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Live Chat Support

Should You Offer Live Chat Support? A Guide for CX Teams

Should you offer live chat support? This guide covers the benefits, best practices, setup tips, and top platforms for ecommerce teams.
By Christelle Agustin
0 min read . By Christelle Agustin

TL;DR:

  • Live chat is the fastest way to help shoppers. It gives customers real-time answers and prevents drop-off.
  • You don’t need a 24/7 team to run live chat. Automate FAQs and set clear hours to keep it manageable.
  • Live chat improves conversions and customer loyalty. Shoppers who chat are more likely to make a purchase and return to your store.
  • Start by automating questions like order tracking and returns. These are easy to answer and make up most of your volume.
  • Gorgias makes it easy to launch and scale live chat. You can integrate with your store and go live in under a day.

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.

What is live chat support?

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.

A live chat conversation displayed in Gorgias along with a customer sidebar that shows a customer's order details
Manage all live chat conversations in Gorgias, alongside the Customer Sidebar, so you always have the context.

Related: Customer service messaging: Tips and templates for SMS + conversational channels

How does live chat support differ from a chatbot?

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.

Why should you offer live chat support?

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:

  • Customer satisfaction: Customers get the clarity they need while shopping
  • Higher conversions: Live chat removes friction at checkout by resolving doubts in real time
  • Faster resolutions: Support teams close tickets faster by solving issues right away
  • Revenue retention: Agents can recommend the right product, reducing the chance of returns later

Read more: A guide to resolution time: How to measure and lower it

When does live chat make the biggest impact?

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

How automation makes live chat support scalable

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.

What to automate first

Start with high-frequency, low-complexity inquiries. These are repetitive questions that don’t require an agent to resolve:

  • Order tracking (where is my order)
  • Shipping, return, exchange, and cancellation policies
  • Basic troubleshooting
  • Product education, like sizing or fit guides

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.

Gorgias Chat displays four FAQs that customers can click into to get immediate answers, an order tracker, and send us a message button
Gorgias Chat allows up to six one-click FAQ, an order tracker, and live chat.

Automation features that help you scale

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:

  • Macros: One-click prewritten replies to common questions that agents can send manually or automatically.
  • Customer and product variables: Dynamic details—like name, order number, and delivery date—pulled from your ecommerce platform and inserted into messages can easily make interactions more personalized.
  • Flows: Interactive Q&A scenarios that automatically answer customer questions in the chat widget.
  • Routing: Prioritize or assign tickets to agents based on topic, urgency, or language for maximum efficiency.
  • Conversational AI: Leave live chat on 24/7 with tools like Gorgias AI Agent to answer repetitive questions and update orders—even when your team is offline.
Track, return, cancel, or report an issue with your order in Gorgias Chat
Track, return, or cancel an order right from chat with Gorgias.

The dos and don’ts of replying to a live chat message

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

How to set up live chat without overwhelming your team

Adding live chat for the first time or want to make your current setup more manageable? Start with these five steps:

1. Set live chat hours

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.

2. Prioritize live chat tickets in your inbox

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.

3. Automate your first reply

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.

4. Edit your macros for live chat

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.

5. Capture customer emails when live chat is offline

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.

Gorgias Chat asks for a customer's email when they send a message outside of business hours.
Gorgias’s Offline Capture collects customer emails when they message you off-hours.

Best live chat tools for CX and support teams

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

Deliver faster support without adding headcount

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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19 min read.
Track Customer Orders

The Complete Guide to Tracking Customer Orders on Shopify

Set up Shopify order tracking to keep customers informed, cut returns, and build loyalty with AfterShip, ShipBob, ShipStation, and more.
By Holly Stanley
0 min read . By Holly Stanley

TL;DR:

  • Customers expect real-time order tracking. Allow customers to track their orders from anywhere—from their email to your website—at any time to increase their sense of security, reduce returns, and build trust.
  • Helpdesk + order tracking = efficient. Choose a solution like Aftership, ShipBob, or ShipStation that integrates with your CX platform. This lets you link shipping data with your customer data, resulting in faster support.
  • Offer self-service tracking options. Ensure your shipping information is easily accessible to customers through email, live chat, SMS notifications, and on your website.

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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Why is order tracking so important for ecommerce?

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: 

  • Peace of mind: Real-time tracking reassures shoppers and helps businesses monitor fulfillment.
  • Fewer support tickets: Cuts down WISMO inquiries (18% of tickets) with automated updates.
  • Lower returns: Accurate timelines reduce late-delivery returns and protect revenue.
  • Stronger loyalty: Reliable tracking builds trust. Late or incorrect deliveries push shoppers away.
  • Easy planning: Consumers need to know that an order is on its way to plan their day.

Recommended reading: Ecommerce returns: 10 best practices for taking your online store to the next level

How to set up order tracking for your Shopify store

Here’s how to set up order tracking for Shopify stores: 

  1. Choose an order tracking tool
  2. Integrate your order tracking tool with Shopify
  3. Configure your order tracking app’s settings
  4. Integrate your order tracking app with your CX platform

As an example, we’ll show you how to set up order tracking on a Shopify store with AfterShip Tracking.

1) Choose an order tracking tool 

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

2) Integrate your order tracking tool with your ecommerce platform 

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.

A Shopify store is successfully listed as 'Connected' to AfterShip Tracking.
Once you have connected your Shopify store and AfterShip Tracking correctly, the status will display as ‘Connected.’

3) Configure your order tracking app’s settings

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:

  • Courier Mapping: This matches shipping company names between Shopify and AfterShip so tracking data flows correctly even when the same carrier has different names in each system.
  • Auto-import settings: This controls which orders automatically sync from Shopify to AfterShip based on criteria like date range, payment status, and fulfillment status, so you only track the orders you want.
Shopify and your chosen order tracking tool may name couriers differently.

4) Integrate your order tracking app with your CX platform

Finally, connect your order tracking app to your helpdesk

When customer messages, shipping data, and tracking information are connected, your team can:

  • Get the full context with instant access to tracking numbers, shipping addresses, and estimated delivery dates
  • Eliminate the need to switch tabs or copy/paste information between tools
  • Resolve customer inquiries faster
Gorgias Macros use dynamic variables from your ecommerce platform and connected tools.

Read more: How to connect AfterShip Tracking to Gorgias

The 6 key spots to add ‘Track My Order’

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:

  • Emails (order confirmation and automated replies): Include the receipt, tracking number, and a link to the tracking portal. Automated replies should also provide updates when customers ask about order status.
  • SMS: Send the tracking number and portal link. Use for delivery updates, delays, or exceptions.
  • Conversational AI in chat: Provide the order status, tracking number, and delivery estimate directly in the response.
  • Self-service order management: Add a “track my order” button in the chat widget with order status, tracking number, and delivery date.
  • Help Center (FAQ page): Embed a tracking tool where customers can enter their order number or email to see status and carrier tracking.
  • Account portal: Show fulfillment status, tracking number, and carrier link in the “My Account” section for each order.

What are the best order tracking apps for ecommerce stores?

Depending on your needs and the ecommerce platform you use, choose from options that are both scalable and flexible.

ShipBob

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:

  • Distributed global fulfillment centers shortens delivery times
  • Real-time inventory management and order tracking
  • Affordable shipping rates through carrier partnerships
  • Analytics tools to optimize fulfillment and logistics performance

Check out ShipBob in the Shopify App Store or the BigCommerce App Store

AfterShip

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:

  • Seven customizable notification triggers (e.g., in transit, out for delivery, delivered)
  • Easy-to-use email editor for branded tracking updates
  • Filter and monitor tracking data to detect delivery issues early
  • Branded tracking pages that keep customers on your site
  • Detailed analytics to measure delivery performance and customer engagement

Check out AfterShip in the Shopify App Store and the BigCommerce App Store

ShipStation

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:

  • Compare rates and delivery speeds across multiple carriers
  • Automate shipping processes, from label creation to returns
  • Intuitive dashboards and user-friendly interfaces for efficient workflows
  • Batch processing for high-volume order fulfillment
  • Branded shipping labels, packing slips, and tracking pages

Check out ShipStation in the Shopify App Store and the BigCommerce App Store.

ShipMonk

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:

  • Distributed fulfillment centers for faster, lower-cost shipping
  • Real-time inventory and order management
  • Automated picking, packing, and shipping workflows
  • Scalable solutions tailored for ecommerce, subscription boxes, crowdfunding, and more
  • Detailed reporting and analytics to optimize logistics

Check out ShipMonk in the Shopify App Store

Easyship

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

Mageworx

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.

Simplify order tracking with Gorgias

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.

7 min read.

Best AI Helpdesk Tools: 10 Platforms Compared

A breakdown of the 10 best AI helpdesk tools in 2025, plus standalone AI platforms you can plug into your current support stack.
By Tina Donati
0 min read . By Tina Donati

TL;DR:

  • The best AI helpdesks offer smart ticketing, self-service, and sales automation. They combine multi-channel support, give teams flexible AI control, and double as an upselling tool that drives revenue.
  • Each tool has a unique strength. Gorgias is best for ecommerce brands , Zendesk offers enterprise-level customization, Intercom is great for SaaS engagement, and Tidio is easy for small teams.
  • There are also standalone AI tools that integrate with existing helpdesks. Platforms like Ada, Siena, and Yuma offer automation without requiring a full platform switch.
  • Advanced AI features vary in price and availability. Some are bundled, while others charge per resolution or limit access to higher tiers.

Every delayed reply, missed ticket, or frustrated customer costs more than just satisfaction—it hits revenue, loyalty, and your brand reputation. That’s why more and more brands are investing in AI helpdesks to automate the tedious parts of their job.

But with so many options on the market, choosing the right AI helpdesk can feel overwhelming. Should you prioritize conversational AI? Multi-channel support? No-code customization? Or pricing that scales with your team?

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We’ve reviewed the 10 best AI helpdesks available in 2025, evaluating them across AI capabilities, ease of use, integrations, analytics, and pricing. 

Helpdesk

AI Features

Main Strength

Potential Limitation

Best For

Starting Price

Gorgias

AI Agent, Shopping Assistant, Auto QA

Multi-channel ecommerce support, AI shopping assistant

Ecommerce-focused

Scaling and enterprise ecommerce brands

$10/month per agent

Zendesk

Copilot, AI triage, Zendesk QA

Enterprise-grade omnichannel support

Can be complex for smaller teams

Large enterprises like banks and airlines

$25/month per agent

Intercom

Fin AI, Fin Tasks, Fin Insights

Conversational AI, proactive support

Higher learning curve for complex workflows

SaaS and mid-to-large businesses

$39/month per agent

Gladly

Gladly Hero, Sidekick Chat, Sidekick Voice

Conversation-centric support, loyalty focus

Complex implementation onboarding process

Customer-focused businesses that prioritize loyalty

Custom pricing

Kustomer

AI Agents for Reps, AI Agents for Customers

CRM-centric support

Unintuitive and laggy user interface

Mid-to-large enterprises

$89/month per agent

Tidio

Lyro AI Agent

Easy-to-use automation for small teams

May not scale for large enterprise workflows

Small to mid-sized ecommerce/service businesses

Free, $29/month per agent

Freshdesk

Freddy AI

Affordable multi-channel support

Advanced AI limited to higher tiers

SMBs and mid-market companies

$18/month per agent

Ada

Ada Voice, Ada Email

Self-service chat automation

Basic features cost extra

Large enterprise businesses

$499/month

Siena

Customer Service Agent, Reviews Agent, Siena Memory

Automated support

Lack of visibility into support and AI performance

Mid-market ecommerce and SaaS

$500/month

Yuma

Support AI, Sales AI, Social AI

Self-service & automation for growing teams

Limited integrations with broader sales stacks

Established ecommerce brands

$49/month per agent

How we evaluated the best AI helpdesks in 2025

To create this list, we evaluated each platform based on a combination of functionality, AI capabilities, usability, and industry applicability. 

Our goal was to provide a resource that CX leaders, ecommerce managers, and support teams can rely on when choosing a helpdesk that fits their business needs.

Here’s how we approached the evaluation:

  1. Feature set assessment: Each tool was reviewed for its core helpdesk features, including ticket management, multi-channel support, workflow automation, and reporting capabilities.
  2. AI sophistication: Platforms were evaluated on the depth of their AI offerings. This included natural language processing (NLP), predictive analytics, proactive messaging, and automated resolution capabilities.
  3. Ease of use and setup: We considered setup time, onboarding complexity, and the learning curve for both agents and admins.
  4. Industry applicability: We examined which industries each tool serves best. Some platforms are tailored for ecommerce, while others are more enterprise or service-focused.
  5. Pricing transparency and scalability: We noted starting costs, AI feature availability by tier, and potential scaling considerations. Affordability and scalability were important, particularly for fast-growing teams that need to balance cost with AI functionality.
  6. Supporting resources: We reviewed customer support, integrations, documentation, and community resources. A strong helpdesk not only provides AI features but also ensures teams can implement and optimize them effectively.

By following this methodology, we created a balanced, objective view of each helpdesk, highlighting what makes them unique, their strengths, limitations, and who will benefit most from them.

The best AI helpdesks of 2025

Gorgias

Gorgias is an AI helpdesk designed for ecommerce brands, helping teams streamline support while boosting both efficiency and personalization.

By unifying all customer touchpoints—email, chat, social media, voice, and SMS—into a single dashboard, Gorgias allows support teams to manage interactions without toggling between platforms.

Unlike most helpdesks, its AI capabilities go beyond basic automation. In addition to support, its AI can influence sales by assisting, recommending, and upselling to customers based on their shopping behavior.

Best for: Scaling startups and mature ecommerce enterprises looking to expand support capacity without increasing headcount

Potential limitations: Gorgias is focused primarily on ecommerce brands, which means it may be less suitable for companies that don’t use ecommerce platforms.

Pricing: Starts at $10/month, with advanced AI features available as an add-on.

Main features:

  • Automated ticket routing: AI triages incoming customer queries and assigns them to the right agent.
  • AI-generated responses: Provides instant, context-aware replies to common questions.
  • Sentiment analysis: Flags frustrated customers to prioritize urgent tickets.
  • Multi-channel AI support: Integrates across email, chat, Shopify, social media, and 100+ ecommerce apps.
  • Macros and workflow automation: AI suggests relevant responses and automates repetitive tasks.

AI features:

  • AI Agent: Conversational AI that can update, refund, and replace orders, cancel/skip subscriptions, and even carry out custom-made actions.
  • Shopping Assistant: A proactive AI tool that guides, upsells, and recommends products to shoppers through chat. It helps CX teams increase sales and AOV.
  • Auto QA: Upgrades service quality by automatically evaluating 100% of private text conversations, whether handled by a human or AI. Each message is scored on metrics like Resolution Completeness, Brand Voice, and Accuracy.

Zendesk

Zendesk is a widely adopted AI helpdesk solution that caters to teams of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises. It’s known for its robust ticketing system, extensive integrations, and customizable workflows, making it a versatile choice for teams across industries.

Best for: Non-ecommerce enterprises and businesses like airlines and banks

Potential limitations: Advanced AI features and enterprise-level plans can be expensive for smaller teams, and some users report that customization for niche workflows can be time-consuming.

Pricing: Starts at $25/month per agent, with advanced AI features and enterprise options available on higher tiers.

Zendesk Auto Assist suggests a reply.
Zendesk Copilot suggests replies, which agents can approve or edit.

Main features:

  • Unified ticketing: Centralizes requests from email, chat, phone, social media, and messaging apps.
  • Macros and workflow automation: Automates routine responses and processes to reduce agent workload.
  • Advanced analytics: Offers real-time dashboards and reporting to track support performance and customer satisfaction.
  • Multi-channel support: Integrates seamlessly with major ecommerce, CRM, and communication platforms.

AI features:

  • Copilot: Assists support agents in providing consistent replies, suggests next steps, and can even perform actions on agents’ behalf.
  • AI triage: Automatically categorizes tickets and routes them to the appropriate team member.
  • Zendesk QA: Scores the quality of interactions to help you get an overview of support performance.

Intercom

Intercom combines live chat, messaging, and AI automation into a single platform that focuses on proactive customer engagement. Its conversational AI makes it easy for teams to interact with customers in real time, while its automation tools help reduce response times and increase efficiency. 

Best for: SaaS companies, software companies, and mid-market teams

Potential limitations: Companies looking for a plug-and-play AI solution will need to invest time in setting up Intercom. Customers report a steep learning curve when creating workflows, organizing users, and implementing new automations.

Pricing: Starts at $39/month per seat. Fin AI is available as a standalone product for $0.99 per resolution (50 resolutions per month minimum) if you have an existing helpdesk.

Intercom's Fin AI comes with a preview environment to test AI responses.
Intercom’s Fin AI lets you test its responses before you go live.

Main features:

  • Live chat and messaging: Provides instant support via website, mobile apps, and email.
  • Inbox and workflow management: Centralizes customer conversations and automates repetitive tasks.
  • Customer segmentation: Enables targeted messaging based on behavior, subscription plans, or engagement levels.

AI features:

  • Fin AI: Intercom’s AI assistant responds to common questions, freeing agents to handle complex issues.
  • Fin Tasks: Performs actions like retrieving order details, processing refunds, reorders, and more.
  • Fin Insights: Provides a deep look into recurring trends and issues across conversations.

Gladly

Gladly is a customer service platform built around the concept of conversation-centric support, treating every customer interaction as a continuous dialogue rather than isolated tickets. 

Best for: Customer-focused brands that prioritize personalized, ongoing conversations over transactional support—especially retail, financial services, and subscription businesses that want to strengthen loyalty.

Potential limitations: Smaller teams may find it more than they need, and advanced customization can require professional services.

Pricing: Available on request, with plans typically tailored to enterprise support teams and scaled based on users and features.

Gladly's Customer Profile lets you see customer details including relationships and conversation history.
View customer details, relationships, and past conversations on Gladly.

Main features:

  • Unified customer timeline: Combines all interactions—email, chat, social, SMS—into a single, chronological view.
  • Personalized workflows: Tailors automation and routing to individual customer needs.
  • Team collaboration tools: Enables seamless handoffs and internal notes for faster issue resolution.

AI features:

  • Gladly Hero: Customer profiles created from conversations that include preferences, relationships, and purchase history.
  • Sidekick Chat: Instant answers to requests like returns, account updates, and refunds.
  • Sidekick Voice: Real-time, AI-powered phone support with SMS follow-ups.

Kustomer

Kustomer is a CRM-centric AI helpdesk that integrates customer support and relationship management in one platform. Its AI capabilities allow teams to automate repetitive tasks, route tickets intelligently, and gain insights into customer history, making it ideal for businesses with complex support workflows.

Best for: Mid-to-large enterprises that prioritize powerful, custom reporting

Potential limitations: Users report an unintuitive and laggy interface, which can slow down large support teams that handle high support volumes.

Pricing: Starts at $89/month per seat, with AI features available as add-ons.

Kustomer's AI Agent for Reps provides quick summaries of conversations.
Kustomer’s AI Agent for Reps provides a summary of conversations for handoffs.

Main features:

  • Unified customer profiles: Consolidates all interactions, purchases, and support history in one view.
  • Workflow automation: Streamlines processes with rules-based ticket routing and escalation.
  • Advanced reporting: Tracks key support metrics and agent performance.

AI features:

  • AI Agents for Reps: Offers real-time assistance, from drafting responses to updating records and summarizing conversations.
  • AI Agent for Customers: Allows the creation of multiple AI Agents for specialized tasks.

Tidio

Tidio is an AI-powered live chat and messaging platform built for small to mid-sized businesses looking to combine automation with personalized support. Its ease of setup and affordability make it a strong choice for teams new to AI helpdesks.

Best for: Small to mid-sized ecommerce or service-based businesses looking for an easy-to-use AI chat solution to automate FAQs

Potential limitations: May not scale well for large enterprise businesses. 

Pricing: A free plan is available, with paid plans starting at $29/month per agent and AI features as add-ons.

Tidio's Lyro AI provides suggested questions to answer so it can expand its knowledge.
Tidio’s Lyro provides suggestions for improving its knowledge.

Main features:

  • Live chat and messenger integration: Supports website chat, email, and social messaging.
  • Drag-and-drop chatbot builder: No coding required to deploy automated responses.
  • Ticket management: Organizes queries for quick resolution by agents.

AI features:

  • Lyro AI Agent: Conversational AI that answers questions based on support content.

Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a helpdesk platform that combines AI automation, omnichannel support, and workflow management. It’s known for ease of use and affordability, making it popular among SMBs and mid-market companies.

Best for: SMBs and mid-market companies looking for an affordable, easy-to-implement AI helpdesk

Potential limitations: Some advanced AI functionality is limited to higher-tier plans. Large enterprises may require additional configuration to fully leverage AI features.

Pricing: Plans start at $18/month per agent, with AI capabilities and advanced automation available on higher tiers.

Freshdesk's Freddy AI can help reword responses for better communication.
Freshdesk’s Freddy AI can help improve responses by rephrasing, enhancing tone, and expanding.

Main features:

  • Multi-channel ticketing: Consolidates email, chat, phone, and social support.
  • Automation and workflows: Rules and macros automate repetitive tasks.
  • Analytics and reporting: Provides insights into performance and customer satisfaction.

AI features:

  • Freddy AI: Fetches order details, resolves questions, updates customer profiles, and more using approved data.

Standalone AI tools you can integrate with existing helpdesks

Not ready to move helpdesks? These standalone AI tools plug into your existing helpdesk to add automation, self-service, and conversational support.

Ada

Ada is focused on conversational automation, enabling teams to provide self-service solutions that reduce ticket volume while improving response times

Its no-code interface makes it accessible for non-technical teams, and its AI capabilities allow for personalized customer interactions at scale.

Best for: Large enterprise businesses looking to reduce support tickets through chat-based support

Potential limitations: Basic features that are free on competitor platforms cost extra on Ada, which limits smaller businesses looking for an all-in-one solution.

Pricing: Starts at $499/month for essential AI features. Higher-tier plans are available on request.

Adjust how Ada's AI agent responds to certain questions.
Ada lets you coach your AI on how to respond to specific questions.

Main features:

  • No-code chatbot builder: Quickly design and deploy AI chatbots across web, mobile, and messaging apps.
  • Ticket deflection: Automates repetitive queries to reduce human agent workload.
  • Multi-language support: Offers conversational support in multiple languages to serve global audiences.

AI features:

  • Ada Voice: AI-powered phone support that can respond to customers, take action, and escalate issues in real-time.  
  • Ada Email: Instant, personalized replies for email threads with the ability to hand off to agents.

Siena

Siena is focused on providing automated support for rapidly growing ecommerce and SaaS brands. With an emphasis on efficiency and self-service, Siena helps teams reduce ticket volume and respond faster, while giving managers visibility into performance metrics.

Best for: Mid-market ecommerce and SaaS companies that want to combine automation with insights

Potential limitations: Lacks clear visibility into AI performance, which can keep support teams in the dark about support performance and customer satisfaction.

Pricing: Starts at $500/month with automated tickets at $0.90 each. 

A conversation between a customer and Siena.
Siena can adjust its voice to suit your brand’s tone. 

Main features:

  • Omnichannel support: Handles email, chat, and social media from a single dashboard.
  • Custom workflows: Automates repetitive tasks and ticket routing based on rules and customer data.
  • Reporting and analytics: Tracks support KPIs and team performance in real time.

AI features:

  • Customer Service Agent: Provides contextual, automated responses for common queries.
  • Reviews Agent: Responds to every customer review with personalized feedback.
  • Siena Memory: Stores key details from customer interactions and turns them into insights reports.

Yuma 

Yuma is focused on conversational automation and self-service solutions. It is designed to reduce agent workload while providing fast, personalized responses, making it appealing to growing ecommerce teams.

Best for: Established ecommerce brands looking to integrate sophisticated conversational AI alongside their current helpdesk

Potential limitations: Limited integrations with broader sales stacks mean brands prioritizing sales will have a hard time creating a smooth workflow.

Pricing: Starts at $350/month for 500 resolutions, with higher-tier plans for more resolutions.

Yuma AI can respond to your social media comments.
Yuma AI automatically responds to comments across your social media channels.

Main features:

  • Omnichannel support: Handles chat, email, and social messaging from one platform.
  • Self-service portals: Allows customers to resolve common issues independently.
  • Workflow automation: AI assists with repetitive tasks and ticket routing.

AI features:

  • Support AI: Replies to customers on email, WhatsApp, SMS, and social media using your brand’s voice.
  • Social AI: Instant responses to social media comments, DMs, and tags. 
  • Sales AI: Guides shoppers to the relevant product and tracks bestsellers.

What features to look for in a good AI helpdesk

The best AI helpdesk makes support efficient, personalized, and scalable. 

Here’s a quick checklist of what to look for when evaluating an AI helpdesk:

  • Smart ticket management
  • Self-service workflows
  • Multi-channel support
  • Sales and upselling capabilities
  • User-friendly AI controls
  • Performance insights
  • AI learning and improvement

Feature

What It Is

Benefit to CX Team

Smart ticket management

AI that deflects repetitive tickets and routes complex issues to agents via macros, recommendations, and copilots

Frees up time for higher-value tasks like customer retention and streamlined experiences

Self-service workflows

Automated execution of order edits, address changes, refunds, and cancellations—whenever customers ask

Eliminates time spent on repetitive requests while offering 24/7 support

Multi-channel support

All-in-one platform consolidating email, chat, SMS, social media, and phone interactions

Eliminates the need to switch between platforms while giving customers a variety of contact options

Sales and upselling capabilities

AI that analyzes shopper behavior and delivers targeted assistance, product recommendations, and offers

Maximizes revenue impact for CX teams by directly influencing customer buying decisions

User-friendly AI controls

Intuitive tools and toggles for adjusting AI behavior through knowledge bases

Allows teams to test and deploy AI quickly without technical expertise

Performance insights

Dashboards displaying performance metrics, support KPIs, revenue impact, plus custom reporting

Maintains support quality while providing scalable insights that grow with your business

AI learning and improvement

Quality assurance features that improve AI through feedback, corrections, and knowledge updates

Enables accurate responses that lead to consistent support quality and increased customer satisfaction

Key takeaways from our review

The future of customer support is AI-driven, and the tools you choose today will define the efficiency, responsiveness, and satisfaction of your support team tomorrow. 

If it's still early in your AI helpdesk journey, we have additional resources to help you learn more from the pros before getting started:

min read.
Create powerful self-service resources
Capture support-generated revenue
Automate repetitive tasks

Further reading

Every Successful Marketing Campaign Starts with a Customer Question

By Holly Stanley
min read.
0 min read . By Holly Stanley

TL;DR:

  • Start with your CX team—they know what customers are asking. Their insights reveal what’s confusing, what’s converting, and what’s causing returns before marketing ever gets involved.
  • Turn pre-sale questions into better messaging. Use common support queries to improve landing pages, product descriptions, and emails so customers feel confident enough to convert.
  • Your best-performing products aren’t always the most hyped. Let real customer comments guide your messaging by identifying what people rave about in chats and reviews.
  • Customer confusion and returns usually stem from messaging gaps. Fix product pages, policies, and descriptions to better reflect what people need to know upfront.

Your CX team talks to customers every day. They know what’s confusing, driving purchases, and causing returns, because they hear it firsthand.

But all too often, those insights stay siloed in support tickets and live chat transcripts instead of informing the campaigns that shape the customer journey.

This post is here to change that. We’re breaking down the most valuable questions marketing teams should be asking their CX counterparts. When marketing and CX work together, you get more relevant messaging, smarter product positioning, and campaigns that convert.

Whether you’re planning a big seasonal push or just want to improve product education, this is where to start.

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1. What do customers ask about before buying?

Your CX team knows what makes shoppers hesitate. They’re the ones fielding questions like: Does this come in a larger size? Is it final sale? Will it arrive in time?

Beyond being pre-sale inquiries, they’re signals. They reveal what your customers care about most, and where your messaging may be falling short. When marketing teams tune into this, they can proactively address objections in landing pages, product detail pages (PDPs), emails, and top-of-funnel content.

AI Agent answers questions on email and chat.
No matter the product, Gorgias AI Agent can answer your shoppers’ questions right in chat.

At luxury jewelry store Jaxxon, Director of Customer Experience Caela Castillo saw firsthand how important it is to address these questions early. 

Chat used to be a support tool for repetitive questions and problem-solving, but now AI Agent takes care of that for us,” she said. Once those friction points were handled upfront, the CX team could focus on more meaningful conversations, and conversions improved.

And when AI recommended the wrong products? Conversions dropped. It was a clear signal that relevance matters, especially before the sale.

Ask your CX team:

“What do customers most often need to know before they buy, and how can we answer that earlier in the journey?”

2. What product do customers rave about—and why?

Your best-selling product isn’t always your hero product. Sometimes, it’s that under-the-radar item that customers can’t stop talking about. The one that shows up again and again in reviews, chats, and post-purchase surveys.

The insight is gold for marketers. The key is to find out why people love it. Is it the fit? The feel? The results?

At online fashion brand, Princess Polly, Alexandria shared that her team expected Gen Z shoppers to lean on AI for recs, but what really influenced them was customer feedback. Reviews, not bots, built trust. That’s why campaigns built around real customer language and experiences often outperform the most polished product copy.

Shopping Assistant can turn those rave reviews into real-time action. It highlights top products using your Shopify product catalog to make personalized recommendations, proactively assists shoppers by using behavior signals, and even offers tailored discounts when they’re ready to convert. That means less guesswork, greater relevance, and an easier path to purchase.

Ask your CX team:

“Which product do customers rave about most, and what exactly are they saying?”

3. What product causes the most complaints?

When customers are frustrated, it’s easy to blame the product. But in many cases, the issue isn’t quality, it’s communication.

At Shinesty, a men’s underwear brand, Molly Kerrigan, Senior Director of Retention, observed that high return rates often stemmed from unmet customer expectations

She noted the importance of maintaining clear and consistent communication as the company grows, “We get a lot of praise from our customers, and they talk highly of our CX team after 1:1 interactions. We can’t lose that as we scale.” 

Molly notes that using Gorgias AI Agent enables Shinesty’s customers to receive quick answers, freeing her team's time for more complex or sensitive issues.  

Similarly, Princess Polly saw that delivering a standout customer experience meant being fast, consistent, and helpful at every stage. After switching to Gorgias, their support performance improved dramatically:

  • 80% decrease in resolution time
  • 95% decrease in first response time
  • 40% increase in efficiency

Before changing the product, try updating the messaging. Use insights from CX to rewrite descriptions, add size guides, include user-generated content, or even build a quick-fit quiz. Small tweaks help set clearer expectations and reduce unnecessary returns.

Ask your CX team:

“Which products are driving the most complaints, and what do customers wish they knew before buying?”

4. What confuses customers the most?

Confusion is a conversion killer. If a customer isn’t sure about how something works, what’s included, or whether it’s right for them, they’re more likely to bounce.

That’s why it pays to ask your CX team where customers get stuck. Is it a product feature that needs more context? A vague store policy? A missing detail on a bundle?

The good news is that most confusion is fixable. Start with the following steps: 

  • Simplify your product pages
  • Add quick-hit FAQs to your emails
  • Use plain language and real examples

If you’re using Shopping Assistant, you can go even further. It can detect when shoppers are hesitant and provides real-time nudges. Like an assistant who knows all your needs, Shopping Assistant automatically surfaces the questions customers are likely to ask when evaluating a product, so they’re equipped with the clarity they need to proceed to checkout.

Gorgias Shopping Assistant can surface questions while shoppers browse and search for products.
Shopping Assistant uses a shopper’s browsing behavior to answer potential hesitations and questions automatically.

TUSHY, a modern bidet brand, faced similar challenges. As bidets aren't mainstream in North America, shoppers often had concerns about product compatibility and installation. They’d ask questions like:

  • Will a bidet fit my toilet?
  • Is installation complicated?
  • Which bidet is right for me?

Without immediate answers, many potential buyers would abandon their purchase. To address this, TUSHY implemented Shopping Assistant, providing instant support. Taking this approach resulted in an 81% higher chat conversion rate compared to human agents and a 13x return on investment.

“The Shopping Assistant has been a game-changer for our team, especially with the launch of our latest bidet models. Expanding our product catalog has given customers more choices than ever, which can overwhelm first-time buyers. Now, they’re increasingly looking to us for guidance on finding the right fit for their home and personal hygiene needs,” said Ren Fuller-Wasserman, Sr. Director of Customer Experience at TUSHY.  

Ask your CX team:

“Where do customers get confused most often—and how can we clear that up sooner?”

5. Which products are frequently bought together?

Your CX team picks up on patterns that analytics sometimes miss. They hear which items customers ask about in the same chat, which products get added to carts together, and which pairings people reorder time and time again.

That intel is a goldmine for bundling and upselling. It helps you build smarter campaigns that feel relevant and drive real value.

Zoe Kahn, owner of Inevitable Agency and former VP of Retention and CX at Audien Hearing, emphasizes the importance of using AI to enhance customer interactions.

“A lot of that revenue was potentially missed revenue because these were customers sitting on the site, asking questions about the products, and wanting an answer now so they could purchase…Now, AI can answer those questions immediately and convert those customers.”

With Shopping Assistant, you can act on these insights in real time. It will surface personalized product pairings, bundle suggestions, or accessories based on customer behavior. All before they hit the checkout page.

Shopping Assistant can detect shoppers' likelihood to convert
Shopping Assistant initiates relevant conversations by monitoring shopper behavior.

6. Which products lead to the most returns, and why?

Returns cut into your margins and chip away at trust. Most of the time, they’re not caused by poor-quality products. They happen because expectations weren’t met.

Your CX team already knows which items come back the most and why. Maybe the color doesn’t match the photos. Perhaps the fit runs small, or the product description left out a crucial detail. 

Instead of pushing the product harder, reframe how you present it. Add real customer photos. Include fit notes or a sizing chart. Call out anything that might surprise the customer post-purchase. A little clarity upfront goes a long way in reducing returns and boosting retention.

At Pepper, an intimates brand specializing in bras for small-chested bodies, they recognized the importance of pre-sale education. When customers have sizing questions, their AI Agent, Penelope, can provide immediate assistance.

“Penelope takes the information we give her and responds better than a Macro. She tailors it so that it sounds like a natural conversation between two people,” said Gabrielle McWhirter, CX Operations Lead at Pepper.

By proactively providing instant support, Pepper improved customer satisfaction and saw an 18% uplift in average order value.

Ask your CX team:

“Which products get returned the most—and what could we do upfront to change that?”

CX + marketing = smarter campaigns, better results

Before you launch your next campaign, start with a quick sync with your CX lead. They already know what your customers need to hear. You just have to ask.

From fixing messaging gaps to surfacing the right products at the right time, these insights help you connect with customers in personal, timely, and relevant ways.

Tools like Shopping Assistant make it easier than ever to act on this data in real time. You can turn CX knowledge into dynamic recommendations, personalized nudges, and smarter discounts.

Ready to see how you can improve your online shopping experience? Book a demo to see how Gorgias Shopping Assistant engages customers in real-time.

How to Use CX Data to Improve Marketing, Messaging & Conversions

By Alexa Hertel
min read.
0 min read . By Alexa Hertel

TL;DR:

  • Your support inbox is full of marketing gold. CX insights can sharpen messaging and inspire high-impact campaigns.
  • Ticket data unlocks smarter segmentation. Use support interactions to build more relevant, behavior-based audiences.
  • Chat campaigns work better with CX insights. Tackle objections in real time and lift conversions with proactive messages.
  • Use objection data to reduce drop-offs. Identify common blockers and address them in product pages, ads, and chat prompts.
  • Help Center stats guide better content. Turn top-searched questions into FAQs, landing pages, and ad copy.

Today’s best marketing starts with your customers.

According to Forrester’s 2024 research, “Customer-obsessed organizations reported 41% faster revenue growth, 49% faster profit growth, and 51% better customer retention than those at non-customer-obsessed organizations.”

Support teams interact with hundreds or thousands of customers every week, collecting valuable insights in the process. This voice of the customer (VOC) data is a goldmine for marketers, but it too often stays siloed among CX teams.

Ahead, we’ll break down how ecommerce brands can tap into CX insights to drive better marketing.

5 ways to use CX data to improve marketing

CX can play a crucial role in driving growth, but many brands aren’t leveraging it for marketing insights yet.

When connected to marketing, CX becomes a proactive engine that fuels better segmentation, sharper messaging, smarter campaigns, and more personalized content. 

Support functions collect objections, complaints, compliments, and pre-purchase questions. When you capture and apply those insights, your marketing can target the precise roadblocks—and key sales differentiators—customers care about.

Here’s how to turn CX insights into a high-impact marketing strategy, with real examples from brands using Gorgias.

  1. Leverage ticket insights to improve messaging
  2. Segment customers based on support interactions
  3. Launch more targeted chat campaigns
  4. Reduce drop-offs and abandoned carts
  5. Monitor Help Center and Dashboard stats to craft smarter content

1) Leverage ticket insights to improve messaging 

When you want to sharpen your brand messaging, there’s no better place to look than your support inbox. Your support inbox is a rich resource full of information specific to your brand and your customers. 

Tools like Gorgias Ticket Insights help surface recurring themes, top questions, and friction points across all conversations. By analyzing these patterns, marketers can identify the exact words customers use to describe problems, questions, or product feedback and then reflect that language across ads, landing pages, and emails.

How to implement 

Spikes in tickets around specific topics (sizing, shipping timelines, and materials, for example) are insights marketers can use to update and improve corresponding content. 

This can increase confidence and conversion on key pages. 

By incorporating the same terminology and phrasing customers use in support conversations, brands can also increase resonance across ads, emails, and social media. Messaging that mirrors the customer’s language builds trust and helps audiences feel understood. 

Ask your CX team 💬 What product issues or themes have emerged this quarter?

A line graph showing trends in topics mentioned in tickets. Mentions about damage, refunds, and replacements are displayed.

For example, cordless heating cushion brand Stoov® used Ticket Fields in Gorgias to understand and resolve a ticket spike. By figuring out that some customers were dissatisfied with the battery life of its core product offering, the team was able to add an optional upsell. For €20, shoppers now have the option to purchase a larger battery. 

The results were meaningful: the brand saw 50% of customers opt for this battery, resulting in a 10% increase in average order value (AOV). And while the team saw a significant increase in revenue, they saw no increase in support ticket volume. 

2) Segment customers based on support interactions

Most marketers rely on transactional data—like past purchases or time since last order—to build audience segments. But support data reveals a whole new layer of context: behavior, concerns, sentiment, and urgency.

Tools like Gorgias’s Ticket Insights and Ticket Fields allow CX teams to customize different properties attached to tickets. Agents can fill these out to capture data more accurately. 

Here’s how these types of tools work: tickets come with a mandatory field for return reasons, product feedback, contact reason, etc. Before the agent closes the ticket, they use a dropdown menu to fill out the ticket field. 

How to implement 

Studying support interactions helps answer key questions around why customers are getting in touch. This data can provide marketing teams with a way to build smarter segments for campaigns or personalized journeys.

For example, if one product is getting a large amount of inquiries, marketing teams could segment customers interested in those products and launch pre-sales education campaigns.

Fashion brand Psycho Bunny switched from Zendesk to Gorgias to improve access to reporting tools that surfaced customer patterns and support trends. 

“By cross-referencing our Gorgias data with insights around basket size, product performance, and store performance, we can inform broader business decisions. For example, we can see if a certain store location generated more tickets or how many incoming queries are about a certain product,” says Jean-Aymeri de Magistris, VP IT, Data & Analytics, and PMO at Psycho Bunny.

By integrating insights like these with marketing workflows, teams can build more relevant segments that improve retention and engagement.

Ask your CX team 💬 Which customer segments are most likely to churn or repurchase?

3) Launch more targeted chat campaigns

Chat campaigns are proactive messages that trigger based on real-time behavior and context. You can use CX trends to design campaigns that directly address common objections, answer FAQs, or deliver tailored offers.

How to implement 

Start by reviewing your most common pre-purchase questions with your CX team. Then, create chat prompts that address those concerns exactly where they arise. For example, a sizing guide prompt on product pages or a shipping FAQ in the cart. 

Make sure your message feels helpful and not overly salesy. Conversational AI assistants like AI Agent can also tailor responses in real-time, helping customers get what they need without leaving the page.

Pepper product page showing wireless bras with a customer support chat box.
Intimates brand Pepper uses AI Agent to provide chat to help answer FAQs while customers shop.

Pepper, a size-inclusive bra brand, put this into practice by combining their AI Agent (named Penelope) with targeted chat campaigns to guide shoppers through one of their most common friction points: sizing. Thanks to insights from their support team, Pepper created messaging that helped customers find the right fit instantly. The result was an 18% uplift in average order value. 

“With AI Agent, we’re not just putting information in our customers’ hands; we’re putting bras in their hands. With Penelope on board, we’re turning customer support from a cost center to a revenue generator,” says Gabrielle McWhirter, CX Operations Lead at Pepper. 

Ask your CX team 💬 How are customers reacting to recent promotions or launches?

4) Reduce drop-offs and abandoned carts

When shoppers hesitate at checkout, it’s often because they don’t have the information they need.

Tapping into support conversations allows CX teams to identify common objections. They can then share those insights with marketing to refine product messaging, improve product pages, ads, and marketing campaigns.

How to implement 

Use customer service data to identify the top three objections customers have before converting. These might be concerns about sizing, compatibility, delivery time, or product setup. Then, pair that knowledge with a proactive AI sales tool like Shopping Assistant to offer timely answers that move shoppers closer to purchase.

For example, TUSHY, a modern bidet company, found that many prospective customers were hesitant because they weren’t sure how difficult the installation would be. By using a real-time shopping assistant to address these concerns directly on-site, TUSHY was able to guide shoppers past uncertainty.

TUSHY uses AI Agent helping a customer install an electric bidet on a skirted toilet.
TUSHY’S AI Agent can sense when a customer lingers for a while on a page, and offers help to guide them to checkout.

Ask your CX team 💬 What are the top three reasons customers contact us before they buy?

5) Monitor Help Center and Dashboard stats to craft smarter content

If you want to know what content your customers actually need, your Help Center holds the answers. Real customer questions are found right in Help Center search queries and article analytics.

By tracking which articles are most viewed, most searched, and most frequently updated, marketers can spot common knowledge gaps and fill them with high-value content.

How to implement 

Start by reviewing your Help Center Statistics to see which articles are performing well, which ones are underutilized, and what terms customers are searching for. 

If an article about “returns policy” is getting a spike in views, that’s your cue to simplify the policy or preempt questions with a dedicated email campaign. Marketing teams could also use this insight to build FAQ-rich landing pages, preempt questions in email flows, or even turn top-performing help content into organic blog posts or performance ad copy.

Dashboard showing support metrics by channel and ticket response performance.
Set up your Gorgias Dashboard based on your goals.

You can also use Gorgias's Dashboard to spot emerging trends across all your channels. This custom reporting feature lets you choose from various charts that reveal high-level patterns—like the most common contact reasons or sudden spikes in ticket volume—giving marketers early insight into shifting customer sentiment and trending topics across social platforms.

Ask your CX team 💬 Which articles in our Help Center are most searched right now?

Find alignment between CX and marketing teams

When support and marketing teams collaborate, you unlock a cycle of continuous improvement. CX teams surface the insights, marketing turns them into strategy, and both sides drive measurable results.

Here’s how to make it work:

  • Set up recurring syncs between CX and marketing teams to review insights from customer service reports.
  • Involve support in campaign planning to consider what customer objections might come up. 
  • Encourage CX to tag tickets based on themes or behavior that marketing can act on.

Unlock revenue by listening to your customers

We need to reframe CX as a proactive function that drives revenue.

Support teams already have the answers marketers are searching for. You just need the tools to tap into them. Gorgias makes that easy, with flexible reporting features, powerful AI, automated tagging, and integrations that bridge the gap between CX and marketing.

Want to connect your support data to better marketing?

Explore Gorgias’s analytics tools or book a demo to speak to a product expert about how to integrate your support strategy with marketing.

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The Hidden Cost of Not Adopting AI in Ecommerce

By Tina Donati
min read.
0 min read . By Tina Donati

TL;DR:

  • Ecommerce brands not using AI are falling behind, as 77.2% already use it daily to boost efficiency and revenue.
  • AI saves time and cuts costs, like Trove Brands saving $23K/month and reducing cancellations by 70%.
  • Customers want speed and privacy—AI provides fast, judgment-free answers in sensitive categories.
  • AI empowers support teams by handling routine tasks so agents can focus on high-value interactions.

Doing nothing when there’s rapid change happening in an industry is risky business.

Right now, according to our latest report, 2025 Ecommerce Trends, 77.2% of ecommerce professionals are already using AI in their day-to-day work. What happens if you’re part of the 22.8% that isn’t?

Inaction is action—one that’s a quiet drain on revenue, resources, and reputation.

Every minute spent on manual work is a minute your competitors are focusing on higher-value customer interactions, improving CX, testing offers, and scaling campaigns.

And the cost of falling behind is compounding fast. Here’s what you’re losing when you pass on AI.

Time lost = money lost

As support volume grows, so does the cost of inefficiency.

Nearly 80% of CX professionals say AI saves them time. In fact, 83.9% of support leaders using AI in Gorgias say it has made their teams more efficient.

Trove Brands experienced this firsthand:

  • They reduced missed cancellations by 70%
  • And saved $23,000/month in labor costs by automating repetitive support tasks

If AI can handle 70% of your support tickets, your team finally has the time—and headspace—to focus on the 30% that actually builds trust, drives repeat revenue, and improves the customer experience.

Trust when customers need it most

Hot take: AI isn’t impersonal. Not using it is.

In 2024, nearly one-third of CX leaders worried AI would make interactions feel less human. A year later, that number dropped by half. 

Why? Brands started to see that AI wasn’t hurting the customer experience, it was removing friction from it.

For sensitive or personal products—think wellness supplements, intimate gifts, or anything a shopper might feel awkward asking about—AI creates space for honesty without judgment. And that can change the outcome entirely.

“Too often, a great interaction is diminished when a customer feels reduced to just another transaction,” said Ren Fuller-Wasserman, Senior Director of Customer Experience at TUSHY. “With AI, we let the tech handle the selling—unabashedly, if needed—so our future customers can ask anything, even the questions they might be too shy to bring up with a human. In the end, everyone wins.”

It’s a powerful point, especially for brands where discretion matters. AI removes that barrier. 

You're losing trust if your support experience still makes customers hesitate. For many, that means being able to get an answer without needing to explain themselves first.

Revenue hiding behind unanswered questions

Every unanswered pre-sale question or missed upsell is revenue slipping through your fingers.

Product recommendations alone have the potential to increase revenue by up to 300%, boost conversion rates by 150%, and drive 50% higher AOV. But those results don’t come from hoping customers find what they need. They come from proactively guiding them.

That’s where AI comes in.

With Gorgias AI Agent and automation features, for example, Kirby Allison

  • Increased conversions by 23%
  • Grew sales from support by 46% in just two months

“Our favorite features are definitely Flows and Article Recommendations. They drive so much automation for us. Shoppers get answers to their questions by themselves—what’s the right size hanger, where is my order, what shoe polish would you recommend, etc,” said Addison Debter, Head of Customer Service.

Flows let Kirby Allison surface up to six commonly asked questions directly in the chat widget. When clicked, each one opens a relevant help article—no agent needed.

Auto responses also allowed the team to handle common inquiries like sizing, shipping, and order tracking before a human ever steps in.

If your support team isn’t set up to handle pre-sale conversations at scale, the cost isn’t just in time. It’s in all the revenue you never realize you’re missing.

A CX team stretched thin

It might sound counterintuitive, but AI gives your team more space to be human.

The myth that AI replaces agents is still floating around in some circles, but the reality inside fast-growing ecommerce teams looks different.

In fact, AI frees up time for your team to focus on what they do best: solving complex problems, building relationships, and creating moments that actually drive loyalty.

SuitShop is a perfect example of this in action. When the team adopted AI Agent, they paired automation with intentional escalation: 

“We’re helping customers feel confident during some of the most important moments in their lives—weddings, proms, job interviews, and everything in between. Naturally, my biggest concern with introducing AI was: ‘Will customers feel like they’re getting the same level of care from AI?’ But learning that AI Agent would pull knowledge from our Help Center articles and Macros, which are already written in our brand voice, made me feel more confident,” said Katy Eriks,
Director of Customer Experience.

AI was able to handle common pre-sale questions like shipping timelines and product availability, while human agents stepped in for customizations, wedding-specific questions, and tailored styling support.

The goal wasn’t to remove the human element. It was to give their agents the time and context to show up more meaningfully.

The longer you wait, the harder it is to catch up

In just one year, AI adoption among Gorgias users jumped from 69.2% in 2024 to 77.2% in 2025.

Excitement is rising, too: 55.3% of ecommerce professionals now rate their interest in AI as 8–10 out of 10, up from 45.6% the year prior.

AI is no longer in its experimental phase. It’s the standard, baked into everyday workflows across ecommerce.

If you’re still on the sidelines, 2026 is going to feel like a catch-up game.

The good news? You don’t have to overhaul everything to get started.

So while we’re on the topic of speed, let’s walk through how to start implementing AI for your brand.

How to get started with AI

You don’t need to automate everything on day one. The best CX teams start small, pick the right entry points, and give AI the same level of care you’d give a new team member. Here’s how to roll out AI in a way that actually works:

1. Vet your options thoughtfully

When searching for a new AI tool to help you manage CX, look for one that:

  • Offers strong tone-of-voice control so your AI doesn’t sound like a chatbot from 2012
  • Delivers consistently accurate responses, even as inputs and workflows evolve
  • Provides real post-sale support to help your team troubleshoot, train, and scale usage

Price matters, but it shouldn’t be your only filter.

Also, AI should make your team feel more capable. If it feels like a bolt-on or requires constant developer help, it’s going to create friction, not solve it.

2. Make someone own it

The most successful AI implementations all have one thing in common: someone owns it.

“One of our CX Managers spent 30–40 hours a week building and refining AI. That ownership was critical,” said Sarah Azzaoui, VP of Customer Experience at Clove, when she was explaining how her team first got started with AI.

What many people don’t realize is that AI isn’t going to be perfect out of the gate. AI takes real time and intention to build out. Assigning a clear point person—or better, a small squad—ensures someone is tracking performance, making optimizations, and flagging edge cases.

3. Involve your CX team from the start

No one knows your customer conversations better than your support team. They see the full range of questions, tone, friction points, and emotional nuance every day.

Bringing them into the AI rollout early helps you:

  • Identify which questions are repetitive and low-stakes
  • Flag which issues should always be handled by a human
  • Set realistic expectations across the org about what AI should handle vs. what it could handle

This step also builds trust. If your agents feel like AI is something being done with them instead of to them, adoption is smoother and the outcomes are better.

4. Start small with the right topics

One of the biggest mistakes brands make with AI is trying to do too much, too soon. AI rollout should feel like a phased launch, not a switch flip.

Start in a test environment if your platform allows for it. Roll out automation in stages—by topic, channel, or ticket type—and QA every step of the way.

We suggest beginning with high-volume, low-complexity tickets like:

  • “Where’s my order?”
  • Subscription pauses or cancellations
  • Returns and exchanges
  • Store policies and FAQs

Platforms like Gorgias offer tools like Auto QA that track whether AI responses hit the right tone, offer accurate answers, and resolve issues effectively. Use those tools to catch gaps early and monitor performance over time.

That slow, deliberate rollout pays off in performance. At Psycho Bunny, AI Agent now automates 30% of customer tickets, with custom messaging that reflects their brand tone and processes.

Once you’re ready to scale, you’ll feel more confident that the simple queries are handled correctly while you start to train the AI on more nuanced questions.

For example, Gorgias’s Guidance feature gives AI access to non-public SOPs so it knows how to respond or when to escalate.

“The Guidance feature is so important,” said Tosha Moyer, Senior Customer Experience Manager at Psycho Bunny. “We have a lot of processes that we definitely don’t want described in a customer-facing article, but we want AI Agent to be able to access that information and manage tickets accordingly.”

5. Prep your knowledge base

Even the best AI platform can’t succeed without solid inputs.

Before you roll out, take a hard look at your help docs and macros:

  • Are they accurate?
  • Are they clear and consistent in tone?
  • Are they tagged so AI can understand when to use them?

Think of this step as training your AI. The stronger your internal content library, the more helpful and brand-aligned your AI will be across every channel.

6. Communicate with customers

Whether you disclose AI usage is up to you, but be intentional.

Some brands choose anonymity for a more seamless experience. Others find that transparency builds trust, especially when something goes wrong.

What matters most is that your approach aligns with your brand tone and customer expectations—and that clear escalation paths are in place if a conversation needs a human.

Research shows that 85% of consumers want companies to share their AI assurance practices before rolling out AI-powered experiences. Customers are open to AI. But they expect clarity when it counts.

7. Scale the program over time 

Once you’ve built the foundation, scaling AI across your CX org becomes a lot easier.

“We started with cancellations. Now we’re rolling out warranty claims, retention campaigns, and more,” said the team at Trove Brands.

After proving value with one or two ticket types, look for opportunities to expand:

  • Pre-purchase product recommendations
  • Exit-intent offers via chat
  • Predictive personalization
  • Multichannel automation across email, SMS, and live chat

The goal is to implement smarter automation that makes your team more effective and your customers more supported.

The future is human + AI

The best CX teams aren’t choosing between AI and human agents. They’re choosing both and building stronger systems because of it.

“It’s not human agents vs. AI,” said the team at Clove. “Our team helped shape the AI strategy—and that changed everything.”

But ignoring AI? That comes at a cost. And it’s not just inefficiency. It’s:

  • Missed sales from unanswered questions
  • Slower support that erodes customer trust
  • Burnt-out teams stuck in reactive mode
  • Lower CSAT from inconsistent experiences
  • And eventually, falling behind as the rest of the market moves forward

It’s time to build it into your workflows. Not just as a helper, but as a core part of your team.

Start using Gorgias AI Agent to reduce ticket load, recapture revenue, and deliver the kind of support that actually feels personal.

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Stop Resolving These 7 Tickets Manually (Use AI Agent Actions Instead)

By Christelle Agustin
min read.
0 min read . By Christelle Agustin

TL;DR:

  • Actions are tasks automatically performed by AI Agent for customers. From address changes and subscription pauses to order cancellations, Actions can fulfill requests for your customers, even when your human agents are offline.
  • Actions connect directly to your ecommerce apps. Currently, Actions have native integrations with Shopify, ShipMonk, ShipHero, ShipStation, Stay AI, Recharge, Loop, Subscriptions by Loop, Skio, Seal Subscriptions, and Wonderment.
  • Use pre-built Actions or build your own. There are 12 Action templates available, or you can build Actions using custom HTTP requests.
  • Watch out for setup snags. Conflicting Guidance, multiple matching Actions, older orders, or broken logic can block an Action from executing.

Automated responses don’t actually resolve anything. In reality, they increase customer wait time.

What a customer really wants is immediate resolution, whether they’re looking to cancel an order, change a shipping address, or pause a subscription.

So, how do you go beyond automated text responses? AI Agent Actions. 

Below, we’ll go over the 7 most common customer service requests you can resolve with AI Agent Actions, so your team gets time back to strengthen customer relationships, increase revenue, and improve your CX strategy. 

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What are AI Agent Actions?

AI Agent Actions are tasks AI Agent can complete for your customers, such as canceling an order or updating a shipping address. 

Instead of handing it off to a human agent, AI Agent resolves the ticket by connecting to your ecommerce apps and performing the action on its own.

You get maximum control over when and how Actions are executed. Before performing the Action, AI Agent asks customers for confirmation, respecting your processes and maintaining a high level of customer service. Once an Action has been taken, you can even share feedback with your AI Agent to reinforce its behavior or finetune it further.

How AI Agent works: Guidance, knowledge sources, and Actions.

Pro Tip: Unlike Guidance, which tells AI Agent how to respond in a conversation, Actions determine what happens. It’s the difference between saying “I’ll refund your order” and doing it.

Related: How AI Agent works & gathers data

Top 7 customer requests you should be automating with AI Agent Actions

Ready to resolve requests in seconds? Activate these pre-built Actions in Gorgias to keep your team efficient and your customers happy. 

Gorgias provides 12 Action templates. You can also create your own custom Actions.
Choose from 12 Action templates which you can edit to fit your workflow. You can even create custom Actions.

1. Customer wants to update their shipping address

Action to use: Update shipping address

Supported apps: Shopify, ShipMonk, ShipHero, ShipStation

Incorrect shipping addresses lead to costly re-shipments, delays, and even refunds. Catch errors early to keep customers satisfied and excited about their order.

AI Agent can update shipping addresses for customers.
AI Agent can update shipping addresses for customers without handing it off to a human agent.

Why do you need this Action? 

The reality is your agents aren’t available 24/7. Unless you hire a team to cover night and weekend shifts (which is unlikely), requests will be missed. AI Agent fills in that gap, handling time-sensitive issues when your team is off the clock. Missing them isn’t just about poor customer experience—it can also lead to extra costs, like reshipping orders.

2. Customer wants to cancel an order

Action to use: Cancel order 

Supported apps: Shopify, ShipMonk, ShipHero, ShipStation

Perhaps a customer ordered the wrong item, chose the wrong size, used the wrong card, or simply changed their mind. Allow them to quickly cancel their order and receive a refund in one go.

AI Agent cancels an order for a customer.
AI Agent can autonomously cancel an order for a customer.
“Actions responds to tickets within about 30 seconds and is available 24/7. Regardless of when a customer places their order, the likelihood of quickly catching and canceling the order has increased by 70% since we started using Actions. It’s an exceptional result."

—Jon Clare, VP of Customer Service at Trove Brands

3. Customer wants to replace/remove an item in their order

Actions to use: 

  • Replace item, or 
  • Remove item

Supported app: Shopify

It happens—shoppers order the wrong size or color and want to change their order immediately. Regardless of the reason, make their new decision easy to implement. Quick, accessible order updates prevent returns, lost revenue, and, most importantly, customer disappointment.

Here’s what the replace order item setup looks like in Gorgias:

Replace order Action settings in Gorgias
Before AI Agent can replace an item, it checks to make sure the order is unfulfilled.

Pro Tip: If you have unique workflows, you can create advanced, multi-step Actions and connect to your tools beyond our default integrations. This option requires some tech know-how (like custom HTTP requests), so feel free to bring in your developers for assistance.

4. Customer wants to skip or pause a shipment

Actions to use:

  • Skip next subscription shipment, or
  • Pause subscription

Supported apps: Stay AI, Recharge, Subscriptions by Loop, Skio, Seal Subscriptions

Subscriptions shouldn’t be all or nothing. Let customers skip a shipment or pause their subscription, so they can come back when they’re ready. Giving them full control lets them manage their subscription on their own terms, reducing churn rate in the process.

Here’s how AI Agent handles a skip shipment request: 

AI Agent asking a customer to confirm that they want to skip a subscription shipment.
AI Agent asks for confirmation before skipping a customer’s shipment.

5. Customer lost or damaged their order in transit

Action to use: Reship order for free

Supported apps: Shopify, ShipMonk

No customer expects a lost or damaged order. Let customers know that you have their backs by reshipping a new order free of charge. Fast resolutions during unexpected events demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.

“An instant response builds confidence. We live in a world with short attention spans, so customers appreciate how quickly we can respond to their inquiries. Customers aren’t worrying unnecessarily for longer than they have to for an address change or order cancellation.”

—Mia Chapa, Sr. Director of Customer Experience at Glamnetic

6. Customer wants to know their return shipping status

Action to use: Send return shipping status 

Supported app: Loop

Customers want to know that their return package is on its way to you, so they can redeem their refund. Easily send them a shipment tracking link to give them that peace of mind.

7. Customer wants to know about order status

Action to use: Get order info 

Supported apps: Shopify, ShipHero, ShipMonk, ShipStation, ShipBob, Wonderment

Based on Gorgias data, order status ranks among customers' top 10 questions for support teams. Reassure your customers with quick updates on their orders, including product details, shipping progress, expected delivery date, and other helpful information.

What to know before turning on Actions

Here are a few helpful setup tips to make sure Actions run without a hitch:

  • Guidance can override Actions. If conflicting Guidance exists, it may prevent an Action from triggering, even when all conditions are met. Review your Guidance to avoid overlaps, or write your logic into the Action description instead.
  • Any Action that changes data requires shopper confirmation. Actions like canceling orders, updating addresses, or canceling subscriptions mean AI Agent will always ask the shopper to confirm before making a change.
  • Currently, only one Action can run per ticket. If multiple Actions qualify, none will run, and the ticket will be handed off. Use conditions carefully to ensure only one Action matches per use case.
  • AI Agent can only access the shopper’s last 10 orders. If the customer references an older order, the Action won’t trigger and the ticket will be handed over for manual handling.

AI Agent Actions speak louder than words

If you want…

  • Fewer repetitive tickets
  • Faster customer support
  • Happier customers who get what they need instantly
  • More time for your team to strategize
  • Lower costs and higher efficiency

AI Agent Actions can get you there.

You’ve now seen how Actions can resolve tickets in a snap—no unnecessary handoffs, canned responses, or long response times.

Book a demo to see AI Agent Actions work in real time and start automating what you shouldn’t be doing manually anymore.

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How to Write Guidance with the “When, If, Then” Framework

By Holly Stanley
min read.
0 min read . By Holly Stanley

TL;DR:

  • AI Agent is only as good as the instructions you give it. Clear Guidance enables it to perform like your best support teammate.
  • The “When, If, Then” framework makes writing Guidance easy and repeatable. Start with the scenario (when), define the conditions (if), and list specific actions (then) to create structured Guidance.
  • Use Guidance to handle frequently asked questions, like returns, cancellations, or discount code inquiries, so your team can focus on more complex issues.
  • If your Guidance isn’t working, formatting or logic gaps might be to blame. Check for missing conditions, unsupported tasks, or confusing formatting.

AI Agent is built to deliver fast, accurate support at scale, but like any teammate, it performs best when given clear and specific instructions. 

That’s where Guidance comes in. Writing structured prompts that tell your AI Agent exactly what to do in a given scenario helps reduce escalations, speed up resolutions, and create a more consistent customer experience. 

One simple, repeatable way to do that is with the “When, If, Then” framework. 

In this post, we’ll show you how it works, using examples from our Gorgias Academy course, Improve AI Agent with Better Guidance

You’ll learn how to write Guidance that results in:

  • Fewer escalations
  • Faster resolutions
  • Smarter, more consistent AI behavior

Let’s break it down.

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What is Guidance?

Guidance is how you tell your AI Agent what to do. It’s a set of instructions that outlines how your AI Agent should respond in specific situations. 

When Guidance is available, your AI Agent follows it first, even before checking your Help Center or website content.

That means if your Guidance is missing, unclear, or incomplete, your AI Agent might escalate the ticket, or worse, give a confusing or unhelpful response. Here’s an example:

Let’s say a customer wants to return an item. A human agent would send them a link to the return portal and explain the steps. But without that instruction in Guidance, your AI Agent might skip straight to escalation, turning a simple request into unnecessary work for your team.

That’s why clear, step-by-step Guidance is key to help your AI Agent respond the way your best support agent would.

How AI Agent works: First it uses Guidance, knowledge sources like Help Center aticles, then performs Actions.
AI Agent starts with using Guidance, followed by knowledge sources like Help Center articles, and then, if enabled, it performs automated Actions on your behalf.

Learn more: Create Guidance to give AI Agent custom instructions 

Introducing the “When, If, Then” framework

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start when writing Guidance. The “When, If, Then” framework gives you a simple, repeatable structure to follow, so there’s no need to guess. 

Taking this approach mirrors how AI Agent processes information behind the scenes. When you write clear Guidance, your AI Agent can follow it step by step, just like a support teammate would.

Let’s walk through the three parts of the framework.

WHEN: Set the scenario

Start by identifying the situation your Guidance applies to. This is the trigger or scenario. Use it as the title of your Guidance so it’s easy to find later.

Example:

  • WHEN a shopper asks to return an order
  • WHEN a customer wants to cancel their subscription

Keep it simple and action-oriented. You’re setting the stage for what comes next.

The Guidance name uses the when statement, 'When a customers asks for a return or exchange'
Use your WHEN statement as the name of the Guidance. It makes it easier to identify and organize Guidance as your collection grows.

IF: Add conditions

Once you’ve defined the scenario, add any conditions that determine what should happen. “If” statements help your AI Agent understand what to do based on specific details, like timing, order history, or customer tags.

Example:

  • IF the order was placed less than or equal to 15 days ago
  • IF the customer has a VIP tag in Shopify

Use as many “if” conditions as needed to guide different outcomes. Just make sure you cover all the possibilities so your AI Agent doesn’t get stuck.

THEN: Define the actions

This is where you tell your AI Agent exactly what to do. Be specific and use bullet points or numbered steps to keep things clear.

Example:

  • Tell the shopper they’re eligible for a return
  • Send them a link to the return portal
  • Let them know they’ll receive a prepaid label once the form is submitted

The more clearly you outline the steps, the more consistently your AI Agent will perform.

The framework keeps your Guidance simple, structured, and easy to understand—for both your team and your AI Agent. When your AI Agent knows exactly what to do, it can deliver fast, accurate, and helpful responses that keep customers happy.

Put it all together

Say a shopper messages your store asking to return an item and you want AI Agent to send them to your return portal.

Here’s how this looks in a complete piece of Guidance:

WHEN a shopper asks to return an order:

IF the order was placed less than or equal to 15 days ago,   

THEN

  • Tell the shopper they’re eligible for a return
  • Send them a link to the return portal
  • Let them know they’ll receive a prepaid label via email once they submit the form

9 support scenarios made better with Guidance

These nine scenarios come up constantly in ecommerce support, and they’re perfect candidates for automation. They follow predictable patterns and are quick to resolve when your AI Agent knows what to do.

Use the examples below to jumpstart your setup. Each one is written using the When, If, Then framework and can be copied directly into Gorgias.

1. Where’s my order? (WISMO)

WHEN a customer asks about their order status:

IF tracking information is available,

THEN

  • Provide the tracking number and link to the carrier's tracking page.
  • Inform the customer of the expected delivery date.

IF tracking information is unavailable,

THEN

  • Inform the customer that the order is being prepared for shipment.
  • Provide an estimated shipping date.

2. What size should I order?

WHEN a customer inquires about product sizing for [item name]:

IF the customer asks what size to get, or mentions they’re unsure about sizing,

THEN

  • Share the sizing chart or guide.
  • Offer recommendations based on common fit feedback.

3. Can I change my shipping address?

WHEN a customer requests to change their shipping address:

IF the order has not been fulfilled,

THEN

  • Confirm the new address with the customer.
  • Update the shipping address in Shopify (or your chosen platform).

IF the order has already been fulfilled,

THEN

  • Inform the customer that the address cannot be changed.
  • Provide options for order interception or return.

4. Can I cancel my order?

WHEN a customer asks to cancel their order:

IF the order has not been fulfilled,

THEN

  • Confirm that we can cancel their order.
  • Tell them they’ll receive their refund in 5-10 business days.

IF the order has already been fulfilled,

THEN

  • Inform the customer that the order cannot be cancelled.
  • Help to initiate a return once the item is delivered.

5. How do I return an item?

WHEN a customer asks about returning an item:

IF the return is within the allowed return window of [x] days after the order was received,

THEN

  • Provide the return instructions and link to the return portal.
  • Inform the customer about the refund process.

IF the return window has expired,

THEN

  • Inform the customer that the return period has ended.
  • Offer alternative solutions if available.

6. Do you have any discount codes?

WHEN a customer inquires about discounts or promo codes:

IF there is an active promotion for [item name],

THEN

  • Share the current discount code and its terms.

IF there are no active promotions for [item name],

THEN

  • Inform the customer that there are no current promotions.
  • Suggest subscribing to the newsletter or following social media for future promos.

7. I want to pause my subscription.

WHEN a customer requests to pause their subscription:

IF the customer has an active subscription,

THEN

  • Provide instructions on how to pause the subscription through their account.
  • Confirm the pause and inform them of the next billing date.

8. When will this item be back in stock?

WHEN a customer asks about product restocking:

IF a restock date is available,

THEN

  • Inform the customer of the expected restock date.

IF the restock date is unknown,

THEN

  • Offer to notify the customer when the product is back in stock.
  • Suggest similar products.

9. Do you ship internationally?

WHEN a customer inquires about international shipping:

IF international shipping is available,

THEN

  • Confirm that international shipping is offered.
  • Provide estimated delivery times and any additional fees.

IF international shipping is not available,

THEN

  • Inform the customer that shipping is limited to specific regions.

Pro Tip: Test out your Guidance by going to AI Agent > Test, and iterate as you go.

Troubleshooting: Why Guidance might not trigger

If your AI Agent isn’t following your Guidance, or it’s escalating tickets you thought it could handle, run through this quick checklist to spot the issue:

  • Has a descriptive, easy-to-understand name: Name your Guidance based on the scenario (e.g. When a shopper asks about returns).
  • Clear IF and THEN conditions: Make sure your Guidance spells out what to do when a condition is met.
  • Covers all variations (no gaps in logic): Don’t leave your AI Agent hanging. Include fallback instructions for all scenarios.
  • No wall-of-text formatting: Break things up with line breaks, headers, and spacing to help AI Agent scan quickly.
  • Clearly written steps with bullets or numbers: Use lists to make actions easy to follow, like you would for a teammate.
  • Doesn’t include unsupported tasks: Avoid unsupported instructions like “send macro,” “assign to agent,” or “delay the response.”

Bonus: Let AI do the heavy lifting

Don’t have time to write Guidance from scratch? The good news is AI can help with that, too.

AI-generated Guidance is available for all AI Agent subscribers. This feature analyzes your historical ticket data and uses it to generate ready-to-use, customizable prompts for your AI Agent.

Here’s what it does:

  • Analyzes past tickets to identify common support scenarios
  • Generates step-by-step Guidance based on what’s worked before

Ready to level up your Guidance?

Clear, structured Guidance is the key to unlocking better performance from your AI Agent. With just one well-written “When, If, Then” prompt, you can reduce escalations, speed up resolutions, and give your shoppers a smoother experience.

Not sure where to start? Try writing Guidance for one common question today—like returns, order status, or promo codes. Or, if you want to go deeper, check out our free Gorgias Academy course. 

When Should You Migrate Helpdesks? 5 Signs to Watch Out For

By Tina Donati
min read.
0 min read . By Tina Donati

TL;DR:

  • Your helpdesk shouldn't hold you back. If your team is buried in tickets or bouncing between tools, your platform might be the problem—not your process.
  • Rising ticket volumes, slower response times, and clunky integrations are signs you’ve outgrown your platform. Don’t wait for these issues to impact revenue or retention.
  • You’re not alone—fast-growing brands hit these roadblocks too. Dr. Bronner’s, Psycho Bunny, and Audien Hearing all switched platforms to support bigger growth with less friction.
  • Helpdesk migration doesn’t have to be scary. With the right migration support, you can move quickly, avoid downtime, and give your team a tool they actually want to use.

As ticket volume grows, even the best CX teams start running into roadblocks: limited integrations, repetitive manual work, clunky interfaces, and slower response times. You patch things together. You make it work... until you can’t.

Many growing ecommerce brands find themselves trapped in a system that demands constant workarounds just to function.

If your current customer service platform feels more like a burden than a backbone, you’re not alone—and you’re not stuck.

In this post, we’ll walk through:

  • The key signs it’s time to switch platforms
  • What to prioritize when choosing your next one
  • How brands like Pepper made a smooth move to Gorgias

The 5 warning signs you’ve outgrown your helpdesk

There’s a tipping point most brands hit as they scale. The signs are subtle at first—maybe your agents are taking longer to respond, or the volume of customer support tickets quietly outpaces your team. Then it starts affecting revenue, customer satisfaction, and retention. Big yikes.

Left unchecked, small inefficiencies can snowball into bigger operational challenges.

Catch these warning signs before they start costing you growth:

1. Rising ticket volume and slower resolution times

Support teams that are always playing catch-up rarely have time to focus on higher-value work. If your inbox is constantly overflowing or first response times are creeping up, it’s likely a sign your tools aren’t scaling with your business.

That’s exactly what happened with apparel brand Psycho Bunny.

“As we grew and expanded, we needed a tool that was better suited for Shopify, easier to manage, and offered better support to help us get the most out of the tool,” said Jean-Aymeri de Magistris, VP IT, Data & Analytics, and PMO at Psycho Bunny.

2. Agents constantly toggling between tabs and tools

If your agents are spending more time gathering context than solving problems, you’re losing time (and likely, patience) on both sides of the conversation. Fragmented tools can seriously undercut productivity.

Dr. Bronner’s experienced this firsthand, juggling Salesforce, spreadsheets, and disconnected systems.

“When I joined, we were logging calls and emails in Excel. It wasn’t scalable,” recalled Emily McEnany, Senior CX Manager at Dr. Bronner’s.

3. Clunky or missing integrations with your ecommerce stack

Some platforms require technical support even for small changes, such as custom workflows, new automations, or basic integrations. That may work at the start, but it becomes a bottleneck as your brand grows.

Disconnected systems strip away context, increasing the risk of mistakes. Whether it’s pulling up an order status or managing a return, agents need tools that work together, not against each other.

4. You’re stuck answering the same questions over and over

Every support team deals with repetitive inquiries. But without automation or self-service options, those tickets eat into your team’s time and keep you from focusing on higher-impact conversations.

Nude Project struggled to keep up with their ticket volume due to Zendesk’s lack of intuitive automation features. During Black Friday, the team received a record-high number of tickets—more than double their average volume.

“Connecting with customers through a screen is not always easy. With the high volume of messages, we need a tool that simplifies operational tasks while enabling effective communication and organization,” said Raquel J. Méndez, CX Manager at Nude Project.

5. Onboarding takes too long

Your platform should be easy for new hires to learn and for your team to evolve with. If ramping up agents takes weeks (or months), the platform might be getting in the way more than it’s helping.

Arcade Belts went through this process, trying one system, then switching back to one that better matched their needs.

“It just took a demo or two to realize what was actually going to support our team the way we needed,” their Ecommerce Coordinator, Grant, shared.

If any of these challenges sound familiar, you’re not alone. 

The important part is recognizing when you’ve outgrown your current setup—and knowing that there are options out there to help you move faster.

What to look for when switching CX platforms

Switching platforms isn’t just about solving today’s problems. It’s about creating space for your team to be efficient, serve customers better, and turn support from a cost center into a real growth engine.

Need to migrate to a new platform? Look for the following:

1. A system that keeps up with rising ticket volumes

As your brand grows, support volume naturally increases. 

Find a stable infrastructure that can handle that growth, has zero platform lag, and a robust engineering team that continuously makes the tool better for your needs.

To Psycho Bunny, Zendesk was a “legacy tool”—so they switched to Gorgias.

In just a few weeks, they migrated all historical conversations, tags, and Macros to Gorgias. Jean-Aymeri, their VP IT, credits Gorgias’s helpful onboarding specialists for making it effortless to integrate their apps and onboard their team onto a brand new tool.

Related: The engineering work that keeps Gorgias running smoothly

2. Automation for repetitive tasks (that maintains the human touch)

From “where’s my order” questions to return policies, prioritize AI tools that can automate repetitive inquiries.

Dr. Bronner’s implemented AI Agent to handle rising volumes of FAQs, allowing their team to focus on complex requests that require a human touch.

In just two months, they saw:

  • 45% of all customer service tickets automated
  • $100,000 saved per year by switching from Salesforce to Gorgias
  • 4 days per month in team time savings
  • 11% higher customer satisfaction score 

By systematizing the simple stuff, they freed up bandwidth to focus on what matters most—building relationships and solving more nuanced problems.

Dr. Bronner's performance dashboard on Gorgias shows they saved over $5k by automating 48% of customer support tickets.
In a month, Dr. Bronner’s saved $5,248 by automating almost half of their support tickets.

3. Built-in features that turn support into sales

More brands are rethinking how support contributes to revenue. Look for a tool that combines support and sales. The most effective ones use AI to initiate upselling conversations, so your team can generate new revenue without needing to scale headcount at the same rate.

For jewelry brand Caitlyn Minimalist, which normally saw 30,000 tickets per month, AI Agent was the perfect fit. On top of answering FAQs, AI Agent also helped recommend products based on customer needs.

These conversations often begin as simple inquiries (“What should I get for my friend’s birthday?” or “What product suits me?”) and end in a purchase—handled entirely by AI. In fact, AI Agent’s conversion rates were 150% higher than the team average, proving that automation can support and sell.

4. A more efficient workflow—without relying on developers

The last thing scaling brands should have to worry about is relying on developers for basic changes. That includes being able to create macros and automations in-house and access key customer data without toggling across tools. 

The platform should fit into your existing ecommerce stack—not fight against it.

That’s where Audien Hearing found themselves before switching to Gorgias.

“I’ve seen companies lose a lot of money because it’s not efficient,” said Zoe Kahn, former VP of CX. “You try to save money early on, but then you look at your helpdesk a year later and think, ‘Oh no, what’s happening?’”

Since switching from Richpanel, Audien Hearing’s CX team has been able to run CX on their own terms—without the bottlenecks.

They now resolve 9,000 tickets per month through self-service alone (including a customer knowledge base), cut first response times by 88%, and reduced return rates by 5%. With more time for one-on-one conversations, CSAT jumped from 80 to 86.

What migration actually looks like

“But migration sounds hard.”

We get it. Moving your entire CX operation can feel intimidating. But with the right partner (and the right platform), it doesn’t have to be.

Here’s how Gorgias makes switching smooth and stress-free:

  • A dedicated onboarding team: Our team is with you every step of the way—from initial setup to post-launch optimization.
  • A platform built for ecommerce workflows: Gorgias is designed to work the way ecommerce brands do, not the other way around.
  • Fast setup and agent training: Most brands are up and running in days, not weeks. And because the interface is intuitive, teams can get comfortable quickly without heavy, time-consuming training.
  • Full data migration support: Whether you’re moving from Gladly, Zendesk, or another platform, we’ll help you bring your history, macros, and workflows over smoothly.

Most Gorgias customers are fully live within just a few days—ready to serve customers faster, smarter, and with less manual lift.

How Pepper made a smooth switch to Gorgias

When fast-growing intimates brand Pepper outgrew their old CX platform, they knew they needed a system that could scale with them—without sacrificing speed or quality.

“Gladly didn’t offer any automation or inbox organization features. Our queue got really messy. We got 400 tickets a day during Black Friday, and we didn’t clear that backlog until the following Spring. We knew we couldn’t do that again,” explained Gabrielle McWhirter, CX Operations Lead at Pepper.

With Gorgias, Pepper was able to:

  • Fully migrate their workflows and history
  • Train their team quickly on the new platform
  • Launch their AI Agent ("Penelope") to automate more than 50% of support tickets
Pepper uses AI Agent to help customers find the right bra size.

And the results spoke for themselves:

  • 16.5x ROI on AI-driven sales interactions
  • 90%+ decrease in first response and resolution times
  • 18% uplift in average order value

See how Pepper made the switch happen (and why they’re never looking back):

Is it time to make the switch?

If you’re seeing the warning signs, here’s a quick gut check:

  • You’re drowning in tickets and toggling between tabs
  • You can’t track or tie support to revenue
  • You need better integration with your tech stack
  • You’re not using automation, or it’s not actually saving time
  • Your team dreads logging into your current tool

The right platform won’t just help your team work better. It’ll help you drive more revenue, boost customer retention, and actually make customers want to talk to you.

See what switching to Gorgias could do for your brand. Book a demo today.

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11 Ways CX Teams Can Turn Customer Touchpoints Into Revenue

By Christelle Agustin
min read.
0 min read . By Christelle Agustin

TL;DR:

  • Your CX team drives revenue: Build trust, remove friction, and influence buying decisions across the customer journey
  • Optimize existing processes: Automate tasks, address concerns proactively, and create efficient handoffs
  • Spot risk early: Use tagging and sentiment detection to re-engage customers before they churn
  • Protect VIPs: Prioritize loyal customers, create moments of delight, turn supporters into advocates

Rising tariffs. Shipping delays. Unpredictable price hikes. For ecommerce, it's an understatement to say the pressure is rising. If you're on the CX team, you're already facing the fire head-on — all the customer frustration, confusion, and hesitation.

CX teams are on the frontlines of support and sales. You're shaping customer trust, buying decisions, and brand loyalty

From pre-sales conversations to loyalty programs, it’s time to rethink the customer journey, so you can turn every interaction into an opportunity to grow your revenue.

Reframe CX’s role across the customer journey

Customer service isn’t just about reacting to problems. It can be a proactive and strategic function that helps you stabilize and even grow your revenue.

Think about it this way: you have the power to turn everyday customer moments into wins.

At every stage of the customer journey, you can turn:

  1. Purchase hesitation -> confidence to buy (pre-sales)
  2. Concern → relief (post-purchase)
  3. Disinterest -> re-engagement (loyalty)
  4. Returning customers → brand advocates (advocacy)

This isn’t about being pushy for sales. It's about anticipating needs and putting systems in place that protect customer relationships and revenue.

As you update your CX workflow, keep these two questions in mind:

  1. How can I positively influence revenue?
  2. How can I reduce the risk of losing it?

1. Resolve pre-sales hesitation with education

Most pre-sales hesitation is rooted in uncertainty: What’s the return policy? How much is shipping? Will this fit? Will it arrive in time? 

Reduce customer effort and build confidence with automation as your CX team’s first line of defense. Anything else more complicated, your agents can take care of.

Automate repetitive questions

Start by setting up automated answers for the questions your team responds to every day, especially the ones that delay conversions:

  • Where is my order?
  • Do you ship internationally?
  • How much is shipping?
  • Do you accept returns?
  • Are your prices affected by tariffs?

There are a few ways to automate these questions in Gorgias: 

  • Flows: Automated conversations designed to resolve common inquiries without agent intervention
  • AI Agent: Conversational AI that answers customer questions in chat and email, trained on your internal documents and brand voice
  • Help Center: A self-serve, customer-facing knowledge base of help articles, FAQs, guides, and product resources
AI Agent cancels an order for a customer
Conversational AI, AI Agent, can automatically cancel orders for customers.

Read more: How to optimize your help center for AI Agent

Proactively guide shoppers

Be the compass for the wandering window shoppers and browsers. They might not know exactly what to get, but with the right nudge, you can guide them toward the right product and a fuller cart.

Try these chat prompts:

  • Don’t know what size to get? Check out our sizing guide to get your perfect fit!
  • Need help choosing the right carry-on? Here’s a quick comparison of our top sellers.
  • We offer free shipping for orders over $60! 
  • What’s your skin type — dry, oily, or combination?

Offer discounts based on shopper intent

Sometimes, a discount is all a customer needs to take their order to checkout. Instead of storewide promo codes, use AI to offer tailored discounts to shoppers who show strong intent to buy. This can help reduce abandoned carts and leave customers with a great impression of your brand.

Here are some of the best times to offer a discount:

  • A first-time shopper is hesitant because of the price
  • A shopper adds an item to their cart, then asks about shipping or return policies
  • A shopper asks if they should wait for a sale

Recommend products in real time

If shoppers can’t quickly find what they’re looking for, they’ll leave. Real-time product recommendations help resolve indecision and increase average order value.

Examples of when real-time suggestions drive conversions:

  • A shopper asks for jeans in medium — AI suggests bestsellers in their size
  • A returning customer mentions loving a nude-colored top — AI recommends similar or matching items
  • A product is out of stock — AI suggests alternatives based on color or style
AI Agent recommends alternative items to a customer looking for an out of stock item
AI Agent helps a customer looking for an item in their favorite color by recommending alternatives.

Hand off high-intent shoppers to live agents

High-intent questions are usually specific and goal-oriented — things like:

  • What size should I get?
  • How soon can this ship?
  • Is this item still in stock?

When customers ask questions that directly impact their ability to purchase, it’s a strong buying signal. If they don’t get a fast response, they’ll probably abandon their cart.

So, how do you encourage shoppers to keep shopping?

Activate chat on your website and equip it with automated features, such as Flows, and/or conversational AI, like AI Agent. 

No matter what setup you choose, always have a protocol ready to hand off to a human agent when needed.

In Gorgias, you can set up Rules or use AI Agent handover rules to automatically route conversations based on specific keywords, topics, or customer behavior.

A Rule that automatically assigns chat tickets to a dedicated chat team
Have a dedicated chat team? Create a Rule that automatically hands over all chat tickets to them.

2. Alleviate post-purchase concerns

After buying, customers may want to change their order or just need reassurance that everything is on its way. 

If customers feel ignored during this critical window, you risk losing their business.

The easy fix? Eliminate friction, reassure customers, and make it easy for them to stay excited about their purchase.

Automate order status updates

Customers expect full visibility into their orders. Give them full access to this information, and you'll receive fewer WISMO requests.

Integrate your helpdesk with your 3PL or shipping provider to automatically send real-time updates on order status. If customers have an account portal, give them a tracking link.

Pro Tip: If delays are expected, automate messages to let customers know ahead of time. Being proactive keeps customers informed and reduces the need for reactive support.

Turn negative experiences into retention moments

When something goes wrong, like a delay, a lost package, or unexpected fees, it's how you respond that matters most.

Empower your CX team to act quickly. For example:

  • Offer store credit, loyalty points, or free shipping perks to impacted customers
  • Prioritize VIP or first-time buyers for fast-tracked resolutions
  • Escalate critical post-purchase issues to senior agents

You can also use sentiment detection to flag frustrated customers early. Gorgias has built-in customer sentiment detection that automatically identifies tones like urgent, negative, positive, or even threatening language. You can create Rules that tag these conversations and route them to the right agent for faster handling.

Read more: Customer sentiments

3. Re-engage at-risk customers and reduce churn

Just because a customer is at risk doesn’t mean you’ve lost them. Identifying and re-engaging at-risk customers is one of the highest-impact things you can do to protect revenue. 

Spot risk early

Pay attention to repeat patterns that signal dissatisfaction. Common early indicators include:

  • Multiple shipping complaints
  • Frequent refund or return requests
  • Negative or urgent sentiment in support tickets
  • Long periods of customer inactivity after purchase

Use sentiment detection and Ticket Fields (ticket properties) to tag these signals automatically. With this data identified, you’ll start to spot patterns that can help you address issues, giving customers a reason to stay. 

Segment customers by using Customer Fields to organized them under VIP, Problematic, High Returns, or Fraud.
Customer Fields make it easier to segment customers. For example, customers can be grouped by VIP, Problematic, High Returns, or Fraud.

Build recovery flows

Once you’ve identified your at-risk customers, use win-back strategies, like:

  • Offering discount codes, loyalty perks, or free returns
  • Sending personalized emails or messages acknowledging the issue and offering solutions
  • Prioritizing conversations for your most experienced agents or account managers

When handled thoughtfully, a churn-risk customer can become one of your strongest advocates because you showed up when it mattered most.

4. Build loyalty by surprising your best customers

Don’t forget, there are already customers who love you! These loyal customers don’t just come back to buy again — they bring friends, amplify your brand, and give your business stability when you need it most.

Identify and prioritize VIPs

Use customer data to identify customers who purchase frequently, spend more, or have referred others. Tag them as VIPs in your helpdesk so that their requests are prioritized.

For example, in Gorgias, you can use Customer Fields (customer labels and properties) to group your customers under:

  • VIP
  • Repeat purchaser
  • High lifetime value
  • Promoter

When you know who your top customers are, you can offer more personalized service and make sure every interaction strengthens their connection to your brand.

Create brand advocates through small gestures

You don’t need to offer huge discounts to let customers know you appreciate them. Small, thoughtful gestures often make the biggest impact:

  • Send handwritten thank-you notes with their orders
  • Offer a free gift, upgrade, or loyalty perk after a milestone purchase
  • Include a referral code they can share with friends
  • Feature loyal customers on your social media channels (with their permission)

If you’re using macros and automations, you can even trigger some of these surprise-and-delight actions automatically, making it easier to scale while keeping the personal touch.

Make revenue your outcome at any time

We know how overwhelming uncertain times can be. It’s easy to think you need to reinvent your entire strategy just to keep up. 

But the truth is, you already have what you need. You have a team that knows your customers. You have conversations happening every day that can protect, nurture, and even grow your business.

By grounding yourself in what’s already working and creating proactive systems, you can turn uncertainty into strong and steady growth.

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Store Policies by Industry, Explained: What to Include for Every Vertical

By Holly Stanley
min read.
0 min read . By Holly Stanley

TL;DR:

  • Clear policies reduce tickets. When customers can’t find return windows or shipping timelines, they turn to your support team — often unnecessarily.
  • Each vertical has different CX needs. A fashion shopper wants fit info. An electronics buyer needs setup help. Tailor your policies to match.
  • Proactive placement matters. Don’t bury policies in the footer — surface them in product pages, chat, emails, and account portals where customers actually look.
  • Policy + AI = self-service support. Gorgias’s AI Agent can guide shoppers to answers instantly, reducing WISMO and freeing up your team for high-value work.

For many ecommerce teams, store policies are an afterthought, tucked away in the footer or buried deep in the FAQ. But they shouldn’t be.

Great customer experience (CX) starts before a customer reaches out. And with 55% of shoppers preferring self-service support, your store policies are often their first stop for answers.

In this guide, we break down the must-have policies for five key ecommerce verticals, based on real Gorgias ticket data. From shipping delays to subscription changes, you’ll learn how to prevent tickets before they happen.

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Why store policies are a CX power move

If you’re constantly fielding questions about returns, shipping times, or order changes, it’s a policy opportunity.

Well-crafted store policies are one of your CX team's most effective tools for setting expectations, building trust, and preventing support issues before they happen. When done right, they turn common friction points into effortless experiences.

Common blind spots that lead to tickets

When policies are vague or hard to find, customers turn to your inbox, driving up ticket volume and slowing down your support team.

Here are the most common blind spots we see:

  • Unclear or missing return windows lead to questions like, “Can I still return this?”
  • No defined process for exchanges or edits confuses customers who need to fix an order.
  • Subscription rules hidden in fine print frustrate loyal customers trying to pause, skip, or cancel.
  • Shipping timelines that shift without explanation cause “Where’s my order?” messages that could’ve been avoided.

When policies aren’t clear or easy to find, customers turn to your inbox. And that means more tickets, wait times, and pressure on your team.

Proactive policies = fewer tickets, happier customers

Based on real data from Gorgias, these are the top 10 tickets customers send across channels like chat, contact forms, and email:

  1. Order damaged
  2. No reply tickets
  3. Shipping policy
  4. Shipping change
  5. Order change
  6. Product question
  7. Return status
  8. Thank you tickets
  9. Discount request
  10. Shipping status

What do most of these have in common? You can address them with clear, accessible policies. 

15 store policies you need, organized by industry

Customer expectations aren’t one-size-fits-all, and your store policies shouldn’t be either.

What shoppers expect from a fashion brand is very different from what they need from a wellness company or electronics provider. 

We’ve broken down the top policy must-haves by vertical, using real-world examples from Gorgias customers and ticket data.

Use these examples as your plug-and-play guide to write better policies, reduce ticket volume, and create smoother support experiences — no matter what you sell.

Apparel and fashion

When it comes to fashion, uncertainty drives tickets. “Will this fit?” “Can I return it?” “Where’s my order?” The most successful fashion brands like Princess Polly cut down on support volume by making these answers easy to find before customers ever reach out.

Key policies to prioritize

  • Returns and exchanges: Be clear on timeframes, conditions, and the process. Bonus points for adding visuals or quick links to return portals.
  • Size guide and fit: To minimize confusion, include details on model sizing, garment measurements, and fit notes.
  • Order changes: Let customers know how to update their order before it ships.
  • Shipping timelines: Set expectations around processing and delivery windows (especially during peak seasons).
Princess Polly returns and exchanges store policies
Princess Polly’s returns hub simplifies the process for every payment method, reducing tickets around what’s eligible and how to start a return.
Princess Polly returns and exchanges FAQ button circled in yellow with an arrow
By linking their returns policy and FAQ, Princess Polly helps shoppers self-serve without needing to reach out to support, reducing WISMO and return questions. 

Where to share store policies

  • Link return and shipping policies on product detail pages (PDPs).
  • Trigger chat campaigns with the sizing guide when shoppers linger on product pages.
  • Add return instructions in post-purchase emails to cut “How do I return this?” tickets.

Consumer goods

Consumer goods customers often want to know two things right away: “What’s it made of?” and “When will it get here?” These questions can quickly pile up in your inbox if your policies aren’t front and center.

Trove Brands, home to household favorites like BlenderBottle and Owala, solves this by proactively answering product and shipping questions across their site and emails.

Key policies to prioritize

  • Shipping: Share estimated delivery times, carrier information, and instructions on how customers can track their orders.
  • Product specs and materials: List dimensions, materials, care instructions, and safety notes to avoid product-related confusion.
  • Damage/defect resolution: Set clear expectations around what qualifies as a defect and how customers can report it.
  • Warranty or guarantee: Outline what’s covered, for how long, and how to claim it, especially important for durable goods.
BlenderBottle manufacturing policies collapsible menu
BlenderBottle uses collapsible menus that let shoppers find key policy details without scrolling through long blocks of text.

At the end of each product page, BlenderBottle shares a support menu where shoppers can find information on order status and replacement parts. 

BlenderBottle support menu with store policies
A built-in support menu on every PDP gives customers immediate access to order status, product care, and parts — reducing pre-purchase hesitation.

Where to share store policies

  • Embed product-related FAQs directly on PDPs to answer questions where they arise.
  • Use conversational AI assistants like AI Agent to automatically resolve tickets related to product questions and damaged orders.
  • Add warranty and damage policy links in order confirmation and shipping emails to keep customers informed.

Read more: What's the secret to reducing WISMO requests?

Consumer electronics

In electronics, clarity is everything. Customers want to know how to use the product, what to do if it doesn’t work, and how to get a replacement — without jumping through hoops.

Over-the-counter hearing aid company Audien Hearing nails this by creating crystal-clear support content around setup, shipping, and returns, so customers can troubleshoot confidently and independently.

Key policies to prioritize

  • Warranty/repairs: Explain what’s covered, how to file a claim, and turnaround times for repairs or replacements.
  • Returns and exchanges: Clearly state the return window, list of eligible items, processing time, and whether you accept refunds, in-store credit, or exchanges.
  • Shipping and delivery expectations: Share average delivery timelines and what to expect once a product ships.
  • Troubleshooting steps: Provide self-service guides for common issues like connectivity, battery life, or setup confusion.

Audien Hearing has clear visual policies that make it simple for shoppers to find the info they need quickly. 

Audien Hearing visual store policies with orders, shipping, and returns information
Audien Hearing uses a clean, visual layout to guide customers through setup, shipping, and warranty policies, reducing confusion and support requests.

Where to share store policies

  • In chat, set up an automated flow that answers questions like “How do I set this up?” or “Can I return this?”
  • Let customers track their return or exchange process, especially when high-value items are involved.
  • Create step-by-step guides, accompanied by video or images, in your Help Center for setup and basic troubleshooting.
  • Include warranty and return information in the product packaging, so customers have it readily available in case something goes wrong.

Health and wellness

In the health and wellness space, trust and transparency are everything. Customers want to feel confident that the products they’re using are safe and that the support will be just as thoughtful as the product itself.

Brands like period underwear brand Saalt do this exceptionally well, pairing clear product education with empathetic policies that guide customers through everything from first use to subscription changes.

Key policies to prioritize

  • Product safety and use: Provide detailed instructions, safety disclaimers, and FAQs for first-time users, especially for intimate or ingestible products.
  • Returns (especially for hygiene items): Be upfront about what can and can’t be returned, and include compassionate language to build trust.
  • Order change or cancellation: Make it easy to update or cancel orders, especially for items that ship quickly or automatically.
  • Subscription FAQs: Clearly explain how to skip, pause, or cancel a subscription, and what benefits subscribers get.

Saalt lets customers phrase questions themselves or choose from a dropdown menu.

Saalt what can we help you with search bar
Saalt offers a flexible help experience. Customers can type their questions or choose from smart dropdowns, making product education accessible and intuitive. 
Saalt Bliss guarantee and warranty store policies
A one-year satisfaction guarantee reassures first-time buyers, helping reduce hesitation and post-purchase concerns around intimate products.

Where to share store policies

  • Prioritize clarity on your contact form by using dropdowns or checkboxes to organize customer inquiries by topic.
  • Let AI Agent handle recurring product questions like “How do I use this?” or “Is this safe?” to free up your team.
  • Include shipping and return info in SMS flows so customers can get answers on-the-go, without needing to email.

Food and beverage

Food and beverage customers tend to be both curious and cautious. They want to know what they’re putting in their bodies — and what to do if something goes wrong with the order. 

Brands like Everyday Dose get ahead of these concerns by making their policies clear, accessible, and customer-first.

Key policies to prioritize

  • Ingredient and allergen disclaimers: Transparency is everything. List ingredients, possible allergens, and sourcing details to build trust.
  • Subscription changes: Give customers full control to pause, skip, or cancel deliveries with minimal friction.
  • Damaged orders: Outline what customers should do if a product arrives broken or spoiled, and how fast they can expect a replacement.
  • Shipping and delivery FAQs: Cover delivery timeframes, how orders are packed, and what to do if a shipment is delayed.

Everyday Dose lists frequently asked questions and makes it simple for customers to find important allergen and ingredient information. 

Everyday Dose Frequently Asked Questions collapsible menus
Everyday Dose’s use of emoji icons and collapsible menus turns a standard FAQ into a branded, user-friendly experience — inviting customers to explore before they ask.

Given that Everyday Dose is a mushroom supplement brand, many shoppers will likely have questions around allergens and exact ingredients. On each of their product pages, there is a clear “Read the Label” button. 

Everyday Dose read the label button annotated in yellow with arrow
A dedicated “Read the Label” button puts full transparency front and center — reducing ingredient-related inquiries and building trust with health-conscious shoppers. 
Everyday Dose full ingredient list and supplement facts
Providing a detailed ingredient list and supplement facts helps customers find the specific information they need without reaching out to support. 

Everyday Dose also has a chat which encourages customers to click through to the correct support link or to track their order. 

Everyday Dose chat bot with frequently asked questions
Everyday Dose integrates FAQs and order tracking directly in chat, letting customers solve their own issues and cutting down on manual support. 

Where to share store policies

  • Enable self-service order management on chat to give customers real-time updates on shipping status and subscription changes.
  • Feature policy links prominently in your customer account portal — especially for managing subscriptions.
  • Include your damage/return policy in post-purchase and thank-you emails, so customers know exactly what to do if something’s wrong.

Pro Tip: Use a conversational AI platform to handle common questions at scale. For example, Gorgias’s AI Agent can instantly respond to FAQs like “How much is shipping?” or “When will my order arrive?” — all in your brand’s voice. And when a request needs a human touch, it routes the ticket to the right agent automatically.

Best practices for writing and distributing store policies

Even the most well-written policy won’t reduce tickets if it’s buried three clicks deep in your footer. To truly support your customers (and lighten your team’s workload), your policies need to show up in the right places, at the right moments.

Here’s how to get them in front of customers when they need them most:

Surface policies across key customer touchpoints

  • Product detail pages: Link to size guides, shipping timelines, or ingredient lists directly on PDPs.
  • Chat: Use a combination of automated flows and conversational AI to proactively suggest relevant policies based on the customer’s question or page.
  • Help center: Turn your most common ticket topics into easy-to-scan articles with clear titles and headers.
  • Email flows: Include return and warranty info in post-purchase emails, shipping updates, and thank-you messages.
  • Account portals: Make it easy for customers to manage subscriptions, view order policies, and find FAQs in their account dashboard.
  • SMS or mobile support: Include quick policy reminders in transactional texts, like shipping delays or renewal reminders.

3 core elements of a strong store policy

  1. Clear: Use plain language, short sentences, and bullet points. Avoid legal jargon.
  2. Accessible: Link them prominently in your footer, header, Help Center homepage, chat, and product pages.
  3. Actionable: Tell customers exactly what to do — where to click, who to contact, and what to expect.

Well-placed policies turn support into a self-service experience. They empower your customers to get what they need without ever opening a ticket — and that’s a win for everyone.

Turn store policies into your first line of support 

Clear, proactive policies do more than answer questions. They prevent tickets, build trust, and make your support team’s job easier. By tailoring your policies to your industry and placing them where customers actually need them, you turn potential friction points into smooth experiences.

Want to take it a step further? Book a demo to see Gorgias’s AI Agent handle common inquiries like shipping, returns, and product questions, across chat, email, and contact forms.

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