How do I add an AI chatbot to my website?

Why businesses add AI chatbots to websites

Many websites receive the same questions repeatedly. These often relate to products, services, policies, or documentation. An AI chatbot helps by answering these questions automatically, reducing the need for manual replies and allowing visitors to find information on their own.

This approach is commonly used to reduce support workload, improve response time, and give users a self-service experience without adding more support staff.

How adding an AI chatbot works

An AI chatbot added to a website works by retrieving relevant information from connected content and generating responses based only on that information. This method is explained in detail in how Chatref works and is based on retrieval-augmented generation, which limits answers to known data rather than open-ended guessing.

Step-by-step: adding an AI chatbot to a website

Step 1: Prepare your content

Start by identifying the content the chatbot should use. This often includes website pages, FAQs, documentation, or files such as PDFs. The chatbot will only be able to answer questions that are covered by this content.

This is the same approach used when creating an AI chatbot for PDFs and documents.

Step 2: Connect the content to the chatbot

Once the content is identified, it is connected to the chatbot system. The content is structured so it can be searched when a question is asked. This step does not require rewriting the content or creating scripted responses.

The chatbot does not learn from the internet and does not use data outside what is connected, which is why this approach differs from general chat systems often discussed on the comparison page.

Step 3: Embed the chatbot on your website

After the content is connected, the chatbot is embedded into the website using a simple integration. The chatbot can appear as a widget or chat interface and can be placed on landing pages, documentation pages, or across the entire site.

This setup allows visitors to ask questions directly on the website instead of searching manually.

Step 4: Users ask questions and receive answers

Visitors can ask questions in natural language, similar to a chat experience. The chatbot retrieves relevant information from the connected content and generates an answer based only on that information.

This interaction is often described as letting users chat with a knowledge base rather than browsing pages manually.

How accuracy is maintained

The chatbot retrieves information before generating an answer. It does not respond unless relevant content is found, and it does not fill gaps with assumptions. This behavior follows the principles explained in why retrieval-augmented generation is used.

Where this approach works best

Adding an AI chatbot to a website works best for:

• Business websites with clear content
• SaaS product pages and documentation
• Support and help centers
• Internal tools for team knowledge access

It is not designed for open-ended conversations or personal assistance outside the provided content.

What happens when the chatbot cannot answer?

If the connected content does not contain the requested information, the chatbot responds by indicating that the answer is not available. It does not guess or generate speculative responses, a behavior further explained in the FAQ.

Summary

Adding an AI chatbot to a website involves connecting your existing content, embedding the chatbot interface, and allowing users to ask questions that are answered strictly from that content. This approach improves self-service, reduces repeated questions, and ensures accurate responses without hallucinations.