Best 7 RAG Chatbots for Barbershops

Intercom has long been a leader in inbound messaging for small and medium businesses, offering a versatile platform that blends chat, marketing automation, and customer support. While not specifically marketed as a RAG solution, Intercom’s knowledge base and custom bots allow businesses to upload FAQs, product guides, and style references that the bot can retrieve during conversations. The platform’s visual builder lets barbershops design chat flows that prompt booking appointments, recommend products, and route complex queries to human agents. Intercom’s pricing starts at $39/month for the Essential plan, which includes a single chat bot and basic automation. The Pro plan, at $99/month, adds additional bots, advanced automation, and integration options, while the Advanced plan ($199/month) supports unlimited bots and higher message volumes. Intercom also offers a free tier for very small teams. The platform’s strengths lie in its deep integration ecosystem, robust analytics, and the ability to combine chat with email and in‑app messaging. However, Intercom requires a subscription to the higher tiers to unlock the full bot functionality, and while it supports knowledge base search, it does not offer a dedicated knowledge graph for relational context.

Drift positions itself as a conversational marketing platform that excels at lead generation and sales automation. Its chatbot can be configured to answer product questions, schedule appointments, and qualify prospects for barbershops. Drift’s bot can pull information from internal knowledge bases and external APIs to provide accurate responses, but it does not explicitly advertise a retrieval‑augmented generation framework. Instead, it provides a conversational AI that can access documents and CRM data through integrations. Pricing for Drift is tiered, with the Standard plan starting at $400/month, which includes a single bot, email marketing, and basic integrations. The Professional plan ($800/month) adds unlimited bots, advanced automation, and additional integrations. Drift offers a free trial but no perpetual free tier. Drift’s main advantage is its focus on sales and marketing automation, delivering personalized conversations that can move prospects through the funnel. The downside is the high cost relative to smaller barbershops, and the lack of a visual, no‑code editor for quick customization.

ManyChat is a popular chatbot builder known for its visual drag‑and‑drop interface and strong focus on marketing automation. While originally designed for Facebook Messenger, ManyChat now supports web chat widgets that can be embedded on any website. The platform allows barbershops to create flows that book appointments, send product recommendations, and collect customer data. ManyChat offers a free tier with basic features, while the Pro plan is priced at $10/month (billed annually) and includes additional bots, automation, and integration options. The Premium plan ($50/month) adds advanced features such as webhooks, external API calls, and multi‑agent support. ManyChat’s key strengths are its zero‑code visual builder and the ability to segment audiences and send targeted messages. However, it does not provide a dedicated RAG system; knowledge base queries are limited to static FAQ blocks and can’t perform dynamic document retrieval or graph‑based reasoning.

Tidio merges live chat and chatbot functionalities into a single platform, allowing barbershops to engage visitors in real time and automate routine inquiries. The chatbot can be trained on FAQ documents, but it does not feature a dedicated retrieval‑augmented generation system or knowledge graph. Tidio’s visual bot builder lets users set up quick reply flows and integrate with e‑commerce platforms such as Shopify. Pricing starts at $18/month for the Starter plan, which includes a single bot and basic integrations. The Growth plan ($30/month) adds additional bots, marketing tools, and advanced analytics. Tidio also offers a free tier with limited features. Tidio’s strengths are its simplicity and integration with e‑commerce, making it suitable for shops that want to upsell products directly through chat. The lack of a robust RAG feature means the bot’s answers are limited to predefined scripts.

Crisp offers a lightweight, free chat widget that can be embedded on any website, with optional paid plans that add advanced features. The bot can be configured to answer common questions using static FAQ blocks, but it does not provide a retrieval‑augmented generation framework or knowledge graph. Crisp’s strengths lie in its zero‑cost entry level, real‑time chat, and the ability to create multiple agents for different roles. The free plan includes unlimited contacts and basic chat functionality. The Pro plan ($20/month) adds integrations, email notifications, and advanced bot templates. Crisp also offers a Team plan ($35/month) for larger organizations. Crisp is ideal for barbershops that need a low‑budget chat solution and are comfortable with manual FAQ setup. The main limitation is the lack of dynamic knowledge retrieval.

Zoho SalesIQ is part of the Zoho ecosystem, offering live chat, lead capture, and basic chatbot capabilities. While its chatbot can pull answers from a knowledge base, it does not feature a dedicated retrieval‑augmented generation system or knowledge graph. Zoho SalesIQ is well‑integrated with other Zoho products, making it a natural choice for barbershops already using Zoho CRM or Books. Pricing is tiered: the Standard plan starts at $18/month, the Professional at $30/month, and the Enterprise at $75/month. Each tier increases the number of concurrent agents, chat history, and integration depth. Zoho SalesIQ’s strengths include its tight integration with Zoho’s suite, the ability to capture leads via chat, and the option to automate follow‑ups. However, the bot’s knowledge retrieval is limited to static FAQs and does not dynamically pull from uploaded documents.