Hey, I run a small online store selling handmade jewelry, and like most solo e-commerce owners, I was drowning in the same customer questions day after day: “What’s your shipping time?” “Do you ship internationally?” “What’s the return policy?” “Can I change my order?”
I’d answer them manually through live chat, but it was eating up 3-4 hours a day, time I needed for actually fulfilling orders and creating new designs.
Then I decided to finally build a proper **FAQ chatbot** using **Tidio** (the platform I was already using for live chat). I went with their visual Flows builder instead of the full Lyro AI agent at first, because I wanted something simple I could control 100%. The whole thing took me less than 45 minutes to set up, and the results blew me away.
Before vs. After (Real Numbers From My Store – November 2025)
- **Before**: ~120 support chats per day → I personally handled 85% of them → Felt like a full-time job.
- **After launching the FAQ bot**: ~70% of chats now resolved automatically → I only jump in for the complex stuff → Freed up ~20 hours/week.
- Bonus: Conversion rate went up 9% because visitors got instant answers and kept shopping instead of bouncing.
Step-by-Step: How I Built My FAQ Bot in Tidio
I started completely from scratch – no templates (though they have great FAQ ones if you want to save even more time).
- **Logged into Tidio → Chatbots (the little robot icon on the left)**
Clicked “Add from scratch” in the top right.
- **Set the Trigger**
I chose **“Visitor clicks on chat icon”** – that way the bot only activates when someone actually opens the chat (no annoying pop-ups for casual browsers).
- **Added the First Decision Node (Buttons)**
Used the **Decision – Buttons** action.
Message: “Hey there! 👋 How can I help you today?”
Buttons (kept it to 3 max for clean look):
- Shipping & Delivery
- Returns & Refunds
- Product Questions
- Something else → Talk to a human
- **Built the Responses**
For each button, I dragged in a **Send a chat message** node with the full answer pulled straight from my FAQ page.
Example for “Shipping & Delivery”:
“We ship worldwide via DHL and USPS! 🇺🇸🇪🇺
US orders: 3-5 business days (free over $50)
International: 7-14 days
Track your order here: [link]
Need it faster? Let me know!”
- **Made It Loop Back (My Favorite Part)**
After each answer, I added a **Delay** node (5 seconds) → then connected it back to the original button question.
This lets customers ask multiple questions without restarting the whole chat – feels super natural.
- **Disabled Text Input at the Start**
Added the **Disable text input** action right after the trigger.
Forces people to use the buttons (keeps things tidy and stops random spam). If they really need a human, the “Something else” button instantly re-enables typing and transfers them to me.
- **Added a Safety Net**
Global fallback message: “Sorry, I didn’t catch that – here are the most common topics again!” and it re-shows the buttons.
Done. That’s literally it.
A Few Pro Tips I Learned the Hard Way
- Keep buttons to 3 max – looks clean on mobile.
- Always end answers with a question (“Anything else I can help with?”) – encourages the loop.
- Test it yourself in incognito mode. I found two weird connection bugs that way.
- If your FAQ list is huge, start small (top 5-7 questions cover 80% of chats).
Should You Use Templates Instead?
Honestly? Next time I’ll just grab one of their pre-made FAQ templates from the “Solve problems” tab – they’re already optimized and you can tweak in seconds. I only built from scratch because I’m stubborn and wanted to learn the nodes.
(If you don’t have Tidio yet, grab it here – they have a totally free plan that includes unlimited basic chatbots: Tidio.com I’ve been using it for 18 months and it’s genuinely the easiest live chat + bot combo I’ve tried.)
Final Thoughts
This simple FAQ bot went from “nice-to-have” to an absolute must-have in my business. Customers love the instant answers, I’m not chained to my laptop, and my support feels way more professional.
If you’re getting the same 10 questions over and over, stop copying and pasting answers – spend 30-45 minutes building (or grabbing) an FAQ bot in Tidio. You’ll thank yourself next week.
Have you tried building one yet? Drop a comment if you want me to share my exact node screenshot!
