If you’ve set up a chatbot in HubSpot and have no clue if it’s actually helping, you’re not alone. Tracking and reporting on chatbot performance is where most teams get stuck—either drowning in numbers or staring at dashboards that don’t mean much. This guide is for anyone who wants real answers about what’s working (and what isn’t) with their HubSpot Chatflows chatbot.
Whether you’re a marketer, sales manager, or the “accidental tech person,” you’ll find out what’s worth tracking, how to actually get the data, and how not to waste time on vanity metrics.
1. Know What You’re Actually Trying to Measure
Before you even log in, get clear about what you want your chatbot to do. Not all bots are built for the same job.
Ask yourself: - Is your bot there to qualify leads? - Book meetings? - Route customer support questions? - Just greet visitors and hand off to a human?
You can’t measure “success” if you don’t know what that looks like. Write down 1-2 real goals for your chatbot. Skip the “drive engagement” fluff. For example: - “Book 10 meetings per month via the bot.” - “Reduce support tickets by 20%.” - “Collect emails from 50% of new website visitors.”
Once you’re specific, you’ll know what to track—and what to ignore.
2. Get to Know HubSpot Chatflows Reporting (and Its Limits)
If you’re using HubSpot Chatflows, you’ll find some reporting built in. But let’s level-set: It’s not enterprise-grade. The default dashboards cover the basics, but if you want deep analysis, you’ll need to roll up your sleeves (or export your data).
What you get out of the box: - Chat volume (total conversations started) - Chat engagement (how many people actually reply to your bot) - Drop-off rates (where people abandon the flow) - Meetings booked (if your bot is set up for that) - Contact creation (new leads captured) - Response times (if you’re handing off to humans)
What you can’t do easily: - Track custom goals without workarounds - Split data by different audience segments - Get granular funnel/path analysis
Pro tip: Don’t get hung up on what you wish you could measure. Start with what’s there. If you really need more, we’ll talk about workarounds later.
3. Set Up Tracking the Right Way
If you want good reporting, your Chatflow needs to be built for it. That means a little planning up front.
a. Label your Chatflows clearly
Give each chatbot a clear, specific name (e.g. “Support Bot – Homepage” or “Sales Qualifier – Pricing Page”). HubSpot reports by Chatflow, so vague names will have you lost in the weeds.
b. Use Properties and Custom Fields
If you want to track things like “high-quality leads” or “qualified appointments,” make sure your bot is saving that info somewhere: - Add actions in your Chatflow to set contact properties (like “Bot Qualified”) - Use hidden fields to tag how the user interacted
c. Set up Conversion Points
Don’t just celebrate when someone “completes” a Chatflow. Decide what counts as a conversion: booking a meeting, providing an email, requesting a demo, etc. Make sure your Chatflow marks this with a property or triggers an internal notification.
d. Link to HubSpot CRM
Any data you collect should end up attached to a contact in HubSpot. That’s the only way you’ll get meaningful reporting over time. If your Chatflow doesn’t create contacts, you’re flying blind.
4. Find the Metrics That Actually Matter
Not all numbers are created equal. Here are the ones worth your attention—and the ones most people waste time on.
Focus on:
- Chatbot Conversion Rate
% of conversations that hit your goal (book a meeting, collect email, etc.) - Drop-off Points
Where do people bail out of the chat? Fix these spots first. - Qualified Leads Generated
Not just any contact—actual qualified leads. You’ll need to define this for your team. - Time to Resolution
For support bots: How fast do users get the answer they need? - Handoffs to Human
How often is the bot escalating to a real person? Too high = bot isn’t helping.
Ignore (or at least don’t obsess over):
- Total Chat Volume
This just tells you traffic, not quality. - Avg. Chat Duration
Longer isn’t always better. People want answers, not a novel. - “Engagement Rate”
A high rate is nice, but if nobody converts, who cares?
Honest take: Most teams get lost in vanity metrics. Stick to the numbers tied to business outcomes.
5. How to Pull and Analyze Chatbot Reports in HubSpot
Here’s how you get the data you actually care about. HubSpot doesn’t always make it intuitive, so follow these steps:
a. Go to the Conversations Reporting Dashboard
- In HubSpot, go to Conversations > Chatflows
- Click on the Chatflow you want to analyze
- Hit the Performance tab
You’ll see: - Number of conversations - Completion rate - Contact creation rate - Meeting bookings (if set up)
There are basic filters (by date range, page, etc.)—use these to spot trends.
b. Dive Into Drop-Off Analysis
This is where you find where users are abandoning your flow. - In the Chatflow editor, click Analyze to see a step-by-step breakdown - Look for steep drop-offs; that’s where people get confused or bored - Adjust your message, buttons, or logic at those steps—then test again
c. Export Data for Deeper Analysis
If you want to slice and dice: - Export Chatflow data (usually a CSV) - Combine with CRM data for better segmentation (e.g., which campaigns brought the best leads) - Use Excel or Google Sheets for custom reports; don’t get fancy unless you need to
d. Build Custom Dashboards (If You Have HubSpot Pro/Enterprise)
If you’re on a higher plan, you can create custom reports: - Go to Reports > Reports - Build a report based on Chatflow activity, contact properties, and conversion events - Pin your most important reports to a dashboard for regular tracking
Watch out: Custom reporting in HubSpot is powerful but not always user-friendly. Be prepared to fiddle with filters and data sources.
6. Advanced Tracking: Workarounds and Integrations
If you need more insight than HubSpot gives you, there are ways to get creative.
a. Use Google Analytics or Tag Manager
- You can fire events from your Chatflow (e.g., when someone reaches a certain step)
- Set up event tracking in Google Analytics for “Chat Started,” “Email Collected,” etc.
- This is useful for combining bot performance with overall website analytics
b. Integrate with Other Tools
- Zapier or HubSpot workflows can push chatbot data into Slack, spreadsheets, or other CRMs
- If you’re serious about analytics, consider piping data into a BI tool (but only if you’ve outgrown HubSpot’s built-in stuff)
c. Beware of Over-Engineering
It’s easy to get lost in integration land. Only build complex tracking if you’re going to use it. Most teams don’t need a full-blown analytics stack for a simple chatbot.
7. How to Actually Use the Data
Seeing numbers is one thing—doing something with them is another.
- Check your main metrics monthly, not daily (unless you’re running a high-traffic site)
- When you spot a drop-off or bad conversion rate, tweak one thing at a time: a message, a question, a button
- Rerun the report after a week or two and see if things improve
- Share only the most useful numbers with your team. Nobody wants a 20-slide “chatbot performance” deck
Pro tip: “Good” conversion rates vary wildly by industry and use case. Don’t chase benchmarks—just aim to beat your last month.
8. What to Ignore (and What to Watch For)
Ignore:
- “Industry average” stats—these are rarely useful
- Most “AI” features—unless you see clear, measurable results
- Endless A/B testing—pick your battles
Watch for:
- Repeated user complaints or confusion (read the actual chat transcripts now and then)
- Sudden drops in performance (could be a broken flow or website change)
- Bots annoying your best leads—if people keep hitting “talk to human,” your script probably needs work
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t let chatbot analytics become a second job. Pick a handful of meaningful metrics, check them regularly, and make small changes. If your HubSpot Chatflows bot isn’t pulling its weight, tweak it. If it’s working, don’t mess with success. The best teams watch for real impact, not just pretty graphs.
Keep it simple. Make changes. Repeat. That’s how you get a chatbot that actually helps your business—not just another dashboard to ignore.