“How to choose AI Chatbot platforms?” is a question entrepreneurs, managers, and IT professionals are asking today. There’s no single answer: it depends on the context, objectives, and available resources.
There are various approaches to developing chatbots and AI agents: from complex frameworks designed for large multinationals to low-code and no-code AI platforms, which provide turnkey solutions, ready for use in a very short time, even for SMEs.
To understand which path to choose, let’s use a simple metaphor from the automotive industry.
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
Table of contents
AI Chatbot Platforms: Development Frameworks.
A first option for those wondering how to create AI agents is to rely on development frameworks like Google Vertex AI, Microsoft Copilot Studio, or RASA.
They’re the equivalent of designing the engine and body of a car: you have complete control over every detail, but it requires time, resources, and specialized skills.
This approach is ideal for:
- Very large enterprises with structured IT departments.
- Regulated organizations (banks, healthcare) where complexity combined with full control over data sovereignty and compliance are critical.
- Advanced technology teams that want to be able to modify and customize every aspect, from architecture to custom APIs, to devops and infrastructure monitoring and certification, both in the cloud and on-premises.
The main advantage of this type of platform is total control. The downside? Complex, expensive, and time-consuming projects that never end (maintenance, development, modifications, transformations, integrations, etc.).
Who do you identify with?
You’re the CIO, an AI Engineer, a senior developer, or the IT Manager of a large organization that works daily with a complex ecosystem of system integrators, vendors, and IT professionals. You need to provide enterprise-level service to your internal stakeholders, continually managing their requests for changes and dreams (sometimes unattainable given the security constraints you must consider) generated by vendors that influence their vision. For you, the AI agent must communicate with legacy systems, operational flows, and the global platforms that support the core of your business.
Your mantra is clear: “I want to open the hood and get my hands on the engine. I need full control to build a unique, high-performance solution perfectly tailored to my IT ecosystem.”
You’re not afraid of tackling long or complex projects: for you, time and budget are investments (capex and opex to manage), not costs. You know that the governance and scalability of AI Chatbot platforms are as important as performance, and you’re willing to orchestrate internal teams, vendors, and technology partners to achieve the result.
As with building a racing prototype, you know that the main unknown is uncertainty, so timescales and costs can vary. But the potential for a competitive advantage in terms of innovation, safety, control, and integration is worth the risk.
Low-code/no-code AI Chatbot platforms: the leasing car
Not all companies need a “Formula 1.” Often, the priority is to get up and running quickly, without complications.
Low-code/no-code AI platforms are the answer: turnkey solutions that allow you to create AI agents in just a few days, without writing code.
They are designed for business and IT teams who want rapid, scalable, and secure results, without having to manage technological complexity.
Advantages of “leasing” AI Chatbot platforms:
- Speed of implementation: an AI agent ready in hours or days, not months.
- Simplicity: Intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces.
- Predictable budget: Clear monthly subscriptions, no surprises.
- Maintenance included: Cloud infrastructure, updates, security, and compliance managed by the vendor.
- Instant integration with CRM, e-commerce, ticketing, and collaboration tools via API.
When to choose this path?
Turnkey low-code/no-code AI Chatbot platforms are the ideal choice when the priority is to achieve rapid, scalable, and secure results without the risks and complexity of traditional development.
Here are some typical scenarios:
- B2C Customer Care: Automate frequent requests such as order status, shipping information, returns, bills, or product updates. This frees the contact center from repetitive questions and allows it to focus on higher-value activities.
- B2B Sales: Qualify leads in real time, provide quick quotes, share technical data sheets and product documentation. The AI agent becomes a digital front office, capable of reducing response times and improving the customer experience.
- HR: Answer questions about vacation, leave, internal policies, or benefits, manage the end-to-end onboarding process for new hires. An internal chatbot can reduce disruptions to the HR department and ensure consistent responses.
- IT Help Desk: Manage recurring tasks such as password resets, access requests, VPN configurations, or software installations. This frees the IT team from low-value tasks, allowing it to focus on innovation, digital transformation, and solving more complex problems.
- Marketing: Activating chatbots for digital campaigns, lead acquisition and qualification, product selection guidance and personalized upselling, and leveraging social media channels like WhatsApp. AI agents become an enabler of the company’s strategy.
- E-commerce: An AI assistant can guide customers through product selection, answer questions about inventory and availability, manage returns, and support the entire purchasing process, increasing conversions and reducing abandoned carts.
- Retail: Chatbots integrated into apps or in-store kiosks can offer personalized recommendations, check product availability, activate real-time promotions, and improve the customer journey both online and offline.
- Travel & Hospitality: AI agents can manage reservations, digital check-ins, suggest itineraries, and answer questions about flights, schedules, or hotel services. This reduces wait times and improves the customer travel experience.
- Healthcare: In the healthcare sector, chatbots can support patients with information about visits and tests, therapy reminders, appointment management and modification, or first-level triage, reducing the burden on medical secretaries.
- Public Administration (PA): AI agents can provide citizens with immediate answers regarding administrative procedures, deadlines, payments, and forms, improving access to services and reducing wait times at counters.
If your priority is reducing go-to-market times and focusing on results, low-code/no-code AI platforms are the perfect solution.
Who you identify with?
You’re the CEO or director of a business function at a company, a marketing manager looking to automate lead generation, or an e-commerce owner requiring efficient 24/7 customer service. Or you’re an IT manager who needs to support business colleagues by quickly providing agile and certified solutions, without burdening your internal IT team (which is often understaffed and lacks bandwidth to add new, innovative projects). In short, you’re already struggling to manage the “as is” aspect of your business, and you’re already feeling pressured to implement a new project, yet you’re under pressure from your CEO.
For you, AI platforms represent an enabling tool that must be easy to configure, quick to deploy, and integrable with existing systems: CRM, e-commerce, ticketing platforms, and collaboration tools.
Your mantra is: “I don’t want to open the hood, I want to drive right away. I want to get to my destination safely, quickly, and with the ability to upgrade when needed.”
You’re not interested in reinventing the wheel, but in reducing go-to-market times and quickly demonstrating the project’s value. You want scalable, secure, and certified solutions that allow you to manage corporate governance without technical complications.
You know that, like leasing a car, maintenance is included: the vendor takes care of updates, security, and compliance. You can focus on the journey: user experience design, data analysis, and the impact the AI agent has on your customers and colleagues.
LLMS are the car sharing of AI Chatbot Platforms
Another way to understand how to create AI agents is to use LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, Mistral, or Gemini. They’re like AI platforms in carpooling: powerful, straightforward, and ready to use, but with some limitations in terms of customization and control.
They’re perfect for students, creatives, or professionals seeking immediate personal support, but less suitable for those building integrated solutions within companies.
Who you identify with?
You’re a student, a professional, a creative, or simply a curious person. You use ChatGPT as a powerful personal assistant: to write a work email, brainstorm recipe ideas, plan a trip, have a complex topic explained, or translate a text. You’re not building a product for others; you’re using artificial intelligence to empower yourself, solve everyday problems, and explore new possibilities. You need its intelligence, here and now.
How to choose the best AI Chatbot platforms for your needs
Understanding which AI Chatbot platforms to choose requires a strategic assessment of needs, resources, and objectives.
- Define your goals
Do you want to improve customer service, automate internal processes, or support sales? Each goal requires a different technology.
- Evaluate available resources
Do you have a structured IT team or do you want to give more autonomy to business departments?
- Evaluate the level of customization
Every AI agent project has different needs in terms of specific features and behaviors.
With development frameworks, you can model every detail: from language interpretation to managing the most complex integrations, creating completely customized solutions.
With low-code/no-code platforms, you can quickly customize flows, responses, and integrations using visual tools, achieving a high level of configuration without complex code. - Consider control over data and processes
The level of control is crucial for security, governance, and compliance:
Development frameworks offer complete control over data, architecture, and integrations, ideal for regulated environments or complex systems.
Low-code/no-code platforms provide pre-built tools for security, monitoring, and data management, while still allowing you to configure rules, permissions, and workflows according to your business needs. - Consider time to market
If you want results quickly, a low-code/no-code approach allows you to have an AI agent up and running in hours or days, without waiting for months of development.
Conclusions
Choosing between development frameworks and low-code/no-code platforms means balancing customization versus speed. For complex and highly integrated projects, frameworks offer the most control, but if you want to implement AI agents quickly, scalably, and without technical complications, turnkey platforms remain the winning choice.
Faq – Choosing between AI Chatbot Platforms
Development frameworks allow for complete control and advanced customization, ideal for complex projects or companies with skilled IT teams. Low-code/no-code platforms, on the other hand, offer turnkey solutions: quick to implement, with visual tools and ready-made integrations, ideal for business teams who want to experiment without writing code.
Low-code/no-code platforms allow you to have an AI agent up and running in hours or days, drastically reducing development time and technical complexity. Development frameworks, while offering maximum customization, require more time for design, implementation, and testing, especially in enterprise environments with complex systems.
Yes, in many cases it’s possible to integrate the two solutions. For example, a framework can handle complex logic and sensitive data, while a low-code/no-code platform can offer rapid user interfaces and pre-configured modules. This hybrid approach allows you to balance customization, control, and speed of implementation.
