FastBots
Website AI chatbot- Range
- $0 to $399/mo; main paid plans run $39-$199/mo
- Entry paid
- Essential is $39/mo, or $33/mo when billed annually
- Check
- Message credits, chatbot count, human takeover, and branding removal gates
Australian tradie guide
AI chatbots for tradies: more job leads, less admin.
For plumbers, sparkies, landscapers, cleaners, roofers, builders, and other trade businesses, the first win is not replacing the office. It is getting better job details while you are on the tools, on the road, or finally off the clock.
Tradie intake
Collect the job brief while you are off the tools.
The visitor asks for help after hours. The chatbot gathers the basics, flags urgency, and sends the brief to the business.- Location
- Suburb and access notes
- Job type
- Quote, repair, inspection
- Urgency
- Safety, damage, deadline
- Handoff
- Call, booking link, or review
Job brief Needs review
01 Capture request
02 Flag risk words
03 Send to owner
Urgency Callback before quote
Source Approved site copy
Boundary
No final quote, arrival promise, invoice, or safety-critical decision.Outcome
A cleaner lead for callback, booking follow-up, or admin review.Short answer
A good AI chatbot can already answer repeat questions from your site, collect better quote details, and hand the lead to the right place. With the right setup, it can also offer a booking path and push job details toward your CRM, job-management app, or accounting workflow.
The important boundary: do not let the chatbot invent prices, promise arrival times, or send invoices until that exact workflow has been tested. For most tradies, the practical first step is a smarter job intake assistant that saves the back-and-forth, then lets a human approve the quote, booking, and invoice. Cleaning operators can use the cleaning-business chatbot guide for a more specific quote-intake and handoff pattern. Painters can use the painters chatbot guide for estimate requests, photos, surfaces, and prep-boundary framing. Pool service teams can use the pool service chatbot guide for maintenance, repair, photos, access, and chemistry-boundary framing. Use the AI chatbot quote-request guide for the broader pricing boundary. Pest-control teams can use the pest-control chatbot guide for lead intake, urgency routing, and treatment-advice boundaries.
Pricing snapshot
What the active shortlist costs before you trial it.
Price is a primary filter for small trade businesses, so compare the current range and usage unit before choosing a chatbot. Current as of 2026-05-25
Chatbase
Trainable website chatbot- Range
- $0 to $400/mo when billed annually; Enterprise is custom
- Entry paid
- Hobby is $32/mo when billed annually
- Check
- Message credits, AI agents, source limits, actions, seats, and add-ons
Tidio
Website chat and support- Range
- $24.17/mo Starter to $749/mo Plus; Premium is custom
- Entry paid
- Starter from $24.17/mo in the reviewed pricing output
- Check
- Billable conversations, Lyro AI conversations, and Flows visitors reached
ChatBot.com
AI support workspace- Range
- $19-$79/user/mo when billed annually; Enterprise is custom
- Entry paid
- Essential is $19/user/mo annually, or $25/user/mo monthly
- Check
- Per-user pricing plus included AI agents, AI resolutions, API calls, and workflow allowances
Tradie workflow
The bot should make the next job easier to quote.
The value is not a flashy chat bubble. It is a cleaner brief: what happened, where the job is, how urgent it is, whether photos exist, what access looks like, and whether the customer needs a call, inspection, or booked slot.
Workflow weighting
What matters for tradies
Editorial weighting for this guide, not a product score. Job brief quality Core win
After-hours response Core win
Booking handoff Connect carefully
Source knowledge Keep current
Accounting handoff Workflow layer
Human approval Guardrail
First shortlist
Four tools to inspect first.
This is not a universal ranking. Pick the tool based on the workflow you want: quote intake, booking, support handoff, or structured follow-up.
FastBots
Best for
Tradie websites that need a trained assistant to answer service questions, collect quote details, and send cleaner leads to the inbox.
Check before choosing
Use it for qualification and quote-prep detail capture first. FastBots can pass leads into Zapier or Make workflows, but its own lead-generation page says live booking is better handled with a scheduling link or follow-up.
Check FastBotsChatbase
Best for
Trade businesses with enough service pages, FAQs, policy notes, and documents to justify tighter source control plus appointment booking through Calendly.
Check before choosing
Chatbase has a Calendly action for in-chat scheduling, but quote logic and job dispatch still need careful rules and human approval.
Check ChatbaseTidio
Best for
Teams that want AI plus live chat, inbox handoff, lead syncing, and a support workflow instead of a simple FAQ widget.
Check before choosing
Tidio makes sense when someone will actually manage the inbox. It is broader than a light chatbot for a one-person trade site.
Check TidioChatBot.com
Best for
Structured sales and support flows where the visitor needs guided questions, contact capture, and Zapier-connected follow-up.
Check before choosing
Best inspected when you want a designed conversation flow. Still check every downstream action before letting it touch quoting or accounts.
Check ChatBot.comWorkflow layers
What the chatbot can handle, and what still needs rules.
Layer What the customer wants Safer chatbot job
Website FAQ
The visitor asks about services, suburbs, opening hours, warranties, prep steps, or call-out fees.
Answer from the website, service pages, policies, and approved Q&A.
Quote intake
The visitor wants a price but has not supplied enough detail.
Ask for job type, suburb, urgency, access notes, photos, measurements, and contact details.
Booking handoff
The visitor wants a site visit, callback, or inspection.
Offer a booking link, route to a supported scheduling action, or collect details for the office to confirm.
Job system handoff
The business uses a job-management tool such as ServiceM8 or Tradify.
Push the captured brief into the right workflow only after fields and permissions are mapped.
Quote or invoice
The job needs a formal quote, deposit, invoice, or accounting record.
Draft or trigger the admin step where supported, but keep human approval before anything goes to the customer.
Automation ladder
Build it in stages.
The reliable path is not one giant AI rollout. Start with the repetitive questions, then add booking and admin handoff only where the fields, permissions, and approval points are clear.
Do now
- Answer repeat website questions from approved sources.
- Collect quote details after hours.
- Email or route the conversation transcript to the team.
- Suggest the right next step: call, booking link, or follow-up.
Do after setup
- Connect leads to Zapier, Make, a CRM, or a spreadsheet.
- Use Calendly or another scheduler where the chatbot supports it.
- Send structured job details to the admin stack for review.
- Track missed questions and update the website or knowledge base.
Do only after testing
- Create draft quotes from captured job details.
- Create draft invoices or accounting records.
- Route urgent or after-hours jobs automatically.
- Let the bot make promises about price, arrival time, or scope.
Accounting reality
The accounting sync is a workflow, not a chatbot feature.
Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online, ServiceM8, Tradify, and similar tools can sit downstream of a chatbot workflow. That does not mean every chatbot should create a live invoice by itself.
A safer version is: the chatbot captures the job brief, sends it to the team or job system, and creates a draft or task for review. Once the quote is approved, the accounting or job-management tool can take over the formal invoice process.
For a one-person trade business, that may be enough. You get fewer missed leads and cleaner information without giving a bot permission to make promises that could cost you money.
Trust limits
What not to automate first.
Emergency or safety-critical work where the customer needs a direct phone path.
Final prices, call-out fees, or arrival times that change by suburb, access, materials, or workload.
Quotes, invoices, refunds, deposits, or accounting records that go straight to the customer without review.
Anything that depends on a calendar, technician, supplier, or licence rule the bot cannot reliably check.
Sources checked
What this guide is based on.
Product and integration details change. Check the vendor docs before giving a chatbot access to bookings, job systems, quotes, or accounting workflows.