Create an AI chatbot: step by step, no coding
From picking the right questions to an embedded widget: a guide that works with any tool, with Kyros as a worked example.
You can create an AI chatbot without writing code: decide which questions it should answer, give it the web pages that contain the answers, test it as a draft, and add it to your website by pasting an embed code. The real work isn’t technical but editorial, and it decides whether the chatbot actually helps your visitors.
How an AI chatbot gets its answers
A chatbot that answers from your content is a language model that first looks up each question in that content and then writes an answer from what it found. This approach is called RAG. Without that grounding, a model answers from general knowledge: it doesn’t know your opening hours or delivery terms, and it may fill gaps with plausible-sounding inventions known as hallucinations. So the key question when you build one isn’t “Which tool?” but “Which content?”
What you need before you start
Three things: a list of the questions your customers actually ask (from emails, phone notes and your FAQ), the web pages where the answers live, and a reviewed answer for each sensitive question. If an answer isn’t written down anywhere on your site, even the best chatbot can’t know it, so write it down first. A chatbot “built from your website” is built from pages you pick, not automatically from everything you have online.
What “no code” and “free” actually mean
No code means you set content, tone and behavior in an interface. To install the chatbot, you paste a ready-made snippet into your CMS or theme, which anyone who maintains your website can do. Free, with Kyros, means the Starter plan costs €0 permanently, needs no credit card, and includes one assistant with a chat widget plus monthly credits. Every message uses credits, and each model shows how many before you pick it. Details are on the pricing page.
Building a chatbot in eight steps
These steps apply to any tool. The Kyros example below shows what they look like in practice.
Prepare
1. Decide on the questions
Collect the questions that come in most often by email, phone or contact form. Also decide what the chatbot should not answer, such as legal questions or individual contract details.
2. Collect the pages
For each question, note the web page that holds the answer: services, prices, shipping, opening hours, contact. If a page is missing, write it. The chatbot can only repeat what is written somewhere.
3. Write Golden answers
For critical questions where every word counts, such as prices, deadlines or emergencies, write a fixed answer. When a question matches, the chatbot should use that answer instead of phrasing its own.
4. Set instructions and tone
Describe in a few sentences who the chatbot speaks for, how it addresses visitors, how long answers should be, and where it points people when it can’t help.
Test, publish, maintain
5. Test the draft
Ask your collected questions in the draft, including awkward phrasings and typos. Check every answer against its source before visitors ever see it.
6. Publish
Go live only once the critical questions are answered correctly. Keep track of which version is live so you can go back if something goes wrong.
7. Embed the widget
Paste the embed code into your website, match colors and logo to your brand, and restrict the widget to your own domains.
8. Review chat logs weekly
Once a week, read the conversations, especially the poorly rated ones. Every wrong or missing answer tells you which page or Golden answer to add.
Example: creating an AI chatbot with Kyros
How the steps work in Kyros, from a free account to the embedded widget.
- Create an account. After signing up you’re on the Starter plan: €0, permanently, no credit card.
- Create the assistant. Only a name is required. Kyros sets up the chat widget and opens Studio.
- Create and assign a knowledge base. Create a knowledge base and paste your page URLs, one per line. Each page moves through “Queued,” “Fetch,” “Parse & embed” and “Ready”; duplicate pages are detected. If you like, Kyros re-syncs the pages every 6, 12 or 24 hours or weekly. Write your Golden answers under “Q&A,” then assign the knowledge base to the assistant.
- Configure and test in Studio. Pick a model under “Model & reasoning” (the credits per message are shown next to it), write the instructions and choose the widget languages: nine are available, plus Easy language (Leichte Sprache). Content moderation is already on. Every change goes into the draft, which you test in the preview; “Compare models” lets you try two models side by side.
- Publish. The draft goes live only when you click “Publish.” Every version stays in the version history, where you can compare versions and restore an earlier one.
- Embed the widget. Under “Deploy,” open “Install the widget” and choose “Floating bubble” or “Inline frame” plus the guide for HTML, React/Next.js, WordPress, TYPO3 or GSB. Copy the embed code and paste it into your website. Match colors, font, logo and launcher to your brand; under “Website access,” set which domains the chat can open on.
For the weekly review, open Chatlogs: you see every conversation and visitors’ ratings (thumbs up or down). “Revise” saves a corrected answer straight as a Golden answer. Analytics shows chats, messages, ratings, response time and error rate, split by channel and model.
What a chatbot can’t do, and what to watch for
Honest limits, so you can plan the effort realistically.
Web pages only, no files
Kyros reads web pages you add by URL. PDF, Word or Excel files can’t be imported. Anything that exists only as a file needs to go on a web page or into a Golden answer.
Every page listed by you
There is no crawl of the whole site and no sitemap import: you list the page URLs yourself. The source links under an answer (“Further Links”) point to the whole page, not to a specific paragraph.
Answers can be wrong
Even with good sources, a language model can summarize something incorrectly. The assistant is instructed to say so when your content has no answer, but that isn’t a guarantee. That’s why every widget shows “AI-generated — responses may be inaccurate.”
It doesn’t improve on its own
The chatbot doesn’t learn by itself. Read the Chatlogs regularly, look at negative ratings, and save corrections as Golden answers with “Revise.” When a page changes, auto re-sync picks it up, if you turned it on.
No handoff to your team
Kyros has no live chat with staff. If someone wants to talk to a person, an Interactive Card (Beta) can collect a callback request, for example with name, phone number and preferred time. Kyros stores the submissions per Card, with CSV export.
Credits limit usage
Every message uses credits. The Starter plan includes monthly credits; for more volume there are the Pro and Business plans, with prices on request.
Frequently asked questions
Can I create a chatbot for free?
Yes. The Kyros Starter plan costs €0 permanently and needs no credit card; it isn’t a time-limited trial. It includes one assistant with a chat widget and monthly credits. Every message uses credits, and each model shows its credits per message before you choose it. If one assistant or the included credits aren’t enough, there are the Pro and Business plans, with prices on request.
Can I build an AI chatbot without coding?
Yes. You set content, instructions, model and appearance in the interface, with no code. Only to install it do you paste a ready-made embed code into your website; Kyros has install guides for HTML, React/Next.js, WordPress, TYPO3 and the Government Site Builder (GSB). There is no plugin, so you need access to your CMS or theme to paste the code once, or someone who can do it for you.
Can I create a chatbot from my website?
Yes, from the pages you specify. You paste the URLs, one per line; Kyros reads each page and detects duplicates. It doesn’t automatically pick up your whole site or a sitemap, and files such as PDFs can’t be imported. To keep answers current, Kyros can re-sync the pages every 6, 12 or 24 hours or weekly.
How do I avoid wrong answers?
You can’t rule them out entirely. You lower the risk when the answers are clearly stated on your pages, when you write Golden answers for critical questions such as prices, deadlines or emergencies, and when you test the draft with real questions before publishing. After that, read the Chatlogs regularly and correct answers with “Revise.” Answers drawn from your pages list numbered source links so visitors can check them.
Can the chatbot hand over to my team?
No. Kyros has no live chat and no handoff to staff. You can, however, use an Interactive Card (Beta) that collects a callback request, for example with name, phone number and preferred time. Kyros stores the submissions per Card, and you can export them as CSV. You can also write a Golden answer that lists your contact options.
Where is my chatbot’s data processed?
Kyros is hosted in Germany: the API and database run in Frankfurt. A visitor’s message is also processed by the provider of the AI model you choose, and not always in Germany. According to the privacy policy, customer data isn’t used to train AI models. A data processing agreement (AVV) is available, and every widget includes a privacy panel (“Using our chatbot”). Check with your data protection advisor whether that covers your use case.
Further reading
Create your AI chatbot.
Starter plan at €0, permanently, no credit card. Changes to the assistant’s settings go live only when you click “Publish.”