Website visitor asks
Customer asks for a price, availability, or whether you cover their suburb.
Answer only from approved pages and ask for the missing job details.
Tradie chatbot shortlist
AI chatbots for tradies: four website options to inspect first.
This is the narrower shortlist page for trade websites. For the bigger Australian playbook across AI agents, phone calls, DMs, quoting, job notes, and admin, read the Ultimate Guide to AI for Tradies.
- Updated
- June 7, 2026
- Read
- 9 min
- Evidence
- Official sources checked
Short answer
For most tradies, the first useful website chatbot is not an autonomous quote machine. It is a better intake assistant: it answers the repeat questions from your site, asks for the details you normally chase by text, and sends a clean brief to the owner, office, or dispatcher.
Start with FastBots if you want the quickest trained website lead path, inspect Chatbase if source control matters, use Tidio if live chat handoff is part of the job, and inspect ChatBot.com when you need a designed quote-intake flow.
Best fit matrix
Match the tool to the job, not the other way around.
A plumber in Brisbane, a sparkie on Sydney's Northern Beaches, and a roofer in Melbourne do not need the same first chatbot. Pick the workflow you are actually trying to fix.
| If the problem is | Inspect first | What it should collect |
|---|---|---|
| Missed website leads | FastBots | Ask suburb, job type, urgency, photos, access, and callback window. |
| Messy service questions | Chatbase | Answer from current service pages, warranty notes, terms, and approved FAQs. |
| Owner/admin wants to jump in | Tidio | Let AI answer first, then route to a person before price, warranty, or complaint handling. |
| Quote flow needs fixed fields | ChatBot.com | Use a designed flow so every enquiry lands with the same required fields. |
| Emergency or same-day work | Phone-first path | Use chat only as backup intake; tell the customer when to call. |
| Social DMs or WhatsApp leads | Read the ultimate guide | A website chatbot shortlist is not enough when the channel is Instagram, Facebook, or WhatsApp. |
Tradie workflow
The chatbot prepares the job. A person still commits the business.
That distinction matters in Australia, where suburb, access, strata, parking, travel, safety, and weather can change the job quickly. A vague "How much for a power point in Manly?" should become a brief, not a made-up quote.
Bot collects the brief
Suburb, job type, urgency, photos, access, property type, and callback details.
Send the structured brief to the owner, office, or job-management workflow.
Human confirms
Price, availability, arrival window, parts, safety, and scope still need review.
The chatbot should prepare the job, not commit the business.
Admin follows through
Quote, booking, reminder, invoice, and job note tasks move through the real system.
Only automate these after the exact workflow has been tested.
Four options
Website chatbot shortlist for tradies.
Website lead intake
FastBots
Best for: Trade websites that need a simple site-trained assistant to answer service questions and collect a cleaner quote brief.
Not for: Final prices, dispatch promises, or live calendar commitments without review.
Check FastBotsSource-controlled answers
Chatbase
Best for: Tradies with service pages, FAQs, warranty wording, and policy notes they want the bot to answer from carefully.
Not for: Thin websites with little approved content or jobs where the bot must make field-service decisions.
Check ChatbaseAI plus live chat
Tidio
Best for: Teams that want AI, live chat, inbox ownership, and human handoff in one support surface.
Not for: Solo operators who will not check the inbox or manage escalations.
Check TidioDesigned quote flows
ChatBot.com
Best for: Businesses that want structured questions, saved visitor fields, and workflow handoff around a planned conversation.
Not for: A lightweight FAQ widget where a simpler trained assistant would do.
Check ChatBot.comPricing snapshot
Check plan limits before trialling a trade-site chatbot.
These are website-chatbot tools, not complete field-service systems. Recheck current pricing, message limits, seats, actions, and handoff before buying. Current as of 1 June 2026 - 7 June 2026
FastBots
Website AI chatbot
Website chat Small websites that want a trained chatbot without a broader AI-agent buildout.
Cheapest paid plan $33/mo annually Essential plan
Monthly: $39/mo
Includes: 2,000 message credits/mo across 2 bots; standard replies use 1 credit.
- Typical price range
- $0 to $399/mo; main paid plans run $39-$199/mo
- What raises the bill
- Message credits (1 standard reply = 1 credit; advanced models use 5-10), chatbot count, handoff, and branding gates
Chatbase
Trainable website chatbot
Website chat Teams with help pages, files, Q&A, Notion, or support-ticket sources to manage.
Cheapest paid plan $32/mo annually Hobby plan
Includes: 500 message credits/mo, 1 AI agent, and 5 AI Actions/agent.
- Typical price range
- $0 to $400/mo annually; Enterprise is custom
- What raises the bill
- Message credits, AI agents, source limits, actions, seats, and add-ons
Tidio
Website chat and support
Live support Stores that need live chat, AI help, and human handoff in one workflow.
Cheapest paid plan $24.17/mo annually Starter plan
Includes: 100 billable conversations/mo; Lyro AI is separate, with the first 50 conversations lifetime free.
- Typical price range
- $24.17/mo Starter to $749/mo Plus; Premium is custom
- What raises the bill
- Billable conversations, Lyro AI conversations, Flows visitors reached, and seats
ChatBot.com
AI support workspace
Website chat Teams comparing AI agent, live chat, shared inbox, ticketing, and workflows in one Text workspace.
Cheapest paid plan $19/user/mo Essential plan
Monthly: $25/user/mo
Includes: 1 AI agent, 10 AI resolutions/mo, and 10,000 API calls.
- Typical price range
- $19-$79/user/mo annually; Enterprise is custom
- What raises the bill
- Per-user pricing plus included AI agents, AI resolutions, API calls, and workflow allowances
Human boundary
Do not automate the parts that can burn trust.
Keep final prices, arrival promises, dispatch decisions, safety advice, refunds, warranty calls, invoices, and unusual access or compliance issues with a person until the exact workflow is tested.
Flagship guide
Want the full tradie AI playbook?
The full guide covers more than chat widgets: AI agents, phone leads, WhatsApp/social DMs, job notes, quote prep, ServiceM8/Tradify/Xero handoff, suburb-specific examples across Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Melbourne, and a staged rollout plan.
Read the Ultimate Guide to AI for TradiesDecision recap
Use the narrow page or the full playbook.
- Use this page — if you only need a quick website-chatbot shortlist for tradie lead capture.
- Read the ultimate guide — if you want the full Australian AI playbook across chatbots, agents, phone, DMs, admin, job notes, and local quoting.
- Start with FastBots — if the first job is after-hours quote intake on a trade website.
- Start with Chatbase — if source control matters more than a quick setup.
- Start with Tidio — if a person will actively manage live chat and handoff.