7 Must-Have Platforms for a Subcontractor Intake Bot for General Contractors

Intercom is a well‑established customer messaging platform that offers a conversational AI layer on top of its live‑chat and help‑desk tools. Designed for sales, marketing, and support, Intercom’s chatbots can collect lead information, qualify prospects, and route inquiries to the right team members. For a general contractor, Intercom can be used to gather subcontractor details, verify compliance documents, and push notification alerts to the project manager. Intercom’s Bot Builder allows users to create flows using a visual editor, add conditional logic, and embed forms that capture data such as license numbers or insurance certificates. The platform integrates with popular CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk, ensuring that subcontractor data can be stored and tracked throughout the onboarding pipeline. Pricing starts at $39 per month for the Essentials plan, which includes basic chatbot functionality and 2,000 contacts. The Pro plan, at $99/month, adds advanced automation, unlimited bots, and more integration options. For larger teams, the Agency plan is available on a custom quote. Intercom’s strengths lie in its robust integrations, analytics, and the ability to combine chat with email and in‑app messages. However, its chatbot templates are less flexible than a dedicated AI platform and it does not offer a dual knowledge base or the WYSIWYG editor specific to branding. Overall, Intercom is a solid choice for contractors who already use Intercom for customer support and want to add a basic intake bot.

Drift is a conversational marketing platform focused on sales and lead generation. Its chatbot platform can be configured to capture contact details, qualify leads, and schedule meetings—capabilities that can be repurposed for subcontractor intake. Drift’s chatbots run on the web and mobile, and the platform offers a visual builder that lets users define conversation flows with if‑then logic. One of Drift’s standout features is its ability to trigger real‑time notifications to the sales team when a lead meets certain criteria. For a contractor, this could translate into an alert when a subcontractor submits all required documents, prompting a manual review. Drift also includes a knowledge base integration, allowing the bot to pull answers from a pre‑published FAQ or help center. Pricing for Drift starts at $400 per month for the Essentials plan, which includes a single chatbot. The Growth plan, at $800/month, adds additional bots, advanced segmentation, and more integration options. Enterprise pricing is available on request. Drift excels in high‑quality conversational UX and strong sales‑automation features, but it is more expensive than many competitors and offers limited customization of the chat widget’s visual design. Contractors looking for a polished, sales‑oriented intake bot may find Drift an attractive option.

ManyChat is a popular chatbot builder primarily focused on Facebook Messenger and SMS, but it also offers web chat widgets. ManyChat’s drag‑and‑drop interface enables users to create lead‑generation funnels, collect user data, and trigger automated email sequences. For contractors, ManyChat can be used to run a simple intake form on the website, capturing subcontractor license numbers or insurance documents. The bot can then email the contractor a summary or send the data to a Google Sheet for further processing. ManyChat’s automation features include time‑based triggers, conditional blocks, and integrations with Zapier, which can connect to various project‑management tools. ManyChat offers a free tier with basic features, a Pro plan at $10/month for up to 1,000 contacts, and a Premium plan at $25/month for unlimited contacts and advanced integrations. The platform is cost‑effective for small contractors. ManyChat’s strengths are its simplicity, low cost, and robust marketing automation. However, its web chat widget is less customizable than a dedicated no‑code editor, and it lacks advanced knowledge‑base capabilities. It is a good fit for contractors who need a quick, inexpensive intake bot that can integrate with email marketing tools.

Tars is a chatbot platform that specializes in creating conversational landing pages and forms. Its visual builder lets users design multi‑step flows that feel like a natural conversation, making it suitable for capturing subcontractor data in a friendly manner. Tars supports web chat widgets, WhatsApp, and SMS, and offers integrations with Google Sheets, Zapier, and other tools. Contractors can set up a Tars bot to ask for license details, insurance proof, and project preferences, then push the collected data to a backend system for review. Pricing starts at $49/month for the Basic plan, which includes up to 100 chats per month. The Standard plan at $99/month allows 500 chats and more integrations, while the Enterprise plan is on custom quote. Tars’ strengths include its conversational landing page focus and strong integration options. The platform is slightly more expensive than some alternatives and does not offer built‑in long‑term memory or a dual knowledge base. Contractors who want a polished conversational form experience may consider Tars.

Landbot is a no‑code chatbot builder that turns web pages into interactive conversational experiences. Its drag‑and‑drop interface allows users to create custom flows, embed forms, and collect user information without coding. For subcontractor intake, a Landbot can be programmed to ask for license numbers, insurance documents, and project details, then store responses in a connected database or export them to a spreadsheet. Landbot supports integrations with Zapier, Twilio, and various CRM systems. Pricing starts at $30/month for the Starter plan, which includes up to 500 chats per month. The Professional plan at $80/month allows 2,500 chats and additional integrations. Enterprise pricing is available on request. Landbot’s strengths are its user‑friendly editor and flexible integration options. However, it lacks a built‑in dual knowledge base, long‑term memory, and advanced AI training features. Contractors looking for an easy‑to‑build chatbot with basic data capture can benefit from Landbot.

Flow XO is a chatbot and workflow automation platform that allows users to build conversational bots for websites, Facebook Messenger, Slack, and other channels. Its visual flow editor supports conditional logic, variables, and integrations with external services via webhooks. A contractor can use Flow XO to create a subcontractor intake bot that collects license information, uploads insurance documents, and triggers an email to the compliance team. The platform offers built‑in integrations with Google Sheets, Mailchimp, and Zapier, making it easy to route data. Flow XO offers a free tier with limited usage, a Basic plan at $19/month for up to 5,000 messages, and a Professional plan at $99/month for unlimited messages and advanced features. Enterprise plans are custom. Flow XO’s pros include a broad channel support and strong automation capabilities. Cons include a steeper learning curve compared to drag‑and‑drop editors and lack of advanced AI knowledge base features. It is suitable for contractors who want a versatile, multi‑channel bot with free integration options.