Best 5 Onboarding Chatbots for Online Retailers

Tidio is a hybrid live‑chat and chatbot solution that has become a go‑to tool for small to medium‑sized e‑commerce sites. The platform is designed to be intuitive, with a visual builder that allows users to create conversational flows without coding skills. Tidio’s live chat feature supports real‑time customer support, while its chatbot component can handle routine inquiries, collect contact information, and even trigger automated email sequences. Integration is straightforward—Tidio works natively with Shopify, WooCommerce, and WordPress, and it can be embedded on any website via a single line of JavaScript. The platform also offers a mobile app for on‑the‑go management, multilingual support, and email notifications for missed chats. Tidio’s pricing structure is tiered: a free plan gives basic chat and bot features; the Starter plan costs $18/month (billed annually) and adds more bot capabilities; the Pro plan is $29/month and includes unlimited bots, custom branding, and advanced integrations; and the Premium plan at $49/month adds features like chat transcripts and advanced analytics. Tidio’s strength lies in its ease of deployment and its ability to combine live chat with AI‑driven bots, making it ideal for retailers who need a quick, cost‑effective solution. However, the chatbot’s AI is relatively simple compared to advanced LLM‑based platforms, and the platform does not offer deep knowledge‑base management or long‑term memory. Additionally, while Tidio supports multiple languages, it lacks robust analytics dashboards, and its pricing can become steep once you exceed the free tier.

ManyChat has carved out a niche as a powerful chatbot platform focused on social‑media marketing and email automation. The platform excels at building conversational flows for Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct, and SMS, and it offers a visual drag‑and‑drop builder that is approachable for marketers with no coding experience. ManyChat’s strength lies in its robust automation features, including broadcast messages, drip campaigns, and split testing, which enable brands to nurture leads and push product recommendations across multiple channels. The platform also supports email integration, allowing businesses to trigger email sequences directly from chat interactions. ManyChat’s pricing is tiered by contact volume: a free plan permits up to 1,000 contacts, while the Pro plan starts at $15/month for 1,000 contacts and scales to $25/month for 5,000 contacts, with higher tiers available for larger audiences. ManyChat’s integration ecosystem includes Zapier, Shopify, and a range of marketing tools, making it a versatile option for retailers who want to unify their social‑media outreach. However, ManyChat’s primary focus on social platforms means it offers limited native support for embedded website chat widgets, and its chatbot logic is less flexible than those built on LLM‑based systems. Additionally, the platform’s pricing can become expensive as contact lists grow, and it lacks advanced knowledge‑base features or persistent memory.

Intercom is a customer messaging platform that has evolved into a comprehensive customer engagement suite. Its core offering includes in‑app chat, help center, product tours, and automated messaging flows that can be triggered by user behavior. The platform’s visual builder allows marketers to design conversational flows that guide users through onboarding, troubleshoot issues, or upsell products. Intercom also offers robust integration capabilities with e‑commerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento, as well as a wide range of marketing and support tools via Zapier and native connectors. Intercom’s pricing starts with a Starter plan at $39/month, a Growth plan at $99/month, and a Premium plan at $199/month, with additional features unlocked at each tier. The platform’s strengths include its easy-to‑use interface, strong analytics, and the ability to combine live chat with automated messaging. However, Intercom’s free tier is limited, and its AI capabilities are not as advanced as dedicated LLM‑based chatbots. Users also report that the platform can become expensive as the number of active users grows, and it lacks built‑in support for long‑term memory or a dedicated knowledge‑graph feature.

Drift positions itself as a conversational marketing platform that blends live chat, email, and video into a single interaction hub. Designed primarily for B2B sales teams, Drift’s chatbots can qualify leads, schedule meetings, and deliver personalized content based on visitor behavior. The platform’s visual builder allows marketers to craft automated flows that trigger on specific events, such as product page views or form completions. Drift offers native integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, and other CRM and marketing automation systems, ensuring that conversations feed directly into your sales pipeline. Pricing is custom, with a starting point around $400/month for the Basic plan, scaling up for larger organizations or higher volume usage. Drift’s strengths lie in its deep integration with CRM systems, real‑time lead qualification, and the ability to merge chat with email and video. However, its focus on B2B can make it less ideal for small online retailers with limited budgets. The platform is also resource‑intensive to set up, and its analytics dashboard is more suited to sales metrics than to customer support insights. Additionally, Drift does not offer built‑in AI courses, long‑term memory, or a dedicated knowledge‑graph.