don’t overload the bot on day one.

An example flow for order tracking:

1. Customer: “Where’s my order?”
2. Bot: “Please share your order ID.”
3. Customer enters ID.
4. Bot checks Shopify via integration.
5. Bot: “Your order #1234 was shipped on March 2. Here’s the tracking link.”

Keep flows short. Every extra step risks frustrating the customer. If the bot can answer in two steps, don’t stretch it to five.

Step 4: Set escalation rules

No chatbot should attempt to handle everything. Escalation rules decide when the bot stops and hands over to a human. In Hiver, you can set rules like:

• Topic-based: Any billing-related query goes straight to the Finance queue.
• Sentiment-based: If the customer is clearly angry (e.g., “This is ridiculous”), escalate immediately.
• Confidence threshold: If the bot isn’t at least 80% confident in its answer, don’t guess, escalate.

This is particularly important because customers can quickly lose patience if they feel trapped in a loop with a bot. Well-defined escalation rules make the bot useful instead of annoying.

Step 5: Test with your own team

Before you let customers near it, run the chatbot internally. Create a list of your 20 most common customer questions (returns, cancellations, refunds, account updates, shipping issues).

Ask them to the bot. Pay attention to three things:

• Accuracy: Did the bot give the correct answer?
• Tone: Did it sound natural, or too robotic?
• Handoff: Did escalation work smoothly when the bot couldn’t answer?

Document failures and fix them. Keep testing until most common scenarios are handled well.

Step 6: Deploy gradually

Don’t launch the bot everywhere at once. Start with one channel, usually your website chat. Run it for a few weeks, review performance, and only then roll it out to WhatsApp, email, or social.

Hiver makes this manageable because all chats, whether bot-handled or agent-handled, flow back into the same inbox. Your team doesn’t need to jump between tools.

This phased approach prevents you from being overwhelmed by issues across multiple platforms at once. 

Step 7: Monitor and improve

Don’t take a set-and-forget approach with the chatbots. You need to review performance continuously. In Hiver’s reports, track:

• Resolution rate: Percentage of queries solved fully by the bot.
• Escalation rate: How often did the chat escalate to a human (and why).
• Drop-offs: Where in the flow, customers abandoned the conversation.
• CSAT (Customer Satisfaction): Compare scores for bot-handled chats vs agent-handled chats.

Do this weekly at first, then monthly once it is stable. Every review cycle should feed into an update, adding new FAQs, refining flows, and improving handoffs.

The goal of integration is to make sure that the bot does the right things reliably. Once the basics are solid, you can keep layering in more use cases without breaking the experience.

How to Measure If Your Chatbot Is Actually Working?

Launching a chatbot is only the starting point. The real test is whether it reduces workload, speeds up responses, or improves customer satisfaction. The only way to know that is by measuring its performance against clear metrics.

1. Run A/B testing

A/B testing helps you see what actually works. For example,

• Message tone: Does a friendly “Hey there, can I help you track your order?” perform better than a straight “Enter your order ID”?
• Escalation timing: Does escalating earlier improve CSAT, or does letting the bot try more steps first resolve more queries?
• Answer length: Sometimes shorter responses improve resolution; sometimes more detailed replies prevent escalations.

2. Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs)

These are the core numbers that tell you if the chatbot is helping or just adding noise:

• Resolution rate: Percentage of queries fully handled by the bot without human help. The bot isn’t pulling its weight if it’s below 30–40%.
• Escalation rate: How often conversations are passed to an agent. A high rate isn’t always bad (it means your escalation rules work), but the bot isn’t useful if 90% of queries escalate.
• Response time: Average time to first reply. A chatbot should answer instantly. If there’s a delay, check if integrations (e.g., with Shopify or Salesforce) are slowing it down.
• Drop-off points: Places in a conversation where users leave. For example, if 40% of people abandon after being asked for an order ID, the flow needs fixing.
• CSAT scores: Compare satisfaction ratings for bot-handled chats vs. agent-handled chats. If CSAT is consistently lower for bot interactions, it’s time to refine your answers.

3. Review transcripts regularly

Every chatbot conversation is a free insight into what your customers actually want. So, you might not want to ignore it. To do this,

• Look for repeated questions that the bot couldn’t answer. Add those to the knowledge base.
• Check if the bot misunderstood queries. Update training phrases so it recognizes them better next time.
• Spot customer frustrations early; if multiple people type “agent now” or “this isn’t helping,” your flows need fixing.

4. Benchmark against your goals

The best way to judge success is against your targets before launch. For example,

• If your goal was to reduce ticket load by 20%, is the bot deflecting that many queries?
• If you wanted faster response times, compare the average reply time before and after integration.
• To increase sales, measure whether the chatbot contributes to conversions (e.g., upsells or abandoned cart recoveries).

Measuring chatbot success means proving that the bot saves your team time, improves customer experience, or drives revenue. If it isn’t doing one of those things, it needs rework

Making Chatbots Work for Your Business

The only reason to add a chatbot is if it makes support simpler, faster and enhance user experience. If it doesn’t automate repetitive tasks or give customers clear answers, it’s just another tool in the way.

• Start with the basics. 
• Choose the few questions your team gets asked the most, like order tracking, refunds, or password resets. 
• Build chatbot flows to handle those first. 
• Once those work reliably, then add more complex scenarios.

The handoff to humans is just as important. In platforms like Hiver, the chatbot sits in the same inbox as your other channels, so agents step in seamlessly when the bot can’t solve something. That’s the kind of integration that makes chatbots worth using.

The bottom line is that you must treat your chatbot as part of your workflow, not an add-on. If it consistently saves time for your team and moves customers forward, it’s doing its job. If not, it needs fixing.

Frequently Asked Questions