A chatbot that answers the same 15 questions your support team fields every day can cut support volume by 60%. A chatbot bolted onto a site because it seemed like a good idea will annoy visitors and get disabled in three months.
The difference is in the problem definition.
When Chatbots Work
High volume of repetitive, answerable queries. Clear scope, a chatbot that does one thing well beats one that tries to do everything poorly. Support teams that are bottlenecked on straightforward questions. Businesses with consistent opening hours who want 24/7 coverage for standard queries.
When Chatbots Waste Money
Complex, consultative sales processes where a human is essential. Businesses where every query is unique. Low-volume services where the cost of building exceeds years of time savings. Companies that have not documented their own FAQ content, a chatbot trained on incomplete information gives wrong answers.
Building One That Works
Start with your actual support tickets from the last three months. Categorise them. Find the top 20 question types. Build the chatbot to handle those specifically. Test it with real users before deploying. Set up a handoff mechanism for the queries it cannot handle. Review the conversation logs weekly for the first month.