Frequently Asked Questions

An AI chatbot is an automated conversational agent powered by artificial intelligence. Unlike older rule-based bots, it truly understands natural language — context, rephrasing, even typos. It draws on the knowledge base you provide (your services, policies, hours, pricing, etc.) to deliver accurate, relevant answers to every visitor, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Learn more about how it works on our features page.

A traditional chatbot follows rigid, pre-programmed decision trees. If a visitor phrases their question differently than expected, it hits a dead-end. An AI chatbot understands natural language, adapts to every user's wording and handles questions it has never seen before. The result: far fewer frustrating dead-ends and a dramatically better customer experience.

ChatDirect supports multiple AI providers: Claude (Anthropic), GPT (OpenAI) and Gemini (Google). The default model depends on your plan — GPT-4o Mini for Starter, Claude Haiku 4.5 for Pro and above. Business and Enterprise clients can also use their own API key (BYOK) to access any model they prefer.

The chatbot handles 70 to 90% of routine questions — hours, pricing, policies, shipping, etc. — around the clock, with no wait time. For complex or sensitive situations, it can seamlessly transfer the conversation to a human agent via live chat, with full context preserved. Think of it as a complement to your team, not a replacement.

Absolutely. ChatDirect is hosted in Canada and designed with Privacy by Design at its core. Security features include IP anonymization (4 modes), zero-cookie mode, configurable data retention, AES-256-CBC encryption, and full GDPR and Quebec Law 25 compliance. Visitors can export or delete their data at any time. Read more in our documentation.

ChatDirect includes a full CRM directly in the platform — no third-party tool required. It covers lead capture and scoring, kanban pipeline, reminders and tasks, automated follow-ups, activity log, calendar view, geographic map, duplicate detection, email templates and automated sequences. Everything you need to turn conversations into customers. Read our complete CRM guide.

Each lead receives a score from 0 to 15 based on multiple criteria: information provided (name, email, phone), engagement level, conversation intent and number of interactions. The score updates in real time, letting you prioritize the hottest prospects at a glance in your pipeline.

Yes. ChatDirect integrates via CRM webhooks with HubSpot, Pipedrive and Monday.com. Slack and email notifications are built in. Business plans and above also get access to the REST API for fully custom integrations. See our integration guide.

Available on Business plans and above, this feature analyzes every conversation in real time to detect high purchase intent. When a hot opportunity is identified, you receive an instant notification (email, Slack or in-portal) so you can step in at exactly the right moment to close the deal.

In addition to the chatbot, you can create lead-capture forms directly from the client portal. These forms can be embedded on any page of your website (or in WordPress via the [chatdirect-form] shortcode). Submissions are automatically added to the CRM with full scoring and pipeline integration.

On Business plans and above, the chat widget can display a message like "X people online right now." This social proof leverages the bandwagon effect to encourage visitors to start a conversation. The counter fully respects privacy — IPs are hashed and never stored.

ChatDirect includes a RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) engine powered by Supabase and pgvector. You can upload PDF, Word (.docx) or TXT documents directly in the portal, or index web pages by URL. The system automatically splits your documents into sections, generates vector embeddings and performs real-time semantic search. Each visitor question is compared against your documents to find the most relevant excerpts — so the chatbot answers with precision based on your specific content. Available from the Pro plan.

The client portal is your private back-office. From a single interface available in 4 languages, you can configure your chatbot, manage the full CRM, view analytics and usage stats, handle support tickets, create web forms, generate QR codes and much more.

Absolutely. You control the system prompt (personality, tone, instructions), the knowledge base, the widget colors, the welcome message, suggested questions and even the chatbot's name and avatar. Each bot is unique and tailored to your brand.

Available on Enterprise plans, auto-training lets your live-chat agents type /correction or /training followed by the correct answer during a conversation. These corrections are automatically injected into the AI's context for future responses, making the chatbot smarter over time — without ever touching the knowledge base.

Available on Pro plans and above, the dynamic QR code redirects scanners to your website and automatically opens the chatbot. It is ideal for print ads, business cards, restaurant menus or in-store signage. You can customize the colors and size, download in PNG or SVG, and track scan statistics. Read the complete QR code guide.

Yes. The ChatDirect WordPress plugin (v2.1) installs the widget in seconds with the [chatdirect] shortcode. It also supports [chatdirect-form] for lead-capture forms, WooCommerce product context and automatic language detection. Fully compatible with WordPress 7.0.

Not at all. A guided 5-step setup wizard walks you through everything on your first login. Better yet: AI can generate your system prompt, knowledge base and quick replies from a simple 2-3 sentence description of your business. Eight pre-built industry templates (real estate, e-commerce, health, hospitality, etc.) make it even faster. Expect 15 to 30 minutes for a fully working chatbot. Read the full onboarding guide.

ChatDirect offers 5 plans tailored to every need:

• Discovery — Free 14-day trial, 250 AI messages
• Starter — $34/mo, 1,000 conversations, GPT-4o Mini
• Pro — $69/mo, 1,000 conv., Claude Haiku 4.5, QR code
• Business — $149/mo, 2,500 conv., social proof, opportunity detection
• Enterprise — $299/mo, 10,000 conv., AI auto-training, all features

All plans include the built-in mini-CRM. Compare all plans.

Yes. The 14-day Discovery plan lets you test ChatDirect with up to 250 AI messages, completely free. No credit card required. You get full access to the chatbot, live chat, the CRM and the client portal. Start your free trial.

About 5 minutes. Create your account, configure your chatbot's personality and knowledge base, copy the widget code onto your site — and you are live. With the WordPress plugin, it is even faster: install, enter your client ID, and you are done.

Not at all. The client portal is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly. Configuring the chatbot, managing leads, setting up follow-ups, creating forms — everything is done through the visual interface. Built-in documentation and AI-powered help search are there whenever you need a hand.

BYOK lets you use your own API key from OpenAI, Anthropic or Google. This gives you unlimited conversations (no monthly cap) and access to any model of your choice. Available on Pro plans and above.

Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time from the client portal. Changes take effect on your next billing cycle. No lock-in contracts, no cancellation fees.