Your Website Chatbot Probably Sucks

How the evolution of chatbots is reshaping conversion, customer service, and what your brand experience feels like online.

Let me set the stage with a recent experience I'd be willing to bet you've had as well.

I was on Delta’s website trying to find a simple answer: Where do I access my flight credit from a recently canceled trip?  After searching around, I couldn't find it. A helpful chat bubble popped up and I thought - why not. All I needed was a page or link, pretty simple...FALSE!

Instead, I ended up in chatbot purgatory—clicking through a series of multiple-choice questions in a clunky decision tree. Each click got me closer to frustration than resolution. After five minutes of digital gymnastics, I finally got routed to human that I could chat with - who to be honest wasn't super helpful either. Still, I got the link to the page and all was fine but I was left wondering - why?? You're Delta! You have resources. Create a better experience here. The answer was known, why couldn't the chat system just give it to me.

This isn’t 2015. This shouldn't be how chat works anymore.

From Flowcharts to Fluent Conversations

The traditional chatbot—a.k.a. glorified FAQ tree—served its purpose once upon a time. It was a cost-cutting tool, a digital receptionist trained to deflect tickets, not actually help. But today’s users expect more. A lot more.

Thanks to large language models (LLMs), we now have the tech to make bots that actually converse. Not just click. Not just route. Real conversation. Real context. Real helpful responses.

Imagine a bot trained on your business—your offers, your processes, your tone of voice—and able to adapt its responses based on what someone actually means, not just what button they click. What if that Delta chat just responded back with a quick "Sure, here's wher you can find your flight credit. Anything else?" That’s the difference between a Chatbot and an AI-driven Chat Agent.

Why the Shift Matters

Here’s what’s changed—and what businesses gain by evolving:

1. Chatbots are now a brand experience, not just a support tool.

If someone’s using your chat, it’s because they’re curious, confused, or ready to act. That’s a moment that matters. And if you hand that moment to a bot that behaves like a call center hold menu, you’re telling them exactly how much you value their time.

An AI-powered agent, like the ones we build at BRNDMKT (we call them AGNTs), creates a conversation that feels human: responsive, informed, on-brand, and, critically, not annoying.

2. Conversion happens faster when answers come instantly.

Traditional chatbots are good at disqualifying people. But they’re bad at guiding qualified leads toward action.

Modern AI agents, by contrast, shorten the path to conversion. Someone asks, “Can you help me with my garage door? It's not opening when I push the button.”—your AGNT replies with with empathetic on-brand response and then follows up with a link to book an appointment. Or say they want to know if you have locations near their zip code - your AGNT responds with a direct answer and then follows up with a link to the locations page that is prefiltered to their zip code. Helpful, actionable responses that create movement in the journey. That’s ROI.

3. Customer service gets better (and cheaper).

Most customer questions aren’t complicated—they’re just repetitive. Flight credit lookups. Return policies. Sizing charts. Store hours. The stuff your team already has to answer 20 times a day.

AI AGNTs do this work with no ego, no sleep, and no “sorry for the wait.” They’re trained on your data, policies, tone, and even your team’s phrasing. And they escalate to humans only when it actually makes sense.

4. They're always on topic.

The problem with most AI tools is they try to sound smart without staying relevant. Our AGNTs are trained on your site content, FAQs, sales process, and more—so they never wander off. They don’t hallucinate. They don’t riff. They serve.

So, What’s the Fix?

If your website chatbot still runs on a decision tree, you’re not just behind—you’re leaving money (and goodwill) on the table.

It’s time to upgrade to an AI AGNT—built on LLMs, trained on your brand, and focused on delivering useful interactions. Not just a cool feature. A better experience. For your team, your customers, and your business.

Learn More About AGNTs