To get an overview, it makes sense to define in advance what types of chatbot and chat solutions actually exist.
Basics: Which chatbots are there?
Rule-based chatbots:
As the name suggests, rule-based chatbots work on the basis of predefined rules and draw on defined questions and answers. This means that there is often no option for users to enter free text. Instead, conversation threads and click options are usually used. In the past, such click bots were widely used and were considered as Chatbot trend, today, they have largely been replaced by AI chatbots, which can work more flexibly and individually.
AI-based chatbots:
AI-based chatbots are characterized by the fact that they understand complex issues and can therefore provide precise answers in most cases. Thanks to AI, they learn from every conservatory and get better at finding suitable solutions over time. Particularly exciting: AI chatbots are constantly evolving and can — thanks to GenAI — communicate more and more flexibly and naturally. This not only makes the conversations more varied, but also surprisingly human.
Live chat:
Live chat is a manual support solution that can be combined with chatbots. The chatbot answers simple, automated inquiries, while more complex issues are handed over to a live agent.
If you'd like to know more about the best live chat providers and the different features, check out this lexicon article past. There you can find all information at a glance.
The top 8 chatbot providers
Now that it's clear what types of chatbots actually exist, it gets exciting: Who are the top providers? We have looked around and present the best providers who prove how versatile and efficient chatbots can be in companies. All providers are available here at a glance, followed by the big comparison table of chatbots:
1. moinAI
Chatbot type: AI-based plus live chat
In short: moinAI offers a user-friendly AI chatbot solution that helps companies in the areas of marketing, sales and customer service to efficiently automate their customer communication, but still make it personal.
moinAI enables tailor-made solutions that can be adapted to the various brand identities of companies. With a no-code interface, GDPR compliance and the ability to continuously evolve, the chatbot improves customer communication and automates processes such as lead generation. In addition to the AI-based chatbot, a live chat tool and an AI-based product advisor are also offered. The products can be connected to many integrations, such as HubSpot, Shopify or Zapier.
Particularly practical: From the moment it goes live, moinAI's develops independently. With the help of self-learning functions, the chatbot recognizes new topics and GenAI functions allow the chatbot to generate new answers autonomously. The control always remain with the human.
This is how moinAI differs from other chatbot providers:
Pricing: moinAI offers the option to choose between three different packages. The cheapest package Starter starts at 475€ per month including quick setup. The intelligent chatbot solution for medium-sized companies that prioritize chat automation is 2,000€ per month and includes over 100 AI agents. More information is available here.
Service: MoinAI's AI team trains the chatbot so that it is usually ready for use after just two or three weeks. Each customer has a permanent contact person and always has access to the knowledge base. There are also regular live webinars on new features and support via phone or email.
Customers: well-known customers such as Fressnapf, NeoTaste, Blume2000 or Immoscout24
2. Lime Connect (formerly Userlike)
Chatbot type: AI-based plus live chat
In short: Lime Connect is an all-in-one platform that combines AI chatbot and live chat for 24/7 customer support and optimizes and simplifies customer communication with the help of AI agents and automation.
Lime Connect promises to bring companies closer to their customers through automation using AI chatbots. But other solutions are also offered, such as WhatsApp campaigns, the video call feature and a mobile app. Userlike promises to save resources by using AI for real-time support and generate leads, for example through a website messenger.
Pricing: There is a limited free version. The fee-based models start at 90€ per month, company-wide multichannel communication starts at 290€ per month. As always, the more expensive, the more features there are. In addition, individual add-ons can be purchased, such as the AI CoPilot.
Service: Lime Connect bundles all support requests on a uniform platform. In addition to a help center, where tutorials and explanations of the most important functions and tools are available, Lime Connect offers chat and email support for all models. A personal account manager is only included in the higher Enterprise plan. Standard onboarding is included in the team plan, while the free version does not provide for professional onboarding. The provider processes all customer data in accordance with GDPR and offers hosting options in Europe.
Customers: including GLS Bank, Hermes and T-Systems
3. Melibo
Chatbot type: AI-based plus live chat
In short: melibo offers a smart platform that promises to reduce service volumes by 60%, with the help of generative AI, AI agents and comprehensive integration options.
With melibo, companies can efficiently automate the volume of their service requests across all communication channels. There are various products, such as ticket automation or AI chatbots, and the platform supports multiple languages. Melibo can also be seamlessly integrated with popular e-commerce systems such as Zendesk, Freshdesk, Shopify and more, ensuring seamless communication.
Pricing: There are no prices on the website. These are only available on request.
Service: melibo has a knowledge hub, supported by the GPT-4 OpenAI language model, access to various webinars or help articles, and personal onboarding at the beginning. Customer inquiries can be automated not only via chat, but also for contact forms, by email and by ticket, in a variety of languages. It is therefore a comprehensive solution for automating all written communication channels.
customers: including Fahrrad XXL, Momox or brillen.de
4. BOTfriends
Chatbot type: AI-based
In short: BOTfriends promises ”automated conversations that feel like real conversations”.
The company offers a user-friendly platform for creating and managing voice or chatbots. BOTfriends is particularly characterized by the ability to adapt the bots flexibly and without programming knowledge, as a symbiosis of Agentic AI and secure business logic. According to the company itself, the solutions are aimed at companies of all sizes, from small medium-sized companies to large corporations, who want to automate their processes and improve customer communication.
Pricing: BOTfriends Starter is available from 2,490 €/month for the use of a first chat or Voice‑AI agent. BOTfriends Enterprise for unlimited automation and use of premium AI workflows is available on request.
Service: There is personal onboarding, design and UX workshops, and a personal project and success manager who can be reached via email or phone. The service offering focuses on relieving the burden on companies, hotlines, implementing chatbots and automating processes using AI.
Customers: Süwag, TUI Cruises or ROLLER, among others
5. Cognigy
Chatbot type: AI chatbot
In short: Cognigy is a market-leading enterprise platform for contact center automation that uses AI agents to enable highly personalized interactions via voice and chat channels in over 100 languages.
Cognigy.AI is a low-code platform and enables both IT teams and specialist departments to quickly create complex AI agents and integrate them into existing backend systems. The solution features a particularly strong voice component that offers natural voice recognition and ultra-realistic dialogs for telephone support. In addition to pure automation, the “Agent Copilot” supports human employees in real time during customer conversations.
Pricing: Cognigy does not publish fixed prices; the model is tailored to enterprise requirements and is usually billed per conversation
Service: The provider offers comprehensive resources such as the “Cognigy Academy” for training and a detailed help center. Technical support and monitoring tools such as the “AI Ops Center” ensure stable operation in complex environments.
Customers: Companies such as Mister Spex, Toyota and Lufthansa
6. Kauz.ai
Chatbot type: AI-based
In short: Kauz.ai offers smart AI solutions that help companies improve their customer communication and internal processes.
According to their own statement, Kauz.ai's AI chatbots answer an impressive 20,000 questions a day. The chatbot can be used, for example, for making appointments, reporting claims, product advice or employee onboarding. With their AIstudio platform, customers can also easily create and manage AI chatbots themselves and thus provide 24/7 support or automate IT assistance.
Particularly interesting: Kauz.ai has built up a special expert network of partners and resellers, with which even smaller companies such as craft businesses or law firms can quickly obtain a suitable chatbot solution.Pricing: Kauz.ai offers three different models. The cheapest starts at 499€ per month, plus a set-up fee of 1500€.
Service: The company offers a free AI Starter Academy, which includes best practices for implementing AI chatbots, for example. Personal onboarding is included with all subscriptions. However, project support is only available by appointment.
customers: For example, VR-Networld or the Westfalenhallen Group of Companies.
7. Onlim
Chatbot type: AI-based plus live chat
In short: Onlim also offers a conversational AI platform that helps companies automate their communication processes with AI.
From chatbots to voice assistants to messaging services, customer communication with Onlim can be optimized in many ways. The integrated analysis tool, which helps to continuously improve the performance of AI, is also practical. Onlim also enables a wide range of integrations so that companies can easily connect their existing systems.
Particularly practical: If you need to go quickly, Onlim offers the package Business Pure a self-service chatbot, in other words, no set-up assistance is required. However, should it be a more complex chatbot project, support from Onlims must be used.
Pricing: There are no package prices on the website. These are only available on request. After the 14-day free trial period in Onlim Business Live Chat, the live chat amounts to 49, — €/month and can be canceled at any time.
Service: The customer is supported throughout the project phase and advised on implementation.
customers: SPORTUNION, PURADIES Nature Resort and more
8. Parloa
Chatbot type: AI chatbot
In short: Parloa is an AI-powered contact center solution and uses advanced conversational AI and generative AI technologies to provide fast, contextual answers at any time and relieve service teams in companies.
Description: The platform allows the custom creation of AI agents that allow dynamic, natural conversations with customers — via chat, messenger, or over the phone. AI agents are trained with company information and can be integrated into existing systems via APIs. According to the provider, Parloa was developed in particular for demanding customer service applications.
Pricing: Pricing information is not publicly provided on the website.
Service: The solution offers high recognition and voice quality, multi-language support, and full integration with contact center infrastructures. The platform is suitable for routing, authentication, FAQs, end-to-end processes, and scalable automation of large volumes of calls.
customers: Companies such as BER Airport, TUI, ATU, KPMG and PwC
Table of the top 8 chatbot providers
✅: Yes ❌: No ❓: No clear information found on the website
For a clear and comprehensive overview, the individual categories in the table are briefly explained here.
- Main use case: This category describes what the chatbot platform is most commonly used for, such as marketing, sales, or customer service. Some providers are focused on specific industries or company sizes.
- GDPR-compliant: Indicates whether the provider meets the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is particularly important for companies in the EU.
- Your own live chat: This category shows whether the provider has its own live chat or whether it needs to be added externally.
- No-code: This is about whether the platform can be used without programming knowledge, i.e. offers a user-friendly solution that even non-technicians can work with.
- Free trial: Means whether and to what extent a free trial of the product is available to try out the features before you buy.
- Number of 5 ⭐ OMR reviews: The number of 5-star reviews on the OMR Reviews platform is shown here.
- Integrations: This category lists whether the provider can be integrated with other software solutions (e.g. CRM systems, e-commerce platforms).
- Supported languages: Shows how many languages the provider supports. Particularly important for international companies.
- Price (per month): The price per month is shown here.
- Generate customer insights: Means that AI-based analysis of customer data and interactions to identify patterns, needs, and problems that enable targeted improvement of marketing strategies and customer service.
- Manual to GenAI — maximum flexibility: Does the chatbot provider offer both manual and fully AI-supported processes that allow the solution to be flexibly adapted to a company's specific needs?
Conclusion
Whether it's an AI chatbot, a live chat solution or a mix of both: The huge selection of chatbot providers offers something suitable for every company. Nevertheless, the top companies that offer AI chatbots with generative functions stand out in particular, as they have a deep understanding of the context, can formulate natural answers and thus offer superior communication and efficiency compared to other chatbots. They can often also be combined directly with a live chat function. They offer a practical all-in-one solution that automatically answers customer inquiries and transfers them to human contacts as needed.
Enough of theory? Would you like to finally see what an AI chatbot could look like in your personal use case? Then simply create your individual chatbot in just a few steps — without hidden costs, of course.
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