Custom AI Chatbot vs Off-the-Shelf: Which Should You Choose?
By Arden Talbot·
"Should we build our own AI chatbot?" is the recurring question on product team all-hands. The answer is almost always no. Here is the decision framework.
Off-the-shelf: when it fits
Standard website with a knowledge base. Under $10M ARR. No highly specialized workflows. Want to ship in days, not months.
Custom: when it fits
Regulated industries with bespoke compliance. Highly proprietary workflows the LLM needs to learn. Volume above 1M conversations/mo where economics shift. Teams with ML engineers.
The hybrid
Most enterprises land on "off-the-shelf platform + custom tools/integrations on top." You get the UI, widget, analytics, and handoff for free, and build only the proprietary pieces.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does custom cost?
- Initial build: $150K-$500K. Annual maintenance: $100K-$250K. Plus infra. Versus $39-$399/mo off-the-shelf.
- How long to build custom?
- 3-9 months for a basic version, 12-24 for parity with off-the-shelf.