Companies use AI chatbots for a variety of reasons. It's part of a larger digital transformation and self-service improvement strategy for several businesses. For others, it can be a tool to generate buzz or a limited and restricted test of customers' reactions to this fascinating communication channel via Facebook Messenger.

Depending on the context in which the chatbot project is implemented, and hence its scope of activity, it may take a short or long period to complete. We know from experience that the framing phase is the most time-consuming because you must confer with all of the project's teams and acquire multiple clearances before you can begin construction.

Generally, the chatbot development process can take up 2-8 weeks and can cost between $20,000 to $80,000.

When establishing the tasks of each team member within the project, as well as potentially redefining or creating new positions, team collaboration is critical. It's also vital to define the product by laying out the design, access mode, functions, and content, in addition to scoping internal resources.

So, how long does it take to create a chatbot? Keep reading on! 

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Time-Frame for Chatbot Development 

Before you construct a chatbot for your business, you should conduct thorough study and analysis of the industry to determine what is ideal for you and which technology is most suited to your needs.

The next important question that comes to mind after determining the goal of constructing a chatbot and the need it will fill is how much time it will take to prepare a chatbot. Depending on the complexity of the project or function you want to automate and the option you pick to develop a bot,  The time it takes to build a chatbot for your company might range from a few hours to two to three weeks. The company's size is also important. Smaller businesses are hesitant to devote too much time and money to developing a chatbot.

To develop your bot, we've offered three alternatives for you to consider:

A) Purchase a Ready-Made Solution

Similar to the App Store for iOS and the Google Play Store for Android, there are bot marketplaces that cater to certain company needs. You can check out one of these bots to see whether it is a good fit for your company. Bots of this type can be found in the Telegram and Kik Bot Stores. Slack does not have a bot marketplace, such as a 'Bot Store,' but they do feature all of their bots in their App Directory among all of their other tools.

Botlist, a bot library, allows you to search for chatbots across all current platforms and categories. On Botlist, there exist bots that serve a variety of functions and run on a variety of platforms.

While you won't be able to tweak a ready-made bot and it may not satisfy all of your business demands, the time it takes to construct one is minimal. In fact, no time is necessary at all. You can just browse through the bot catalogues and select one that is most appropriate for your business needs. Small businesses who need a chatbot to handle extremely basic activities may use such a platform.

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Image: How Long Does it Take to Create a Chatbot? Best Tools you can use. 

B)Use a Bot-Developer Platform to Create a Chatbot

You may easily create your own bot using self-service platforms. Some systems demand some technical expertise, while others allow you to create bots without writing any code.

The second group includes companies like Chatfuel and Motion.ai. You can write use cases with Chatfuel by following instructions and then testing them later. It allows you to create Facebook Messenger and Telegram chatbots, as well as set up AI algorithms and interface your bot with a variety of third-party applications.

All you need to make a chatbot with Motion.ai is the ability to draw a flowchart, and a chatbot may be made out of it. After that, you may interface your bot with a variety of messaging systems.

Building these bots takes a little longer than buying them ready-made, ranging from a few hours to a few days. The difficulty is higher, however, because you'll need an idea or beginning point to construct a flowchart that will lead you through the process of building the chatbot.

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Image: How Long Does it Take to Create a Chatbot? Let the Professionals at Distinguished.io Help You.

C)Create a Chatbot from the Ground Up

A third approach is to start from scratch and create your own chatbot. You can also outsource your task to a software development team if programming isn't your strong suit.

A chatbot for an existing chat service is essentially a server-side application that requires an API to function. Software development teams can utilize a variety of technologies to construct this server-side app. One such technology is the Ruby programming language.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Find out answers to the frequently asked questions regarding chatbot development. 

Q1. How much does chatbot development cost? 

The cost of developing a chatbot can never be determined without consider the chatbot development process. This means that the complexity of the project and people behind the development decide how much you will be spending for the chatbot. Generally, you can expect to be spending between $20,000 and $80,000. 

Q2. In-house vs Outsourcing chatbot development services, which is better?

The answer depends on how much you're willing to invest in terms of money and time. You could either train an in-house team to get the job done or hire a chatbot development firm that could get the job done without you having to take any sort of stress. Generally, the best option is to let a top-notch company handle your software development unless you've got better developers in-house. 

Q3. How long does it take to create a chatbot?

While this article already gave you an idea of how long does it take to create a chatbot, a short answer would be to expect investing up to 4-6 weeks in the process. This could either be less or even more depending on the complexity of the project and the developers working on it. 

Verdict 

So, how long does it take to create a chatbot? The intricacy and personality of the chatbot will ultimately determine the timeline.

You might require a chatbot to manage your brand's marketing operations and perform a variety of duties, such as customer service and natural language comprehension. Your chatbot's flexibility, scalability, complexity, and personality will all factor into whether you create a custom or platform-based chatbot. The more complicated the situation, the longer it will take.

The most complex AI-powered chatbots are those that can read human language and offer suitable messages. They must not only understand individual behavioral patterns and make choices, but they must also push advertising content to users based on previous behavior. When the company's customer service representatives are unavailable, they are no longer limited to addressing simple transactional questions or providing basic information about a product or service.

Typically, the development team for such bots consists of 4–6 persons. It's possible that such projects will take at least 2–3 months to complete.

 >>> Hire the Best Chatbot Development Companies 

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