The Chatbot Commoditization Trap and How to Avoid It

Generic chatbot deployment faces increasing price pressure. Vertical specialization can improve differentiation when the workflow reflects domain needs, such as appointment booking and insurance-query handling for dental practices. Test pricing power with buyer interviews and a scoped pilot rather than assuming a fixed premium. Pick the vertical by the conversations the bot must handle, not the industry name: a dental practice needs booking tied to its calendar, insurance and payment questions, and a clean handoff for clinical questions the bot must never answer. Record which requests the first deployment resolves without a person and which it hands off; that record is the sales asset for the next practice. In interviews, ask what the front desk does today with those calls and messages.