The latest marketing trend is the use of messenger chat bots. More specifically, Facebook Messenger chat bots.
In the last few weeks, I’ve noticed one of my business mentors using them to help with her marketing. One of my FinTech consulting clients also started using messenger chat bots to help their customers with the onboarding process.
Large companies are considering using Facebook Messenger bots as well. A couple of months ago I was speaking at a conference for credit card issuers and we broached the subject. Companies wanted to know how to use this tool because they knew it could lead to more money in their pockets.
Should you use chat bots?
The jury is still out in terms of whether or not chat bots are here to stay. On the one hand, many marketers are using them with great success. On the other hand, some fear messenger bots are an invasion of privacy and feel uneasy about using them to retrieve sensitive information.
Where you fall on this spectrum will determine how you decide to use chat bots in your business. Some businesses use Facebook Messenger chat bots purely for marketing tool while others use chat bots for payments. With that being said, here are three ways to use chat bots in your business to help you get paid.
Customer Service
If you want to get paid as a business (and continue to get paid) you need responsive customer service. We’re already accustomed to using chat bots in the form of phone trees whenever we call a company’s 800 number, so it’s not a huge stretch to use Facebook messenger chat bots for this as well.
For example, a customer may message your Facebook business page with a concern or inquiry. You can mimic a conversation with chat bots based on commonly asked questions or concerns. If that chat bot doesn’t meet the needs of the inquiry, you can also give a “Talk to a human option” (kind of like pressing “0” on a phone tree).
Nurturing via Marketing
Another way to use Messenger chat bots is for marketing. We already send email marketing out to people’s inboxes, so why not send them via messenger as well? For instance, one of my colleagues sends out a series of blog posts via Facebook Messenger while my mentor uses chat bots to alert people of her Facebook Lives.
The good news is chat bot autoresponders are very similar to that of email. Additionally, people can opt-in by typing a specific word into the messenger system so it’s easy to build a list.
Collecting Payments
Facebook users in the U.S. have had the option to use it’s P2P payment feature since 2015. In early 2017, they announced they were taking it global.
From a numbers perspective, this is genius. After all, there’s a pretty high chance your customers have a Facebook account and already spend a lot of time there.
Similar to the phone tree example, this also wouldn’t be a huge stretch from something marketers already do. Using a Facebook messenger chat bot to collect payments would be similar to selling products via email. The only difference is you’re appearing in their messenger inbox instead of their email inbox.
Final Thoughts
While we don’t yet know how long Facebook messenger bots are going to be around, it may be a good idea to look into them. Many businesses are already using them with great success so strike while the iron is hot.
How Chatbots Can Help You Get Paid Faster
For freelancers and small businesses, late payments are one of the most common cash-flow headaches. A well-built chatbot can quietly close that gap by handling the repetitive parts of billing — sending reminders, answering “where’s my invoice?” questions, and pointing customers to a payment link the moment they’re ready to pay. Used thoughtfully, chatbots to get paid faster are less about flashy automation and more about removing the small frictions that delay a customer’s “yes.”
Automate invoices and payment reminders
The biggest win is consistency. A chatbot never forgets to follow up, so overdue invoices get a polite nudge on schedule instead of slipping through the cracks. Pair a messaging bot with solid billing habits — our guide to effective invoicing and our breakdown of what it really takes to get paid both pair well with an automated reminder flow.
Answer billing questions instantly
Many payments stall simply because a customer has a question they can’t get answered quickly. A chatbot can resolve the most common billing and account questions around the clock, then hand off to a human for anything complex. If you’re assembling a payments stack, these fintech tools for business can sit alongside your chatbot to streamline collections.
Setting Up a Payment Chatbot the Right Way
You don’t need a huge budget to start. Begin with a single, clear job — such as sending invoice reminders or sharing a payment link — and expand only once it works reliably. Keep the conversation short, always offer a “talk to a human” option, and make the path to payment obvious in as few taps as possible.
Choose a reputable platform and protect customer data
Because a payment chatbot touches sensitive information, choose an established platform with strong security and clear privacy practices, and never ask customers to send full card or bank details inside a chat thread. For consumer-facing guidance on using payment apps safely, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a useful reference.
Key Takeaways
Chatbots help you get paid by making billing faster, friendlier, and more consistent — not by replacing genuine customer relationships. Start small, keep data secure, and treat the bot as one tool inside a broader plan to grow income, like the ideas in our roundup of AI-powered side hustles. For broader help running and getting paid as a small business, the U.S. Small Business Administration offers free resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a chatbot actually collect payments?
Yes. Many messaging platforms let a chatbot share a secure payment link or guide a customer to a checkout page, so the customer can pay within or just outside the chat. The bot handles the conversation, while a trusted payment processor handles the actual transaction.
Are payment chatbots safe to use?
They can be, as long as you use a reputable platform and never collect full card or bank numbers directly in the chat. Rely on established, secure payment processors for the money movement and keep the chatbot focused on reminders, questions, and linking out to a protected checkout.
Do small businesses really need a chatbot to get paid?
No business strictly needs one, but a chatbot can save hours of follow-up and reduce late payments, which makes it especially valuable for solo operators and small teams. Start with one simple use case and scale up only if it clearly saves you time or speeds up collections.
