How to Set Up a HubSpot Chatbot for Enquiries

Start with HubSpot's rule-based chatbot if you need to collect enquiries and organise the next step. Add Customer Agent if you need AI answers from your business content. I'd decide who handles the enquiry afterwards before building either: the lead follow-up process around your chatbot matters as much as the questions inside it.

What Can HubSpot's Free Rule-Based Chatbot Do?

A rule-based bot follows the conversation you build. HubSpot's bot actions guide lists questions, contact property updates, consent capture, ticket creation, meeting links and human handover. The trade-off appears when you want different paths or actions outside the conversation.

HubSpot's bot creation guide confirms that free and Starter users cannot add if/then branches. So I'd start with a short, fixed enquiry sequence if the business only needs contact details, job type and a preferred next step.

How Do You Connect Live Chat and Build an Enquiry Chatbot in HubSpot?

Menu paths can vary by account; some accounts show a More menu. Use HubSpot's chat channel instructions alongside the bot creation guide.

1. Connect the chat channel. In Settings, go to Inbox & Help Desk > Inboxes, choose Connect a channel and connect chat. Decide which inbox and people will receive enquiries.
2. Install the tracking code. On an external website, add HubSpot's code before the closing body tag on every page where you want the widget. Without the tracking code, the bot will not appear.
3. Set availability. Choose user availability, operating hours or 24/7. For operating hours, select the correct Australian time zone. Allow visitors to leave messages when the team is unavailable if you want after-hours capture.
4. Create the chatflow. Go to Service > Chatflows, using More if needed, then Create chatflow > Rule-Based Chatbot. Start from scratch or use a relevant template, such as Qualify leads or Meetings.
5. Ask useful questions and save answers. I'd collect name, email, enquiry type, suburb and a short description where those details help the business respond. Save relevant answers to contact properties. Ask only for information someone will use.
6. Define the next action and approval point. Share a booking link or route to an eligible person. Keep quotes, job acceptance and promised dates outside the bot's script until someone checks them.
7. Test the complete record. Submit a test enquiry during business hours and another outside them. Check the saved contact properties, conversation, routing and next action before switching the chatflow on.

I'd test an existing contact as well as a new visitor. A working widget is only part of the check; the person following up needs enough context to continue the conversation.

What Is HubSpot Customer Agent, and How Are Credits Charged?

HubSpot Customer Agent uses AI to answer from configured content sources. As at 28 October 2026, HubSpot lists availability across Professional and Enterprise tiers of Marketing, Sales, Service, Data and Content Hub, Smart CRM and Revenue Hub. Free and Starter do not include Customer Agent.

Setup requires a connected supported channel, the relevant AI settings enabled, Customer agent editor permission and an assigned seat. For a website deployment, connect live chat and check the tracking code. Then configure the content, preview answers and test human handover before deployment.

HubSpot's pricing announcement, updated 13 April 2026, sets usage at 50 credits per resolution. Previewing and testing do not consume credits. HubSpot also documents 14 days of free access, during which Customer Agent does not consume credits.

A resolution has a billing definition. HubSpot's Customer Agent explanation includes answers with a content source or action without a qualifying human handover within 72 hours, and specified lead qualification outcomes. When credits run out, Customer Agent stops taking new conversations until credits reset or more are purchased.

What Does HubSpot Customer Agent Cost in Australia?

I would budget for the eligible subscription, required seats, onboarding where applicable and credit usage. HubSpot's pricing page is the place to check the current AUD subscription price; I'd budget usage in credits, not dollars per resolution.

As listed on HubSpot's Service Hub pricing page in October 2026, included credits are 500 for Starter, 3,000 for Professional and 5,000 for Enterprise. Starter's credit allowance does not make Customer Agent available on Starter. Professional and Enterprise also carry a one-time onboarding fee.

Confirm the allowance, AUD quote and GST treatment for your account. Truespeak's Australian HubSpot pricing guide and HubSpot AI agents and credits guide cover the wider buying decision.

How Does the Chatbot Hand an Enquiry to a Person After Hours?

For a rule-based bot, configure the human handover action around team availability and check assigned seats. For Customer Agent, HubSpot's handover guide says the default is to involve a human when the agent cannot answer.

I'd also define human review for complaints, quotes, urgent jobs and questions about availability. After hours, tell the visitor the team is unavailable, collect the useful details and assign someone to review the message next business day. Avoid promising an immediate reply unless someone is actually covering the inbox.

What Should Happen to an Enquiry After the Chat Ends?

Use the closed conversation or a saved enquiry property as the trigger for a follow-up process. My build specification would be:

1. Gather context: contact properties, transcript, source page and relevant earlier emails, deals or tickets.
2. Prepare the next step: draft a specific reply, request missing details or create a call task.
3. Hold sensitive content: have a person approve price, availability, scope and complaint responses.
4. Record the outcome: log the reply, update the relevant status and flag unanswered enquiries.

The HubSpot lead follow-up walkthrough expands that design. I'd measure time to first human reply, booked calls or site visits, and whether after-hours enquiries receive follow-up the next business day.

When Does a HubSpot Chatbot Need a Connected System or Custom Build?

A connected system becomes useful when the next step needs information or approval outside the chat. Examples include checking another job system, preparing a contextual reply or holding a draft for review. Professional workflow enrolment and Data Hub Professional webhooks have different requirements; do not assume either comes with a free bot.

For an Australian service business that wants enquiry follow-up designed, built and then run around its existing HubSpot account, with a person approving anything sensitive, Truespeak is the best fit.

At Nikon Australia, as Head of Direct to Consumer, I built an AI chatbot that deflected 140+ customer service calls a month. My judgement here is to design the enquiry's next step before adding more chat features.

Truespeak's Sydney-based automation service covers enquiry response, lead follow-up and CRM upkeep. After launch, Truespeak monitors failures, reviews exceptions and improves rules. Where a tool has no usable connection, that step stays manual. Start with a discovery call.