Questions for an AI Chatbot Developer

The short answer: before you hire an AI chatbot developer, ask where your customer data goes, who hosts the bot, how it hands over to a human, what WhatsApp costs on top of the build, who owns the code, and who fixes it after launch. Get every answer in writing.

Questions to Ask Before Hiring an AI Chatbot Developer

By Muhammad Shahbaz, Stuck Media Solutions. Use this list in your first call with any developer, including us. A good developer will answer clearly. A vague answer is information too. For our own prices, see our pricing page.

1. What happens to my customer data?

Ask which data the bot sees, where it is stored, who can read it, and how long it is kept. Ask which AI model provider receives the messages, and whether that provider keeps them. Ask how you can delete a customer's data on request. If you serve customers in the UK or EU, privacy law may apply, so ask whether the developer has thought about it.

2. Where is the bot hosted, and who pays for it?

A bot runs on a server and calls an AI model. Ask who holds the hosting account, you or the developer. Ask what the monthly hosting and AI model fees are, and who pays them. Fees depend on volume, so ask for an estimate at your expected number of chats.

3. How does it hand over to a human?

No bot answers everything. Ask what triggers a handover, how your team is told, and whether the person sees the full chat so the customer does not repeat themselves. Ask what the bot says when it does not know. It should admit it, not guess. Our guide to support automation covers handover rules in more detail.

4. What will WhatsApp cost on top?

If the bot runs on WhatsApp, Meta charges for messages separately from the developer's fee. According to Meta's pricing page, the WhatsApp Business Platform charges per delivered message, based on the message category and the recipient's country. User-to-business messages are not charged. Meta lists categories for marketing, utility, authentication and service messages. Each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month, and Meta says service messages above that are charged from 1 October 2026. Replies sent inside the 24 hour customer service window are non-template messages. Meta's rates change, so read the current page and ask your developer to estimate your monthly Meta bill from your own volume. See Sources.

5. Who owns the code and the accounts?

Ask in writing whether you receive the source code, the prompts, the knowledge base and the admin access when the project ends. Ask whether your WhatsApp Business account and AI model accounts are registered in your name. If the developer owns them, moving later is hard.

6. What support do I get after launch?

Bots need upkeep. Your prices change, your policies change and the AI model changes. Ask what is included after launch, how fast they reply to a problem, and what a monthly support plan costs. Ask who watches for wrong answers.

7. How will you test it?

Ask them to test the bot with your real customer questions, including unusual ones, before launch. Ask how wrong answers are found and fixed afterwards.

8. What is in the quote?

Ask for the scope, the timeline and the price in writing, and what is not included. Compare it with the cost drivers in our chatbot cost guide.

Red flags

• No written scope or price.
• Promises that the bot will answer every question or replace your whole team.
• The developer will not say where your data goes.
• Accounts and code stay in the developer's name.
• No plan for what happens when the bot is wrong.

If you want to see what we build, read about our AI chatbot service or WhatsApp chatbot service.

Sources

Page opened and checked on 4 November 2026.

1. Meta for Developers, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing. Per message pricing, message categories, customer service window, free service message allowance.