TL;DR:
We recently unveiled the latest upgrades to Gorgias Helpdesk during Moments that Matter: Meet the Modern Helpdesk.
The event was hosted by Bora Sheha, VP of Product Design, with updates from John Merse (VP of Product), Fraser Bruce (Senior Solutions Consultant), Nicole Simmen (Senior Manager, Customer Implementation), and a customer story from Michael Duran (Operations Manager, Authentic Brands).
From quality of life improvements to brand new features, here’s what’s waiting for you in Gorgias.
Watch the full presentation here:
Agents shouldn’t have to dig for context. Every conversation now comes with Ticket Summaries. Whether an agent has jumped into a ticket mid-conversation or is dealing with a new customer, these AI-generated summaries tell the whole story in no time.
We’ve also given the Customer Timeline a makeover. Now, you can glance at past tickets and order updates in one clean view. Plus, a dedicated Order View lets agents dive into past purchases without leaving the ticket or opening a new tab.
Agents have always had visibility into customer history, but now that context is easier to act on.
Ticket Fields automatically tags tickets with AI-detected reasons, whether that’s shipping questions or product feedback, to help organize your conversations more effectively.
Then, add in another layer of data using Customer Fields (in beta) to note whether you’re speaking to a longtime, VIP customer or a customer with a history of high returns.
All of this data can be funneled into your ticket reports, making it easier for your team to discover new insights about your products, support quality, and more.
Taking your brand global doesn’t have to mean hiring a whole new team or spending extra on a localization tool. AI-powered translations (in beta) will soon be available on the helpdesk.
Finally, your team will be able to support customers in any language in real-time. Customers write in their native language, agents respond in theirs, and the exchange feels natural on both sides.
How many times has an urgent ticket been buried at the bottom of your inbox? The new Priority Scoring system prevents that by automatically labeling tickets as Low, Normal, High, or Critical based on your Rules.
For example, you might label a negative Facebook comment with threatening sentiment as ‘High,’ or bump high-value shoppers to the top with a ‘Critical’ label. This ensures your team always sees the conversations that need the most attention, so no sensitive issue slips through the cracks.
Now in beta, our flow-based IVR (interactive voice response) system lets teams on Gorgias Voice build customized call journeys for every type of conversation. Route customers through interactive menus, segment them based on their data, or direct them to voicemail, and schedule SMS follow-ups and callbacks.
To match agent availability, you can set business hours per phone number and per channel across storefronts. Teams also have more flexibility with ring strategies (ring available agents all at once or one at a time), wrap-up time between calls, and faster availability refreshes.
We understand that CX teams need more than surface-level KPIs—they need to know what’s actually driving performance, revenue, and retention.
With Dashboards, you can build reports focused on CX data you care about, from agent performance to product return trends. Then, filter by store or sub-brand to zoom in on the details each team is responsible for.
We’re also introducing the Human Response Time metric to show how quickly your team responds to escalations from AI Agent. This gives you a clear sign of what issues require human attention, how fast they’re resolved, and whether you need to adjust staffing.
Leave the moving to us—we now manage migrations in-house. Depending on your plan, our Implementation team will transfer emails, customers, macros, and more for you. Combined with 99.99% uptime, switching platforms is smoother, faster, and more reliable than ever.
For accelerated performance, consider our 50-in-50 implementation program, which aims to resolve 50% of your ticket volume using AI Agent within 50 days.
Enterprise customers receive a dedicated Enterprise CSM, optimization workshops, and 24/7 support to get the most out of Gorgias from day one.
Our teams are hard at work changing the landscape of customer experience. Here’s what’s on the Gorgias Product Roadmap:
Our latest helpdesk updates make it easier than before to create memorable customer moments.
As Bora Sheha, our VP of Product Design, said, “We hope that the tools we’re building help you spend less time on robotic work, and more time on impactful human work that grows your businesses through the power of conversations.”
If you’re not on Gorgias yet and want to see what’s possible, book a demo today.
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TL;DR:
Sizing has long been a friction point for ecommerce fashion shoppers.
Without the ability to try items on, 58% of shoppers resort to "bracketing"—ordering multiple sizes of the same piece and returning what doesn’t fit.
While it gives customers a temporary fix, it ultimately creates frustration for them and logistical headaches for brands.
The result is rising return rates, higher costs, and wasted resources. To break this cycle, ecommerce brands need to rethink how they guide shoppers toward the perfect fit. The good news is that many brands are already showing the way by using AI-powered tools and smarter product experiences to replicate the fitting room from the comfort of home.
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Recent data highlights just how severe the return challenge has become for fashion and apparel retailers:
In addition, rapidly rising concerns around sustainability and climate change, as well as heightened awareness around over-consumption, are prompting consumers to make changes in their purchasing habits.
Brands who prioritize well-fitting, long-lasting pieces and reduce carbon footprints and the amount of clothing diverted to landfills by lowering returns can actually benefit from a strategic edge.
“Those who choose to approach sustainability with a long-term mindset even while battling short-term problems will be rewarded with more efficient business operations and a competitive advantage,” writes McKinsey in its State of Fashion 2025 report.
Most brands already have size charts, but shoppers don’t want to measure themselves, or find those charts to be inaccurate.
When shoppers lack confidence in choosing the right fit, they either abandon their carts or rely on bracketing, both of which lower profitability and customer trust.
Forward-looking fashion and apparel brands are solving sizing issues by using tools for a more intuitive shopping experience. This ultimately helps them build loyalty, increase retention, and reduce returns.
Rather than purely providing static size charts on your website, opt for AI-generated personalized fit recommendations instead.
For example, European fashion retailer Zalando reduced size-related returns by 10% using AI-driven advice.
The brand flags whether an item is true to size or not. It also offers the ability for customers to see recommendations based on logged fit-based return reasons, past purchases, and other clothing items that fit them well.
Zalando also launched a body measurement feature in 2023 where shoppers can actually scan themselves for more accurate size advice.
As AI grows in proficiency, there are more tools than ever to help shoppers visualize product scale and fit.
For example, accessory shop LeSportsac uses Tangiblee, a product experience tool, to help customers understand scale and what fits inside each bag.
Performance hunting gear shop KUIU takes another approach. It uses a photo-based layering guide, so shoppers can see how the size and fit look with multiple layers on a model. Different model stats shown within product photography give contextual sizing cues.
Sleep shop Cozy Earth takes a similar route, stating model height and size on product photos.
Some brands are helping shoppers pick the right size with interactive quizzes based on factors like height, weight, and the sizes of other clothing items that fit well. SuitShop is among those brands using a Fit Finder quiz on its website.
Similarly, Psycho Bunny leverages the AI tool True Fit as a size finder on product pages.
Ergonomic shoe brand Orthofeet eliminates sizing qualms altogether by including customizable inserts inside each box. Fitting spacers ensure a snug fit and arch enhancement for those who need it, helping shoppers get comfortable shoes that fit.
Jonas Paul Eyewear shares the “try it on at home” approach, offering a free or low-cost home try-on kit.
Gorgias Shopping Assistant helps brands meet that need by delivering human-like guidance at scale, giving shoppers instant answers that feel personal.
For example, VESSEL uses Shopping Assistant in chat to provide real-time support on sizing and inventory, helping customers choose with confidence. By addressing fit questions directly, Shopping Assistant reduces returns and builds trust at the point of purchase.
Similarly, outdoor clothing retailer Arc‘teryx provides an “ask me anything” AI chat where shoppers can confirm any questions they have around fit or sizing.
Sizing for ecommerce fashion and apparel brands has become a business-critical challenge. With 70% of returns tied to fit issues and nearly half of shoppers abandoning purchases over inconvenient returns, brands that replicate the fitting room online stand to gain a competitive advantage.
From Zalando’s 10% reduction in size-related returns to VESSEL’s use of AI-powered chat, the path is clear: investing in smarter size chart solutions pays off with higher retention, lower costs, and stronger sustainability.
The brands that provide fitting room-level experiences online now will set themselves apart from the rest.
Book a demo to see how Gorgias, the leading conversational commerce platform, helps fashion brands cut returns, drive sales, and deliver fitting-room level experiences online.
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TL;DR:
According to 2025 Gorgias data, chat inquiries are resolved in 24 minutes versus two days on email. It’s no wonder customers prefer live chat over any other support channel.
If you aren’t already offering live chat, it might feel like a big commitment. But when the end product is happier customers, it’s high time to catch up.
Thinking about offering live chat? Learn more about the benefits of live chat customer support, how it differs from chatbots, when and how to use it, and the best live chat tools to use based on your team’s needs.
Live chat support is a form of customer service that uses a chat widget to intake customer inquiries. Ecommerce websites, browser-based tools, and mobile apps typically offer live chat in combination with other customer service channels like email, phone, and social media.
Depending on the business, live chat support availability can vary. Some businesses choose to run live chat within their operating hours, while others extend 24/7 availability with the help of automation, conversational AI, or a dedicated off-hours team.
Related: Customer service messaging: Tips and templates for SMS + conversational channels
The main difference between live chat and chatbots is the option to speak to a live human agent.
With live chat support, customers always have the option of speaking to a live human agent. Meanwhile, chatbots can only provide customers with automated responses, whether preconfigured or generated by AI.
Live chat doesn’t just make support faster—it helps you close more sales.
Aside from quick answers, customers want confidence to buy. In fact, Hiver reports that 63% of consumers prefer live chat over phone and social media, mainly because they get instant answers while they’re still browsing.
Here are the benefits of implementing live chat for your business:
Read more: A guide to resolution time: How to measure and lower it
Live chat shines in situations where timing directly impacts whether a customer buys your product or walks away. These conversations often happen before a purchase, like when a shopper is deciding between products, has concerns about shipping, or wants to confirm your return policy.
Use live chat in these moments:
Moment |
Why Live Chat Works |
---|---|
Before a purchase |
Provides instant product education, assurance, and curbs hesitation due to a lack of information |
Order-related concern |
Resolves time-sensitive questions on shipping or changes before the customer bounces |
Checkout hesitation |
Reduces cart abandonment by addressing doubts |
FAQs |
Deflects repetitive tickets through automation, freeing agents for complex conversations |
High-value customers |
Offers high-touch service that reinforces loyalty and drives repeat purchases |
Bulk orders |
Accelerates large sales by delivering clarity when urgency is high |
You don’t need a large support team to offer high-quality live chat support. Sure, live chat can feel risky if you’re a brand with a lean CX team or high ticket volume, but when you automate the right types of conversations, it becomes one of the most impactful support channels.
Start with high-frequency, low-complexity inquiries. These are repetitive questions that don’t require an agent to resolve:
These types of tickets typically make up the bulk of your live chat volume. Automating them clears the way for agents to focus on conversations that require more specialized knowledge and nuance.
The best live chat isn’t only a messaging tool, it also comes with features that make the support agents using it more productive.
Here are the top automation features to improve live chat:
Good live chat messages are quick, helpful, and easy to follow. Poor live chat messages are slow, robotic, or long-winded.
Follow these guidelines to help keep your replies effective and consistent:
Do ✅ |
Don’t ❌ |
---|---|
Respond within your target SLA |
Leave customers waiting |
Keep responses concise |
Send long, wordy messages |
Use macros and templates as a starting point |
Manually type everything again and again |
Ask clarifying questions |
Assume you understand everything |
Be transparent if you need more time |
Promise something you can’t deliver |
Confirm resolution before ending the conversation |
End the chat without checking if the issue is solved |
Adding live chat for the first time or want to make your current setup more manageable? Start with these five steps:
You don’t need to be online at all times to offer live chat. Start by choosing live chat hours that reflect your team’s availability and peak shopping hours.
Remember to display your availability on your website clearly to manage customer expectations.
Customers who reach out to you via chat are active on your site and often close to purchasing.
Create rules in your helpdesk that flag live chat conversations as urgent, so they don’t get buried under slower channels like email. If you have a dedicated agent who handles chat, route all chat tickets to them for instant visibility.
Set up an auto-response that triggers immediately when someone starts a chat. Even a short message like “Hey! Thanks for your message, an agent will be right with you,” can reduce drop-off and give your team time to prep.
Templates that work in email may be too wordy in chat. Shorten your macros, simplify the tone, and make sure each response fits cleanly into a chat window. Use dynamic variables to pull in details like order number or shipping status without slowing down your agents.
Customers don't stop having problems when your team clocks out. When someone tries to chat outside business hours, collect their email so an agent can follow up once your support team is back online.
If you’re evaluating live chat software, here are five solid options to start with. Each one fits different team sizes and priorities.
Tool |
Pricing Model |
Best For |
Standout Feature |
Limitation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gorgias |
Per ticket |
Ecommerce brands |
Conversational AI that handles support and drives sales with upsells, recommendations, and context-aware discounts |
Limited AI features for non-Shopify ecommerce stores |
Zendesk |
Per user |
Large CX teams with dev resources |
Highly customizable for large support orgs |
Built for general use, not ecommerce; limited email AI; high setup cost |
Intercom |
Per user |
SaaS and product companies |
Built-in onboarding and product messaging tools |
Not ecommerce-focused; limited integrations and high AI cost |
Tidio |
Per ticket |
SMBs looking for budget automation |
Affordable chatbot + live chat combo |
Lacks visual upsell tools and struggles with complex sales questions |
Richpanel |
Per user |
Early-stage teams |
Simple UI and fast time to launch |
Buggy UI, no AI Agent, slow updates, poor Shopify automation |
Gorgias helps ecommerce brands deliver fast support without cutting into your budget. Automate common questions with conversational AI, resolve tickets in seconds, support and sell, and give your team the context they need to handle complex conversations with one tool.
Want live chat that takes support to the next level? Book a demo.
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TL;DR:
Today, order visibility is table stakes. Around 50% of consumers actively track their order status to confirm it's progressing smoothly and staying on schedule.
Whether it’s order anxiety or excitement, shoppers want to see their order's status and location at any given time. Even better when they can get real-time alerts via SMS or at each point in an order’s journey.
So if you haven’t set up order tracking yet, now’s the time, because your customers already expect it. Here’s everything you need to know about the benefits of tracking customer orders and how to implement an order tracking tool for your Shopify store.
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Ecommerce vendors like Amazon have normalized order tracking. Today, most, if not all, customers expect to know where their order is.
Offering real-time tracking data for orders benefits both your customer and your business in five distinct ways:
Recommended reading: Ecommerce returns: 10 best practices for taking your online store to the next level
Here’s how to set up order tracking for Shopify stores:
As an example, we’ll show you how to set up order tracking on a Shopify store with AfterShip Tracking.
First, choose an order tracking tool like ShipBob, ShipStation, or AfterShip. These tools pull order information, tracking numbers, and shipment status to generate shipping updates for your customers.
Pro Tip: It’s best if your order tracking app integrates with your helpdesk, so that you can offer faster, context-rich customer support.
Read more: 12 best shipping software tools for ecommerce stores
Install your order tracking app of choice via the Shopify App Store. For us, it will be AfterShip Tracking.
To complete the integration, go to the AfterShip Tracking dashboard. Click Apps > View more apps > Shopify > Install app. You’ll be redirected to your Shopify settings. Read through the privacy and permission details and click Install app.
Pro Tip: Not sure if you did it correctly? Your store URL will be labelled as “Connected” on the Shopify connection page.
Time to load your order tracking app with your Shopify data. This is a crucial step to ensure your app uses your courier and order details.
On Aftership Tracking, go to Apps > Store connections > Actions to set up these two actions:
Finally, connect your order tracking app to your helpdesk.
When customer messages, shipping data, and tracking information are connected, your team can:
Read more: How to connect AfterShip Tracking to Gorgias
It’s important to make order tracking accessible to customers, wherever they are. And since more than 68% of orders are done through smartphones, it’s critical to design every tracking touchpoint with a mobile-first experience in mind.
Order tracking should be available in:
Depending on your needs and the ecommerce platform you use, choose from options that are both scalable and flexible.
ShipBob is a global logistics platform that helps ecommerce brands provide fast, affordable shipping and best-in-class order fulfillment. Its connected technology and fulfillment network improve delivery times, reduce costs, and elevate the customer experience.
Standout features:
Check out ShipBob in the Shopify App Store or the BigCommerce App Store.
AfterShip is a shipment tracking and notification platform that helps ecommerce brands keep customers informed and improve delivery transparency. It streamlines post-purchase communication and makes it easier to spot delivery issues before they affect customer experience.
Standout features:
Check out AfterShip in the Shopify App Store and the BigCommerce App Store.
ShipStation is a shipping software solution that helps ecommerce businesses save time and money by comparing carrier rates and delivery times in one place. It automates shipping workflows to ensure customers get fast, cost-effective delivery.
Standout features:
Check out ShipStation in the Shopify App Store and the BigCommerce App Store.
ShipMonk is a third-party logistics (3PL) provider that helps ecommerce businesses scale with fast, affordable fulfillment services. Its technology-driven platform streamlines order, inventory, and warehouse management to deliver a seamless post-purchase experience.
Standout features:
Check out ShipMonk in the Shopify App Store.
Whether you ship 50 or 50,000 orders a month, Easyship can help you lower shipping costs and increase conversion rates. Use this extension to manage your post-purchase process in the most efficient way for your business.
Read more about Easyship in the Magento Marketplace.
Recommended reading: 12 best shipping software for ecommerce
The Mageworx Order Editor extension lets you edit customer errors. Quickly fix any mistakes customers make during checkout like incorrect street numbers, phone numbers, names, shipping, or billing details.
You can also add or remove products, change pricing, and add coupons after an order has been placed. This saves your customer support team from having to cancel the order and start it again from the beginning.
Learn more about Mageworx Order Editor in the Magento Marketplace.
Use Gorgias to centralize order tracking, automate status updates, and deliver real-time delivery info, all in one place. By deflecting repetitive WISMO tickets, your team saves time, boosts CSAT, and focuses on higher-value conversations that drive retention and revenue.
Book a demo to see how Gorgias integrates with your order tracking system.
TL;DR:
While your competitors are still making customers wait days for email replies, the smartest brands are having conversations that close sales in real time.
Instead of forcing customers to search through FAQs or go through an automation loop, conversational commerce lets you have instant chats through live chat, messaging apps, and even AI assistants.
In this guide, we’ll explain conversational commerce, where it delivers the most value, and how to start using it to drive revenue and improve CX without overwhelming your team.
Conversational commerce means using real-time, two-way conversations as your storefront. Rather than bottling up questions in FAQ pages or forcing customers to wait for your support team to respond, you can instantly connect via:
Maybe someone is on your product page and asks a question like, “Does this jacket run large?”. Through chat, they get an instant answer, increasing the chance of a sale. Or a shopper receives personalized recommendations via WhatsApp and checks out, all without leaving the app.
These channels allow you to meet customers where they already are, effortlessly. When paired with AI chatbots, you can deliver fast, accurate responses 24/7, even while your team is off the clock. That means better experiences for your customers and more sales captured for your brand.
Conversational commerce bridges the gap between shopping and support. It turns your support team (and AI tools) into revenue drivers by helping shoppers feel seen, heard, and ready to buy.
Conversational commerce means bringing your storefront into the flow of conversation, wherever that happens for your customers.
Here’s where those conversations typically happen:
This is a chat widget on your site, often in the bottom right corner, where shoppers can ask questions and receive immediate answers from a human agent or automation.
It’s a quick path to support or purchase, which one agent can manage multiple chats from simultaneously, boosting efficiency and keeping things personal.
These smart helpers use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand what shoppers mean beyond what they type. They guide customers through questions, offer product suggestions, handle FAQs, and can sometimes complete transactions right in the chat, even handling post‑purchase support like order status or returns.
Natural Language Processing (NLP): The processing of understanding and interpreting natural language using computers. NLP is used in tasks such as sentiment analysis, summarization, speech recognition, and more.
Think WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and SMS—the apps where customers already spend their time in their day-to-day. Instead of sending them to shop on your website, you bring the shopping to them. Answer their questions, provide recommendations, and win purchases in a channel they already trust.
Voice assistance isn’t limited to smart speakers like Siri and Alexa anymore.
Now, AI voice support lets brands deliver natural conversations over the phone, without needing a massive contact center team. These AI voice agents can:
AI-powered voice support combines the human feel of a phone call with the speed and accuracy of automation. It's especially useful for high-ticket products, customers who prefer calling, or peak season overflow when your human team is maxed out.
Conversational commerce isn’t a CX buzzword. When done right, it directly impacts your bottom line.
Here’s how it pays off for ecommerce brands:
When customers can ask questions and get answers in real time, whether it's sizing info, shipping details, or help choosing between products, they’re far more likely to hit “buy.”
Success story: Clothing brand Tommy John generated $106K+ in sales in just two months through conversation-led upselling and cross-selling, with a 15% conversion rate.
Conversational commerce tools like AI agents help offload the repetitive support tasks, including answering questions like “Where’s my order?” or “What’s your return policy?”
With that time back, agents get time back to:
Instead of getting buried in basic tickets, your team gets to do the work that really moves the needle for your customers and your business.
Related: Every successful marketing campaign starts with a customer question
The right nudge at the right moment, like a personalized recommendation from an AI shopping assistant, can turn a single item into a full cart. You can also recover more abandoned checkouts by re-engaging customers directly through chat or a messaging app.
Read more: You’re missing out on sales without an AI shopping assistant—here’s why
Conversational commerce lets you meet customers with a human (or human-like) touch. When your brand is helpful, fast, and easy to talk to, shoppers remember and return.
In the long run, that means better customer retention, higher lifetime value, and more organic growth through word of mouth.
Conversational commerce shines brightest when the stakes are high or when the moment is just right.
Here are the critical moments where a real-time conversation can make all the difference:
A customer’s on your product page, they’ve added an item to their cart, but are hesitating. Maybe they’re unsure about sizing, shipping time, or which variation to choose. This is where a quick, helpful chat, automated or human, comes in and becomes the difference between bounce and conversion.
Pro tip: Use proactive chat prompts based on page behavior to start the conversation before the shopper leaves.
After a customer hits “place order,” expect more questions to roll into your inbox. Where’s my order? How do I track it? What’s your return policy? Post-purchase excitement—and anxiety—is normal, and a smart AI agent helps you get ahead of these questions while putting customers at ease.
Black Friday. Holiday rush. Product drops. These are prime opportunities to boost revenue—but they also flood your support team. Conversational commerce tools help you scale without sacrificing quality, keeping shoppers happy and sales flowing.
If you sell skincare, supplements, tech, or anything that requires a bit of education, your customers likely need guidance before they commit. A personalized conversation helps them find the right fit and feel more confident in their purchase.
Conversational commerce sounds exciting, and it is. But before you dive in, it’s worth thinking through a few key factors to set your team (and your customers) up for success.
You don’t need a full-blown chatbot army on Day 1. Start with your highest-impact touchpoints, like pre-sale FAQs or WISMO questions, and layer in automation over time. The goal is to generate clear ROI early, then expand once you see traction.
Here’s how to gradually implement automation into your CX process:
The goal isn’t to automate everything, it’s to automate smartly so your team can spend time where it counts: high-touch sales, VIP support, and strategic growth.
Do you have in-house agents ready to handle live chat? Or do you need automation to handle the bulk of it? Make sure your setup aligns with your team’s bandwidth.
Pro tip: Tools like Gorgias AI Agent and Shopping Assistant can handle the support and sales heavy lifting, making them perfect for lean CX teams.
Your customers aren’t just on your website. They’re messaging on Instagram, browsing via mobile, or checking their texts. To deliver great conversational commerce, you’ll want to show up in the places your shoppers already use.
Pro tip: Don’t spread your efforts too thin. Start with the channel that aligns with your goals and customer behavior, live chat, SMS, or social DMs, and build from there.
Ready to make conversational commerce part of your CX strategy? You don’t need to overhaul your tech stack or hire a whole new team. With Gorgias, you can start fast, stay lean, and scale smart.
Here’s how:
Gorgias AI Agent is designed to take repetitive tickets off your team’s plate, from “Where’s my order?” to “How do I make a return?” It understands natural language, pulls in relevant customer data, and responds in seconds—all using your brand’s approved knowledge.
The result is faster responses, fewer tickets, and more time back for your team.
While AI Agent, covers the support front, Shopping Assistant is your digital salesperson. It engages high-intent shoppers in real time, recommends the right products, and even upsells or cross-sells based on what the customer is browsing.
Whether it’s helping someone choose the perfect shade or nudging them to complete their cart, Shopping Assistant is designed to increase AOV and reduce abandonment.
Every time a shopper lands on your site, scrolls through Instagram, or replies to a shipping update, they’re opening the door to a conversation. The brands that show up quickly, helpfully, and with the right message, are the ones winning loyalty and revenue.
With AI Agent, you can automate accurate responses to common questions, giving your team time back without sacrificing customer experience. And with Shopping Assistant, you can turn those conversations into conversions, offering personalized recommendations, upsells, and discounts based on shopper intent.
You don’t need a massive team or months of setup to start. Just the right tools, and a strategy built for your customers.
Book a demo and learn how Gorgias helps you turn every conversation into an opportunity to grow.
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TL;DR:
Forrester’s 2024 Customer Experience Index reports that 39% of brands’ customer experience (CX) quality has declined over the past year.
It can be challenging to get a full understanding of how your team—and AI, if you use it—are truly performing.
This is true even with metrics like CSAT.
“A 5-point scale only tells you and your agents so much, and relying on consumers providing feedback further limits what you’re able to look at and learn from,” says Kayla Oberlin, Senior Manager of Customer Experience at amika.
Quality Assurance (QA) is becoming a more crucial component of a customer experience strategy, especially one that prioritizes customer happiness.
We’ll cover the importance of customer service QA, best practices, tools, and tips to implement QA effectively.
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In the CX context, QA (Quality Assurance) refers to reviewing customer conversations to improve your support team’s performance and enhance customer satisfaction. QA ensures a consistent and satisfying customer journey across touchpoints, including your website, support channels, and social media.
Aside from accuracy issues, a manual quality assurance process is:
The solution isn’t for CX teams to skip the QA process altogether but to automate it.
According to research from McKinsey, “A largely automated QA process could achieve more than 90 percent accuracy—compared to 70 to 80 percent accuracy through manual scoring—and savings of more than 50 percent in QA costs.”
With an automated QA process, brands can:
According to Statista, 94% of customers are more likely to purchase again after receiving top-notch support. Quality assurance ensures that every customer gets the same experience, and provides agents with the feedback to learn and stay on-brand with each resolution.
At its core, QA:
Addressing errors early is important, as even small mistakes can harm customer trust and create lasting negative impressions. QA tools can prevent mistakes because of better coaching and training. This can stop misinformation in its tracks –– and from escalating into bigger problems down the line.
QA makes sure that all customer touchpoints, like calls, emails, live chat, and even AI responses, are handled with the same level of care. This is especially helpful when training new team members, introducing new products or policies, or during high-traffic periods.
Consistent and reliable experiences build customer trust and loyalty. If you were to reach out to a brand and have an amazing experience the first time but a bad experience the next, you’d probably question which experience was the norm.
Top-notch experiences that happen time and time again tell your customers that you’ll always be there to help. This can boost repeat sales and even referrals: According to Statista, 82% of customers recommend a brand after a great experience.
Aside from increasing happiness and making customers feel heard and appreciated, personalized support also affects your bottom line. Statista notes that 80% of businesses found that providing personalized customer experiences led to increased spending for consumers.
With QA, teams are able to rate and review all tickets instead of spot-checking. This provides them with a:
Whether it’s lowering resolution times, introducing a knowledge base, or adding AI Agent to your team, making continuous improvements will help you stay ahead of the competition.
Implementing a QA program (especially if you can automate it) is one of those additions that provides you with the refinements you need on a resolution-to-resolution level.
QA best practices include:
As you set out to integrate a Quality Assurance process into your CX program, first establish benchmarks for various metrics and KPIs. These benchmarks help track and evaluate the performance of QA as you implement it.
If you don’t already track customer support metrics, CSAT, first response time (FRT), resolution time, and net promoter score (NPS) are great ones to start with.
💡Tip: If you use Gorgias, you’ll find your current support performance statistics in the Statistics menu. Make sure that you can see back at least six months. Then, compare an equal time frame for post-QA implementation.
While it might sound a bit “meta” to monitor your quality assurance (which is already monitoring your support responses), it’s still worth noting.
Ensure that your QA process works smoothly, helps your metrics rather than hurts them, and provides actual helpful feedback to your agents.
The simplest way to maintain your support quality standards is to use an automated QA tool. Automating the QA process lets CX teams get deeper insights into agent strengths and areas for improvement, and captures deeper insights than a CSAT score could.
Understanding how customers feel will allow you to fine-tune your processes and ensure you’re delivering a consistent and high-quality experience. Here are a few ways to collect feedback:
Lack of resources, ineffective training, poor communication between team members, not having the right tools, and doing everything manually are some of the challenges you can encounter when adding a QA process.
Here are a couple of solutions we recommend:
By prioritizing QA, your team can identify potential problems early, reduce errors, and improve overall performance, leading to a smoother, more reliable experience for customers –– and your CX team.
In the long run, brands that focus on QA can gain a competitive edge, building stronger relationships with customers and driving sustainable growth. Book a demo now.
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Let's talk about something that often gets overlooked in ecommerce: what happens after someone hits that "Place Order" button. You might think the hard part's over once you've made the sale, but here's the thing the post-purchase experience can make or break your relationship with customers.
In today's competitive online marketplace, those relationships are everything — especially considering that loyal customers spend an average of 67% more per purchase than new customers.
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Providing an excellent post-purchase customer experience can turn one-time customers into loyal advocates who are more likely to make repeat purchases and recommend your brand to others.
When someone buys from your store, they're not just getting a product — they're starting a relationship with your brand.
A great post-purchase experience shows customers you actually care about their satisfaction beyond just making the sale. 90% of U.S. customers say that an immediate customer service response is "important" or "very important.”
When you nail this part, something magical happens: one-time shoppers transform into passionate advocates who not only come back for more but can't help telling others about their amazing experience with your brand.
Having accessible support and an efficient and easy returns process may make the difference between a happy customer and an unsatisfied one.
Trust is everything in online shopping. When customers feel supported after making a purchase, they're much more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt if something goes wrong down the line.
It's like building a friendship: every positive interaction adds another layer of trust. And that trust translates directly into repeat business and glowing recommendations.
The post-purchase support experience makes a huge difference in building that trust. In fact, 96% of customers say excellent customer service builds trust.
Great post-purchase support can actually help reduce your return rates. By addressing concerns quickly and providing clear information upfront, you can prevent many returns before they happen.
This can save you money on shipping and restocking and create a smoother experience that keeps customers happy and your business healthy.
Automation eliminates manual tasks, freeing up your team to focus on more strategic initiatives. By automating repetitive tasks, you can improve efficiency and productivity, allowing your team to focus on more value-added activities.
You can automate everything from customer support to returns and exchanges to your order tracking and more. Besides meeting customers' straightforward needs, automation allows you to focus your team's energy on solving bigger problems and strengthening customer relationships.
Automation helps ensure consistency across all your post-purchase processes.
When customers know they can count on a reliable experience every time they shop with you, it builds confidence in your brand.
Plus, fewer mistakes mean happier customers and less time spent fixing problems.
Speed matters in today's world, and automation helps you deliver faster, more personalized responses to customer needs.
Whether it's instant order updates or quick responses to questions, automation helps you meet and exceed customer expectations. The result? More satisfied customers who feel valued and understood.
Here are some ways to automate the post-purchase experience:
Streamline the returns process with automated return labels, tracking, and updates. Use ReturnGO to automate this process, saving time and reducing manual errors. With automated returns, you can provide a hassle-free experience for customers, encouraging them to return to your store in the future.
Automated returns can help to improve the customer experience by making the returns process easier and more convenient. 65% of customers say the speed and ease of refunds affect where they choose to shop.
By automating tasks such as generating return labels and tracking packages, you can reduce the time and effort required for customers to return items.
Think about it from their perspective — if returning an item is hassle-free, they'll feel more confident buying from you in the future. It's like having a safety net that makes customers more comfortable taking chances on new products.
In today's fast-paced world, customers expect quick and efficient support. Using a customer experience platform like Gorgias, you can manage all your customer support tickets in one place, making it easier to provide fast, accurate help when people need it.
By centralizing your post-purchase support, you can manage support tickets more efficiently, respond to customer inquiries quickly, and provide the most up-to-date information. This centralized approach can hugely improve response times.
Nobody likes being left in the dark about their order. Automated post-purchase notifications keep your customers informed every step of the way - from order confirmation to delivery and returns. Using tools like ReturnGO, you can send personalized updates that make customers feel looked after. This is essential for building customer loyalty.
Keeping customers informed about their orders can help reduce customer anxiety. When customers know what to expect, they’re less likely to worry about their purchase and are more likely to keep buying from you again and again.
To truly streamline your post-purchase customer service, if you connect your returns management system with your customer support system, you really bring all of the pieces of a puzzle together.
When these two systems are in sync, you can create a smooth workflow that makes things easier for both your team and your customers.
By automating tasks like creating support tickets and processing returns, you can save time and create a more reliable, efficient system that helps you serve customers better. No more jumping back and forth between systems to check on a return when a customer reaches out about it.
The ReturnGO-Gorgias integration makes this happen seamlessly, with features like:
The ReturnGO-Gorgias integration makes it easy for your team to manage returns and communicate with customers without having to jump between systems to hunt for information.
So, there you have it! In the world of online shopping, how you handle the after-purchase experience can be just as important as making the sale in the first place.
By automating your post-purchase process, you can create a seamless and satisfying customer experience.
Tools like ReturnGO and Gorgias can help you create the kind of experience that builds customer loyalty.
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TL;DR:
People are only able to identify AI-generated content 46.9% of the time. That’s less than half the time!
In the ecommerce customer service industry, this is just one reason teams are getting more comfortable with using AI.
Better language processing abilities mean AI can be a better extension of CX teams, relieving agents of repetitive questions, like where is my order?, while speaking in a way that’s familiar and delightful to customers.
Upholding a strong brand voice should be one of your top priorities in CX. With Gorgias AI Agent, you can choose AI Agent’s exact tone of voice, from sophisticated to fun. Below, check out seven AI Agent brand voice examples from real customer conversations.
“We’ve had customers respond to the AI thinking they were speaking to a real person. That’s how elevated the response was from AI.”
—Emily McEnany, Senior CX Manager at Dr. Bronner’s
Tone of Voice refers to how AI Agent communicates with your customers. In Gorgias, you can select from three pre-built tone options:
Or, you can create a custom tone, keeping your brand guidelines, style guide, and target audience in mind.
Note: AI Agent and Tone of Voice are only available to Gorgias Automate subscribers.
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Explore how effectively AI Agent adapts to seven distinct tones in the examples below. First, we’ll show you what a preset AI Agent tone option sounds like, then we’ll move on to six examples using custom instructions.
Feel free to copy and paste our provided instructions to set up your AI Agent with the custom tone of your choice, or, even better, take some inspiration to create your own.
A friendly AI Agent is the go-to for most CX teams. A Friendly tone of voice is outgoing and welcomes inquiries with enthusiasm. If you were to imagine the model support agent, they would speak like this.
The Friendly tone of voice is available by default in AI Agent’s settings.
Here’s how an AI Agent with a Friendly tone of voice responds to a customer asking for samples and coupons:
Now, we move away from AI Agent’s default Tone of Voice options and toward the vast possibilities of the Custom option.
If you prefer your AI Agent get to the point in as few words as possible, create a Custom tone of voice that breaks up text into separate lines, limits paragraphs to two to three sentences, and keeps responses short.
💡 Tip: Access a custom tone of voice by going to Automate > AI Agent > Settings > Tone of Voice > Custom. A text field will appear where you can write your instructions.
Tone of voice instructions:
Acknowledge the customer's feelings by briefly repeating their initial concern(s). Break text up, don’t send entire paragraphs, and keep responses short and easy to read. Keep interactions brief but filled with empathy. We are not long-winded. Keep an informative tone while remaining professional, clear, and easy for customers to follow. Insert links where needed. Don't use too many adjectives when expressing empathy. Never tell the customer to email support or contact our customer service team.
Here’s how an AI Agent with a direct and brief tone of voice responds to a customer who wants to cancel their order:
Who says support agents can’t have personality? Bring some fun into your conversations by creating a custom tone of voice that allows your AI Agent to use emojis and exclamation points.
Tone of voice instructions:
Greet with first name only. Acknowledge the customer's feelings by repeating their initial concern(s). Be concise and provide shorter responses, try to keep your responses to a few sentences. Use a warm, positive, and engaging—like chatting with a helpful, considerate friend. Sign off with "Best Regards". Avoid jokes or comments related to sensitive topics. Make the customer feel like a friend. You can include approved emojis for a personal touch and exclamation points. Approved emojis to use: 💞🫶✨🥰💖🎀💓💘🥳💗💕💯 You should recognize and celebrate personal milestones mentioned by customers, making the interaction feel more personal. After the customer's initial message, there's no need to restate their issue in follow-up responses.
Here’s how an AI Agent with a fun tone of voice responds to a customer asking about exchanging their damaged product:
Customer support often gets a bad rep. Customers anticipate long response times and unpleasant interactions. Flip customer expectations by giving your AI Agent a calming and comforting voice that can instantly fix negative experiences.
💡 Tip: Brands in the wellness and baby industry would do well to use a comforting tone of voice for their AI Agent.
Tone of voice instructions:
Our brand embodies the role of a nurturing parent, promoting happiness, growth, and well-being while creating moments of joy and inspiration. Stay genuine and reflect childlike wonder without being overly sentimental. We maintain a positive and supportive tone, offering a safe, comforting space. Avoid admitting fault or apologizing. Be shorter in replies. Do not offer replacements. Do not give out phone numbers.
Here’s how an AI Agent with a comforting tone of voice responds to a customer asking about exchanging their damaged product:
Give your AI Agent a laid-back, “we’ve got your back” vibe that feels like chatting with a buddy. This tone keeps things casual, approachable, and like you’re ready to tackle any issue together.
Tone of voice instructions:
Sound like a gym bro. Speak casually and friendly. Be eager to help. However, do not go overboard with puns or stereotypical phrases. You may use the following emojis: 🤙💪🏋️ End responses with "Stay awesome,"
Here’s how an AI Agent with a bro-y tone of voice responds to a customer asking about glove sizing:
If your brand isn’t afraid to lean into humor and puns, this tone will definitely connect with your audience. Let your AI Agent use wit and clever wordplay to keep conversations lighthearted and customers smiling at their screens.
Tone of voice instructions:
Speak in bee and honey puns and use colorful emojis. Use at least one emoji per message. Keep your messages brief. Sign off with a different pun in every conversation. If a customer is upset or needs urgent help, avoid puns.
Here’s how an AI Agent with a punny tone of voice responds to a customer asking about suit sizes:
In all of our examples, AI Agent responses can easily be mistaken for one of your human agents. But if, for any reason, you want to change that by making your AI Agent sound robotic — it’s possible.
Tone of voice instructions:
Sound like a robot. Make robot sounds and puns. Use short, direct, and easy-to-read sentences.
Here’s how an AI Agent with a robotic tone of voice responds to a customer asking about exchanging their damaged product:
Like a chameleon, AI Agent adapts to your brand voice. Whether it’s friendly, professional, or a custom tone, you can be sure that every interaction aligns with your brand’s identity.
With AI Agent on your side, you have the power to make each conversation feel authentic. Take it from Psycho Bunny’s Senior Customer Experience Manager Tosha Moyer who says, “The overall tone is good, and its responses are really excellent.”
Ready to see AI Agent’s excellence for yourself? Book a demo and discover how AI Agent can be a permanent part of your team.
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This episode’s featured guest is Nik Sharma, the CEO at Sharma Brands. He works with founders and executives of a wide variety of brands to launch their digital platform, develop an acquisition and retention strategy, expand their channels, and optimize their revenue. He has worked with big brands such as Bill Blass, Roc Nation, and Haus, and he is on the podcast today to discuss the importance of customer service.
Customer service is a brand’s frontline of defense. They are the first to know when something is wrong, broken, or if anything can be done better. By identifying the needs, concerns, and issues of the customer faster than anyone else, they can also fix or address problems before it gets any bigger and becomes damaging to the company. For example, when Nik was working with Judy, an emergency kit brand, there was an issue with their discount code. It simply was not working but no one knew until an online shopper got in contact with customer service. Immediately, the code was fixed and although Judy must have lost several potential customers during the mistake, they could have lost far more if customer service were not there to receive and respond to the matter.
It is important to keep the customer happy. If it is their first time ordering from a brand and they have a less than stellar experience, they are most likely not going to order again. They will not give any of the company’s second products a try, such as the more expensive purchases or subscriptions. That is why customer service is there to pacify the consumer and their issues, acting as a prevention method to any bad experiences. By offering even simple solutions from a technical standpoint, such as dealing with refunds or providing a shipping label, the customer is excited that the brand provided them with a solution.
Through this excitement and acknowledgement, an intimate relationship is created between the brand and customer. The customer feels valued as the brand understands and emphasizes with them. They recognize that they will be taken care of and as more customers begin to feel the same way, a community is built. Every company talks about wanting to build a community and all the strategies that it will take to do so, but the easiest and fastest way to accomplish that is by just having an efficient customer support team. Even a simple third-party logistics team can give a significant boost to a brand by providing front-line workers for customers.
It is not an exaggeration to say that customer service is the most vital piece of a brand. Nik has seen firsthand what good customer service can do and how much feedback, both positive and negative, it can receive. By offering world-class customer experiences, it can boost businesses to new heights and maximize profits. To speak to Nik and to get a further insight into the importance of customer service, he can reached via text at 917-905-2340.