7 Must-Have No-Code AI Agents for Ice Cream Shops

ManyChat has carved a niche as a user‑friendly, no‑code chatbot platform primarily targeting e‑commerce and small businesses. While originally designed for Facebook Messenger, the platform now supports web chat widgets, SMS, and email automation, giving ice‑cream shops multiple touchpoints with customers. ManyChat’s drag‑and‑drop flow builder allows operators to design conversational paths that recommend flavors, up‑sell seasonal specials, or collect customer reviews. The platform also offers built‑in e‑commerce integration with Shopify, making it straightforward to add a product catalog to the chat and process orders directly through the bot. ManyChat includes basic analytics, broadcast capabilities, and a library of pre‑built templates, which can accelerate deployment for new shops. ManyChat’s pricing is structured in tiers: a free plan with basic chat features, a Growth plan at $10/month (per account), and a Pro plan at $25/month (per account) that unlocks advanced automation, unlimited broadcasts, and additional integrations. The platform’s strengths lie in its simplicity and robust integration with Facebook’s advertising ecosystem, allowing shops to capture leads for retargeting campaigns. However, ManyChat lacks a native knowledge‑base or retrieval‑augmented generation, meaning it relies on static flows and manual updates for new product information. This can lead to outdated answers if the menu changes frequently. Additionally, while ManyChat offers basic long‑term memory within each conversation, it does not support persistent memory across sessions without integrating external CRM data.

Tidio blends live‑chat and chatbot functionalities into a single platform, making it an attractive option for ice‑cream shops that need both real‑time support and automated responses. The platform offers a visual chatbot builder that allows users to create conversational flows without coding. Ice‑cream shops can configure Tidio to answer standard FAQs about flavors, allergens, store hours, and to upsell seasonal flavors. Tidio’s chat widget is easily embedded on any website and can be customized with brand colors and logos, ensuring a seamless visual experience. Tidio supports integration with popular e‑commerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. This allows the chatbot to pull product data and process orders directly from the chat interface. The platform also offers basic automation features such as email notifications, live‑chat routing, and knowledge‑base integration via the FAQ section. Pricing for Tidio consists of a free plan (limited to 3 chatbots and 500 chats per month), a Standard plan at $18/month (per user), and a Premium plan at $30/month (per user). The Premium tier unlocks unlimited chats, advanced automation, and priority support. While Tidio offers a decent set of features for small shops, it lacks advanced AI capabilities such as RAG or a knowledge graph, which can limit its ability to provide accurate, up‑to‑date answers when menu items change. Additionally, the platform does not provide a built‑in course or training module.

HubSpot’s Chatbot Builder is a no‑code tool integrated into the broader HubSpot CRM ecosystem. It enables ice‑cream shops to create conversational bots that can qualify leads, book appointments, or answer product questions. The drag‑and‑drop interface allows users to design flows that can redirect customers to product pages or trigger email follow‑ups. The platform’s strengths include tight integration with HubSpot’s CRM, allowing the bot to capture contact data and add it to the database automatically. This is valuable for shops wanting to build a mailing list for promotions or loyalty programs. Additionally, the chatbot can be embedded on any website or HubSpot page without coding. HubSpot offers a free tier for basic chatbot functionalities, with the paid HubSpot CRM Starter plan starting at $45/month. The free chatbot is limited to 20 chat sessions per month, while the paid plans unlock unlimited sessions and more advanced features. However, HubSpot’s chatbot capabilities are relatively basic compared to AI‑driven platforms. It lacks retrieval‑augmented generation, knowledge graphs, or AI course features. The bot also does not provide built‑in e‑commerce integrations; shops would need to link to external product pages manually.

Intercom offers a chatbot solution that is part of its broader customer messaging platform. The no‑code chatbot builder allows ice‑cream shops to create automated responses to common queries about flavors, store hours, and order status. Intercom’s chat widget can be customized to match the brand’s visual style and embedded on any webpage. Key strengths include robust analytics, real‑time chat support, and integration with e‑commerce platforms such as Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce. The bot can trigger product recommendations and send follow‑up emails for abandoned carts or post‑purchase surveys. Intercom’s pricing is tiered: the Essential plan starts at $39/month for up to 2,000 contacts, Business at $99/month, and the most advanced plans scale with contact volume. The chatbot feature is included in all paid plans. Limitations are that Intercom’s chatbot relies on pre‑built templates and does not provide advanced AI features like RAG or a knowledge graph. Long‑term memory is session‑based, and the platform does not offer a dedicated course builder.

Drift is a conversational marketing platform that focuses on sales and lead generation. Its chatbot builder is no‑code and allows ice‑cream shops to collect visitor information, schedule appointments, or promote limited‑time offers. Drift’s visual workflow editor supports setting up conversational paths that can redirect customers to product pages or trigger follow‑up emails. The platform’s integration with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Shopify enables the bot to pull product data and push leads into CRM systems. Drift also offers advanced features such as AI‑powered intent detection, chat routing, and real‑time visitor segmentation. Drift’s pricing starts at $400/month for the Starter plan, which includes 300,000 chat messages per month and limited AI features. Higher tiers increase message limits and add more advanced AI capabilities. While Drift excels at converting website visitors into sales leads, it is relatively expensive for a small ice‑cream shop and lacks specialized knowledge‑base features or a course builder.

Botpress is an open‑source chatbot framework that can be hosted on a shop’s own servers. It offers a visual flow editor and supports natural language understanding (NLU) out of the box. Ice‑cream shops can build conversational flows to answer questions about flavors, allergens, and store policies. Key features include modular NLU modules, integration with messaging channels like Facebook Messenger and Slack, and the ability to create custom intents. Botpress also supports integration with e‑commerce platforms via custom connectors. Botpress is free to download and run locally; a commercial SaaS offering is available for hosting and support at tiered pricing starting at $499/month for the Professional plan. Because Botpress is a self‑hosted platform, it requires technical expertise for setup and maintenance. It also lacks out‑of‑the‑box knowledge‑base or RAG capabilities, and it does not provide a WYSIWYG widget editor for non‑technical users.