Short answer: the ten companies below all build production AI chatbots, but they split into three groups — conversational AI specialists, general app-dev shops that add chatbots, and data/ML consultancies. Pick on integration depth (your CRM, helpdesk and order data), who owns the model and prompts, and what happens after launch. Pearl Lemon AI builds support, sales-qualification and internal-knowledge bots that plug into your existing stack, with projects starting from £5,000.
How we compared these companies
We assessed each firm on five things a buyer can actually verify before signing:
- Scope of build — retrieval over your own documents and data, or a scripted flow on top of a SaaS platform.
- Integrations — CRM, helpdesk, ecommerce and internal systems the bot must read from and write to.
- Escalation and handover — how cleanly the bot passes a conversation to a human, with context intact.
- Ownership — whether you keep the code, prompts and conversation data.
- Post-launch support — who tunes intents, reviews failed conversations and reports on deflection rate.
Positions are not a scoring league table. Verify current capability, references and pricing with each company directly before you buy.
Working on this yourself? Our AI Chatbot Development Services team scopes and builds these systems end to end — proof of concept in 2–4 weeks, production builds from £15,000.
1. Pearl Lemon AI
We build chatbots that do a specific job: deflect repeat support tickets, qualify inbound leads before a sales call, or answer staff questions from internal documentation. Every build starts with the conversations you already have — support tickets, sales calls, help-centre content — so the bot is grounded in your material rather than generic model output.
What a typical engagement includes: use-case and data review, a proof of concept on a slice of real conversations, retrieval over your knowledge base, integration with your CRM or helpdesk, human handover rules, and reporting on deflection and qualification rates. You keep the code and the data. Projects start from £5,000, with a written scope agreed after a 30-minute call.
2. Simform
A large product-engineering firm that adds conversational AI to wider app and cloud projects. A reasonable fit when the chatbot is one workstream inside a bigger software build rather than a standalone project.
3. EZOps Cloud
Cloud and automation engineering with chatbot work attached to operational tooling. Consider them where the bot sits close to infrastructure or internal ops workflows.
4. Naked Development
Mobile and web product studio that ships in-app assistants as part of product work. Best when the chatbot is a feature of an app you are already building.
5. App Makers LA
App development agency offering conversational interfaces alongside custom software. Suited to smaller, self-contained builds with a defined feature list.
6. Genetech Solutions
Offshore development capacity across web, mobile and AI features. Typically the lower-cost option; ask how model quality and conversation review are handled after launch.
7. Leanware
Nearshore engineering teams for custom software including LLM-backed assistants. Works well if you want an embedded team rather than a fixed-scope project.
8. Sapient
Enterprise consulting heritage, with chatbot work delivered inside wider digital programmes. Expect enterprise process, governance and pricing to match.
9. Tallium
Digital engineering firm building conversational and workflow automation for mid-market clients. Ask specifically about integration with your CRM and ticketing systems.
10. Inverita
Software engineering partner with data and AI practice areas. A candidate when the chatbot depends on non-trivial data engineering behind it.
What to ask before you sign
- Which of our systems will the bot read from and write to, and who builds those integrations?
- What happens when the bot does not know the answer — and how is that logged and fixed?
- Do we own the prompts, the code and the conversation data?
- What is measured after launch: deflection rate, containment, qualified leads, CSAT?
- What is the cost of the first phase, and what triggers a change of scope?
Want this built rather than compared?
Tell us the conversations you want handled — support, qualification or internal knowledge — and we will scope the data, the integrations and the cost. Projects start from £5,000. See our AI chatbot development service, or read about AI customer support automation.
Want results like this in your business?
Tell us the process you want to improve — we will come back with a practical AI plan, timelines and the outcomes we can realistically deliver.
Book a call
