Guide
How to choose an AI assistant? 12 questions for the provider
Short answer
It is worth choosing an AI assistant based on written answers to twelve questions; a demo is not enough for this. The three most important: where it gets its answers from, what it does when it does not know the answer, and where it stores the data. If a provider does not give a clear answer to these, the other questions no longer matter.
This list was written by the SmartAIAssist (formerly SmartAIChat) team. For each question we also give our own answer, so that you can measure us by the same standard as anyone else.
Source: EU AI Act, Article 50 (transparency obligations)
The 12 questions
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Where does it get its answers from? Good answer: exclusively from the content you have uploaded, with source citations. Bad answer: “from the internet too”. With us: only from the knowledge base, with a descriptive source label next to the answer.
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What does it do when it does not know the answer? Good answer: it does not guess; it asks for contact details and hands over to a human. With us: in the 90-day sample, 6.3 percent of answers were deflections; in these cases the assistant offers a handoff, and you can see what it did not know.
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Where is the data stored, and which model provider is used? Ask for the region and the list of sub-processors in writing. With us: AWS Frankfurt, an EU model endpoint; the list of sub-processors is on the data security page.
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What is the unit, and how large is the allowance? Message, conversation, question or token: it makes a difference. With us: the answered question, greetings do not count; 500 answered questions per month at the entry tier.
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What happens when the allowance runs out? An automatic invoice, a shutdown or an advance warning. With us: an email at 75, 90 and 100 percent, no surprise invoices. Once the allowance is used up, a 10% grace margin applies free of charge; after that the assistant shows a polite form on which the customer leaves their contact details, and you are notified. An add-on pack (500 questions, €9.90 excl. VAT) and an automatic tier upgrade apply only if you switch them on in advance.
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How much does onboarding cost, and who does it? Behind “free” there is often a lock-in. With us: €200 excl. VAT, €100 excl. VAT with a 6-month contract and free with a 12-month contract, and the monthly fee is then reduced by 8 or 15 percent respectively. Our onboarding team does it.
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How long until go-live, and what is the condition? Ask for the condition too. With us: live within two working days, if we have access to edit your website or your web developer places the code snippet.
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What is the notice period and the commitment? With us: the monthly contract can be cancelled with effect from the end of the following month. A 6-month or 12-month contract can be cancelled at expiry, with written notice 30 days in advance; otherwise the contract renews for the same period. An offer without a commitment is also available.
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How does it disclose that artificial intelligence is answering? Under Article 50 of the AI Act this is mandatory. With us: in the header and the first message; the disclosure cannot be switched off.
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What integrations does it have? Online store platform, product data, order status. With us: Shoprenter, UNAS, WooCommerce, WordPress, Google Tag Manager. For customers with online store sync, a product match appeared in 61.9 percent of conversations.
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What reports do you get, and how often? You should see the numbers without logging in. With us: a weekly summary by email on Mondays, a monthly report by name, and an unanswered question can be taught with one click.
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What can it not do? A provider who does not answer this does not know their own product. With us: it does not order on behalf of the customer, does not give medical or legal advice, and does not talk about anything that is not in the knowledge base. The answer typically arrives within a few seconds; at peak times it can be slower.
How to test the demo
Request a preview based on your own website, and ask ten real customer questions: five that your website answers, three that it answers in part, and two that it does not answer at all. Count how many questions the assistant guesses on and how many it hands over to a human. A good ratio: eight approvable answers out of ten, and a handoff for the two it does not know.
When an AI assistant is not right for you
If you receive fewer than ten customer questions a month, a good FAQ page is enough. If answering requires writing into an internal system (recording a booking, changing an order), you need custom development. If your customers expect medical or legal advice, the assistant is only useful up to the handoff.
Next step
See the prices – all prices excluding VAT, no surprise invoices. Or request a demo on your own website and try it with the ten questions above. The demo is free of charge, with no obligation to order.
Methodology
The list of questions is based on our own onboarding experience, our 90-day platform data and the market survey of 5 October 2026. For each question we also give our own answer, so that it can be checked.
Changelog
- 2026-10-06: first version
Sources
- EU AI Act, Article 50 (transparency obligations) · eur-lex.europa.eu
- Own platform data, 90 days of use, 2026-07-08 – 2026-10-06 · own data · smartaiassist.eu/data/after-hours-questions/
- How much does an AI chatbot cost in 2026? · own data · smartaiassist.eu/knowledge/how-much-does-an-ai-chatbot-cost-2026/
Found a mistake, or do you have more recent data? Write to
and we will review it.
Frequently asked questions
How to choose an AI chatbot? 12 questions for the provider
Is there one AI chatbot that is right for everyone?
No. There is one that is right for your case: the allowance, onboarding, integration and data handling fit your company. That is why we give you a list of questions in place of a ranking.
Can you decide without trying it?
It is not advisable. Request a preview based on your own website, and ask ten real customer questions. Watch how many questions it guesses on and how many it hands over to a human.
What does source citation mean?
It means that next to the answer you can see which document or page it came from. Without it, you cannot check whether the assistant is saying what is in your content or making something up.
Is it mandatory to disclose that the customer is talking to artificial intelligence?
Yes. Since 2 August 2026, Article 50 of the EU AI Act has required that the customer knows they are not talking to a human. Ask how the provider discloses this, and whether the disclosure can be switched off. It should not be possible.
What is the difference between an FAQ chatbot and an AI assistant?
An FAQ chatbot gives pre-written answers based on keywords. An AI assistant formulates an answer to the specific question from the uploaded content. The latter can do more, but without source citations and handoff it can also make more mistakes.
Related pages
See it with your own content.
The automatic preview is ready after you submit, and is deleted after 24 hours.
In the example conversations, the assistant's answers are given by artificial intelligence. Disclosure under Article 50 of the EU AI Act: "Artificial intelligence, not a human".