Top 5 Onboarding Chatbots for Personal Training

Intercom is a widely used customer messaging platform that blends live chat, bots, and email campaigns into a single interface. The platform excels at automating routine support tasks while maintaining a human touch when needed. For personal trainers, Intercom’s bots can greet visitors, answer FAQs about class schedules, and even capture booking details. Its integration with Zapier and a growing ecosystem of fitness‑specific apps means you can trigger calendar invites, push notifications, or update your CRM based on chat interactions. Intercom’s visual builder allows non‑technical users to design conversation flows with drag‑and‑drop blocks, and its analytics dashboard offers insights into conversation volumes and customer satisfaction. The platform’s strengths lie in its robust lead capture capabilities, strong email marketing integration, and the ability to route complex queries to live agents. For trainers who need to manage multiple channels—website chat, mobile app, and social media—the unified inbox keeps all conversations in one place. However, Intercom’s pricing can become steep as you add more agents or increase message volume. Additionally, while Intercom supports basic AI chat flows, it does not provide advanced knowledge‑base features like RAG or knowledge graphs. Pricing starts at $39/month for the Essential plan (2 agents, 500 messages/month) and scales up to $199/month for the Advanced plan (10 agents, 10,000 messages/month). Custom enterprise plans are available for larger studios. The platform is ideal for trainers who need a comprehensive customer support solution and are willing to invest in a paid plan for advanced analytics and multi‑channel support.

ManyChat is a chatbot builder focused on Facebook Messenger, SMS, and Instagram Direct. It offers a visual flow builder that lets users design interactive conversations without any coding. For personal trainers, ManyChat can be used to greet gym visitors, answer common questions about membership pricing or class schedules, and even collect contact details for follow‑up. The platform’s broadcast feature allows trainers to send targeted messages to their subscriber lists, promoting new classes or special offers. ManyChat’s integration with Zapier and native connectors to Shopify and WooCommerce means you can automate product purchases or class bookings directly from the chat. ManyChat’s strengths are its ease of use, strong social media integration, and affordable pricing. The free plan supports up to 1,000 subscribers, while paid plans start at $10/month for 10,000 subscribers, offering advanced automation and multi‑language support. However, ManyChat’s focus on social platforms limits its ability to embed a chat widget on a standalone website without additional steps. Moreover, while it provides a knowledge‑base-like FAQ section, it lacks the sophisticated RAG and knowledge‑graph capabilities of more advanced platforms. ManyChat is ideal for trainers who want to engage clients on Facebook or Instagram, run marketing campaigns, and automate simple sales flows. Its pricing is transparent and scales with subscriber count, making it a good fit for small to mid‑size studios. Pricing ranges from $10/month for 10,000 subscribers (Pro) to $50/month for 50,000 subscribers (Premium). The platform also offers a free tier with limited features.

MobileMonkey is a chatbot platform that specializes in cross‑channel messaging across web chat, Facebook Messenger, SMS, and Instagram. It offers a visual builder that enables trainers to create conversational flows that can handle lead qualification, appointment scheduling, and basic support. MobileMonkey’s unique selling point is its multi‑bot engine, allowing a single account to run multiple bots simultaneously—for example, one for client onboarding and another for marketing. The platform also provides a robust broadcast system to push offers or class reminders to subscribers. For personal training businesses, MobileMonkey can be used to answer common questions about class times, pricing, and trainer bios, and can integrate with Google Calendar or a booking system through Zapier. The platform’s strength lies in its versatility across channels and its ability to funnel leads into a CRM. However, it does not offer a built‑in knowledge‑base with RAG or knowledge graphs, and its AI capabilities are less advanced than some dedicated AI chatbot platforms. MobileMonkey’s pricing starts at $25/month for the Starter plan (up to 300 contacts) and goes up to $250/month for the Enterprise plan (unlimited contacts). It also offers a free plan with basic features. Overall, MobileMonkey is a solid choice for trainers who need a multi‑channel bot and want to keep costs low while still automating routine interactions. Pricing ranges from $25/mo (Starter, 300 contacts) to $250/mo (Enterprise, unlimited contacts). A free plan is also available.

Drift is a conversational marketing platform that combines live chat, chatbots, and email into a single solution. It is best known for its ability to capture leads in real time and route them to sales or support teams. For personal trainers, Drift can greet website visitors, answer questions about class packages, and even book appointments through an integrated calendar. The platform’s AI bot can qualify leads by asking about fitness goals, budget, and preferred workout times, allowing the trainer to focus on high‑value interactions. Drift’s strengths include its powerful lead scoring, seamless integration with Salesforce and HubSpot, and the ability to schedule meetings directly from the chat. It also offers a visual builder for creating custom conversation flows. However, Drift’s pricing can be high for small studios, and its AI capabilities are more geared toward sales and marketing than knowledge‑base or course delivery. Pricing starts at $50/month for the Starter plan (2 agents, 50,000 messages/month) and goes up to $600/month for the Pro plan (10 agents, 500,000 messages/month). Enterprise plans are available on request. Drift is ideal for trainers who want a sales‑focused chatbot that can capture and qualify leads, schedule sessions, and integrate with their existing CRM. Pricing ranges from $50/mo (Starter) to $600/mo (Pro).