Starter
$29USD
/month
- 1,500 customer messages a month
- 1 website
- 14-day free trial
- Answers 24/7 from your own info
- "Owner will confirm" handoff by email
- Spam, abuse and prompt-trick filtering
- Cancel anytime
Home Compare AI chat vs live chat
Comparison
AI chat vs live chat. An honest comparison.
Live chat puts a person on the other end. AI chat answers instantly from your information. Both have a place. Here's how they differ, what each costs you in time, and how ChatBouncer combines instant AI answers with an honest handoff to a person.
Plans from $29/month (USD) · 14-day free trial · cancel anytime
Side by side
| AI chat (ChatBouncer) | Live chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | An AI assistant, from your saved info | A person on your team |
| Availability | 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays | Only when someone is online |
| Response time | Instant | Depends on who's free |
| Repetitive questions | Answered automatically | Answered by hand every time |
| Complex or sensitive issues | Passed to you by email with contact details | Handled directly by a person |
| Staff time | Little: keep your info up to date | Someone has to watch the chat |
| Spam and abuse | Bounced automatically | Your staff see it |
When live chat makes sense
If you have staff available during the hours customers visit, and your conversations are complex or high-value, a person in live chat is hard to beat. The trade-off is cost and coverage: someone has to be watching, and outside those hours the chat box is just a contact form.
When AI chat makes sense
If most questions are routine (hours, prices, services, policies), or customers visit when you're closed or busy, AI chat answers them instantly. The risk with many AI chatbots is that they make things up. ChatBouncer is built to avoid that: it answers only from your saved info and hands off honestly when it doesn't know.
ChatBouncer's approach: AI first, a person when needed
ChatBouncer answers what it can, immediately. When a question needs a person, it says "the owner will confirm", collects the customer's contact details and emails you, so you can reply when you're free. You get instant answers without paying someone to watch a chat window.
Simple plans. Prices in US dollars.
Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. Cancel before it ends and you won't be charged. Compare plans in detail.
Most popular
Pro
$59USD
/month
- 5,000 customer messages a month, shared
- Up to 3 websites
- 14-day free trial
- Everything in Starter
- Priority email support
- Cancel anytime
Business
$119USD
/month
- 15,000 customer messages a month, shared
- Up to 10 websites
- 14-day free trial
- Everything in Starter
- Priority email support
- Cancel anytime
Questions
Is AI chat better than live chat?
Neither is better for everyone. AI chat is instant and always on; live chat gives the human touch. Many businesses use AI for routine questions and handle the rest themselves, which is how ChatBouncer works.
Can ChatBouncer hand a chat to a person?
It hands off by email: it collects the customer's contact details and question and sends them to you to follow up.
Does AI chat replace staff?
It takes routine questions off your team's plate. People still handle anything that needs judgement.
What does ChatBouncer cost?
From $29 a month (US dollars) with a 14-day free trial. See the pricing page for all three plans.
Something else? Email [email protected]. A real person answers.
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Hire the bouncer.
Answers your customers all night. Plans from $29 a month (USD), 14-day free trial.