AI agent vs a chatbot
They look similar in a chat window, but they are not the same thing. A chatbot talks. An agent does the job. For a merchant, that difference is the difference between a message and a sale.
Trying to decide which one your merchant business actually needs? See our decision guide for builders merchants.
Talking versus doing
A chatbot answers questions from a script or a knowledge base. It can be helpful, but when a real enquiry comes in, the best it can do is hand it off, usually by taking a message or pointing the customer at a page. It does not know your live stock, it cannot price a job, and it cannot place an order. An agent is built to complete the task. It reads the enquiry, checks your systems, makes a decision and acts, producing a quote or an order rather than passing the buck.
Otis is an agent, not a chatbot. That is why it turns a website conversation into a real, priced order in your system, instead of another message for someone to chase.
Side by side
A chatbot
Answers from a script, points to pages and takes messages. It does not see your stock or pricing, cannot quote and cannot place an order. Helpful for simple questions, but the real enquiry still lands on a person, often too late.
An AI agent
Reads the enquiry, checks live stock and account pricing, quotes the job and creates the order in your system. It acts within the limits you set, works all hours, and hands your team finished orders rather than messages.
What it means in practice
Pricing
A chatbot cannot price. An agent quotes from your live data.
Orders
A chatbot takes a message. An agent creates the order.
Outcome
You pay a chatbot to deflect questions. You measure an agent on trade won.
Get an agent, not a chatbot
Book a call and see Otis do the job, not just talk about it.