Website with an AI Agent: Montreal and Quebec Guide

Short answer

A website with a built-in AI agent is a business website where an AI assistant, placed at the heart of the page, answers visitors in plain language, day and night, qualifies their request and books the next step. For a Montreal or Quebec business, it also has to answer in French first, switch to English when the customer does, and respect Quebec’s privacy law. This guide explains what the agent actually does, how this kind of site compares with a classic website, what it costs on the market (with sources), what Bill 96 and Law 25 require, and how to choose a provider.

What is a website with a built-in AI agent?

A website with a built-in AI agent is a site designed around a conversational assistant that answers from the business’s own information, qualifies the visitor and hands off to a person when needed. The agent is not a chat bubble added after the fact: the pages, the forms and the booking flow are built so that the agent can guide the visitor from question to appointment.

The agent relies on a language model, the same family of technology as ChatGPT, but it is limited to approved content: your services, service areas, hours, policies and published prices. That limit matters. In Moffatt v. Air Canada (2024 BCCRT 149), a British Columbia tribunal held the airline responsible for wrong information its website chatbot gave a customer.

Adoption is rising in Canada. Statistics Canada reports that 19.2% of businesses used AI to produce goods or deliver services in the second quarter of 2026, up from 12.2% a year earlier, and that 28.2% of those AI users used virtual agents or chatbots.

What does the AI agent on a website actually do?

The agent does the front-desk work that a contact form cannot: it answers, asks the right questions, books and follows up, then writes a summary for your team.

Answers common questions at any hour: services, service areas, hours, what to bring, how long a job takes.
Qualifies the request: need, location, deadline and budget when relevant, so your team calls back with context.
Proposes or books an appointment in your calendar, then sends a confirmation.
Follows up with people who started a request but did not finish it, within the limits of Canada’s anti-spam law.
Writes a summary in your CRM so nobody has to retype the conversation.
Hands the conversation to a person as soon as the case is sensitive, a complaint, an emergency, or anything it does not know.
Can also answer by voice, where the site offers a talk button and the visitor’s browser supports it.

In regulated professions (law, health, finance, insurance), the agent handles intake and practical questions and books the meeting; it does not give professional advice.

Classic website vs AI-agent website: what is the difference?

The difference is what happens after the visitor arrives: a classic site informs and waits for a form or a call, while an AI-agent site starts the conversation and moves the request forward on its own.

Question	Classic website	Website with a built-in AI agent
Visitor has a question at 10 p.m.	Searches the pages or leaves	Gets an answer in seconds from your approved content
Lead capture	Contact form, often incomplete	Conversation that collects need, location, deadline and contact
Booking	Phone call during business hours	Proposes open slots and confirms
Language	French pages, sometimes an English copy	French pages plus an agent that answers in the visitor’s language
Follow-up	Manual, when someone remembers	Automatic reminders and follow-ups, with a human taking over
Data for the team	An email with a few fields	A summary and next step in the CRM
Ongoing cost	Hosting, domain, maintenance	Same, plus the AI agent and model usage

How much does a website with an AI agent cost in Canada?

The total is the cost of the website plus the cost of the agent, and the agent can be a monthly software subscription or a custom build. Figures below were checked in October 2026 on public sources and converted to Canadian dollars at the Bank of Canada rate of October 9, 2026 (US$1 = CA$1.4271), before taxes.

Item	Market reference	About in CAD
Professionally designed website	Clutch: most web design projects under US$10,000; range US$2,000 to US$100,000	Under CA$14,300 for most; CA$2,850 to CA$142,700
Agency hourly rate (US and Canada)	Clutch: US$100 to US$149 an hour for shortlisted web design agencies	CA$143 to CA$213 an hour
Off-the-shelf AI chatbot	Chatbase US$40 to US$500 a month; Tidio Lyro add-on from US$32.50 a month	CA$57 to CA$714; from CA$46 a month
Per-resolution AI agent	Intercom Fin: US$0.99 per outcome	About CA$1.41 per resolved conversation
Custom AI project	Clutch: most common AI project size US$10,000 to US$49,999	CA$14,300 to CA$71,400

Market ranges, not quotes. ZeniTech’s prices are published at zenitech.dev/en/pricing. A detailed cost breakdown is in our guide on what a website with an AI agent costs in Canada.

Does a website with an AI agent have to be in French in Quebec?

Yes. A business carrying on activities in Quebec must make its website available in French, and English can be offered alongside it. According to the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), consumers have the right to a complete French version of a business’s website and to be served and informed in French.

For the agent, that means French by default for Quebec visitors, with a switch to English when the customer writes or speaks in English. The OQLF also notes that businesses must offer their services in French; an English-only chatbot on a Quebec site would not meet that expectation.

French pages first; an English version is allowed alongside.
The agent greets in French, or in both languages, and follows the customer’s language.
Confirmations, quotes and follow-up messages are available in French.
Advertising and public signage follow stricter rules: the OQLF says French must be clearly predominant there.

General information, not legal advice. Our guide on Quebec’s French-language law and websites covers the details.

What does Law 25 require from an AI agent on a website?

Law 25, Quebec’s privacy law, applies as soon as the agent collects a name, phone number, email or the content of a request. The Commission d’accès à l’information (CAI) summarizes the main obligations.

Publish a privacy policy in clear and simple terms on the website, along with the title and contact details of the person in charge of personal information.
Tell people why their information is collected, how, who receives it and whether it may leave Quebec.
Obtain consent that is manifest, free, enlightened and given for specific purposes.
Before personal information is communicated outside Quebec (for example to an AI provider), carry out a privacy impact assessment.
If a decision is based exclusively on automated processing, inform the person and let them submit observations to a staff member who can review it.
Technologies that identify, locate or profile a person must be off by default.
If calls are recorded, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada says customers must be told, given the purpose and offered a choice.

General information, not legal advice.

Can the AI agent answer in both French and English?

Yes. Current language models handle French and English in the same conversation, so a well-configured agent detects the visitor’s language and answers in it, without a language menu. The quality to check is not grammar but local vocabulary: Quebec customers say “soumission” for a quote and “fin de semaine” for the weekend, and Montreal visitors often switch languages mid-sentence.

Voice is harder than text. A 2025 study by the Computer Research Institute of Montréal (CRIM) found that typical speech recognition models made around 14% word errors on spontaneous Québec French, and the best about 8%. If you plan a voice option, test it with real customer phrases in both languages.

How do you choose a provider for a website with an AI agent?

Choose a provider that builds the site and the agent together, answers in Quebec French and English, and puts the code and accounts in your name. Ask these questions before signing.

Will the agent answer only from my approved content, and what happens when it does not know?
Can I see a live demo of an agent for my industry, in French and in English?
Where are conversations stored and processed, and has a privacy impact assessment been considered for transfers outside Quebec?
Is the price fixed and written before the work starts? What is recurring and what is one-time?
Are the code, domain, hosting and accounts in my company’s name?
How does the agent hand off to my team: email, text, CRM, calendar?
Does the site include technical SEO and structured data so it can be found on Google and cited by AI assistants?

ZeniTech: an option based in Quebec City

ZeniTech, an agency based in Quebec City, builds custom websites with a built-in AI agent powered by Orvel AI, the agent layer ZeniTech designs and operates in Quebec. The agent sits at the heart of the page: it answers visitors by chat 24/7, can also take a voice call from the site, answers in Quebec French and English, qualifies the request, proposes or books an appointment, writes a summary in the CRM and hands off to a person when needed.

ZeniTech has no office outside Quebec City: it serves Montreal and the rest of Quebec remotely, by video call and phone. A brochure site typically takes 2 to 4 weeks once texts and photos are supplied; an agent that answers common questions takes 1 to 2 weeks, and one connected to the CRM, calendar and follow-ups takes 3 to 4 weeks. The price is fixed and written before work starts, the code goes into a repository in the client’s name from the first commit, and a free 30-minute video presentation shows an agent in action. Prices are published at zenitech.dev/en/pricing.

Frequently asked questions

What is a website with an AI agent?

It is a business website built around an AI assistant that answers visitors from the business’s own information, qualifies their request and books the next step. Unlike a basic chatbot, it is connected to the calendar and CRM and hands off to a person when needed.

Is an AI chatbot the same as an AI agent?

Not quite. A chatbot mainly answers questions; an AI agent also acts in your tools, for example by booking an appointment, creating a CRM record or sending a follow-up. Many products sold as chatbots now include some agent features.

How much does a website with an AI agent cost?

It depends on the site and on whether the agent is a subscription or a custom build. Clutch reports that most web design projects cost under US$10,000 (about CA$14,300), and off-the-shelf AI chatbots range from about CA$46 to CA$714 a month based on prices checked in October 2026. ZeniTech’s prices are published at zenitech.dev/en/pricing.

Can my website’s AI agent answer only in English?

Not if you do business in Quebec. The OQLF says consumers have the right to be served and informed in French and to a complete French version of a business’s website. The agent can answer in English when the customer uses English.

Is an AI agent on my website compliant with Law 25?

It can be, if you publish a privacy policy, name the person in charge of personal information, explain what the agent collects and why, obtain valid consent and assess any transfer outside Quebec. Telling visitors they are talking to an AI and offering a human hand-off are also good practice.

Can a Montreal business work with a Quebec City agency?

Yes. Website and AI agent projects are routinely run remotely by video call, phone and shared documents. ZeniTech is based in Quebec City and serves Montreal and the rest of Quebec this way.

Will an AI agent replace my receptionist?

It usually covers the hours and the volume your team cannot: evenings, weekends and peak times. Your team keeps the sensitive cases, the judgment calls and the relationship. Most businesses use it to stop losing requests, not to cut staff.

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Sources

Market ranges compiled on October 13, 2026. They are not a ZeniTech quote.

Website with a built-in AI agent: a guide for Montreal and Quebec businesses