Answering 'how much does it cost?' without inventing a price

"How much does it cost?" is one of the first things visitors type, and one of the easiest for a chatbot to get wrong. An invented number becomes a promise in the customer's mind.

Why price questions are high stakes

• A wrong low number starts the relationship with a disappointment, or an argument.
• A wrong high number sends a good customer to a competitor without a word.
• An outdated promotion leads to "but your chat said..." at the counter.

Unlike most chat mistakes, a price error is remembered word for word. That is why the rules below are strict.

Approved prices only: no guesses

The assistant is instructed never to invent or guess prices, discounts or availability, and to quote prices exactly as written in your approved information. The website scan drafts no price that isn't written on your pages, and nothing is used until you review it. On Premium, product cards take prices only from your catalog import, and a reply that names an amount not found there gets the correct catalog facts added. AI can still make mistakes, so read your chats in the first weeks; how corrections work is in chatbot accuracy.

Ranges, starting prices and "it depends"

Most service prices really do depend on something. Write down what they depend on, so the assistant can say it:

Allinaa's own assistant on allinaa.com follows this pattern for localization. It gives the starting prices, from $300 per project for one language and from $500 for up to three, and adds that the final price depends on the size of the project and is agreed before any work starts.

Asking for details when a quote is needed

When the answer is "we need to know more", the assistant can ask up to three short questions, one per reply, about the service, the timing and specific requirements. Then it offers the request form, so your team prices the job with real details. Tell it in the knowledge which facts change the price the most. The full method is in Quote and estimate requests.

Promotions and expiring offers

The assistant repeats what the knowledge says and has no way of knowing an offer has ended unless you tell it. So:

• always write the end date into the offer: "Spring tune-up offer, valid through May 31";
• put a reminder in your calendar to remove it the day after;
• never put an offer in the knowledge that isn't on your website, so the two can't contradict each other.

Illustrative example

A cleaning company's knowledge says that standard cleaning is priced per visit from its published rate, and that deep cleaning is quoted after photos or a short walkthrough.

The assistant gave no number, because none was published for that service, and it didn't leave the visitor stuck. More ideas for this trade are in AI chatbot for cleaning services, and the knowledge structure is covered in Writing chatbot knowledge.

Questions and answers

What if a visitor insists on a number?

The assistant repeats your published price or range. If there is none, it says an exact price needs a few details and offers the request form.

Can the assistant offer discounts?

Only discounts written in your approved information. It is instructed never to invent discounts or special terms.

My website still shows old prices. Is that a problem?

Yes. The website scan drafts only prices written on your pages, so outdated prices can end up in the draft. Update the site first, then review the draft carefully.

Should I publish prices at all?

If you can give a starting price or a range, do. The assistant can then answer the most common question directly instead of always asking for details.