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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

How CX Leaders are Navigating Tariffs with Transparency

By Gorgias Team
min read.
0 min read . By Gorgias Team

If you're an ecommerce leader right now, you’re likely facing a new wave of uncertainty. Rising tariffs, disrupted imports, and sudden cost increases are putting pressure on your margins, and your customer relationships.

At Gorgias, we are working with thousands of brands that are grappling with tough calls: adjust prices, shift sourcing, or absorb costs to protect loyalty. And while the supply chain is where these issues start, the customer experience is where they play out.

Whether you’re a growing DTC or an enterprise brand, your customers deserve transparency. We know the pressure you're under, and we're here to help you navigate it. To help you not only manage the conversation, but lead it with clarity, empathy, and speed. 

Ecommerce brands are in an impossible position right now, following the 24 hours news cycle, and waiting to see how tariffs will cut into profits and impact their business. 

For customers? It can create confusion, frustration, and a flurry of angry tickets if brands aren’t proactive and transparent. But here's the truth: how your team talks about tariffs is just as important as what they say.

These moments of friction, and how you communicate these changes to your customers can be opportunities to build trust, reduce churn, and even demonstrate the real revenue power of your team. In a moment when clarity and trust are everything, the role of CX leaders is more important than ever. 

When tariffs hit, CX takes the call

Tariffs may seem like a back-end issue, but in reality, they shape front-end experiences—from product pricing and availability to fulfillment speed and satisfaction.

For ecommerce brands, especially those sourcing from China or shipping globally, these trade shifts hit close to home. Products get more expensive, shipping slows down, and some SKUs disappear altogether.

And CX teams are often the first to hear about it. The question isn’t if you should communicate tariff implications, but how.

What customers actually want to know 

Here’s the good news: customers don’t expect you to control global trade policy. But they do expect honesty.

What matters most right now is:

  • Transparency: Be clear about what’s changing and why.
  • Timing: Tell them before they find out at checkout.
  • Empathy: Acknowledge that increased prices or delays are frustrating and explain what you're doing to help.

And even more specifically, your customers are likely looking for answers to three simple questions: 

  1. Did the price increase? Why? 
  2. Why can’t I find this product anymore? 
  3. Is my order going to be delayed? 

In times of change, trust becomes foundational. If you're not upfront about what’s happening and how it affects them, customers will fill in the blank, or worse, turn to competitors. 

How to talk tariffs without losing trust 

Be clear, not complicated

Tariffs are complex, but your messaging shouldn’t be. Strip out the policy jargon and explain the changes in human terms. Let customers know what’s changing, why it’s happening, and what steps you’re taking to protect their experience.

Instead of: “Due to regulatory changes impacting import duties…”

Say: “Because of new tariffs, some of our prices have gone up. Here’s why, and what we’re doing to keep costs down.”

Say the same thing everywhere 

From your Help Center to your agents to your email updates, your message should be consistent. Mismatched explanations create confusion and erode trust. Align your team on the key talking points and update scripts and automations across all customer touchpoints.

Speaking of your Help Center, now might be a great time to create an article specifically about tariffs and how you’re approaching them. The article can serve as a source of truth for your customers and your AI agents on the front lines answering questions.

Lead with empathy

Customers don’t just want the facts, they want to know you care. Acknowledge the frustration, and offer reassurance. Small gestures like a personalized note or a shipping perk can show you’re on their side.

Be specific and honest 

Generic messages fall flat. Give customers details that they can rely on: Are the changes permanent? Are you absorbing part of the cost? Is a specific product impacted? When you’re upfront about the situation, and how you’re responding to it, you build credibility.

Decide how AI Agents should help

Times of uncertainty are times to cut costs, but it may also mean increased ticket volume. AI agents can help on the frontlines. But be sure to build your handovers to escalate to your team in the right moments to build trust.

Start with transparency: Beis sets the bar

Luggage brand, Beis, recently sent an email to customers that is a great example in customer-first communication. Rather than quietly raising prices or burying fees in checkout, they called it what it was: tariffs.

Beis' statement on rising tariffs.
Beis released a statement about the rising tariffs in April 2025.

They explained the change clearly, why it was happening, and what customers could expect. And most importantly, they acknowledged the frustration. No spin, or vague language, just a clear message from a brand that respects its customers enough to be honest with them.

This kind of proactive messaging does more than prevent a flood of support tickets. It creates alignment between the brand and the customer. Beis didn’t make the rules but they’re navigating them with their customers, not in spite of them.

Make it a CX conversation, not just a policy page 

Too often, tariff policies get relegated to the FAQ page or terms and conditions. Customers typically only land there after they’re already confused or upset.

Instead, CX should treat tariffs as a key part of the customer journey and be equipped to speak about them empathetically and clearly. 

1. Proactive chat leads to fewer surprises

Add a proactive message to your chat widget that addresses tariff-related questions before they even come up. A short note like, “You may notice some pricing changes – here’s why,” with a link to your FAQ or a specific article, helps to deflect confusion and prevents cart abandonment. 

2. Update your FAQ with key information 

Surface timely information right where customers are most likely to look. Use your chat or search function to include a clear callout. 

“Looking for information on recent pricing or shipping updates? Here’s what changed.” 

This type of visibility empowers self-service, and reduces ticket volume. 

3. Equip your agents with scripts that are genuine 

Don’t leave your support team guessing. Create internal scripts with clear language on what to say (and what to avoid) when talking tariffs. Script empathy, not just compliance: Empower agents with language that acknowledges the inconvenience while reinforcing the brand's values.

Say: 

  • We’ve made some pricing updates due to new tariffs, and we’re doing everything we can to minimize the impact. 
  • We know this change may be frustrating. Here’s how we’re helping our customers through it. 

Avoid: 

  • Overly technical or vague terms like “regulatory adjustments” or “economic climate shifts.” 
  • Any messaging that deflects responsibility or blames external factors without explanation. 

4. Build smart macros for Tariff FAQs

If you’re using automation, make sure your AI Agent and autoresponders can explain tariff policies accurately and compassionately. Use macros to ensure fast, consistent replies, without sacrificing tone. Some key macro themes to create: 

  • Why did prices increase? 
  • Are tariffs permanent? 
  • Is my order delayed because of tariffs? 
  • Why is this product no longer available? 

Each macro should strike a balance of clarity, empathy, and brand voice, offering both the what and the why. 

You can’t control tariffs. But you can control trust. 

Tariffs might be out of your control. But how you talk about them? That’s entirely in your hands.

This is your moment as a CX leader, not just to react but to lead. To turn friction into transparency, tension into trust, and confusion into connection. Because when policies change overnight and customer confidence is on the line, the brands that communicate with honesty, consistency, and care don’t just survive. They strengthen loyalty.

Your customers don’t expect perfection. They expect clarity. They expect empathy. And they expect you to show up.

At Gorgias, we’re here to make sure you can. With tools to automate answers, personalize conversations, and empower your team to deliver the kind of CX that builds long-term brand equity, even when times get tough.

Stop Chargebacks Before They Start: The Power of Fast Customer Support

By Jodi Lifschitz
min read.
0 min read . By Jodi Lifschitz

TL;DR:

  • Most chargebacks occur due to poor merchant communication rather than fraud. Customers choose this path when they feel ignored or frustrated.
  • 80% of customers report never being contacted by merchants after filing a chargeback. 23% file immediately after an issue and 38% file within 1-3 days if unresolved.
  • The most common chargeback reason is "product not received" (35%). 79% of all chargebacks are actually "friendly fraud" filed for invalid claims.
  • Prevention requires fast customer support and automated chargeback management. Combining Gorgias for AI-powered support with Chargeflow for automated dispute management provides a comprehensive solution with faster resolutions and higher win rates.

Chargebacks are more than a thorn in a merchant’s side — they’re a growing financial and operational threat. According to Ethoca, chargebacks are projected to more than double, from $7.2 billion in 2019 to $15.3 billion by 2026 in the U.S. alone. And while fraud plays a role, the primary reason customers file chargebacks is simpler: they feel ignored. 

Chargeback volume in 2026 is projected to be $146 millino
Chargeback volume is expected to reach $146 million in 2026.

At Chargeflow, we recently published a comprehensive report analyzing why customers dispute chargebacks. The findings were eye-opening. While it’s true that fraud is a real concern, most chargebacks happen for a different reason: a lack of communication between merchants and customers.  

Top stats from Chargeflow’s report:

  • 23% of customers file a chargeback immediately after an issue.
  • 38% file a chargeback within 1-3 days if unresolved.
  • 80% report never being contacted by the merchant.
  • 52% are likely to dispute if the response is too slow.

When customers feel ignored or frustrated, they often turn to their bank for a solution instead of reaching out to the merchant first. Understanding these behaviors is key to preventing disputes before they escalate and cause chaos. 

So, what actually drives customers to dispute charges? Here’s what the data says.

Why customers file chargebacks

While chargebacks are often the cost of doing business, the truth is that many disputes are preventable — but only if merchants understand the root causes. We identified five key drivers behind chargebacks.

1. Customers take immediate action

According to our research, most customers file a dispute right away after encountering an issue, leaving no opportunity to resolve the problem. Another 38% file within one to three days if they don’t receive a timely response. 

Why? Customers assume the fastest way to get their money back is by filing a chargeback, especially if they receive no response from the merchant.

2. Lack of communication leads to disputes

We found that 80% of customers never receive a follow-up after filing a chargeback. Additionally, 64% of customers state immediate communication is crucial, yet many businesses fail to reach out.

  • 90% of customers tried to reach out to the merchant first.
  • If they don’t receive a response, they quickly file a dispute. 

Why? Customers expect businesses to be proactive. When they don’t hear back quickly, they assume the merchant won’t help, making a chargeback seem like the best option.

3. Chargebacks are too easy for customers

98% of customers report a neutral to highly satisfactory experience when filing chargebacks, and only 12% are denied. 

A pie chart showing that 45% of customers are satisfied with the chargeback process.
45% of customers are Very Satisfied with the process of initiating chargebacks through their banks and credit card companies.

Why? Many customers believe chargebacks are faster and easier than dealing with merchants directly, especially if return policies are unclear. 

4. Transaction issues drive chargebacks

The most common reason for filing a chargeback is “product not received” (35% of the cases). Other common reasons included:

  • Fraudulent transaction claims - 16%
  • Product significantly not as described - 15%
  • Unauthorized transaction - 15%

Why? When customers don’t receive clear shipping updates or experience delivery delays, they assume their order won’t arrive and file a chargeback rather than waiting.

5. Friendly fraud is a major problem

Friendly fraud occurs when a cardholder makes a legitimate purchase but later disputes the charge as fraudulent or unauthorized, leading their card issuer to reverse the payment. 

Our research found that:

  • 21% of customers admitted to not fully understanding the chargeback process. 
  • Another 20% aren’t even aware of what a chargeback is. 
  • 97% of consumers believe they’ve never filed a chargeback incorrectly, while only 3% admit they have.
97.14% of customers have initiated a false chargeback
Nearly all customers (97%) have initiated a false chargeback at one point.

According to our State of Chargebacks report, 79% of chargebacks are actually friendly fraud, meaning they were filed for invalid reasons.

Why? Many customers mistakenly believe that a chargeback is just another way to request a refund, rather than a process intended for fraud or merchant failure. 

📌 The takeaway: Most chargebacks aren’t actual fraud, but rather a result of customer confusion, impatience, or poor communication from merchants.

The solution: how to stop chargebacks before they happen

Merchants who want to stop chargebacks before they happen need a two-part strategy:

  • Fast, customer-focused support to resolve issues before customers dispute charges. 
  • Automated chargeback management to detect and fight disputes efficiently, so merchants don’t lose revenue to invalid claims.

Chargebacks result from slow response times, poor communication, and unresolved issues, not fraud. Adopting AI-driven customer support and chargeback automation allows businesses to significantly reduce disputes and retain more revenue. 

How AI-powered support & chargeback automation work together

Instant responses prevent frustration-driven chargebacks

Many chargebacks happen because customers don’t receive a fast enough response. In fact, 52% say they will dispute a charge if the response time is too slow. AI-powered chatbots provide real-time support, resolving issues before they escalate. 

Proactive communication reduces uncertainty

Customers expect updates regarding orders and refunds, but often don’t receive them. 80% of customers report never hearing from a merchant after filing a chargeback. 

Automated order updates, refund confirmations, and proactive notifications keep customers informed, reducing unnecessary disputes.

24/7 availability ensures no issues go unanswered

Customers expect round-the-clock support, but most businesses can’t provide live assistance. AI-powered ticketing and automation ensure every customer receives help, regardless of the time zone or urgency.

The result? Fewer chargebacks, faster resolutions, and increased customer satisfaction.

Actionable strategies for improving response times

Prioritize long-term clients

It’s impossible to please every customer. On average, chargebacks take 50 days to resolve successfully. Focus your energy on retaining high-value, long-term customers.

Prioritize high-risk inquiries

Lost inquiries take on average 15 days to resolve, and lost chargebacks take 38 days. Prioritize cases based on impact. 

Build efficient escalation systems

Advanced automated ticketing systems can route inquiries and prioritize urgent cases.

Use pre-approved resolution templates

Ensure customer service teams have quick-response templates to speed their resolutions.

Work closely with shipping carriers

“Product not received” was the most cited reason for delivery-related chargebacks. Work closely with carriers and third-party suppliers to improve fulfillment and reduce disputes.

Leverage chargeback management tools

Use automated tools for real-time analytics, enhanced communication, and proactive alerts, which will reduce response times. 

Gorgias & Chargeflow: A fully automated chargeback prevention system

Successfully tackling chargebacks requires both proactive customer support and automated dispute management. That’s why Gorgias and Chargeflow work so well together to give merchants a comprehensive defense against disputes.

Post-purchase automation isn’t just about reducing customer support workload or quick replies. It's about finding the most effective ways to increase customer loyalty and prevent disputes.

Learn more about how AI-driven automation enhances post-purchase experiences here.

How Gorgias prevents chargebacks with conversational AI

  • Automated real-time responses engage customers before they decide to dispute charges.
  • Proactive customer communication ensures customers receive updates on their orders, refunds, and transactions.
  • 24/7 availability ensures customers receive the support they need without increasing overhead. 

How Chargeflow automates chargeback prevention & recovery

  • Pre-dispute alerts notify merchants before a chargeback is finalized and provide proactive intervention.
  • AI-powered chargeback responses to automate evidence collection and improve win rates. 
  • Smart analytics to help merchants understand why disputes happen and how they can prevent them. 

Final thoughts: Stop chargebacks before they start

As you know, chargebacks are costly, frustrating, but most importantly, preventable. Our research shows that most chargebacks don’t stem from fraud, but from poor communication, slow response times, and customer uncertainty.

By prioritizing fast, AI-driven customer support and automated chargeback management, merchants can resolve issues before they escalate, improve customer experience, and protect their revenue. 

With Gorgias handling proactive customer support and Chargeflow managing chargeback disputes, merchants get a powerful, end-to-end prevention system that ensures fewer chargebacks, higher dispute win rates, and, at the end of the day, happier customers. 

Don’t let chargebacks drain your revenue. Take control today with faster, smarter automation.

Download Chargeflow’s full Psychology of Chargebacks Report to dive deeper into the data and start preventing disputes before they happen.

The Engineering Work That Keeps Gorgias Running Smoothly

By Dennis Zhang
min read.
0 min read . By Dennis Zhang

TL;DR:

  • Gorgias eliminated helpdesk outages by implementing multiple database connection pools with PgBouncer, achieving over 99.99% uptime.
  • We accelerated data retrieval by organizing 40TB of data into 128 partitions, reducing query times to less than 4ms.
  • Our streamlined incident response process with dedicated Slack channels and clear roles now resolves almost all incidents in under an hour.
  • Looking ahead, we're strengthening security, doubling our SRE team, implementing production readiness reviews, and enhancing monitoring tools.

When customer service teams are at their busiest, they need a helpdesk that keeps up. That’s exactly why our Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) team has been working behind the scenes to make the Gorgias platform faster than ever.

Over the past year, we've made remarkable improvements to our platform to eliminate bottlenecks, speed up data retrieval, and reduce incidents. For you, this means fewer disruptions, faster load times, and a more reliable helpdesk experience.

Here's how we did it.

Eliminating helpdesk outages by increasing our connection pools

The challenge

Our platform relied on a single, shared database connection pool to manage all queries. Think of it as having just one pipe handling all the water flowing through your house — when too much water rushes in at once, the whole system backs up.

In practice, this meant a single surge in database requests could clog the entire system. When lower-priority background tasks got stuck, they could prevent high-priority operations (like loading tickets or running automations) from working properly. This would cause the entire helpdesk to slow down or, worse, become completely unresponsive.

The solution

Using PgBouncer, a tool that manages database connections and reduces the load on a server, we implemented multiple connection pools. Instead of relying on a single pipeline to stream all requests, we created separate "pipes" for different requests.

On the left, a before diagram showing database traffic routed through a single connection pool. On the right, an after diagram showing multiple connection pools.
How Gorgias handled database traffic before and after splitting up our connection pools with PgBouncer.

Like how road traffic picks up again after an exit, routing our database traffic into separate connection pools makes sure high-priority customer interactions don’t lag behind automated background tasks.

This solution is future-proof. In the event that a lower-priority task is delayed in one connection pool, other functionalities of the helpdesk will continue working because of the remaining connection pools.

The benefits

The results speak for themselves:

  • Complete elimination of helpdesk-wide outages caused by connection pooling issues
  • Faster response times — 99% of automated rules tasks take less than 800 milliseconds to complete from inception
  • Partial degradation instead of full outages if issues do occur — at worst, only a single feature might be affected instead of your entire helpdesk

We've eliminated incidents caused by connection pool issues in the helpdesk completely. This reduced major helpdesk outage incidents by around four per year and maintained an average uptime of over 99.99%.

Speeding up the helpdesk by organizing 40TB of data into 128 partitions

The challenge

As Gorgias grew to over 15,000 customers, so did the volume of data. We’re talking data from tickets, integrations, automations, and many more. The combination of more users and data meant slower searches within the helpdesk. 

However, the amount of data was not the problem — it was how our data was organized. 

Imagine this: An enormous storage room full of file cabinets containing every piece of data. Sure, those file cabinets kept data organized, but you would still need to spend time searching through the entire room, running up and down aisles of cabinets, to find your desired file. This method was cumbersome. 

We needed a more efficient way to keep our data easy to find, especially as more customers used our platform.

The solution

The answer was database partitioning — breaking our large datasets into smaller, more manageable segments. Using Debezium, Kafka, and Kafka-connect JDBC, all managed by Terraform, we migrated over 40TB of data, including 3.5 billion tickets, without a moment of downtime for our merchants.

Instead of a giant room with thousands of file cabinets, we divided that giant room into 128 smaller rooms. So now, instead of looking for a file in one room, you know you just need to go into room number 102, which has a much smaller area to search.

This approach allows our system to quickly pinpoint the location of data, significantly reducing the time it takes to find and deliver information to users. 

Additionally, database maintenance has become more efficient. Some of the partitions can probably sit without needing to be changed at all. We just have to maintain the partitions that are getting new files, which cuts down on maintenance time.

The benefits

Better database partitioning provides several benefits:

  • Faster queries — We have an average of 600 lookups or updates per second across these databases, each taking less than 4ms
  • More efficient database maintenance — We halved the number of automated maintenance runs and cut each run’s duration in half
  • Better scalability as our infrastructure is now equipped to handle continued customer growth

Faster resolutions with a streamlined incident response process

The challenge

When incidents occurred in the past, our response process was inconsistent, leading to delays in resolution. It was sometimes unclear who should take the lead, what immediate actions were required, and how to effectively communicate with affected customers.

Additionally, post-incident reviews varied in quality, making it difficult to prevent similar issues from happening again. We needed a standardized framework to address incidents in a timely fashion.

The solution

To streamline incident management, we introduced a replicable, automated process:

  1. Dedicated Slack channels — Every incident gets its own Slack channel, ensuring our team is immediately notified.
  2. Clear roles & responsibilities — We defined specific roles so every engineer knows what next steps to take.
  3. Retrospectives — After each incident, we conduct thorough post-mortems to analyze root causes, identify improvements, and share learnings across teams.
  4. Proactive prevention — By improving our monitoring tools, we catch potential issues earlier, reducing the likelihood of major disruptions.

The benefits

With our improved incident management process:

  • Response times have decreased significantly — almost all incidents are mitigated in under an hour
  • Customers receive clearer communication during incidents, including our regularly updated Gorgias Status page
  • 100+ smarter preventative measures to reduce the overall incident frequency or permanently fix recurring problems

What's next: Four ways we're improving the platform experience

With more brands catching on to how essential a solid CX platform is, our team's got our work cut out for us. Here's what's on the way:

  1. Enhanced security measures — We've hired a dedicated security engineer to strengthen our security infrastructure.
  2. A bigger SRE team — Our Site Reliability Engineering team has doubled, allowing us to address performance issues rapidly.
  3. Production readiness reviews — We're formalizing a process to audit new and existing services, ensuring they meet our reliability standards before deployment.
  4. Improved monitoring — We're investing in better monitoring tools to detect and resolve potential issues before they impact customers.

Count on a reliable future with Gorgias

Gorgias will inevitably face new challenges in performance — no system is completely immune to downtime.

But we've built our architecture with the future in mind, and it’s more resilient than ever as more and more brands realize the power of conversational AI CX platforms. 

The result? A platform you can count on to help you deliver exceptional customer service, without technical issues getting in the way.

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9 Ways to Use AI to Personalize the Customer Journey

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

TL;DR:

  • Use AI across both support and sales. Ecommerce brands are using AI to drive revenue and efficiency by combining automation in chat, email, and customer data with personalized product guidance and upsells.
  • Analyze post-purchase surveys with AI to uncover customer insights. AI quickly identifies themes, sentiment, and trends from open-ended feedback to inform product, shipping, and support decisions.
  • Predict customer intent with AI before they take action. By analyzing behavior like cart activity or page views, AI can engage high-intent shoppers with personalized nudges in real time.
  • Automate QA and proactive support with AI. AI reviews 100% of conversations, flags quality issues, and triggers outreach for known problems — all before customers even ask.

Shoppers aren’t just open to AI — they’re starting to expect it.

According to IBM, 3 in 5 consumers want to use AI as they shop. And a McKinsey study found that 71% expect personalized experiences from the brands they buy from. When they don’t get that? Two-thirds say they’re frustrated.

But while most brands associate AI with support automation, its real power lies in something bigger: scaling personalization across the entire customer journey. 

We’ll show you how to do that in this article.

AI for customer data 

Before AI can personalize emails, recommend products, or answer support tickets, it needs one thing: good data.

That’s why one of the best places to start using AI isn’t in sales or support — but in enriching your customer data. With a deeper understanding of who your customers are, what they want, and how they behave, AI becomes a personalization engine across your entire business.

Enriching surveys with AI

Post-purchase surveys are gold mines for understanding customers — but digging through the data manually? Not so fun.

AI can help by analyzing survey responses at scale, identifying trends, and categorizing open-ended customer feedback into clear, actionable insights. Instead of skimming thousands of answers to spot what customers are saying about your shipping times, AI can surface those insights instantly — along with sentiment and behavior signals you might’ve missed.

Try this prompt when doing this: "Analyze 500 open-ended post-purchase survey responses. Identify the top 5 recurring themes, categorize customer sentiment (positive, neutral, negative), and surface any trends related to product quality, delivery experience, or customer support."

Predicting customer intent before they even say a word

One of AI’s biggest strengths? Spotting intent.

By analyzing things like page views, cart activity, scroll behavior, and previous purchases, AI can identify which shoppers are ready to buy, which ones are likely to churn, and which just need a little nudge to move forward.

This doesn’t just apply to email and retargeting. It also works on live chat, in real time.

Take TUSHY, for example.

To eliminate friction in the buying journey, TUSHY introduced Shopping Assistant — a virtual assistant designed to guide shoppers toward the right product before they drop off. 

Instead of letting potential customers bounce with unanswered questions, the AI Agent steps in to offer:

  • Personalized product recommendations based on shopper questions
  • Compatibility guidance (especially for customers unsure which bidet works with their toilet)
  • Real-time installation tips and links to helpful how-to articles
TUSHY uses AI Agent to answer customers on live chat.
TUSHY removes pre-sales friction with Gorgias AI Agent to answer product questions, resolve compatibility concerns, and deliver personalized recommendations.

With a growing product catalog, TUSHY realized first-time buyers were overwhelmed with options — and needed help choosing what would work best for their home and hygiene preferences.

“What amazed us most is that the AI Agent doesn’t just help customers choose the perfect bidet for their booty — it also provides measurement and fit guidance, high-level installation support, and even recommends all the necessary spare parts for skirted toilet installations. It’s ushering in a new era of customer service — one that’s immediate, informative, and confidence-boosting as people rethink their bathroom habits.”

—Ren Fuller-Wasserman, Sr. Director of Customer Experience at TUSHY

Forecasting revenue by segment

AI also helps you see the road ahead.

Instead of looking at retention and loyalty metrics in isolation, AI can help you forecast what’s likely to happen next and where to focus your attention.

By segmenting customers based on behaviors like average order value, order frequency, and churn risk, AI can identify revenue opportunities and weak spots before they impact your bottom line.

All you need is the right prompt. Here’s an example you can run using your own data in any AI tool:

Prompt: “Analyze my customer data to forecast revenue by segment. Break customers into at least three groups based on behavior patterns like average order value, purchase frequency, and churn risk. 

For each segment, provide:

  1. A projected revenue trend for the next quarter
  2. A key insight about their behavior
  3. One actionable recommendation to either grow or retain revenue from that segment.”

Here’s what a result might look like:

  • VIPs (Top 5% by LTV): Predicted 15% growth next quarter based on repeat behavior
  • One-time Buyers: 70% churn risk flagged—time to trigger a win-back campaign
  • Discount-Only Shoppers: Revenue likely to dip unless incentive strategy changes

Instead of flying blind, you’re making decisions with clarity — and backing them with data that scales.

AI for sales 

When used strategically, AI becomes a proactive sales agent that can identify opportunities in real-time: recommending the right product to the right shopper at the right moment.

Here’s how ecommerce brands are using AI to drive revenue across every part of the funnel.

Dynamic pricing that responds to the market (and the shopper)

Your prices shouldn’t be static — especially when your competitors, inventory, and customer behavior are anything but.

AI-powered tools like Shopping Assistant help brands automatically adjust pricing based on shopper behavior. The goal is to make the right offer to the right customer.

For example:

  • Show a discount to a price-sensitive shopper who’s hesitating at checkout
  • Recommend premium add-ons to high-LTV customers who are more likely to spend

With dynamic pricing, you can protect your margins and boost conversions — without relying on blanket sales.

Turning chat into a personal shopper (that never sleeps)

AI-powered chat is no longer just a glorified FAQ. Today, it can act as a real-time shopping assistant — guiding customers, boosting conversions, and helping your team reclaim time.

That’s exactly what Pepper did with “Penelope,” their AI Agent built on Gorgias.

With a rapidly growing product catalog (22 new SKUs in 2024 alone), Pepper knew shoppers needed help discovering the right products. Customers often had questions about styles, materials, or sizing, and if they didn’t get answers right away, they’d abandon carts and move on.

Instead of hiring more agents to keep up, Pepper deployed Penelope to live chat and email.

Her job?

  • Instantly answer questions about fit, fabric, or product differences
  • Guide shoppers toward the best option for their needs
  • Recommend complementary products (like matching panties or bottoms)
  • Free up agents to focus on higher-value 1:1 moments, like virtual fit sessions
“With AI Agent, we’re not just putting information in our customer’s hands; we’re putting bras in their hands... We’re turning customer support from a cost center to a revenue generator.”
—Gabrielle McWhirter, CX Operations Lead at Pepper
Pepper uses Gorgias's AI Agent on their website via chat.
Pepper uses AI Agent to provide proactive sales support on chat, handling objections and encouraging customers to make informed purchases.

Let’s look at how Penelope performs on the floor:

Real-time recommendations

A shopper asked about the difference between two wire-free bras. Penelope broke down the styles, support level, and fabric in plain language — then followed up with personalized suggestions based on the shopper’s preferences.

Proactive engagement

Using Gorgias Convert chat campaigns, Pepper triggers targeted messages to shoppers based on behavior. If someone is browsing white bras? Penelope jumps in and offers assistance, often leading to faster decisions and fewer abandoned carts.

Intelligent upsells

If a customer adds a swimsuit top to their cart, Penelope suggests matching bottoms. No full-screen popups, no awkward sales scripts — just thoughtful, helpful guidance.

Support and sales in one

Penelope also handles WISMO tickets and return inquiries. If a shopper is dealing with a sizing issue, Penelope walks them through the return process and links to Pepper’s Fit Guide to make sure the next purchase is spot on.

Pepper uses AI Agent to automatically answer product questions.
A customer asks about the fabric used in her Pepper bra. AI Agent successfully responds with the proper details in a natural tone of voice.

By implementing AI into chat, Pepper saw a 19% conversion rate from AI-assisted chats, an 18% uplift in AOV, and a 92.1% decrease in resolution time.

With Penelope handling repetitive and revenue-driving tasks, Pepper’s team now has more time to offer truly personalized touches — like virtual fit sessions that have turned refunds into exchanges and even upsells.

Curating bundles with AI-powered sales data

Bundling is a proven tactic for increasing AOV — but most brands still rely on subjective judgment calls or static reports to decide which products to group.

AI can take this a step further.

Instead of just looking at what’s bought together in the same cart, AI can analyze purchase sequences. For example, what people tend to buy as a follow-up 30 days after their first order. This gives you powerful clues into natural buying behavior and bundling opportunities you might’ve missed.

If you’re looking to explore this at scale, you can use anonymized sales data and feed it into AI tools to surface patterns in:

  • Frequently bundled items
  • Follow-up purchases within a set time frame
  • High-value product pairings with repeat potential

Try this prompt:

 "Analyze this spreadsheet of order data and identify product bundle opportunities. Look for: (1) products frequently purchased together in the same order, (2) items commonly bought as a second purchase within 30 days of the first, and (3) patterns in high-value or high-frequency product pairings. Provide insights on the most promising bundles and why they might work well together."

Just make sure you’re keeping customer data anonymous — and always double-check the insights with your team.

Related: Ecommerce product categorization: How to organize your products

AI for support

AI isn’t just here to deflect tickets. From quality assurance to proactive outreach, AI can elevate the entire support experience — on both sides of the conversation.

Quality checks powered by AI

Manual QA is slow, selective, and often feels like it’s chasing the wrong tickets.

That’s where Auto QA comes in. Instead of reviewing just a handful of conversations each week, Auto QA evaluates 100% of private messages, whether they’re handled by a human or an AI agent.

Every message is scored on key metrics like:

  • Resolution completeness
  • Brand voice
  • Empathy and tone
  • Accuracy

It gives support leaders a full picture of how their team is performing, so they can coach with clarity, not just gut feeling.

Here’s what brands can do with automated QA:

  • Save time by focusing only on the conversations that need attention
  • Ensure consistency across agents and AI with a single scoring standard
  • Improve agent performance with targeted coaching and feedback
  • Deliver higher-quality support that customers actually notice

Let’s walk through a real example.

Customer: “Hi, my device broke, and I bought it less than a month ago.”

Agent: “Hi Kelly, please send us a photo or a video so we can determine the issue with your device.”

Auto QA flags this interaction with:

  • Communication Score: 3/5 — The agent was clear, but could have shown more empathy in tone.
  • Resolution Score: Complete — The issue was addressed effectively.

Proactive support that reaches out first

Reactive support is table stakes. AI takes it a step further by anticipating issues before they happen — and proactively helping customers.

Let’s say login errors spike after a product update. AI detects the surge and automatically triggers an email to affected customers with a simple fix. No need for them to dig through help docs or wait on chat — support meets them right where they are.

Proactive AI can also be used for:

  • Order delay notifications with live tracking updates
  • Subscription renewal reminders
  • Back-in-stock alerts with support follow-up for next steps

This saves the time of your agents because the AI will spot problems before they turn into tickets.

Understanding sentiment at scale

Your customers are telling you what they think. AI just helps you hear it more clearly.

By analyzing reviews, support tickets, post-purchase surveys, and social comments, AI can spot sentiment trends that might otherwise fly under the radar.

For example:

  • Multiple reviews mention “runs small”? AI flags it, so your team can update the product description or add a sizing chart.
  • A sudden rise in “frustrated” language in support tickets? Time to check if something’s off with your shipping or product quality.

Related: 12 ways to upgrade your data and trend analysis with Ticket Fields 

Personalization at scale starts with the right AI stack

Whether you’re enriching customer data, making smarter product recommendations, triggering dynamic pricing, or proactively resolving support issues, AI gives your team the power to scale personalization without sacrificing quality.

With Gorgias, you can bring many of these use cases to life — from AI-powered chat that drives conversions to automated support that still feels human. 

And with our app store, you can tap into additional AI tools for data enrichment, direct mail, bundling insights, and more.

Personalized ecommerce doesn’t have to mean more work. With the right AI tools in your corner, it means smarter work — and better results.

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8 AI Trends in Ecommerce: What’s Changing and How to Prepare

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

TL;DR:

  • AI is reshaping ecommerce, giving early adopters a competitive edge. From visual search to dynamic pricing, these tools meet rising customer expectations and drive growth.
  • Conversational AI boosts support efficiency and customer satisfaction. Solutions like Gorgias AI Agent automatically resolve up to 60% of tickets while personalizing responses across channels.
  • Personalization now extends beyond product recommendations. AI is customizing everything from discounts to website layouts in real-time, creating unique experiences that convert.
  • AI automation streamlines back-end operations for inventory and pricing. By predicting demand and adjusting prices dynamically, brands improve margins while reducing stock issues.

AI is no longer a futuristic concept associated with sci-fi movies and robots. It’s driving real change in ecommerce right now. Currently, 84% of ecommerce businesses list AI as their top priority. And it’s only getting bigger. By 2034, the ecommerce AI market is expected to hit $62.64 billion

Brands that use AI to improve personalization, automate customer support, and refine pricing strategies will have a major competitive edge. 

The good news? Most brands are still figuring it out, which means there’s huge potential for early adopters to stand out.

Let’s dive into the key AI trends shaping ecommerce in 2025, and how you can use them to future-proof your business.

1. Visual search

Instead of searching for keywords, shoppers can upload a photo and instantly find similar or matching products. Visual search eliminates the guesswork of finding the right words to describe an item and reduces friction in the search process. 

In 2025, improvements in computer vision and machine learning will make visual search faster. AI will better recognize patterns, colors, and textures, delivering more precise results in real-time. 

For customers, visual search simplifies product discovery while brands benefit from increased average order values. Visual search creates more opportunities to surface related products that customers might miss during manual searches, ultimately boosting conversion and revenue.

Pinterest is already doing it. With Pinterest Lens, users can take a picture on the spot to find similar products or ideas to help them with easier purchases or creative projects.

Screenshot of Pinterest Lens camera search on iPhones showing plants and living room furnishings
Pinterest users can snap pictures of furniture or other objects like clothing and find similar items for sale using the app’s visual search feature.

Pro Tip: Optimize product images and metadata (like color, size, and material) so your products appear accurately in visual search results. Clean, high-quality images and detailed tagging will make your catalog easier for AI to process and match.

2. Conversational AI

Conversational AI, like Gorgias AI Agent, already handles 60% of customer conversations. Brands that adopt it often see more than a 25% improvement in customer satisfaction, revenue, or cost reduction.

Soon, advanced natural language processing (NLP) will make it easier for customers to use text, voice, and images to find exactly what they’re looking for. These multimodal capabilities will elevate support conversations, resulting in fewer abandoned carts and support teams that can focus on more complex issues.

For example, Glamnetic uses AI Agent to manage customer inquiries across multiple channels, resolving 40% of requests automatically while maintaining a personalized touch. Their AI can automate responses to common questions, recommend products based on browsing history, and even track orders in real-time. 

Screenshot of Glamnetic homepage and AI agent responding to customer question about nail kit inclusions
AI Agent can respond to repetitive questions as well as provide personalized recommendations 

Pro Tip: Invest in AI chat tools that integrate with your customer support system and sync with real-time product and order data. Your responses will be accurate and timely, without losing the personal touch.

Read more: The Gorgias & Shopify integration: 8 features your support team will love  

3. Product recommendations 

According to McKinsey, omnichannel personalization strategies, including tailored product recommendations, have a 10-15% uplift potential in revenue and retention. But with only 1 in 10 retailers fully implementing personalization across channels, there’s a massive opportunity for brands to innovate.

In 2025, AI-driven product recommendations will become even more precise by analyzing customer behavior, preferences, and purchase history in real-time. Predictive AI will adjust recommendations on the fly, showing customers the right products at the right moment.

Take Kreyol Essence as an example. They use Gorgias Convert to track customer behavior and recommend products based on past purchases and browsing patterns. When a customer buys a hair mask, AI suggests complementary products like scalp oil or leave-in conditioner — increasing average order value without feeling pushy.

The creation of product bundles featuring Kreyol Essence’s S.O.S Serum, helped boost sales.

Personalization boosts sales by helping customers discover products they actually want. Plus, it creates a more tailored shopping experience, which encourages customers to return.

Pro Tip: Test different recommendation strategies, like “frequently bought together” or “you may also like,” to see which ones drive the most conversions.

Learn more: Reduce Customer Effort with AI: A Smarter Approach Than Surprise and Delight 

4. Voice commerce 

In 2025, more customers may use smart speakers and voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant to shop hands-free. AI will improve voice recognition and contextual understanding, so it’s easier for customers to find products they want.

Instead of fumbling with a keyboard, customers will be able to say, “Order more coffee pods,” and AI will not only recognize the request but also pull up the preferred brand and size based on past orders. Less friction will make the buying process more intuitive, especially for repeat purchases.

Voice commerce expands shopping accessibility and creates a more convenient experience for busy customers. It also opens the door for brands to surface product recommendations and upsell during the conversation.

Pro Tip: Optimize product descriptions and catalog structure for voice search. Clear, simple language and detailed product tags will help AI understand and surface the right products.

5. Dynamic pricing

A recent McKinsey report suggests that investing in real-time customer analytics will continue to be key to adjusting pricing and more effectively targeting customers.

In 2025, machine learning will allow ecommerce brands to adjust product prices instantly based on demand, competitor pricing, and customer behavior. If a competitor drops their price on a popular item, AI can respond immediately, so you stay competitive without sacrificing margins.

Machine learning will also refine pricing models over time, finding the sweet spot between profitability and customer conversion.

For example, AI might detect that customers are more likely to buy a product when it’s priced at $29.99 rather than $30, and adjust accordingly. More competitive pricing means higher revenue and better margins, but it also increases customer trust when prices are consistent with market trends.

Pro Tip: Test different pricing strategies and monitor how they affect sales and customer behavior.

6. Better customer insights

According to McKinsey, AI-driven personalization and customer insights can improve marketing efficiency by 10-30% and cut costs significantly.

In 2025, AI will analyze customer data like purchase history, browsing patterns, and feedback to generate smarter, more actionable next steps. Instead of guessing what customers want, brands will have the data to predict it.

For example, Shopping Assistant can identify a shopper’s interest level and purchase intent and then use it to adjust its conversational strategy. It analyzes shopper data like browsing behavior, cart activity, and purchase history.

Here’s how it would behave for different customers:

  • A browsing customer: AI Agent will ask clarifying questions
  • An interested customer: AI Agent provides tailored recommendations and handles objections
  • A customer with an intent to buy: AI Agent assists with checkout, payment, and nudges purchase
Shopping Assistant collects shopper data to customize its conversational support and sales strategies.

7. Personalized shopping 

AI-driven personalization leads to a 5-10% higher customer satisfaction and engagement. Yet, only 15% have fully implemented it across all channels — leaving a huge gap to fill.

In 2025, AI-driven personalization will go beyond product recommendations. Brands will be able to adjust website layouts based on customer preferences, highlight products that align with their style, and even customize customer service interactions.

A higher level of personalization will boost conversion rates and customer satisfaction. When customers feel like a brand “gets” them, they’re more likely to make a purchase and come back for more. 

For example, Shopping Assistant can adjust discounts and provide smart incentives to drive sales. When adjusting for discounts, AI Agent analyzes shopper behavior, including browsing activity, cart status, and conversation context, to offer a discount based on how engaged and ready the shopper is to buy.

Gorgias's AI Agent for Sales can adjust its discount strategy by analyzing customer intent.
Shopping Assistant tailors its discounts according to a shopper’s behavior and purchase intent.

Pro Tip: Use AI to test different personalization strategies and refine them based on performance data. Small adjustments, like changing product order or highlighting specific categories, can have a big impact on sales. 

8. Automated inventory management

Keeping the right products in stock at the right time is about to get a whole lot easier. In 2025, AI will predict demand patterns and automate restocking decisions based on sales trends, seasonality, and customer behavior. Instead of manually tracking inventory, AI will handle it in real time to avoid stock issues.

For example, AI could notice a spike in orders for a specific product right before the holidays. It could then automatically increase stock levels to meet demand or scale back on items that aren’t moving as fast. Real-time tracking means fewer missed sales and less wasted inventory.

Efficient inventory management not only cuts costs but also improves the customer experience. When products are consistently available, customers are more likely to trust and stick with your brand.

Pro Tip: Implement AI-powered inventory management to sync data across all sales channels. This ensures accurate stock levels and seamless fulfillment, whether customers are shopping online or in-store.

Embrace AI trends in your ecommerce store in 2025

AI makes it easier for brands to deliver a personalized and efficient shopping experience. From helping customers find products faster with visual search to automating support with conversational AI, there are plenty of opportunities for personalization.  

The brands that adopt and refine these strategies now will be better positioned to meet customer expectations and stay ahead of the competition. Start by implementing conversational AI and later test some other AI trends like personalized suggestions. 

Ready to see how AI can upgrade your brand? Book a demo to see AI Agent in action.

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How to Bridge the Sales Gap with AI and Human Intelligence

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

TL;DR:

  • Combine AI and human agents for the best sales and support experience. Gorgias AI Agent handles repetitive tasks and pre-sales questions instantly 24/7, so human agents can focus on complex interactions.
  • Proactively engage shoppers with AI to drive conversions. AI Agent's Shopping Assistant skill checks browsing behavior and cart data to offer recommendations and real-time assistance, leading to higher sales.
  • Reduce drop-off rates with Shopping Assistant's floating query bar. Customers can ask questions in real time, while the Shopping Assistant understands the buying intent and adjusts its sales strategy to nudge them toward the checkout.
  • Lower support costs with AI Agent. Brands using AI Agent see major time and cost savings while reducing response times, increasing revenue, and keeping support teams efficient.

Ecommerce brands are under pressure to convert more shoppers, but relying only on AI or human agents can lead to missed sales opportunities. While 34% feel that the use of AI improved their customer experience, according to Statista, 27% feel it hasn’t made a difference — suggesting that AI alone isn’t always the answer.

It’s true that AI speeds up responses and personalizes interactions at scale, while human agents build trust and close complex deals. But the solution isn't to choose one over the other.

This article will evaluate the strengths of both AI and human agents, offering insights to help you optimize and scale your pre-sale strategies using a hybrid AI-human intelligence approach.

How combining AI & human assistance improves the shopping experience

Using AI and human support agents together in a hybrid approach will directly impact your success as a brand. It allows you to:  

  1. Minimize friction and navigation frustrations
  2. Instantly answer pre-sales questions to reduce drop-off
  3. Proactively engage with customers and offer help with a floating query bar
  4. Help with Quality Assurance
  5. Personalize product recommendations and upsells
  6. Reduce costs and increase return on investment

1) Minimize friction and navigation frustrations

Reducing customer effort is one of the key ways to spark delight and satisfaction from customer interactions. The more stress-free and simple you can make navigating the shopping experience, the better.

AI comes in handy here in many ways, like:

  • Providing instant responses
  • Giving shoppers an easy way to locate and interact with support 
  • Automating FAQs 
  • Automating order edits
  • Personalizing product recommendations 
  • Performing upsells and cross-sells

All of these traits combined make a much easier experience for customers and an efficient, streamlined process for the brand. When agents aren’t bogged down with questions like these, they can focus on high-touch situations. 

2) Instantly answer pre-sales questions to reduce drop-off

Pre-sales support moves the needle by answering crucial customer questions that might be blocking a purchase. Tools like Shopping Assistant make a world of difference on your store’s website. A part of AI Agent, Shopping Assistant has a 75% higher conversion rate than human agents, on average.

Here’s an example of what it looks like from bidet company TUSHY: 

A shopper asking for bidet compatibility help and TUSHY's AI Agent collecting more details to fully resolve their pre-sales question.  

3) Proactively engage with customers and offer help with a floating query bar

AI understands a shopper’s journey by tracking key behavioral signals: products and pages viewed, purchase history, and cart data. 

The floating query bar transforms product search into a seamless conversation, eliminating the need for clicks, filters, or endless navigation. It allows customers to find what they're looking for through natural conversation with the Shopping Assistant—wherever they are on your site.

Because AI tracks this information, it can personalize interactions based on the signals above. It does this by asking clarifying questions and remembering previous interactions in the same session.

This type of proactive support actually leads to more sales: it garnered almost 10k in revenue for jewelry shop Caitlyn Minimalist. ‍

”Customers interact with the Shopping Assistant like they would a customer service rep—it’s a two-way conversation where they answer questions and get personalized product recommendations,” says Gabi, Customer Service Lead at Caitlyn Minimalist.

That success was similar for beauty shop Glamnetic

“An instant response builds confidence,” says Mia Chapa, its Sr. Director of Customer Experience. 

“We live in a world with short attention spans, so customers appreciate how quickly we can respond to their inquiries.”

Glamnetic's homepage uses AI Agent's floating query bar for proactive customer and sales support
Need help? Glamnetic invites shoppers to use AI Agent’s floating query bar to ask questions.

4) Help with Quality Assurance

Quality assurance in CX is the process of ensuring that each customer interaction fits a specified list of criteria (communication, resolution completeness, attitude, etc.).

While this process has largely been a manual and time-consuming one, AI changes that for support teams.

AI-powered QA can actually review all tickets, is a scalable solution, is more consistent in its review process, saves time, and even provides instant agent feedback. 

Manual QA, on the other hand, is a time-consuming and slow process, and often means feedback is delayed until leaders have the chance to review tickets. Even once they get to QA, there's a limit to how many tickets they can review in a given time frame. 

Feature spotlight: Meet Auto QA: Quality checks are here to stay

5) Personalize product recommendations and upsells

AI can even make product recommendations for shoppers. These recommendations are based on browsing actions like if they repeatedly view the same pages and check return and shipping policies. It also tracks their entire behavior across your store: products and pages viewed, purchase history, cart data, and cart abandonment data.  

Caitlyn Minimalist achieved incredible outcomes by leveraging AI for personalized recommendations:

  • 59% reduction in customer response time
  • 25% conversion rate
  • $9,800 in direct revenue generated by AI Agent

“We've always based our customer service on a patient, empathetic point of view because a lot of people purchase for important moments in their lives—weddings, deaths, graduations. People are gifting in response to big life moments, so we need the Shopping Assistant to really listen to our customer’s situation and support them,” says Michael Holcombe, Co-owner and Director of Operations at Caitlyn Minimalist.

Shopping Assistant can also handle objections and offer discounts, if price is what’s stopping customers from completing a purchase. 

AI Agent for Sales provides discounts to customers based on their shopping behavior
Shopping Assistant turns hesitant shoppers into enthusiastic customers with dynamic discounts.

6) Reduce costs and increase return on investment

We’re not talking about reducing headcount. AI just supports agents in being able to handle their core responsibilities better. For example, mybacs was able to double the number of tickets they resolved without adding a single person to the team.

“This isn’t a matter of eliminating jobs, but giving our employees their primary jobs back," says Luke Wronski, CEO of RiG’d Supply. “Our hope is to have AI give us the time back to have a conversation with you about the stuff that keeps us stoked to do what we do.”

Aside from saving money on hiring additional human agents, AI helps your support team reduce costs in other ways. 

For Dr. Bronners, that meant 4 days per month in team time-savings by handling routine inquiries efficiently, and $100,000 saved per year by switching from Salesforce to Gorgias.

Top AI tool for CX: Gorgias AI Agent

Gorgias is hands down the best AI tool—not just for CX, but also for teams like web, ecommerce, and marketing. And our customers couldn’t agree more.

“We were hesitant at first, but AI Agent has really picked up on our brand’s voice. We’ve had feedback from customers who didn’t even realize they were talking to an AI,” says Lynsay Schrader, Lab and Customer Service Senior Manager at Jonas Paul Eyewear

Here’s a complete rundown of how Gorgias AI Agent bridges gaps in customer experience: 

Pain Point

AI Agent

Limited working hours

Operates 24/7 so customers don’t have to wait for a response.

Juggling multiple conversations at once

Can chat with as many customers as needed, and even remembers details within the same conversation.

Answering repetitive questions

Resolves frequently asked questions in seconds, freeing agents to focus on more complex requests.

Limited time/lack of opportunity to provide proactive support

Suggests solutions before customers encounter problems, uses advanced analytics to assess shopper intent, and adjusts strategies to nudge customers toward the checkout.

Engaging customers with personalized messages

Uses AI-powered intent scoring that evaluates user behavior, engagement, and responses in real-time to tailor responses, and sales strategy, and predict purchase likelihood.

Using on-brand language across the team

Consistently speaks in your brand’s tone of voice using Guidance and internal documents.

Not enough time to focus on sales

Engages customers with conversation starters, overcomes sales objections with recommendations, and guides users to purchase decisions with context-aware communication.

Combine humans with AI for powerful results 

A hybrid human and AI Agent approach is the best way to level up your customer support operations and sales strategy.

Book a demo with us to see the power of AI Agent.

How to Build the Perfect CX Report in Gorgias (7 Dashboard Examples)

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

TL;DR:

  • CX reports help you track performance, trends, and team impact. They show how support efforts drive business goals, but manual reporting often buries key insights.
  • Gorgias Dashboards can be customized with 70+ metrics. You can mix and match KPIs like automation rate, resolution time, and CSAT to create reports that fit your needs.
  • You can add filters to drill down into key insights. Filter reports by tags, channels, ticket fields, agents, integrations, and more to uncover trends and make data-driven decisions.
  • You can create up to 10 dashboards in Gorgias. Each dashboard can include up to 20 charts, helping you track multiple CX priorities in one place.

As a CX manager, your reporting is your strategic advantage. It's how you prove your team's value, identify emerging trends, and determine exactly what decisions to make.

But when creating those reports becomes time-consuming? That's when insights get buried.

With Gorgias Dashboards, you can build CX reports rooted in your business goals. Unlike standard reports, these customizable dashboards allow you to mix and match over 70 metrics and KPIs, so you can track progress on efforts like reducing your ticket backlog, boosting automation rate, and more.

In this post, we’ll tell you why CX reporting matters, how to set up Dashboards in Gorgias, and show you seven different ways to customize them based on your business needs.

7 Dashboard examples based on your goals

With 70+ charts and metrics to choose from, there are endless ways to style your dashboard. To make it easier for you, we’ve put together seven dashboards for specific use cases.

Setup 1: The performance overview dashboard

Let’s start with the basics. This is an all-in-one dashboard for a high-level overview of support and agent performance.

Recommended metrics to track:

  • Average CSAT over time – Tracks CSAT trends and helps identify when and why satisfaction fluctuates.
  • Agent performance (Closed tickets, CSAT, FRT, Ticket Handle Time) – Provides a comparative view of agent efficiency and effectiveness.
  • Automation rate – Measures the percentage of interactions resolved without an agent.
  • Resolution completeness rate – Ensures agents are fully addressing customer inquiries before closing tickets.
  • Busiest times – Identifies peak support hours for better staffing decisions.
  • Created vs. closed tickets – Helps track whether ticket volume is increasing, decreasing, or stabilizing.
  • Support-driven revenue – Shows how CX efforts contribute directly to revenue.
  • Overall time saved by agents – Quantifies the operational efficiency of automation and support workflows.
A custom dashboard that gives a high-level overview of support performance.
A dashboard for an overview of CX performance.

Setup 2: Recover from low CSAT 

Trying to bump up your CSAT score? This dashboard will help you improve customer satisfaction by keeping metrics related to response time and customer sentiment in your line of sight.

Recommended metrics to track:

  • Average CSAT – Track overall customer sentiment.
  • CSAT over time – Identify trends in satisfaction scores.
  • Resolution time – Assess the average time tickets are resolved.
  • First response time – Ensure customers are getting quick responses.
  • Messages per ticket – Analyze whether customers need to follow up multiple times to get an issue resolved.
  • Comment highlights – Identify recurring customer complaints and positive feedback.

Make sure to add a filter for customer satisfaction scores of 1-2 stars to dig into the reasons for low scores. Go to Add Filter > Satisfaction score > check 1 and 2 stars, as shown below:

Dashboards can be filtered for customer satisfaction score, allowing your team to analyze specific issues.

What to look out for:

  • If CSAT drops when resolution times increase, implement low-lift fixes like automating your most asked questions with Flows
  • If messages per ticket are high, train agents on clearer communication to resolve issues in fewer touches. Macros are an excellent way to let agents send complete and on-brand replies. 
  • Take note of recurring topics found in both positive and negative customer comments. Use these insights to finetune your CX.
Recovering from low CSAT dashboard
Recover from low CSAT with a dashboard highlighting response times and customer reviews.

Setup 3: Catch up on your Chat tickets

Peak seasons are the ultimate test of how robust your customer support organizational structure is, and nowhere is it more obvious than in your chat tickets. Without well-trained agents and proper automations in place, it’s easy to drown. Here’s a dashboard to keep up with chat inquiries.

Recommended metrics to track:

  • Open tickets – Track the number of unresolved chat tickets.
  • Created vs. closed tickets – See if new tickets are outpacing resolutions.
  • First response time – Identify delays in initial responses.
  • Resolution time – Track how long it takes to close tickets.
  • Busiest times – Understand when ticket volume is highest.
  • Agent performance – Compare workload distribution amongst agents.

Don’t forget to toggle the filter for the chat channel by clicking Add Filter > Channel > Chat.

Catch up on chat tickets dashboard
Catch up on open chat tickets with a dashboard showcasing open vs. closed tickets, response times, and your busiest times of the week.

What to look out for:

  • More open tickets than closed? Adjust your agent schedule or use conversational AI like AI Agent to automate up to 60% of your inquiries.
  • Slow first response time? The average CX team has a first response time of 10 hours. Reduce response time by using AI and automation to quickly resolve common questions.
  • Take note of the busiest times of the week to schedule agents accordingly.

Setup 4: Improve SLA compliance

Maybe you’re in this rut: You’ve established your SLAs (service level agreements), but your team is struggling to meet them. What now? 

Go back to the data. With this SLA compliance dashboard, you can look at exactly how many tickets have breached or achieved SLAs while monitoring agent performance. This dashboard is ideal for brands that provide warranties and/or limited-time return windows.

Recommended metrics to track:

  • Tickets with breached SLAs – Track service requests that exceed the SLA timeframe.
  • Achieved and breached tickets – Compare SLA compliance over time.
  • Ticket handle time – Measure how long agents spend on service-related tickets.
  • Agent performance (Closed tickets, CSAT, FRT, Handle Time) – Identify service efficiency gaps.
  • Busiest times – Understand peak service request periods to optimize scheduling.

You may find that breached SLAs are caused by certain topics (like refunds) or channels (like social media). Dive deeper by adding a filter for contact reason and channel. Click Add Filter > Contact Reason / Channel

A custom dashboard used to improve SLA compliance on support tickets.
Maintain SLA compliance with a dashboard focusing on breached tickets, first response time, and the busiest times of the week.

What to look out for:

  • If SLA breaches increase, improve agent scheduling and automate follow-ups with AI Agent, Flows, and Macros.
  • If certain agents have longer handle times, review training and escalation procedures.
  • If the busiest times overlap with SLA breaches, reallocate staffing to high-volume periods.

Setup 5: Reduce refund & return requests

Constant returns and refund requests are issues you want to address immediately. Looking at return reasons per customer is inefficient. Instead, get the bigger picture with a dashboard that highlights customer sentiment and product data.

Recommended metrics to track:

  • Ticket Fields - Top Used Values – Track the most common reasons for returns (e.g., “wrong size,” “poor quality,” “damaged on arrival”).
  • Comment highlights – Identify patterns in customer complaints about product issues.
  • Reviewed tickets – Ensure all return-related issues are properly reviewed and categorized.
  • Resolution time – Track how long it takes to resolve return/refund tickets.
  • Support-driven revenue – Assess whether support teams are turning return requests into exchanges or alternative purchases.

Pro Tip: This dashboard works best if you have a Ticket Field for Contact Reason and Return as a Contact Reason. Then you can add a filter for return-related tickets by clicking Add Filter > Contact Reasons > Return.

A custom dashboard used to reduce refund and return requests.
Reduce returns and refunds by using a dashboard that tracks customer sentiment.

What to look out for:

  • Pay close attention to your top return reason. This can help you improve product quality, packaging, shipping logistics, and policies.
  • If CSAT is low for return-related tickets, update your return policies or consider giving customers in-store credit, exchanges, or discounts.

Related: 12 ways to upgrade your data and trend analysis with Ticket Fields

Setup 6: Monitor customer sentiment on product quality

From food and beverage to skincare brands, product quality is central to your success. Use this dashboard to keep an eye on how customers feel about your products, then use the data to implement changes customers actually want.

Recommended metrics to track:

  • Ticket Fields - Top Used Values – Track commonly used feedback labels (e.g., “too salty,” “bland,” “packaging issue”).
  • Trend - Evolution of top 10 used values – Monitor changes in product sentiment over time.
  • Comment highlights – Identify trends in positive and negative feedback.
  • Reviewed tickets – With our AI-powered quality assurance feature, Auto QA, ensure return-related tickets follow your brand’s policies.
  • Satisfaction score – Understand how product issues impact CSAT.

You can analyze specific customer sentiments (like tickets that only say “too salty”) by applying a filter. For example, you would click Add Filter > Ticket Field Filters > Flavor > Too Salty.

A custom dashboard used to monitor customer sentiment on product quality.
Improve product quality by tracking customer sentiment and satisfaction scores in a dashboard.

What to look out for:

  • Take note of your top used ticket value, so you can adjust your product formulation, packaging, etc.
  • If you’ve made recent changes to your product, analyzing the trend of your top 10 used values is a great way to understand how customers feel about those changes.
  • Improve your satisfaction score based on customer reviews.

Setup 7: Optimize social media support

More and more customers are using social media apps to shop — in fact, the global social commerce market is projected to grow by 31.6% each year through 2030. The best way to give browsers a good first impression of your brand is by prioritizing social media support.

Recommended metrics to track:

  • Channel performance – Compare social media ticket volume to email and chat.
  • Tickets with breached SLAs – Ensure fast responses on high-priority platforms.
  • First response time (by channel) – Ensure social media inquiries receive timely responses.
  • Conversion rates from live chat/helpdesk – Measure how well support influences sales.
  • Top performers – First response time – Highlight the agents excelling in social engagement.

Don’t forget to apply a filter for your social media platforms by clicking Add Filter > Channel > Facebook / Instagram / TikTok Shop.

A custom dashboard used to optimize social media engagement.
Increase social media engagement by using a dashboard that tracks open tickets on social media platforms and response times.

What to look out for:

  • If first response times are longer for social media than email or chat, assign dedicated agents to your social media channels or use automated replies.
  • Monitor tickets with breached SLAs on a weekly basis, and aim to reduce it with AI Agent. 
  • If you have more created tickets vs. closed tickets, consider posting more product education content and updating your self-service resources.

How to create a dashboard in Gorgias

You can create up to 10 dashboards. Here’s how to create a new dashboard:

  1. Go to Statistics > Dashboards.
  2. Click + (plus sign) > Create a new dashboard.
  3. Click Add Charts. Choose from 70+ charts. You may add a maximum of 20 charts in a dashboard.
  4. Looking for a specific trend? Click + Add Filter to focus on key data.
  5. Need to save your dashboard data? Click Actions > Download Data to export the report as a CSV file.

Try it for yourself with our interactive tutorial:

Make data-driven CX your competitive advantage

With Gorgias Dashboards, CX managers have full control over their reporting.

By tracking the right KPIs and customizing dashboards based on goals, your team can set the standard for flawless customer support.

Find out the power of custom dashboards in Gorgias. Book a demo now.

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Should Brands Disclose AI in Customer Interactions? A Guide for CX Leaders

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

TL;DR:

  • Check legal requirements. Some regions mandate AI disclosure—stay compliant.
  • Transparency impacts trust. Some customers appreciate honesty; others may disengage.
  • Frame AI as helpful. Position it as a support tool, not a human replacement.
  • Refine your approach over time. Monitor feedback and adjust AI disclosure as needed.
  • AI is everywhere in customer service—powering live chats, drafting responses, and handling inquiries faster than ever. 

    But as AI takes on more of the customer experience, one question keeps coming up: Should brands tell customers when they’re talking to AI?

    Legally, the answer depends on where you operate. Ethically? That’s where things get interesting. Some argue that transparency builds trust. Others worry it might undermine confidence in support interactions. 

    So, what’s the right move?

    This guide breaks down the debate and gives CX leaders a framework to decide when (and how) to disclose AI—so you can strike the right balance between innovation and trust.

    The legal landscape: What are the disclosure requirements?

    Depending on where your business operates, disclosure laws may be strict, vague, or nonexistent. Some laws, such as the California Bolstering Online Transparency Act, prohibit misleading consumers about the use of automated artificial identities.

    For maximum legal protection, it’s best to proactively disclose AI use—even when not explicitly required. 

    A simple disclaimer can go a long way in avoiding legal headaches down the line. Here’s how to disclose AI use in customer interactions:

    • In email: Use your email signature to indicate that AI has assisted in generating the response.
    • In chat: Update your Privacy Policy to clarify when AI is involved in customer interactions.

    Truthfully, AI laws are evolving fast. That’s why we recommend consulting legal counsel to ensure your disclosure practices align with the latest requirements in your region.

    But beyond avoiding legal trouble, transparency around AI usage can reinforce customer trust. If customers feel deceived, they may question the reliability of your brand, even if the AI delivers great service.

    Related reading: How AI Agent works & gathers data

    How does disclosure impact trust and satisfaction?

    Research shows that 85% of consumers want companies to share AI assurance practices before bringing AI-driven products and experiences to market.

    But what does “transparency” actually mean in this context? An article in Forbes broke it down, explaining that customers expect three key things:

    1. Clear disclosure: They want to know when AI is (and isn’t) used in customer interactions.
    2. Simple, non-technical language: AI disclosures shouldn’t feel like reading a terms-of-service agreement. Keep it digestible.
    3. Easy-to-find information: AI disclosures should be visible—not buried in fine print. A chatbot notification, a banner on your site, or a brief message before an AI-powered chat begins can make a big difference.

    How you disclose AI matters just as much as whether you disclose it. At the end of the day, AI isn’t inherently good or bad—it’s all about how it’s implemented and trained. 

    The business perspective: Risks and benefits of AI transparency

    The way a brand approaches AI disclosure can impact trust, satisfaction, and even conversion rates—making it a decision that goes beyond simple legal requirements.

    While some customers appreciate honesty, others may hesitate if they prefer human support. Brands must weigh the pros and cons to determine the best approach for their audience.

    Risks of disclosure

    Let’s be honest: AI in customer service still carries baggage. While some consumers embrace AI-driven support, others hear "AI" and immediately picture frustrating, robotic chatbots that can’t understand their questions.

    This is one of the biggest risks of transparency: customers who’ve had bad AI experiences in the past may assume the worst and disengage the moment they realize they’re not speaking to a human.

    For brands that thrive on personal connection and high-touch service, openly stating that AI is involved could create skepticism or drop-off rates before customers even give it a chance.

    Another challenge? The perception gap

    Even if AI is handling inquiries smoothly, some customers may assume it lacks the empathy, nuance, or problem-solving skills of a live agent. Certain industries may find that transparency about AI use leads to more escalations, not fewer, simply because customers expect a human touch.

    Benefits of disclosure

    Despite the risks, transparency about AI can actually be a trust-building strategy when handled correctly.

    Customers who value openness and ethical business practices tend to appreciate brands that don’t try to disguise AI as a human. 

    Being upfront also manages expectations. If a customer knows they’re speaking to AI, they’re less likely to feel misled or frustrated if they encounter a limitation. Instead of feeling like they were "tricked" into thinking they were talking to a human, they enter the conversation with the right mindset—often leading to higher satisfaction rates.

    And then there’s the long-term brand impact

    If customers eventually realize (through phrasing, tone, or inconsistencies) that they weren’t speaking with a human when they thought they were, it can erode trust. 

    Deception—whether intentional or not—can backfire. Proactively disclosing AI use prevents backlash and reinforces credibility, especially as AI becomes a bigger part of the customer experience.

    Example: How Arcade Belts used AI transparency without losing the human touch

    Arcade Belts, known for its high-quality belts, wanted to improve efficiency without compromising customer experience. By implementing Gorgias Automate, they reduced their reliance on manual support, creating self-service flows to handle common inquiries.

    Arcade Belts' website uses Gorgias Chat to automate FAQs
    Arcade Belts uses Gorgias Automate to automatically answer common questions.

    Initially, automation helped manage routine questions, such as product recommendations and shipping policies. But when they integrated Gorgias AI Agent, they cut their ticket volume in half. 

    The transition was so seamless that customers often couldn’t tell they were interacting with AI. “Getting tickets down to just a handful a day has been awesome,” shares Grant, Ecommerce Coordinator at Arcade Belts. ”A lot of times, I'll receive the response, ‘Wow, I didn't know that was AI.”

    You can read more about how they’re using AI Agent here.

    Decision-making framework: Should you disclose AI?

    We mentioned it earlier, but deciding whether or not to disclose your use of AI in customer support depends on compliance, customer expectations, and business goals. That said, this four-part framework helps CX leaders evaluate the right approach for their brand:

    Step 1: Assess legal requirements

    Before making any decisions, ensure your brand is compliant with AI transparency regulations.

    • Research regional laws governing AI disclosure, as requirements vary by jurisdiction.
    • Consult legal counsel to confirm whether your AI usage falls under any mandated disclosure policies.
    • Stay informed on evolving AI governance frameworks that could introduce new compliance obligations.

    Step 2: Review customer expectations and brand positioning

    AI transparency should align with your brand’s values and customer experience strategy.

    • Consider whether transparency supports your brand’s messaging—does your audience expect openness, or do they prioritize seamless interactions?
    • Analyze customer sentiment through surveys and engagement data to determine if they prefer knowing when they’re speaking with AI.
    • Review past AI interactions to identify patterns in customer reactions and adjust your approach accordingly.

    Step 3: Test both approaches and measure the impact on CSAT

    Rather than making assumptions, run controlled tests to see how AI disclosure affects customer satisfaction.

    • Conduct A/B tests comparing interactions with and without AI disclosure.
    • Track key support metrics like response time, CSAT scores, and AI resolution rates to measure effectiveness.
    • Experiment with different positioning strategies—does framing AI as a helpful assistant improve customer perception?

    Step 4: Adjust based on customer feedback and industry trends

    AI strategies shouldn’t be static. As customer preferences and AI capabilities evolve, brands should refine their approach accordingly.

    • Regularly collect customer feedback to understand how AI disclosure impacts their experience.
    • Monitor industry trends to see how competitors and market leaders are handling AI transparency.
    • Stay flexible—if sentiment shifts, be ready to adjust your disclosure strategy to maintain trust and efficiency.

    Best practices for AI disclosure (if you choose to disclose)

    If you decide to be transparent about AI in customer interactions, how you communicate it is just as important as the disclosure itself. Let’s talk about how to get it right and make AI work with your customer experience, not against it.

    First, make AI part of your brand voice

    AI doesn’t have to sound like a corporate FAQ page. Giving it a personality that aligns with your brand makes interactions feel natural and engaging. Whether it’s playful, professional, or ultra-efficient, the way AI speaks should feel like a natural extension of your team, not an out-of-place add-on.

    Instead of:
    "I am an automated assistant. How may I assist you?"

    Try something on-brand:
    "Hey there! I’m your AI assistant, here to help—ask me anything!"

    A small tweak in tone can make AI feel more human while still keeping transparency front and center.

    AI Agent responding to good customer feedback with a discount
    AI Agent uses an outgoing, enthusiastic, and approachable tone.

    Read more: AI tone of voice: Tips for on-brand customer communication

    Clarify the AI’s role

    One of the biggest mistakes brands make? Leaving customers guessing whether they’re speaking to AI or a human. That uncertainty leads to frustration and distrust.

    Instead, be clear about what AI can and can’t do. If it’s handling routine questions, product recommendations, or order tracking, say so. If complex issues will be escalated to a human agent, let customers know upfront.

    Framing matters. Instead of making AI sound like a replacement, position it as a helpful extension of your support team—one that speeds up resolutions, but hands off conversations when needed.

    Blend human and AI seamlessly

    Even the best AI has limits—and customers know it. Nothing is more frustrating than a bot endlessly looping through scripted responses when a customer just needs a real person to step in.

    AI should be the first line of defense, but human agents should always be an option, especially for high-stakes or emotionally charged interactions.

    A smooth handoff can sound like:
    "Looks like this one needs a human touch! Connecting you with a support expert now."

    Frame AI messaging positively

    AI disclosure doesn’t have to feel like an apology. Instead of focusing on limitations, highlight the benefits AI brings to the experience:

    • Faster responses
    • 24/7 availability
    • Instant answers to common questions

    It’s the difference between:

    "This is an AI agent. A human will follow up later."

    vs.

    "I’m your AI assistant! I can answer most questions instantly—but if you need extra help, I’ll connect you with a team member ASAP."

    The right framing makes AI feel like an advantage, not a compromise.

    Monitor customer feedback and adjust messaging

    AI perception isn’t static. Regularly analyzing sentiment data and customer feedback can help refine AI messaging over time—whether that means adjusting tone, improving explanations, or updating how AI is introduced.

    When you follow these best practices, AI can be a real gamechanger for your customer support. Just take it from Jonas Paul… 

    When AI is done right: Jonas Paul’s success story

    Jonas Paul Eyewear, a direct-to-consumer brand specializing in kids' eyewear, needed a way to manage high volumes of tickets during the back-to-school season without overwhelming their customer care team. 

    AI Agent responding to a customer asking about what eyeglass lenses to choose
    AI Agent helps a customer with the lens selection process.

    To streamline these conversations, Jonas Paul implemented AI Agent to provide instant responses to FAQs. This allowed human agents to focus on more complex cases that required personalized attention.

    “Being able to automate responses for things like prescription details and return policies has allowed us to focus more on the nuanced questions that require more time and care. It’s been a game changer for our team,” said Lynsay Schrader, Lab and Customer Service Senior Manager and Jonas Paul.

    Jonas Paul saw a 96% decrease in First Response Time and a 2x ROI on Gorgias AI Agent with influenced revenue. You can dive in more here.

    Make AI transparency work for you with AI Agent

    Whether or not your brand chooses to disclose AI in customer interactions, the key is to ensure AI enhances the customer experience without compromising transparency, accuracy, or brand identity.

    So how can you get started? Gorgias AI Agent was built with both effectiveness and transparency in mind. 

    For every interaction, AI Agent provides an internal note detailing:

    • The Guidance, Articles, or Macros it referenced
    • The source of any account information it used
    • A prompt for your feedback to continually refine and improve responses

    Excited to see how AI Agent can transform your brand? Book a demo.

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