What ai chatbots do you guys use for inbound leads?

for now, resources by GPT:

The tools people most commonly use for inbound-lead chatbots right now are Tidio, Zoho SalesIQ, HubSpot, Landbot, ManyChat, and Intercom. For a small business with little technical expertise, the best starting points are usually Tidio or Zoho SalesIQ. HubSpot is strong if you already want your chatbot tied closely to a CRM. ManyChat is best when leads come through Instagram, WhatsApp, or Messenger. Landbot is best when you want a guided intake flow. Intercom is strong, but it usually makes more sense once your process is more mature. G2’s current small-business conversational-marketing category also places these names in the same practical orbit, noting that ManyChat and Tidio stand out more on chatbot functionality , while Intercom and HubSpot are stronger on live chat. (G2)

The key background is this: an inbound-lead chatbot is useful only if it does more than answer questions. The better ones capture contact details, ask a few qualifying questions, route or book the next step, and pass the data into a CRM or follow-up workflow. That pattern is explicit on the official pages for Tidio, Zoho SalesIQ, HubSpot, and Intercom. (Tidio)

My practical ranking

Why this ranking looks like that

1) Tidio

Tidio is the cleanest “default” recommendation for most small businesses because its lead-capture story is very direct. Its homepage says it is built to capture more leads, close more sales, and book more calls even when you are offline. Its Lyro Actions page is even more specific: lead qualification, CRM integration, meeting scheduling, and follow-up sequences are all first-class features. Its pricing structure is also approachable for testing: there is a free entry path, the Starter plan is listed at $24.17/month , and the Lyro AI Agent add-on starts at $32.50/month. Tidio also supports no-code Flows with templates and a visual builder, which matters if you do not want to involve a developer. (Tidio)

Why people use it: it feels like a lead widget first , not only a support tool. You can use Flows for proactive prompts and lead capture, then use Lyro for more flexible AI conversation. That combination makes it a strong fit for local service businesses, agencies, consultancies, SaaS landing pages, and smaller ecommerce sites. The main caution is that Tidio’s pricing is modular, so once you want more AI conversations or more advanced usage, the bill can become less simple than the headline suggests. That is not unusual in this category, but it is worth knowing. (Tidio)

2) Zoho SalesIQ

Zoho SalesIQ is the strongest budget-oriented option I found for people who still want a serious lead workflow. Zoho says SalesIQ can gather visitor details with pre-chat forms and chatbots, qualify them using automated lead scoring based on browsing behavior, and pass the result to CRM automatically. Zoho also says its small-business chatbot plan starts at $7/month billed annually , and that it includes pre-built templates , a drag-and-drop builder , and deployment across social channels and mobile apps. Its chatbot builder page also emphasizes zero coding and customizable templates. (Zoho)

Why people use it: it gives you a lot of the mechanics that actually matter for lead capture, not just chat. It is especially good if you want pre-chat forms, visitor tracking, behavior-based qualification, and CRM handoff without paying for a bigger suite too early. The tradeoff is that it feels more like a broad business platform than a sharply polished specialist tool. That is not necessarily bad. For a cost-conscious small business, it is often a strength. (Zoho Corporation)

3) HubSpot

HubSpot is the best choice when you want the chatbot to live inside a bigger sales and marketing system. HubSpot’s chatbot builder says it can qualify leads, book meetings, trigger email campaigns after chatbot interactions, and personalize replies using data from HubSpot Smart CRM. HubSpot also says you can create chatbot sequences without any coding , and its knowledge-base guide for rule-based chatbots says the bot can help qualify leads, book meetings, and gather information before a team member takes over. HubSpot positions the chatbot builder as free to start. (HubSpot)

Why people use it: for many small businesses, the appeal is not “the smartest AI.” The appeal is that chat, contact record, meeting booking, and later email follow-up can all happen in one system. That reduces friction. The catch is that HubSpot becomes much more attractive when you are willing to adopt HubSpot as your CRM center of gravity. If you are not, some of its advantage disappears. (HubSpot)

4) Landbot

Landbot is best understood as a guided conversational form builder rather than a simple chat widget. Its lead-generation templates are built around capturing visitor information and qualifying leads in real time across web and WhatsApp. It also has appointment-booking templates designed to accept bookings and manage calendars. On pricing, Landbot lists its Starter plan at $36/month annually for individuals and small businesses wanting chatbots on websites and Facebook Messenger, with 500 chats per month , 100 AI chats , and 2 seats included. (Landbot.io)

Why people use it: it is very good when your lead process needs structure. For example: “What service are you interested in?”, “What budget range?”, “What timeline?”, “Would you like to book a call?” That makes it attractive for agencies, clinics, consultancies, education, real estate, and professional services. The downside is that it asks a bit more of you at setup time. You usually need to think through your funnel carefully. (Landbot.io)

5) ManyChat

ManyChat is the strongest option when leads come through Instagram DMs, WhatsApp, Messenger, TikTok, SMS, or email-like social messaging flows , rather than mainly through a classic website widget. ManyChat’s homepage is explicit that it helps businesses sell more, engage better, and grow their audience using automations for Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and Messenger , with use cases like collect emails , respond to comments , and follow to DM. Its pricing page shows a free plan , and its help center says Pro costs $39/month monthly or $29/month annually , including up to 2,500 active contacts before overages. (manychat.com)

Why people use it: ManyChat is extremely practical for businesses whose sales motion starts in messages rather than on a pricing page. That includes creators, coaches, local businesses, ecommerce brands, and small consumer-facing businesses. The main limitation is that it is not my first choice for a classic B2B “website lead qualification” flow. It is a better answer to social inbound than to website inbound. (manychat.com)

6) Intercom

Intercom is strong when you want a more developed qualification layer. Its help docs say you can use it for generating leads from your website , automatically qualifying leads , assigning leads to the right team , and even booking meetings or joining video calls by sharing apps in chat. Its workflows documentation says you can set up a Workflow that asks qualification questions and then takes a follow-up action such as assigning the lead to a team. On pricing, Intercom’s Essential plan is listed at $29 per seat per month billed annually , and Fin AI Agent is priced at $0.99 per outcome. (Intercom)

Why people use it: it is powerful for SaaS and B2B teams that already know what counts as a qualified lead and want to automate more of the routing and follow-up logic. Why I rank it lower for a very small business: its value shows up more clearly once you already have a more formal sales process. For a tiny team just trying to add lead capture to a site, it is often more platform than you need. That last part is an inference from its workflow depth, team-assignment focus, and pricing model. (Intercom)

How I would choose, depending on your situation

If your leads mainly come from your website , start with Tidio. It is the easiest broad-fit choice for lead capture, qualification, booking, and follow-up in one small-business-friendly package. (Tidio)

If price matters a lot, start with Zoho SalesIQ. It has real lead-scoring and CRM handoff features, but its entry price is much lower than most of the field. (Zoho)

If you already use, or are ready to adopt, HubSpot CRM , choose HubSpot. Its biggest advantage is not just the chatbot. It is the way the chatbot, CRM, meetings, and follow-up live together. (HubSpot)

If you want a guided intake funnel , choose Landbot. It is the best fit when you want to ask structured questions and push users toward a booking or a route. (Landbot.io)

If most leads come through Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, or TikTok , choose ManyChat. That is what it is built around. (manychat.com)

If you are already running a more complex B2B or SaaS operation with multiple sales or support paths, Intercom becomes more attractive. (Intercom)

What to watch out for

A lot of “AI chatbot” tools look impressive but are weak for actual lead generation. If a product cannot clearly show you how it handles contact capture, qualification questions, routing or booking, CRM sync, and human handoff , then it is probably closer to a support bot than a lead bot. The better vendor documentation in this category consistently centers those workflow pieces, not just answer quality. (Tidio)

Bottom line

For most small businesses with no technical team, I would start with Tidio or Zoho SalesIQ. Use HubSpot if you want CRM-first simplicity. Use Landbot if you want a more guided, form-like lead funnel. Use ManyChat if your inbound leads live in social messaging. Keep Intercom for the stage where your process is already more structured and you want more automation depth. (Tidio)