Key dos and don’ts in chatbot development for 2025

Technology isn't usually the problem when bots underperform. More often, it's because they are rushed, misaligned, and designed without the user in mind. Many teams build bots because "we need one"—not because they’ve thought through what the bot should actually do.

In 2025, building a chatbot isn’t just about having a presence—it’s about building a smart, reliable frontline across every touchpoint: your website, your pricing page, a help assistant inside your mobile app, or a WhatsApp chatbot.

Whether it’s through a web widget or a mobile SDK, your chatbot is often the first (and sometimes only) interaction a prospect or customer has with your brand. It can answer queries, qualify leads, offer invoices, or escalate issues—but only if it’s built with purpose.

Templates are a starting point. But to build a bot that actually works, you need:

• Clear goals
• Real user data
• A design mindset that puts your customer journey first

In this guide, we break down the most important dos and don’ts in chatbot development, along with real examples, pitfalls to avoid, and how platforms like our own Zoho SalesIQ help you build bots that don’t just talk—but connect.

How to build a chatbot (Checklist before you begin)

The biggest mistake teams make is jumping straight into bot builders. Before opening a visual chatbot flow editor, take a moment to pause. Build your foundation first.

The pre-build blueprint:

• Define a single, clear goal. Your bot can’t do sales, support, onboarding, and feedback collection in one go. Pick one primary goal to start.
• Understand your users. Who will use this bot? First-time visitors? Logged-in customers? Enterprise buyers?
• Map your top use cases. Don’t guess. Use past support queries, live chat logs, or CRM notes.
• Design for edge cases. What if someone types gibberish? Or gets angry? Or abandons midway?
• Choose the right platform. Go for a platform that supports both simple visual builders and advanced scripting (like Zobot in Zoho SalesIQ).

Pro tip: You don’t need to solve everything in the first launch. Build a Minimum Lovable Bot (MLB), test it, and iterate.

✅ Things to do in building a chatbot

Do: Start with a clear goal

We often hear from first-time clients that they want to launch a chatbot meant to handle support, sales, and onboarding in one flow. But we usually advise against this. When a bot tries to do too much at once, it overwhelms users, leading to confused conversations and higher drop-off rates.

That’s why having a clear objective is one of the most important principles in chatbot design. A focused bot creates smoother conversations and better outcomes—for both users and businesses.

So, before you build anything, ask:

What’s the primary goal?

Example goals:

• Qualify leads for the sales team
• Answer shipping and refund queries
• Book a product demo
• Collect NPS feedback after a purchase

👉 SalesIQ lets you build focused bots—like a lead gen bot on your pricing page and a support bot on your help portal.

Do: Know your audience deeply

The tone, complexity, and flow should adapt based on who's using the bot.

For example, use simpler, friendly language for general consumers or more detailed prompts for expert users.

Also, choose channels where your audience is most active. You can also use segmentation or routing rules to present different flows (e.g., VIP vs. first-time users) based on visitor type.

👉 Zoho SalesIQ supports multi-channel deployment (website, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.). With SalesIQ, you can use visitor segmentation and routing rules to show different flows based on user type, behavior, or location.

Do: Map out conversation flows visually

Use flowcharts or tools like Zoho SalesIQ’s Zobot (codeless bot builder) to visualize every scenario:

• What happens if the user says “no?"
• What if they ask an unrelated question?
• Where does the bot redirect if the user goes off-script?

Pro tip: Do your initial mapping on paper or a whiteboard. It helps you see the entire conversation flow clearly, spot overlaps or dead-ends early, and align your team before you start building. A 30-minute sketching session can save hours of revisions later.

👉 In SalesIQ, use the drag-and-drop UI to add conditions, actions, and paths, all with no code.

Do: Keep it simple

It’s natural to want your bot to sound smart. But overloading it with long replies, complex menus, or heavy jargon often creates friction instead of clarity.

Instead:

• Use short, helpful responses
• Offer buttons or quick replies
• Stick to one decision per message

Think of your bot like a helpful concierge, not an encyclopedia.

Do: Provide a human touch (Without pretending it’s human)

Give your chatbot a friendly, on-brand personality and tone. But never lie—users should always know they’re talking to a bot.

Example:

You can add the user’s name when possible or reference past interactions for a personalized feel. Use conversational phrasing. Inject empathy. And when it’s time to hand off to a human, be transparent.

👉 SalesIQ allows easy agent transfers with full chat history carried forward.

Do: Use real customer data to train the bot

Don’t guess what users will say. Look at real chat transcripts. Find patterns:

• “Where’s my order?”
• “Can I talk to someone?”
• “Do you deliver to Dubai?”

Build responses based on those. Train the bot to understand phrasing variants.

👉 Zoho SalesIQ makes this easy by letting you pull training data from chat history and FAQs, creating bots that sound real—not robotic.

Do: Personalize responses with context

Imagine two users land on your site:

• One is a new visitor from Singapore
• One is a returning visitor from Mumbai who viewed your pricing page yesterday

Should they get the same response? Of course not.

Modern bots are expected to be context-aware, not one-size-fits-all. If a returning user lands on your site, your bot should recognize that.

Examples of personalization:

• “Welcome back, Sam! Would you like to pick up where we left off?”
• “I see you’re on our pricing page—need help choosing a plan?”

👉 With Zoho SalesIQ’s visitor insights, your bot can: -> Greet returning users by name -> Engage based on previous interactions (like an abandoned cart) -> Offer personalized discounts or demos

Do: Test like you’re the customer

Before launch, act like your worst customer:

• Ask weird questions
• Misspell inputs
• Change topics mid-chat
• Leave the chat open and return 3 hours later

This reveals breakpoints and shows where your bot might confuse or frustrate users.

👉SalesIQ’s Trial Run feature lets you simulate these interactions. Don’t skip this—it often reveals the most valuable improvements.

❌ Things to avoid in building a chatbot

Don’t: Make it a sales pitch machine

Bots that only sell feel pushy.

Mistake: A customer types, “What’s your refund policy?” The bot replies, “Before that, would you like 10% off our new plan?” That’s a fast way to lose trust.

Instead: Prioritize value, not conversion. Provide help. Offer relevant content. Then gently upsell.

👉 SalesIQ lets you set smart rules: If a visitor’s behavior suggests interest (e.g., 3+ visits to pricing), only then trigger sales prompts.

Don't: Create a no-escape chatbot trap

One user shared:

Avoid this trap. Every chatbot must be designed with an exit strategy—because getting stuck is worse than getting no reply.

At the very least, your bot should include:

• A clear human fallback option
• A timeout rule when it doesn’t understand
• An offline message when agents aren’t available

In some cases—like when the user is okay with delayed support or when the business owner is a solopreneur—it helps to go a step further:

Send a follow-up message or email so that your operators can respond later.

Fallback isn’t just about escalation—it’s about respecting the user’s time and ensuring they aren’t left in limbo.

👉 SalesIQ allows seamless bot-to-agent transfers, with full context carried over—including what the user said and where they came from.

Don’t: Neglect security and privacy

Never overlook data protection. Even simple bots can mishandle data. Make sure:

• You ask only for essential info (like name, email)
• You follow GDPR or local privacy laws
• You clearly explain how data will be used

Trust takes time to earn—and a second to lose.

Don’t: Over-complicate the UX

Deep menus, eight-question flows, and logic trees with too many options will tank your completion rate.

Users prefer straightforward chats that help them achieve a goal. Industry experts advise that it’s better to “set the bar low” and help users accomplish one task simply rather than trying too much at once.

Too many options or deep menus can overwhelm users. Keep conversation paths concise and expand only after your core scenarios work flawlessly.

Don't: Ignore user feedback

Solicit and act on feedback. Chatbots improve over time, so ignore those thumbs-up/thumbs-down ratings at your peril.

See what questions users asked or where they gave poor ratings. Then refine the bot: update its scripts, add missing answers, and tune NLP training.

Don't: Launch without analytics

The biggest mistake? Thinking your work ends at launch. Bots without feedback loops decay over time.

Without analytics, you won’t know:

• Where users drop off
• What’s confusing
• Which intents are failing

What to track:

• Completion rate vs. drop-off points
• Most-used options
• Missed intents or fallback rates
• Lead quality from bot-generated interactions

👉 SalesIQ includes bot performance reports, bot flow analytics exit paths, and goal tracking. You can even test different flows.

The future of chatbots

The bot of the future is:

• Context-aware
• Multilingual
• Voice-enabled
• Emotionally intelligent

AI + Human Touch is the way forward. Gartner predicts that by 2027, 70% of customer interactions will involve emerging tech like chatbots, up from 15% in 2021. But the human agent will still matter—bots will just handle the first mile.

As expectations rise, businesses that design thoughtful, value-driven bots will win. The rest will just annoy users.

Build chatbots with Zoho SalesIQ

Zoho SalesIQ offers a chatbot builder that’s flexible, scalable, and truly intelligent.

Whether you’re a small business or an enterprise, you can build:

• A no-code builder for business users
• Zobot framework for developers using Deluge, GPT, or Dialogflow
• Deep integration with CRM, Desk, and Analytics
• Support for multi-language conversations
• Trigger-based messaging to engage visitors at the right time
• Bots that switch to agents with one click

👉 Start building your chatbot the smart way.

Reference: