AI chatbots on websites: Do they actually work?
Most organizations still treat their website chatbot like a cute afterthought. But when trained and implemented correctly, AI chatbots can completely transform how your team engages with your community and how efficiently you operate behind the scenes.
But do they actually work? Let’s break it down.
What is an AI chatbot and how does it work?
An AI chatbot is a smart, conversational assistant that lives on your website 24/7. Unlike the clunky bots of the past, today’s AI chatbots use natural language models like ChatGPT to understand and respond to questions in a human-like way.
When connected to your organization’s content (like FAQs, service pages, forms, and donation info), the bot becomes a helpful support tool that can:
- Answer frequently asked questions
- Direct visitors to the right page or form
- Collect contact info or volunteer inquiries
- Help donors complete gifts
- Reduce repetitive emails and phone calls
And it does all this without pulling your staff away from higher-priority work.
Do people actually use them?
Yes. And use is growing fast.
According to Tidio’s 2024 chatbot report, “88 percent of users had a conversation with a chatbot in the last year”. Zendesk found that “70 percent of customers now expect real-time help when visiting a website”. And if you’ve ever wondered why people bounce off your contact form, this is why. Many would rather type a question than pick up the phone or wait for an email reply.
In our own work with animal welfare and nonprofit clients, we regularly see hundreds of chatbot interactions per month. Many are from first-time visitors who never would have filled out a form or made a call.
Who benefits most from having an AI chatbot?
Some of the best use cases are organizations with high engagement and lean admin teams. These include:
- Animal shelters and rescue orgs that get the same 20 questions daily
- Nonprofits with seasonal events, recurring donor inquiries, and limited staff
- Health and wellness providers needing to screen, route, or educate
- B2B companies that want to pre-qualify leads and direct traffic
If your team is already stretched thin and still replying to the same messages week after week, you’re exactly the kind of organization that can benefit most.
What makes a chatbot actually useful?
The biggest difference between a helpful chatbot and an annoying one? Training and integration.
Here’s how to make sure your bot adds value instead of frustration:
1. Train it well Start by connecting it to solid content: FAQs, service descriptions, how-tos, and contact info. The more relevant content you give it, the smarter it becomes.
2. Review and improve regularly You don’t have to get it perfect on day one. Set up a monthly check-in to review conversations, identify unanswered questions, and add responses. Over time, the bot gets better at helping users and solving real problems.
3. Make it visible and clear Let your visitors know what the chatbot can help with. Don’t hide it. Place it where people are likely to have questions. Think adoption pages, donation info, or contact sections.
Why the chat logs are just as valuable
The conversations your chatbot has each month are a goldmine of insights.
You can see:
- What people are asking most often
- Where your content might be unclear or missing
- What information visitors are looking for but not finding
- How many interactions lead to form fills or page visits
With that data, you can improve your website copy, your follow-up emails, your internal training materials, and even your services.
So, do AI chatbots really work?
When they’re implemented right, absolutely.
An AI chatbot can answer hundreds of questions per month, help your visitors take action faster, and give your staff their time back to focus on higher-impact work. It’s like adding a new team member who never takes a break, doesn’t need health insurance, and keeps getting better over time.
