Build FAQ chatbot for your website

The problem

Your website gets the same questions repeatedly: 'What are your opening hours?', 'Am I eligible for your services?', 'How do I make a referral?' You've got an FAQ page but people don't find it or can't be bothered reading. Staff spend hours answering questions via email and phone that are already answered online.

The solution

Build a chatbot that answers common questions using your existing website content and FAQs. Services like Chatbase or CustomGPT let you upload your website pages, and they create a chatbot that can answer questions in natural language. Visitors ask 'Can you help people in Birmingham?' and get an instant answer. No coding required. IMPORTANT: Chatbots can hallucinate incorrect information even when trained on your content - regular monitoring and human escalation paths are essential. Never use a chatbot for high-stakes decisions like safeguarding or clinical advice.

What you get

A chat widget on your website that answers visitor questions instantly. The chatbot knows your services, eligibility criteria, opening hours, referral processes - anything documented on your site. It cites sources ('According to our Referrals page...') and escalates to a human when it can't help. Reduces enquiry load on staff.

Before you start

• Website with well-organised content (services, FAQs, policies)
• Clear documentation of eligibility criteria and processes
• Budget for chatbot service (free tiers available but limited)
• Someone to monitor chatbot conversations and improve answers
• Awareness that chatbots can give incorrect information - monitoring and human escalation essential

When to use this

• You get repetitive questions that have documented answers
• Staff time spent on basic enquiries is significant
• Your website has good content but people don't find it
• You want 24/7 availability for common questions

When not to use this

• Your website content is outdated or poorly organised - fix that first
• Most enquiries are unique situations needing human judgement
• You don't have capacity to monitor and improve the chatbot
• Your service users don't have reliable internet access
• You're providing safeguarding, crisis, or clinical advice - chatbots can give incorrect information and these situations need trained humans

Steps

1. 1

   Audit your website content

   Check your website can actually answer the questions people ask. Do you clearly explain: who you help, how to access services, eligibility criteria, opening hours, referral processes? If key information is missing or unclear, add it before building a chatbot. The chatbot can only answer what your website says.

2. 2

   Choose a chatbot platform

   Chatbase is easiest for beginners (free tier, simple setup). CustomGPT is more powerful but pricier. Both let you upload website URLs and documents. Try Chatbase free tier first - you can always upgrade or switch later if it proves valuable.

3. 3

   Upload your content

   Give the platform your website URL and it'll crawl your pages. You can also upload specific PDFs (policies, FAQs, guides). The more comprehensive your content, the better the chatbot's answers. It learns from everything you feed it.

4. 4

   Configure the chatbot personality

   Set the tone: professional but friendly, empathetic for sensitive services, clear and direct. Write a system prompt: 'You are a helpful assistant for [charity name]. We provide [services]. Be warm and empathetic. If you don't know, say so and offer to connect them with staff.' Consider whether to disclose AI usage ('I'm an AI assistant') - transparency builds trust even if some users might prefer human contact.

5. 5

   Test with real questions

   Ask the chatbot the questions you actually get: 'Am I eligible?', 'How do I refer someone?', 'What are your opening hours?', 'Do you cover my area?' Check the answers are accurate, complete, and cite correct sources. Refine the system prompt if tone is wrong.

6. 6

   Add to your website

   Most platforms give you a code snippet to paste into your website. It appears as a chat bubble in the corner. Configure when it shows: immediately, after 30 seconds, or when someone visits specific pages (like 'Get Help'). Don't be intrusive.

7. 7

   Monitor conversations

   Check chatbot conversations weekly. What questions does it answer well? Where does it struggle? What information is missing from your website? Use this insight to improve your website content and train the chatbot on gaps.

8. 8

   Set up escalation

   Configure what happens when the chatbot can't help: 'I don't have enough information about that. You can email us at [email] or call [phone].' Make sure humans are clearly available for complex queries. The chatbot handles simple FAQs, humans handle everything else.

9. 9

   Update content regularly(optional)

   When your services, hours, or policies change, update your website and re-train the chatbot. Most platforms let you refresh the knowledge base easily. Outdated chatbot answers are worse than no chatbot.

Tools

Resources

Part of this pathway