A common chatbot mistake
Your chatbot won’t answer until the customer hands over their details
Asked a question your FAQ answers in public, the bot asks for a name, email or phone number first. Most visitors close the chat.
Lead capture is a reasonable goal. But when the bot holds back published answers until it gets an email address, the visitor who just wanted your opening hours leaves.
We never give personal data to the bots we test. When a bot insists, that’s where our test, and most customers’ patience, ends.
Do you install batteries as well as panels?
Before I can help, can I get your name and email?
Your page says
Yes, battery installation is on the services page
Services page
Why it happens
It isn’t random
Lead form before the answer
Many builders put a contact form at the start of every flow by default.
No exception for simple questions
The bot treats “what are your hours” like a sales enquiry.
What it costs you
- Visitors who wanted a quick answer leave, and you don’t get the lead either.
- In the EU and the UK, asking for personal data you don’t need for the request sits badly with data minimisation rules.
How we check
- 01We ask questions your site already answers in public and note where the bot asks for details instead of answering.
What the fix looks like
- Answer published questions first; ask for contact details only when the customer wants a quote or a call back.
Where we see it
Other mistakes we find
Wrong prices
The bot finds the right table and reads the wrong row: the pricier room, the member rate, the other plan. Customers act on it.
Read moreInvented fees and policies
A delivery charge, a refund window, a fee: confident, specific and nowhere on your site. This is the answer that ends up in a dispute.
Read more“We don’t have that”
The answer is on your pricing page, your FAQ, even your home page. The bot says it can’t share it, it isn’t announced, or it doesn’t exist.
Read moreAnswers a different question
Asked about one product, it answers about another. Asked about delivery, it shows a product carousel. The customer has to start again, or gives up.
Read moreLoops and silence
A typing indicator that never ends. The same reply to every question. A consent screen that comes back after every click. The customer can’t get past it.
Read moreBroken after an update
An expired key, a changed model, a moved page. The bot shows an error to every visitor, and it can go on for days.
Read moreSee your assistant answer your customers first
Email us your store’s address. Within a working day you get five questions your customers ask and the answers your assistant would give, each with the page it comes from. Free, no call needed.