I tried a dozen platforms to find the 7 best AI chatbot builders in 2025

We’ve all heard the pitch: AI chatbots will offer 24/7 support, give instant answers, and solve all our problems. But let's be honest, the reality is often a mess of clunky tools, painful setup processes, and dead-end conversations that leave customers more frustrated than before.

So, how do you find a tool that actually delivers without getting stuck in a cycle of sales demos and long-term contracts?

I decided to find out for myself. I got my hands dirty with a bunch of the most popular AI chatbot builders to see which ones could stand up to real-world use. This guide is the result, a breakdown of the top 7 platforms, judged on the stuff that really matters to support teams: how easy they are to set up, how well they learn from your existing knowledge, how much control you have, and whether the price is fair.

What defines the best AI chatbot builder?

At its core, an AI chatbot builder is a platform that lets you create, train, and launch an AI-powered chatbot, usually without having to write a single line of code. These tools use natural language processing (NLP) to figure out what a person is asking and then use generative AI to come up with a human-sounding response.

This is a huge leap from the old-school, rule-based bots that followed rigid, pre-programmed conversation trees. Today’s AI builders can learn directly from your company’s knowledge, think help center articles, internal docs, and even past customer chats. The whole point is to handle the simple, repetitive questions automatically so your human agents can focus on the tricky stuff. Instead of you having to map out every single possible conversation, modern tools like eesel AI can learn from your existing support tickets and help center, which makes getting started way faster.

How we picked the best AI chatbot builder platforms

I wanted to create a practical, no-fluff list, so I focused on what really matters when you're a busy support or IT manager. I ignored the shiny marketing promises and tested each platform against a few core principles.

• How fast can you get it working? I looked for platforms that let you sign up and get a useful bot running quickly. No one has time for weeks of mandatory training calls or professional services engagements.

• How well does it learn? The best tools don't start from scratch. They connect to your help desk, internal wikis (like Confluence or Google Docs), and past conversations to give answers that are actually accurate and helpful.

• Can you control it? You need to be able to tweak the bot’s personality, decide exactly what questions it should handle, and set up custom actions (like looking up an order status). Having that level of control is what gives you the confidence to roll it out.

• Can you test it safely? Does the platform let you see how the bot will perform before it talks to a single customer? A simulation mode is a must-have for building trust and proving that the tool is worth the investment.

• Is the pricing clear? I prioritized platforms with transparent pricing models. Confusing, per-resolution fees that punish you for successfully deflecting tickets are a major red flag.

The best AI chatbot builders at a glance

If you're short on time, here’s a quick rundown of my top picks and what they're best for.

A deep dive into the top 7 AI chatbot builders

Picking a chatbot builder is a pretty big decision, so let's get into the details of what makes each of these platforms tick, including their strengths, weaknesses, and who they’re really for.

1. eesel AI

eesel AI is designed for support and IT teams who want the power of AI without having to migrate all their tools. Instead of making you switch to a whole new platform, it plugs right into the help desks you already use, like Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Intercom, plus internal tools like Slack.

What really stood out to me was how fast it is to get up and running. You can connect your help desk and knowledge sources (like a help center, Confluence, or even past tickets) in just a few minutes and have a functioning AI agent. The simulation mode is also a huge win, it lets you test the AI on thousands of your own historical tickets. You can see exactly how it will perform and calculate your potential savings before you even think about turning it on for customers. It takes all the guesswork out of the process.

A screenshot of the eesel AI simulation mode, which allows users to test the AI on historical tickets to predict performance and savings, a key feature for the best AI chatbot builder.

• Pros:

  • Genuinely self-serve setup that takes minutes, not months.

  • It learns from your past tickets, so its answers are relevant and match your brand's tone.

  • The simulation mode is fantastic for testing and building confidence before you go live.

  • It enhances your current helpdesk instead of forcing you to replace it.

  • Clear pricing without any hidden per-resolution fees.

• Cons:

  • It’s a specialized tool for support and IT. It’s not built to be a general-purpose marketing bot.

• Pricing: eesel AI's pricing starts with the Team plan at $299/month (or $239/mo if you pay annually), which gets you up to 3 bots and 1,000 AI interactions per month. There’s also a 7-day free trial.

2. Intercom

Intercom is a big name in customer communications, offering a whole suite of tools that includes live chat, a help desk, and an AI chatbot called Fin. It’s probably most famous for its sleek, modern chat widget that provides a great experience for users.

It's a solid, integrated solution for larger teams that want everything under one roof. The AI can be trained on your help center articles to field customer questions, and it has a smooth handoff to human agents when needed. Intercom is definitely a premium product, but it’s best for companies that have the budget and are ready to move their entire support operation over to one platform.

• Pros:

  • The user interface is beautifully designed and very easy to use.

  • It combines live chat, bots, and a help desk into one system.

  • Has strong features for proactive customer messaging and marketing.

• Cons:

  • It can get very expensive. The pricing is based on both agent seats and the number of resolutions the AI handles.

  • You pretty much have to commit to the entire Intercom ecosystem (the "rip and replace" approach).

  • It's missing the advanced simulation and testing controls you find in more specialized tools like eesel AI.

• Pricing: Intercom's pricing is a bit complicated. The Essential plan starts at $29 per seat/month (billed annually), but that doesn't include unlimited AI. You also have to pay $0.99 for every conversation resolved by its AI, Fin, which can make your costs hard to predict.

3. Tidio

Tidio is a go-to choice for small businesses. It bundles live chat, chatbots, and some basic email marketing tools into an affordable package. Its biggest draw is its simplicity and its visual, drag-and-drop chatbot builder.

With Tidio, pretty much anyone can build a rule-based bot to greet website visitors, offer discounts, or answer basic FAQs. They also have an AI feature called Lyro that can learn from your knowledge base. It’s a great starting point if you're new to automation and want an easy-to-use tool without a huge price tag.

• Pros:

  • The visual builder for creating conversation flows is very user-friendly.

  • Affordable pricing, and there's even a free plan.

  • Good for basic lead generation and simple FAQ bots.

• Cons:

  • Its AI isn't as advanced as what you'd find on dedicated AI platforms.

  • It can get tripped up by more complex questions that don't fit into a pre-made flow.

  • The analytics and customization options are pretty limited.

• Pricing: Tidio offers a free plan with limited features. The paid Starter plan is $24.17/month (billed annually) for 100 live chat conversations. The AI agent, Lyro, is a separate plan that starts at $32.50/month for 50 AI conversations.

4. Chatbase

If there's one word to describe Chatbase, it's "simple." The whole idea is that you upload a document or paste a link to your website, and it instantly creates a chatbot that can answer questions based on that content.

For pure speed and ease of use, Chatbase is tough to beat. You can have a bot up and running in less than 10 minutes, which makes it perfect for personal projects, a quick internal knowledge bot, or just testing out an idea. It does one thing, and it does it very well.

• Pros:

  • Incredibly fast and easy to set up.

  • Perfect for simple Q&A bots based on a single source of knowledge.

  • You don't need any technical skills to use it.

• Cons:

  • Very limited options for customizing or controlling the bot's behavior.

  • It doesn't integrate with help desks or other support tools.

  • Not built to handle real customer service situations or take actions.

• Pricing: A limited free plan is available but it deletes inactive bots. The paid Hobby plan starts at $40/month for 1 AI agent and 2,000 message credits.

5. Botpress

Botpress is an open-source platform made for developers who want total control and flexibility. It gives you a powerful engine to build complex, AI-powered bots with custom logic, integrations, and unique workflows.

If you have developers on your team and need to build something from the ground up, Botpress is a great choice. It lets you connect to any large language model, integrate with any API, and build advanced conversation flows. It’s the "build-it-yourself" option for teams who find off-the-shelf solutions too limiting.

• Pros:

  • Extremely powerful and flexible for developers.

  • It's open-source and has a strong community behind it.

  • Allows for deep customization of pretty much every part of the bot.

• Cons:

  • There's a steep learning curve, so you'll need technical know-how.

  • This isn't a tool that non-technical folks on your support or marketing teams can just pick up and use.

  • Setting it up and keeping it running requires ongoing developer time.

• Pricing: Botpress has a generous free plan that includes 500 incoming messages a month. After that, it’s a pay-as-you-go model, which can make costs hard to predict.

6. Zapier Chatbots

From the company that mastered automation, Zapier Chatbots lets you build a simple bot and then connect it to the thousands of apps in the Zapier ecosystem. Its real power isn't in the chatbot's conversational skills, but in what you can do with the information it gathers.

If your main goal is to capture leads or collect data, Zapier is a fantastic option. You can create a bot that asks for a user's name and email, then use a "Zap" to automatically add them to a Google Sheet, your CRM, and a Mailchimp list, all in one go.

• Pros:

  • Unbeatable integration capabilities with over 8,000 apps.

  • Simple to build basic bots for collecting data and capturing leads.

  • Great for automating workflows that are triggered by a bot conversation.

• Cons:

  • The chatbot itself is pretty basic when it comes to conversational AI.

  • It's not designed for complex, back-and-forth customer support.

  • It's missing features like agent handoff or detailed analytics.

• Pricing: A free Zapier Chatbots plan is available for 2 chatbots. The Pro plan, which lets you embed the bot on your site and add more knowledge sources, starts at $13.33/month when billed annually.

7. Manychat

Manychat is all about automating conversations on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. It's a favorite among marketers, influencers, and e-commerce brands who want to engage their audience directly on those channels.

Manychat is great at creating automated sequences that are triggered by social media actions. For example, you can set up a bot to automatically reply to comments on an Instagram post, send a discount code via DM to anyone who uses a certain keyword, or answer common product questions.

• Pros:

  • Excellent for Instagram and Facebook marketing automation.

  • Easy-to-use flow builder for creating marketing sequences.

  • Direct integrations with e-commerce tools like Shopify.

• Cons:

  • Not a great choice for website-based customer support.

  • The AI features are an add-on and aren't as sophisticated as other platforms.

  • It's a marketing tool first and foremost, not a complete support solution.

• Pricing: A free plan is available for up to 1,000 contacts. Pro plans start at $15/month and go up as your contact list grows. The advanced AI features require the Manychat AI add-on, which is an extra $29/month.

How to choose the right AI chatbot builder for your business

Picking the right platform really comes down to what you're trying to accomplish. The best tool for a marketing team is rarely the best one for a support team. Here are a few questions to ask yourself.

What problem are you actually trying to solve?

If you want to reduce your support ticket volume, you need a tool that works closely with your help desk and can learn from past tickets. That's where a solution like eesel AI really shines because it's built specifically for that. If your goal is to get more leads from social media, something like Manychat makes more sense. And if you just need a simple Q&A bot for an internal wiki, Chatbase might be all you need.

What tools are you already using?

The best AI chatbot builder should work with your current software, not against it. Be careful with "rip and replace" solutions unless you're truly ready to take on a massive migration project. Look for platforms with simple, one-click integrations that make the tools your team already uses even better.

How much control do you need?

Are you looking for something simple that just works out of the box, or do you need to fine-tune the AI's personality, actions, and when it hands off to a human? Platforms like eesel AI offer a nice balance of easy setup with deep, optional customization, while tools like Botpress give you total control but require developers to manage them.

The future of support is integrated, not replaced

The days of clunky, frustrating chatbots that only lead to dead ends are numbered. The best AI chatbot builders of 2025 are smart, easy to set up, and plug right into the tools you already use every day.

The bottom line is this: find a solution that makes your existing workflow better, not one that forces you to start over. By adding AI directly to your help desk and knowledge sources, you can start automating support, making your agents more efficient, and keeping customers happy in minutes, not months.

If you want to see how quickly you can automate support using the knowledge you already have, you can set up and simulate an AI agent with eesel AI for free. You can see your potential automation rate and ROI in just a few minutes, without ever having to talk to a salesperson.