# AI Chatbot Development

> gaa-tha builds AI chatbots for websites and the WhatsApp Business API, trained on your catalogue, FAQs and policies. They recommend products, track orders, capture and qualify leads, reply in English, Hindi, Gujarati or Hinglish, and hand the conversation to your team when a person is needed — with Shopify integration and analytics on what customers actually ask.

- Page: https://gaa-tha.com/services/ai-chatbot-development
- Practice: [AI & Software Engineering](https://gaa-tha.com/services/ai-software-engineering)
- Provider: gaa-tha (https://gaa-tha.com)
- Last updated: 2026-10-22

## At a glance

- **Best for:** D2C and Shopify brands, retailers, real-estate, education and service businesses answering the same questions on WhatsApp and the website every day
- **Timeline:** Website bot in 2–4 weeks; WhatsApp bot in 3–6 weeks including Meta business verification and template approval
- **Engagement model:** Fixed setup fee, then an optional monthly plan for content updates, tuning and analytics
- **Channels / platforms:** Website chat widget, WhatsApp Business API and Instagram DMs; Shopify, CRM and helpdesk integrations

## What is AI Chatbot Development?

An AI chatbot is a conversational assistant on your website or WhatsApp that answers customer questions in natural language using a large language model grounded in your own content — catalogue, FAQs, shipping and return policies — and that can look up live data such as order status or stock. A well-built one answers only from approved sources, admits when it does not know and passes the customer to a person instead of guessing.

At gaa-tha a chatbot project starts from your real customer conversations: we read past WhatsApp chats, emails and tickets to find the questions that repeat, then build the knowledge base, the flows for orders and leads, and the handoff rules. The bot is tested in English and the Indian languages your customers write in, connected to Shopify or your CRM, and reviewed every week in its first month using the conversation analytics.

## What's included

- Conversation audit — the top questions, intents and drop-off points from your existing chats and tickets
- Knowledge base built from your catalogue, FAQs, size guides and shipping, return and warranty policies, with retrieval (RAG)
- Website chat widget styled to your brand, on Shopify, WordPress or a custom-coded site
- WhatsApp Business API setup through Meta's Cloud API or a Business Solution Provider, with message templates and opt-in flows
- Product recommendation and guided selling from live catalogue data
- Order tracking, COD confirmation and return-request flows connected to Shopify and your shipping partner
- Lead capture and qualification pushed to your CRM, a sheet or your sales team on WhatsApp
- Replies in English, Hindi, Gujarati and Hinglish, in a tone set to your brand
- Human handoff to a shared inbox with full conversation context, plus business-hours rules
- Analytics on conversation volume, resolution rate, handoffs, unanswered questions and leads captured

## How we work

1. **Read the conversations** — We study your past chats, tickets and FAQs to list the questions that repeat and the ones that must always go to a person.
2. **Build the knowledge and flows** — Approved content is structured into a knowledge base, and flows are designed for recommendations, order tracking, lead capture and handoff.
3. **Connect channels and systems** — The bot is connected to your website, WhatsApp Business API number, Shopify, CRM and helpdesk, and message templates are submitted for Meta's approval.
4. **Test in every language** — Your team tests the bot with real questions in English, Hindi, Gujarati and Hinglish, including awkward and off-topic ones, and answers are corrected before launch.
5. **Launch and tune** — The bot goes live, unanswered questions and handoffs are reviewed weekly, and the knowledge base is updated as products, prices and policies change.

## Deliverables

- Conversation audit and intent map
- Live chatbot on your website and WhatsApp number
- Knowledge base and approved WhatsApp message templates
- Shopify, CRM and helpdesk integrations
- Handoff inbox and escalation rules
- Analytics dashboard, admin training and all credentials

## Tools & platforms

WhatsApp Business API, Claude, GPT, Gemini, Shopify, Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), n8n, Firebase, Zoho CRM and HubSpot

## Pricing model

Fixed setup fee based on channels, languages and integrations; WhatsApp messaging charges, provider fees and AI usage are billed to your own accounts, and monthly tuning is optional.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the difference between an AI chatbot and a rule-based chatbot?

A rule-based chatbot follows pre-written menus and keywords, while an AI chatbot understands free-text questions and answers them in natural language from your own content. Rule-based bots break when a customer phrases something unexpectedly; AI bots handle variety but need grounding and testing so they stay accurate. We usually combine both — buttons for structured tasks such as order tracking, and AI for open questions.

### Can the chatbot run on WhatsApp?

Yes, through the official WhatsApp Business API with a verified business; the free WhatsApp Business app only offers simple greeting, away and quick-reply messages, not a real bot. Meta charges for business-initiated template messages by category, while replies to customers who message you first are generally free within the customer-service window — check Meta's current rates for India. Meta's policies also require the bot to serve your own customers, for support, orders or leads, rather than act as a general-purpose AI assistant.

### Can it reply in Hindi, Gujarati and Hinglish?

Yes. Current models from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google handle Hindi, Gujarati and mixed Hinglish well, and the bot replies in the language the customer writes in. We test with the phrasing your customers actually use, including Hindi typed in Roman script, and keep product names and prices exactly as they appear in your catalogue.

### Will the chatbot make things up?

It is built not to: answers come only from your approved knowledge base and live data, and the bot is instructed to say it does not know and hand over rather than guess. We test it with off-topic and trick questions before launch and review unanswered questions weekly. Prices, stock and order status are read live from Shopify or your system, never from the model's memory.

### Does it integrate with Shopify?

Yes. The bot can read your Shopify catalogue for recommendations, look up order and fulfilment status for tracking questions, confirm COD orders and send cart reminders on WhatsApp to customers who have opted in. It can also pass on shipping updates from partners such as Shiprocket or Delhivery where their APIs allow.

### How much does an AI chatbot cost?

Setup cost depends on the channels (website, WhatsApp or both), the number of languages, the size of the catalogue and knowledge base, and integrations with Shopify, a CRM or a helpdesk. Running costs are WhatsApp message charges, any provider platform fee and AI model usage per conversation, all billed to your own accounts. We estimate the monthly running cost from your current chat volume before you commit.

### Can a person take over the conversation?

Yes, and they should for complaints, custom orders and high-value leads. Handoff rules send the chat to your team's shared inbox with the full conversation and customer details, the bot pauses while a person replies, and outside business hours it collects details and sets a callback.

### Is customer data safe with an AI chatbot?

Yes, when it is set up properly: conversations are stored in your accounts, access is role-based, and AI providers are used under API terms that do not train on your data by default. We collect only what each flow needs, show opt-in and privacy notices on WhatsApp and the website, and set retention rules so old chats are not kept indefinitely.

## Related services

- [AI Agent Development](https://gaa-tha.com/services/ai-agent-development): Custom AI agents that take a goal, use your tools and finish the task — inside guardrails, approvals and logs.
- [AI Workflow Automation](https://gaa-tha.com/services/ai-workflow-automation): Automations across your apps, with AI steps that read, sort and write — so data moves without copy-paste.
- [Custom Software Development & System Integration](https://gaa-tha.com/services/custom-software-development): Bespoke software, portals and integrations engineered so your systems talk to each other — and keep running.
- [Shopify Store Design & Development](https://gaa-tha.com/services/shopify-development): Shopify stores designed for conversion and built for speed — custom themes, custom sections and the checkout integrations Indian D2C brands need.

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**About gaa-tha** — gaa-tha is a storytelling-led digital marketing, branding, ecommerce, technology and AI agency founded in Gujarat, India in 2024. It builds brands, websites, Shopify stores, mobile apps, SaaS products, AI agents, automations and ERPs; runs Meta and Google ads, social media and SEO/AEO/GEO; and onboards and manages brands on Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart.

Contact: digimarketing@gaa-tha.com · +91 97372 80309 · https://gaa-tha.com/#contact · All services: https://gaa-tha.com/services · Site summary for AI assistants: https://gaa-tha.com/llms.txt