Two wrong expectations show up whenever chatbots come up: that one replaces a salesperson, and that one is just a pre-written question-and-answer menu. Neither is right.
What it genuinely does well
If you answer the same handful of questions ten times a day — opening hours, price range, areas covered, how long delivery takes — that is exactly what a good chatbot removes. Not because it is clever, but because it doesn't get tired and it answers at two in the morning.
Its second real use is collecting the basics before a lead reaches you. The difference between “hi, how much?” and “hi, a clothing store, around 200 products, roughly this budget, needed by the end of autumn” is an hour of your time.
What it doesn't do
It doesn't negotiate, it doesn't make someone feel understood, and it won't convince a hesitant buyer. That is your job, and it should be.
One thing matters more than the rest: language models can state something false with complete confidence. For a business quoting prices or committing to dates, that is a real risk.
How to contain it
Narrow what it can answer from. It should draw on your material, not the model's general knowledge.
Give it an exit. Wherever it isn't sure, it should say so and hand the conversation to you. A bot that says “you'll need to ask them directly” is far better than one that invents a number.
Read the transcripts. In the first month they are the most valuable thing you get — both for correcting the bot and for learning what customers actually ask.
When it isn't worth it
If you get ten messages a month, a chatbot is not your problem. If you get ten a day and half are repeats, it is.