An AI chatbot for an SME website in Switzerland costs anything from nothing to well over CHF 25,000. Ask an AI search engine and you get a different range each time. The reason: three very different products share one name. This guide splits them into three tiers, with Swiss market prices from public price lists and guides. The numbers in brackets point to the sources at the end, all checked on 25 October 2026.
The short version
- Tier 1, a builder you set up yourself: CHF 0 to 100 a month, usually with no setup fee.
- Tier 2, an AI assistant with your details: CHF 69 to 500 a month, setup up to CHF 990 at providers with a public price list. At chrismachts: CHF 390 setup, then CHF 79 per month.
- Tier 3, an assistant connected to your systems: CHF 2,900 to 25,000 one-off plus CHF 150 to 500 a month.
Three tiers, three prices
Each tier solves a different problem and is priced differently.
| Tier | One-off | Per month | What's included | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Builder | usually CHF 0 (source 4) | CHF 0 to 100 (sources 4, 5) | Fixed answers or the text of your website, set up by you | A few simple questions |
| 2 AI assistant with your details | CHF 0 to 990 (sources 1, 3) | CHF 69 to 500 (sources 1, 2, 3, 5) | Your prices, hours and services, handover to a person | Recurring questions, enquiries after hours |
| 3 Assistant with integrations | CHF 2,900 to 25,000 (sources 1, 2, 5) | CHF 150 to 500 (sources 1, 2) | Books appointments, files enquiries in your system, drafts quotes | Many enquiries, connected processes |
Tier 1: the builder you set up yourself
You enter questions and answers yourself, or you let the builder read the text on your website. One Swiss builder ranges from free to CHF 59 a month and stores its data in Switzerland (source 4). Foreign tools start at around 30 US dollars a month (source 6). The price is low, but the work stays with you. You maintain the answers and set the limits yourself.
Tier 2: the AI assistant with your details
Here a provider sets up the assistant with your prices, hours and services. It understands questions in people's own words and replies in full sentences. When things get personal or tricky, it hands over to a person. One Swiss provider charges from CHF 69 a month with setup included (source 3). Another charges from CHF 990 one-off plus CHF 99 a month (source 1). According to a provider's guide, agency projects with their own knowledge base cost CHF 3,000 to 15,000 one-off (source 2). On top of that come CHF 50 to 500 a month.
At chrismachts, setup costs CHF 390, then CHF 79 per month, and you can cancel any month. These are guide prices, and you get the fixed price in the quote after our call. The assistant knows your prices, hours and appointments and hands over to you when it gets complex. You can add it to any website package or to your existing website.
Tier 3: the assistant with integrations
The assistant books appointments into your calendar, files enquiries in your system or prepares draft quotes. Every connection to your software is work in its own right. One provider charges from CHF 2,900 one-off plus CHF 199 a month for several channels (source 1). With integration into your own systems, it starts at CHF 7,500. Guides put such projects at CHF 5,000 to 25,000 one-off plus running costs (sources 2, 5). At chrismachts, this is where an automation pilot comes in, at a guide price from CHF 1,200. That is one AI process, such as sorting enquiries or preparing quotes, and you approve before anything goes out. We build online booking into your website as a module for CHF 490.
What the monthly price covers
The monthly price looks small, but it carries the ongoing work:
- Use of the language model: A provider's guide estimates under CHF 5 for 200 conversations a month (source 2).
- Hosting: Swiss hosting costs around CHF 11 to 38 a month, according to the same guide (source 2).
- Keeping your details current: New prices, changed opening hours, a new service. The guide calls this upkeep the largest ongoing cost (source 2).
- Handover rules and overview: Who gets which question, and what the assistant must never answer. With us, you see every month which questions came in and what it handed over.
What drives the price
| Cost driver | Effect on the price |
|---|---|
| Number of topics | More services and special cases mean more details, more testing, more upkeep |
| Integrations | Calendar, inbox or accounting: every connection is work of its own and needs maintenance |
| Channels | One provider charges CHF 2,900 instead of 990 one-off for several channels (source 1) |
| Languages | Every language needs checked details and its own tests |
| Approvals | If the assistant only drafts replies for you to approve, that takes time and gives you control |
| Contract term | Agency offers often run for twelve months (source 6). Ask about monthly cancellation |
An AI phone assistant as an alternative
A phone assistant answers calls, deals with simple questions and takes callback requests. One Swiss provider charges CHF 29 a month for 50 minutes of calls (source 7). Its largest plan costs CHF 599 a month for 3,000 minutes, with extra minutes from CHF 0.40. Integrations with your own systems are quoted one-off based on effort. An agency project with a phone agent starts at CHF 7,500 at another provider (source 1). In the KMU Digital Pulse 2025 study, 39% of people in Switzerland could imagine booking appointments through voice AI (source 12). We don't offer a phone assistant. Our assistant works on your website.
Data protection, in brief and without legal advice
The contract with the AI provider. One well-known AI service uses content from its consumer plans to train its models by default, with an opt-out (source 8). For business customers, the large providers do the opposite: inputs and outputs are not used for training by default (sources 9, 10). An assistant on your website needs a business contract of that kind. We only use providers that contractually don't train on your data. Where the provider offers it, the data stays in Switzerland or the EU.
What the assistant knows. Only what you give it: prices, hours, services and answers to common questions. It doesn't need your customer database for that. You decide which data it may see.
Handover to people. When it comes to health, complaints or contracts, the assistant hands over to you or your team. It should say openly that it is an assistant. The Swiss data protection commissioner says people have the right to know whether they are talking to a machine (source 11). The framework is the Swiss Data Protection Act. The same authority says it applies directly to AI-supported data processing (source 11). This is not legal advice. Name the assistant in your privacy policy, and ask a professional if in doubt.
Worked example: one year of tier 2
This is how the assistant adds up over the first year at our guide prices:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Setup, one-off | CHF 390 |
| Running costs, 12 months at CHF 79 | CHF 948 |
| Total for the first year | CHF 1,338 |
| From the second year, per year | CHF 948 |
Spread over the first year, that is around CHF 112 a month. It covers the setup with your details, the running costs, the handover to you and the monthly overview. We quote team rules and training separately at a fixed price. One guide expects an SME to spend CHF 7,000 to 15,000 in the first year (source 5). That figure applies to projects with integrations and consulting, in other words tier 3.
When an AI chatbot is worth it
It is worth it if you recognise one of these:
- The same questions come in every week: price, opening hours, free slots, directions.
- Enquiries arrive in the evening or at the weekend, and by Monday the customer has booked elsewhere.
- Your customers write in several languages.
- Your team spends time every day giving out information that is already on the website.
It isn't worth it if your website gets hardly any visitors. Then visibility comes first, for example with your Google Business Profile and a website that gets found in AI search. It also isn't worth it if every enquiry needs personal advice, or if nobody keeps the details current. Still, 19% of people in Switzerland have already used AI to look for SMEs (source 12). They are used to simply typing a question.
A simple test: count for one week how often the same question comes in. Count the enquiries left waiting after closing time as well. With those numbers, we work out on our call whether the assistant is worth it for you. If it isn't, we tell you. The call is free, and there is more under AI at Work. No rush.
Frequently asked questions
How much does ChatGPT cost?
ChatGPT is a general AI tool that you and your team use yourselves. An assistant on your website is a different product. According to OpenAI's pricing page, the consumer plans cost CHF 0 (Free), CHF 7 (Go) and CHF 20 (Plus) a month. The Pro plan starts at CHF 83 a month (as of 25 October 2026). On these plans, content is used to train the models by default, and you can opt out. An assistant for your website needs its own setup and a business contract with no training on your data.
How much does an AI assistant cost per month?
Swiss price lists and guides put an AI assistant set up for you at CHF 69 to 500 a month. The price depends on scope, channels and integrations. Builders you set up yourself start at CHF 0. At chrismachts, the assistant costs CHF 79 per month after a setup of CHF 390, and you can cancel any month.
What is the difference between a chatbot and an AI assistant?
A classic chatbot follows fixed rules. It recognises keywords and shows prepared answers, and it doesn't understand anything else. An AI assistant understands questions in people's own words and replies from your details in full sentences. For that, it needs clear limits, testing and a handover to a person.
Is an AI chatbot worth it for a small business?
Often yes, if the same questions come in every week or enquiries are left waiting after closing time. If your website gets hardly any visitors, visibility comes first. On our call, we work out with you how many enquiries you get and how much time they cost you.
Does the assistant make up answers?
It can, if it is allowed to answer freely. That is why we set it up to answer from your details. If it doesn't know something, it says so and hands over to you. Before launch, we test it with you on difficult questions.
How much does an AI phone assistant cost?
One Swiss provider charges CHF 29 to 599 a month, depending on the minutes of calls included (as of 25 October 2026). Integrations with your own systems are quoted one-off based on effort. An agency project with a phone agent starts at CHF 7,500 at another provider. We don't offer a phone assistant. Ours works on your website.
Sources
We checked all sources on 25 October 2026. Prices and terms may have changed since then.