Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
From the basics through functions and data protection to setup, pricing and operation: here you will find answers to the questions we encounter most often about individual AI chat assistants. An assistant that truly knows your business.
Basics
- What is XICBOT? XICBOT builds individually trained AI chat assistants that live on your website or in your shop. The assistant knows your specific business: services, products, prices, opening hours, FAQ and documents. It answers questions in seconds, around the clock, in the visitor's language. Unlike a rigid menu script, the assistant reads your content and carries out real actions. The services overview gives you a first idea of all functions; whether and how an assistant suits your plans is something we clarify factually in the initial consultation.
- What sets an individual XICBOT assistant apart from a standard chatbot? A standard chatbot works with pre-built menu trees and generic answers. An XICBOT assistant, by contrast, is trained on your company: it answers questions from your own content and the knowledge base, instead of from a template script. On top of that, the assistant does not just answer, it acts. Through defined actions it adds products to the cart, books appointments or captures enquiries and can control connected tools. This turns a question-and-answer widget into an assistant that actually takes on tasks.
- Does the assistant replace my staff? No. The assistant does not replace people, it relieves them. It answers the recurring questions, qualifies enquiries and takes on routine tasks, so your team can focus on the cases that truly need personal attention. For sensitive or complex topics, the support assistant hands over to a human at any time, with the full conversation context. Qualified enquiries arrive as a structured lead in your inbox, so your staff can pick up seamlessly.
- Which websites and industries is XICBOT suitable for? An XICBOT assistant suits websites that are meant to answer questions, advise or sell, from the service provider through the practice to the online shop. It is oriented to the specific tasks of your industry and takes on exactly the cases that occur most often with you. Which tasks those are in your field is shown by the industries overview. For retailers, for example, the assistant for online shops is the right entry point, because it combines product advice, cart and order status in one.
- Does the assistant need a large website to be worthwhile? No. The assistant works with the content that exists. Even a manageable website with services, prices and contact details is enough as a basis. If something is missing, we specifically extend the knowledge base with documents, PDFs or a list of frequent questions. Smaller providers in particular benefit, because the website assistant receives enquiries around the clock, even when no one is on the phone. The size of the website determines how much the assistant can do, rather than whether it is worthwhile.
- Can I try XICBOT first? Yes. Every project begins with a free initial consultation and, on request, a free demo, that is, a test assistant for your own website. This lets you see with your real content how the assistant answers before you decide. In doing so, we discuss which tasks the assistant sensibly takes on for you and which package fits. We are happy to take the first step via the contact form or by phone.
Functions
- What can the assistant read? The assistant reads the content that defines your business: website and subpages, the shop catalog with products, variants, prices and availability, opening hours and locations, documents and PDFs, FAQ and help articles as well as an internal knowledge base. On request, also calendar availability and order or delivery status. This way it answers not in general terms but specifically about your offering. How these sources are connected and kept up to date is described on the knowledge base and training page. For retail, catalog data is especially relevant, which the shop assistant evaluates.
- Which actions can the assistant carry out? The assistant acts through defined actions, with the necessary approvals. It adds products to the cart, applies promotions, books or reschedules appointments, requests a callback, pre-fills contact forms, creates support tickets and hands over structured enquiries to your inbox or system. Beyond that, it can read and control connected systems such as calendars, inventory management or ticket systems. How this function calling with approvals works is explained on the tool control page; concrete purchase actions are handled by the cart assistant.
- What are product cards in the chat? Product cards appear directly in the conversation: with image, title, price, rating and an Add to cart button. Instead of just naming a link, the assistant shows the matching product and thereby turns the chat into a shop window. Possible are single recommendations, a comparison of two products, bundles with accessories or a promotional card. What this looks like in detail is shown on the product cards in the chat page; the matching advice is provided by the shop assistant.
- Can the assistant add products to the cart and lead to checkout? Yes. The cart assistant adds products to the cart, changes quantities, applies promotions, shows shipping costs and the threshold for free shipping and then leads to checkout. It also addresses cart abandoners. That matters, because around 70 percent (Baymard Institute) of online carts are abandoned. An assistant that clarifies a question or shows an alternative at the right moment can reduce these abandonments.
- Can the assistant book appointments and capture leads? Yes. The booking assistant shows free slots from your calendar, books appointments, sends a confirmation and syncs the booking back into the calendar. This relieves phone and reception, because prospects find an appointment themselves. For enquiries without a fixed appointment, the lead assistant qualifies with targeted follow-up questions, captures the contact details and hands over a structured lead to your inbox or system, instead of leaving visitors alone in front of a long form.
- Is the assistant multilingual? Yes. The multilingual assistant recognizes the visitor's language and answers consistently, with the same content in many languages. This lets you serve international customers without additional maintenance effort and without separate translations for every language. This is especially useful in retail and tourism, where enquiries come in from different countries. You continue to maintain the content in one place; the assistant outputs it in the appropriate language.
Data and Security
- Is XICBOT GDPR-compliant? Data protection is part of the implementation from the start. Hosting and data processing are located in Germany or the EU, there is a data processing agreement, a deletion concept and full data sovereignty on your side. Data is neither passed on nor sold. Which data is processed how and how the assistant fits cleanly into your privacy policy is described on the privacy and hosting page. On request, we use European or self-hosted language models.
- Where is the data hosted? The assistant is operated in Germany or the EU. This is advantageous from a data protection perspective and ensures short paths for questions about operation. Your content and conversation data remain in your access; you are not pushed into a closed system. For companies with particularly high requirements, European or self-hosted language models can be used on request, so that the model processing also stays within the desired framework. You can find details on the privacy and hosting page.
- What happens with sensitive topics, and can the assistant hand over to a human? Yes. The assistant hands over to a staff member at any time, live or via ticket and email with the full conversation context. For sensitive topics such as a complaint or legal and medical questions, it deliberately escalates to a human instead of advising itself. This keeps responsibility where it belongs, and the visitor is not left alone with a delicate piece of information. How this handover is set up is shown on the support assistant page.
- Can the AI make things up? An AI assistant can err, that cannot be ruled out. That is why we bind its answers to your own content: it answers from your website, documents and knowledge base, instead of formulating freely into the blue. If a piece of information is not on file, it says so and points onward. In addition, handover to a human and the ongoing conversation analytics provide safety: knowledge gaps and false assumptions become visible and can be closed specifically. This keeps the information traceably bound to your sources.
- Is data passed on or sold for training? No. Your content and your visitors' conversation data are not passed on to third parties and not sold. They serve the operation of your assistant and the analysis for you, not external purposes. Data sovereignty stays with you: you decide which sources the assistant uses and can have data removed according to the agreed deletion concept. The framework for this is described on the privacy and hosting page.
Setup and Integration
- How is the assistant trained? The assistant learns from your own sources: website and subpages, documents and PDFs, data sheets, a list of frequent questions and price lists. From this material the knowledge base is built, on which its answers rely. You do not need to program anything for this. We prepare the content and agree with you what the assistant should answer and where it prefers to hand over to a human. We discuss the basis in the initial consultation.
- How is the assistant integrated into my website? Integration is done via a short code snippet that fits almost any website, any CMS and any shop. The assistant loads efficiently and as a first-party solution, without a bloated third-party widget, and adapts to the design of your site. How this works technically and which options exist for the display is described on the integration and embedding page. As a rule, a single snippet is enough to make the assistant available on all pages.
- How long does the setup take? That depends on the scope. A website assistant that answers questions and captures leads is, in our experience, ready to go faster than a solution with shop connection, cart and individual actions. After the initial consultation, we give you a concrete framework. The technical integration itself is quickly done via the code snippet; the larger share is the preparation of the content and the coordination of the actions. We discuss the process and the fitting building blocks via the contact page; the services overview gives you an idea.
- Does it work with my CMS or my Shopware shop? Yes. Because the integration runs via a first-party snippet, the assistant is largely independent of the system in use and works with common CMS. For retail, we connect Shopware in the Community Edition, so the assistant can evaluate catalog, prices and availability. On this basis, the shop assistant delivers product advice and order status, while the integration describes the technical embedding. What is possible in your specific setup is something we clarify in advance.
- How do I keep the content up to date? The knowledge base can be updated easily. If services, prices or opening hours change, the corresponding source is adjusted, and the assistant answers with the new information. Catalog data from the shop can be kept up to date automatically. Which content should be maintained is shown by the conversation analytics: it makes visible which questions are asked frequently and where answers are missing. This lets you improve assistant and website based on data, instead of on hunches.
Pricing and Operation
- What does XICBOT cost? The model consists of a one-off setup, that is, the individual training and integration, and a monthly operation that covers hosting in Germany, care, updates and data protection. There are three packages: Start, Pro and Individual. Which package suits you depends on scope and functions. An overview with all the services of the packages is on the pricing page; all prices are net plus VAT.
- What is included in the Start package? The Start package begins with a setup from 990 € net and operation from 49 € per month net, in each case plus VAT. It includes a website assistant that reads website and knowledge base, answers questions, leads to matching pages, captures leads and is multilingual, with hosting in Germany. This is the right entry point for companies that want to receive enquiries around the clock and relieve support. Further details and the comparison with the other packages are shown on the pricing page.
- What does the Pro package offer? The Pro package begins with a setup from 2,900 € net and operation from 149 € per month net, in each case plus VAT. It contains everything from Start and adds the shop connection with Shopware in the Community Edition, product cards, the cart in the chat as well as appointment and lead functions. In addition comes the conversation analytics, with which you evaluate frequent questions, knowledge gaps and popular products. The package suits retailers and providers who want to turn advice into measurable sales and contacts; the shop assistant handles the product advice.
- When do I need the Individual package? The Individual package begins with a setup from 4,900 € net, and operation is based on scope, in each case plus VAT. It is intended for companies that go beyond standard functions: tool and API control, tailored actions and workflows as well as custom cases. On request, we use European or self-hosted language models here. Which custom functions make sense depends on your systems and processes and is coordinated specifically in the project.
- What is included in the monthly operation? The monthly operation covers everything that keeps the assistant reliable in the long term: hosting in Germany, ongoing operation, care, updates and compliance with data protection requirements. This keeps the assistant up to date and secure without you having to deal with technical details. The data protection basis behind this is described on the privacy and hosting page. Which operation belongs to your package and how it adapts as scope grows can be found on the pricing page; all prices net plus VAT.