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What is a chatbot: in simple words, how it works and where to start
Under the word “chatbot” they sell everything: from an answering machine “we’ll call you back” to a neural network that conducts negotiations. Because of this, the small business owner either expects a miracle from the bot, or considers it a toy - and in both cases does not launch it. Below is a definition without marketing: what a bot does technically, how it differs from mailing lists and from live chat, which tasks it solves with confidence and which ones it doesn’t, and which flow to start with in order to see the result in a week in the “Contacts” section, and not in the report on the work done.
Definition Without Marketing
A chat bot is a pre-written conversation script that the server executes for you in private messages in a messenger or in a chat window on a website. The client writes to the bot or presses a button - the server finds a suitable script, goes through its blocks and sends a response. There is no “mind” inside the push-button bot: it does exactly what the author has drawn, and exactly in that sequence.
Three things that are important to understand immediately.
- A bot is an account, not a program on your phone. In Telegram it is registered through @BotFather, in MAX - in the “MAX for Business” account, in VKontakte bots work on behalf of the community. The client sees a regular chat, but it’s not a human who answers.
- The bot responds, but does not write first. Until the person himself opens the conversation (pressed /start, followed the link, wrote a message), the bot is silent - these are the rules of instant messengers. This is the main difference from the newsletter, which is discussed below.
- A bot is not one channel. In CHBT, one script works simultaneously in Telegram, MAX, VKontakte and in the widget on the site: “Bot” in the office is a project to which channels are connected.
If you remove the word “chat” from the definition, it will be even simpler: a bot is a form on a website that can ask questions one at a time, respond to answers, and transfer the conversation to a person when it can’t handle it itself.
Bot, newsletter and online chat: what is needed in advance and what the client sees
The easiest way to understand what a bot is is through what it requires from you before launching and what the client receives on their side of the screen. The newsletter, operator chat and bot have these two things different.
| Tool | What you need in advance | What the client sees | Where in CHBT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newsletter | Base people who have already written to the bot, and a segment by tags | One message from the bot at the time of sending; you can answer, but the script or operator will answer | Distribution section (Basic and higher) |
| Online chat with operator | Duty employee with an open office | Live response while the person is in place, and silence when he leaves | Section “Conversations” |
| Chat bot | Compiled flow: trigger, blocks, texts | Answer in the first seconds at any time, buttons, questions one at a time; person - when the script transmits | Section “flows” |
No mailing replaces a bot, because only those who have already opened a conversation can write, and they open it through a bot. Operator chat does not replace a bot, because a person is not on duty around the clock and does not like to answer “how much does it cost” for the twentieth time. The bot stands between them: it responds instantly, collects data and transfers the conversation to the operator using the “Operator” block when the question goes beyond the scope of the script. What to choose for a website - chat or form - discussed separately.
In practice, a running business has all three: a bot accepts the first contact, an operator picks up complex issues, and a mailing list returns those who have fallen silent. But you need to start with a bot - without it there is no one to send messages to, and operator chat without a bot turns into “sorry, we’ll answer tomorrow.”
How the bot works inside: trigger, blocks, data
Any script in the constructor consists of three layers, and understanding this scheme saves weeks.
Trigger is the event from which the script starts. In CHBT this is the /start command, the keyword in the message (“price”, “record”), following a deep link (link like t.me/your_bot?start=promo), clicking a button, opening a widget on the site, an incoming webhook from an external system or “any message” - a safety trigger that catches everything that is not included in the others. One bot can have several flows with different triggers: greeting by /start, answer about prices by word, a separate thread for those who followed the QR code.
Blocks - steps of the script. There are four basic ones: “Message” (text and buttons), “Data collection” (a question with format checking - name, phone, e-mail, custom field), “Condition” (branches by tag, variable, channel, hour and day of the week, plus “Otherwise”) and “Operator” (the conversation goes to the person, the bot becomes silent). Next are “Pause”, “Action” (tag, variable, HTTP request, notify operator), “AI agent” and “Subflow” for nested scripts. The application collection flow is literally five blocks in a row; support script - a menu of buttons and a dozen branches.
Data - what the bot remembers about the person. The name, phone number and e-mail are recorded in the card in the “Contacts” section, tags mark the base (“asked for price”, “signed up”), variables are inserted into any message: “Thank you, {{name}}, we are waiting for you on Thursday.” Without this layer, the bot remains an answering machine; with it - becomes the source of the database, which you can then write on.
Collect the script in one of two modes: “Steps” - a linear list, available on all Plans, and “Canvas” - a visual diagram with blocks and connections for branched conversations (from the Basic plan). More details about design can be found in the article about the conversation map, branches and dead ends.
Which tasks does the bot close—and which ones doesn’t?
The bot does a good job of being repetitive and fitting into a question-and-answer format. The list below is not “opportunities”, but tasks for which CHBT has a ready-made template, that is, someone has already launched them. Where each of them pays off and what numbers to start with is discussed on the page business solutions; here - just to understand what the bot can do at all.
- Initial leads. Name, phone number, essence of the question - one question at a time, checking the number format. Template “Collection of applications”, detailed analysis - in the article about collecting applications through a bot.
- Answers to typical questions. Prices, schedule, address, delivery conditions - by keywords or menu buttons. Template "Autoresponder FAQ".
- Registration and booking. The client selects a service with a button, writes a convenient time in text, leaves his phone number - the administrator confirms. There is no calendar with free slots in CHBT: an entry is an lead, not a reservation in the schedule.
- Lead magnet and registration. Contact in exchange for a checklist or a place on a webinar, with a tag for further distribution.
- Qualification. Two or three questions with buttons (“budget”, “timing”, “type of object”) before the manager wastes time. “Quiz-bot” and “Object selection” templates.
- First line of support. A menu of common problems, and anything incomprehensible is notified to the operator.
- Support for marketplace buyers. The QR code in the insert leads to the bot: warranty, instructions, request for feedback - and the contact of the buyer, which Ozon and Wildberries do not give to you.
What the bot in CHBT does not do, and it is better to know about this before starting: does not accept card payments inside the messenger (the “Payment” block and the storefront of the shop in your bot lead to your provider’s page, and in Telegram they also accept Telegram Stars); does not send photos and files to Telegram, MAX and VK from script blocks (only text and buttons; files - only in the widget on the site, photos - also in the AI seller’s product cards in Telegram); does not write first to those who have never opened a conversation; does not maintain accounting and does not replace CRM, although it does have Kanban for transactions. If your task comes up against one of these “nos,” the bot is still useful as an entrance to the funnel, but the problem itself will have to be solved from the outside.
Where does the bot live: channels and why it’s better to connect them all
The bot does not exist “by itself” - it works where the client opened it. There are four such places in CHBT, and they are connected to one project.
- Telegram - fastest start: token from @BotFather, two minutes in the "Channels" section. Buttons below the message, deep links to track sources, /start command. About the specifics of this particular messenger - separate article.
- MAX - token from the “MAX for business” account; texts and buttons, deep linking through the bot_started event.
- VK - the bot works in community messages: connected with the “Connect via VK” button or a community key, CHBT sets up the Callback API itself; up to ten buttons, two per row.
- Site - widget in one line
<script>before</body>; the same flow, plus pre-chat form, files and working hours.
Practical conclusion: don’t choose a channel, connect everything where there is an audience. There is one flow, the same texts, requests from all channels fall into one “Contacts” and one “Conversations” inbox. The only thing worth considering is the “Channel” condition in the script: in the widget you can offer a file, in VK you can leave fewer buttons. If the question is “MAX or Telegram”, it doesn’t matter for the bot: there is only one flow, there are as many channels as needed; differences between messengers for a client bot - in comparison on eight points.
How much does it cost
The cost of a bot on the constructor is a subscription per project, and not per number of channels or messages. In CHBT the free plan is permanent: one bot, all four channels and 30 conversations per month, where the conversation is a unique interlocutor, no matter how much he writes. Paid plans remove the limit and add tools - “Canvas”, broadcasts, AI agents, operators without restrictions; prices and a full list of differences are on the “Plans” page, and an analysis of what exactly is included in 0 ₽ is in the article about free constructor.
The limit of 30 conversations is both a limitation and a measuring device. If it is not exhausted within a month, the bot still lacks traffic, not functions; if it’s exhausted within a week, you already know that the bot is needed, and the subscription pays for itself with the first request, which otherwise would have come to nowhere at night. An important detail: after the 30th conversation with those who have already written this month, the bot talks as usual, and instead of a script, it answers new people with a service phrase about the limit - this is the most common reason for the complaint “the bot is silent” on the free plan. How many conversations have been accumulated is shown by the “N out of 30” counter on the “Review” page of the bot.
In addition to the subscription, the price of the bot includes time: two to three hours for the first script and an hour a week for reading conversations and editing texts in the first month. Ordering from a freelancer or studio means a different order of numbers and a different order of dependence: text edits will also have to be ordered. What makes up the price of a bot as a whole - in the article how much does a chatbot cost.
Which bot to start with: three candidates
The first bot must solve one problem and do it noticeably in a week. Three flows that most often come out first, and the criterion by which to choose between them.
- Autoresponder for typical questions - if you answer the same thing every day: “how much does it cost”, “where are you located”, “do you work on Saturday”. A menu of 4-6 buttons, each with a short answer, at the bottom - “Ask another question” with transmission to the operator. The result is immediately visible: the number of messages you respond to drops.
- Lead capture - if leads come from advertising, from a website or from a profile header and some of them are lost in the evening and at night. Greeting, one or two clarifying questions using buttons, name, phone number, confirmation. The result is cards in “Contacts” and letters about a new lead.
- Record — if the main flow of requests is “I want to sign up for...”. Service by button, time by text, phone, notification to the administrator. The result is records that were previously lost because the administrator was busy with a client in the hall.
There is only one selection criterion: look at the last 50 incoming messages in a personal message or in the site chat. What is more common - questions, requests or requests to sign up? Start there. Don’t start with an AI agent and a funnel: they are good when you have a base of questions and an understanding of where the conversation is leading, but the first bot doesn’t have either of those yet. What type of bot is needed for the task - push-button, AI or hybrid - we sort it out separately.
Who doesn't need a bot yet?
An honest list so you don't waste your evening.
- Less than five calls a day, and everyone is different. The bot saves time on repetitive tasks; if there is no repeat, there is nothing to save. The exception is night requests: even one lost one per week justifies the “we’ll accept and respond in the morning” flow.
- The deal is decided in a personal meeting and lasts months. B2B equipment sales, consulting, turnkey construction. The bot here is only useful as a business card with a “leave a contact” form - which is also good, but you shouldn’t expect sales from it.
- There is no one to read the conversations. The bot passes it to the operator, but there is no operator. Then the conversations accumulate in the inbox for weeks, clients leave, and the bot gets a reputation for being useless. Before you launch, decide who opens the “Dialogs” section and when; There are notifications in the browser and Web Push to the phone in CHBT, but a person still has to read them.
- The task is “to be.” A bot without a goal does not produce results that can be measured, and it is closed after a month. Formulate what should change: “20 fewer responses per day”, “not a single lost lead after 20:00”.
If not a single point applies to you, move on to practice.
What's next: from definition to first flow
If after reading the bot no longer seems like a miracle or a toy, then practice, and it is shorter than theory. The first script is assembled from a ready-made template in an evening: select a template for the task from the previous section, replace the texts with your own, connect the channel and run the conversation through “Check script”. A step-by-step analysis of each stage with the connection of all four channels is in the article how to create a chatbot without a programmer; if you only need Telegram - a short instruction about BotFather and the token.
Free plan - not a trial period for a week, but a permanent one: 30 conversations every month, and this is enough to understand whether this is the tool for you or not. Create your first bot for free →
Plans CHBTReady-made bot templatesHow to create a chatbot without a programmerPush-button, AI or hybridSolutions: chatbot for business