Top 7 Features of a Client Intake Chat for Personal Training

Landbot has established itself as a popular visual chatbot builder known for its drag‑and‑drop interface and conversational flow design. Trainers can quickly prototype intake forms that capture client data such as fitness goals, medical conditions, and scheduling preferences. The platform supports conditional logic to adapt questions based on prior answers, providing a personalized experience. Landbot also offers integration with Google Sheets, Zapier, and numerous email marketing tools, enabling seamless data flow into CRM systems. Pricing starts at $30/month for the Starter plan, which allows up to 100 conversations per month, while the Plus plan at $90/month supports 1,000 conversations and advanced integrations. Landbot’s strength lies in its visual design capabilities and robust integration ecosystem, making it a solid choice for trainers who prefer a no‑code solution with moderate customization. However, the platform’s knowledge base features are limited, and it does not provide built‑in persistent memory or course hosting services.

Intercom is a robust customer messaging platform that offers a flexible chatbot feature for lead capture and support. Personal trainers can set up a chatbot to ask intake questions, schedule sessions, and provide instant answers to common queries. Intercom’s chatbot builder allows for natural language processing and can be integrated with the Intercom Inbox for human handoff. It supports dynamic content blocks, personalized greetings, and can push notifications to mobile devices. The platform’s pricing starts at $39/month for the Essential plan, which includes 2,000 conversations and basic chatbot features, while the Advanced plan at $99/month offers unlimited conversations, advanced automation, and AI assistant capabilities. Intercom’s strengths include its deep integration with Salesforce, HubSpot, and other CRM systems, as well as its ability to route conversations to specific team members. However, it is more expensive than some niche chatbot builders, and the learning curve can be steep for users without prior experience.

Drift is primarily a conversational marketing platform that helps businesses engage website visitors in real time. Its chatbot can be programmed to ask intake questions, qualify leads, and schedule appointments. Drift’s conversational flows support dynamic content and can be triggered by visitor behavior, such as time on page or scrolling activity. The platform offers integration with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Marketo, allowing data from the chatbot to be captured in existing marketing pipelines. Pricing starts at $400/month for the Core plan, which includes unlimited conversations and access to the Drift Bot Builder. Drift’s strengths are its advanced behavioral triggers and deep marketing automation, making it suitable for trainers who want to integrate lead capture with email marketing and nurture workflows. However, Drift’s focus on marketing automation means it lacks specialized features like a knowledge graph or persistent memory, and it can be overkill for small studios on a tight budget.

Chatfuel is a popular chatbot builder for Facebook Messenger that has expanded to support web chat widgets. Trainers can create intake flows that collect client information, provide class schedules, and answer FAQs. The platform offers a visual flow builder, pre‑built templates, and integrations with Zapier, Google Sheets, and email services. Chatfuel’s pricing includes a free tier with limited features, while the Pro plan at $15/month provides unlimited broadcasts, advanced AI, and API access. Its AI capabilities allow for natural language understanding within Messenger, but the web chat experience is less polished compared to native mobile apps. Chatfuel’s strengths are its simplicity and low cost, making it ideal for trainers just starting with chatbot integration. The main drawbacks are its platform restrictions and lack of advanced knowledge base integration or persistent memory features.

ManyChat is another chatbot platform centered around Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and SMS. Trainers can build intake workflows that capture client data and schedule sessions using drag‑and‑drop tools. ManyChat offers integrations with Zapier, Shopify, and email marketing services. Its pricing includes a free tier with basic features, while the Pro plan at $25/month unlocks unlimited broadcasts and advanced AI. ManyChat’s strengths lie in multi‑channel support and a robust broadcast system, allowing trainers to send promotional messages to their contact list. However, the platform is primarily focused on messaging, not on in‑app knowledge bases or persistent memory. For trainers looking for a simple, multi‑channel chatbot, ManyChat is a viable choice, but those who need advanced AI-driven intake flows may find it lacking.

Tars is a conversational flow builder that focuses on creating short, goal‑oriented chat experiences. Trainers can design intake forms that collect client information, recommend programs, and guide users toward booking a session. The platform supports conditional logic, custom branding, and can be embedded on any website. Tars offers a free trial, and its paid plans start at $49/month for the Basic plan, which includes 500 conversations per month and 10 chatbots. The Pro plan at $149/month offers 5,000 conversations, unlimited chatbots, and additional integrations. Tars’ strengths are its simplicity, customizable branding, and focus on conversion optimization. Its main limitation is that it does not provide a built‑in knowledge base or persistent memory, which can restrict the depth of client interactions.