What kinds of businesses does nanushi work with?

nanushi works with businesses of all sizes — from local cafes and retail shops to tech startups and established companies. If you need a website, web app, mobile app, or AI integration, nanushi can help.

How long does a project take?

A simple marketing website can be delivered in 1–2 weeks. A full web application or mobile app typically takes 4–12 weeks depending on scope.

Does nanushi build AI chatbots?

Yes. nanushi builds custom AI assistants and chatbots using Claude (Anthropic) and OpenAI. These can be integrated into websites, mobile apps, or internal business tools.

Where is nanushi based?

nanushi is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The team works remotely and serves clients globally.

What is a nanushi mission?

A mission is a 6-week collaborative React Native app-building challenge. Teams of developers work together to ship a real, production-quality mobile app.

ai chatbots for small business: what actually works in 2025

a year ago, "add an ai chatbot to your website" was mostly vendor hype. today, it's a real option with clear use cases — and clear limitations. as a small business owner, the question isn't whether ai chatbots are impressive technology. it's whether they actually solve a problem you have.

here's an honest look at what works, what doesn't, and how to think about it.

the use cases that genuinely make sense

answering repetitive questions. if your business gets the same 10 questions over and over — "what are your hours," "do you offer X service," "what's your pricing," "where are you located" — a well-configured chatbot can handle those 24/7 without you or your staff being available. this is the clearest and most reliable win for small businesses.

lead capture outside business hours. someone visits your site at 11pm and wants to inquire. without a chatbot, they fill out a form and wait until morning. with a chatbot, they can get basic answers, qualify their own interest, and leave their contact details in a format that's ready for follow-up. for service businesses — contractors, consultants, clinics — this alone can justify the implementation.

appointment booking triage. chatbots connected to your calendar or booking system can answer availability questions and direct users to book. this reduces back-and-forth email and gets prospects further down the funnel automatically.

product or service recommendations. for businesses with a range of offerings, a chatbot can ask a few qualifying questions and suggest the right package or product. think: an accountant whose chatbot asks whether the visitor needs personal or corporate tax preparation before routing them appropriately.

where chatbots still struggle

complex or emotional conversations. if a customer is upset, confused, or has a situation with nuance, a chatbot makes things worse. any chatbot implementation for a customer-facing business needs a clear, easy path to a human. "i'll connect you with our team" is not a failure — it's the right response.

highly specialized knowledge. a chatbot trained on general knowledge or basic FAQs will give wrong answers when asked specific questions about your products, legal situation, or technical service. the quality of the chatbot is directly tied to the quality of what you train it on. garbage in, garbage out.

first impressions for high-trust services. if you're a law firm, a financial advisor, or a medical clinic, a chatbot as the first point of contact can undermine the trust you need to build. know your audience.

what's actually available and what does it cost

the landscape has consolidated around a few tiers:

simple faq bots (widget-based): tools like tidio, intercom's basic tier, or freshchat let you configure keyword-triggered responses. these are not ai in the meaningful sense — they're decision trees. they work for very structured faq use cases and cost $20–$50/month.

gpt-powered chatbots with custom training: platforms like customgpt.ai, chatbase, or a custom build using openai's api let you upload your website content, product catalogue, or faq documents, and the chatbot answers based on that material. these actually understand natural language and give more flexible responses. cost is typically $50–$200/month for saas tools, or a one-time development fee for a custom build.

fully custom ai integrations: a developer builds a chatbot that's deeply integrated into your business — connected to your crm, your inventory, your booking system, with custom logic. this is a real development project, typically starting at $3,000–$8,000 depending on complexity.

the practical recommendation

start with whether you actually have a volume problem. if your website gets 50 visitors a month and you rarely get after-hours inquiries, a chatbot won't change your business. if you're missing leads because you can't respond outside 9–5, or you spend real time answering the same questions — that's when it's worth investing.

a simple, well-configured faq chatbot built around your actual most common questions will outperform an elaborate ai deployment that nobody maintained.

if you're a service business in ottawa and want to explore what an ai chatbot integration would look like for your specific situation, nanushi can help design and build something that fits your workflow.