TL;DR:

• Suggestion turns browsing into buying by gently guiding action instead of forcing it.
• Fewer, clearer choices reduce decision fatigue and help shoppers move forward with confidence.
• A well-timed prompt with a friendly tone can make automation feel like a real conversation.
• Good design earns trust by being subtle, approachable, and easy to engage with.
• Small, thoughtful cues create moments of connection that make shoppers feel understood.

Shopping today isn’t a linear funnel. It’s a fluid conversation. Browse → question → help → buy → return → repeat.

Every step is a dialogue between the shopper’s intent and the brand’s response. 

But what bridges the gap between “just looking” and “I’m buying” isn’t persuasion or urgency — it’s suggestion: the subtle design, timing, and language cues that guide action without forcing it.

When done well, suggestion becomes the architecture of trust. It’s also the best way to make AI-powered experiences feel human-first, not tech-first.

This article explores how the power of suggestion — rooted in behavioral psychology and UX design — shapes modern conversational commerce. 

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Why suggestion matters in the age of conversational commerce

The average ecommerce shopper faces thousands of micro-decisions from the moment they land on a site. Which product? Which variant? Which review to trust? Which shipping method? Each one adds cognitive weight.

Psychologist Barry Schwartz coined the term The Paradox of Choice to describe how abundance often leads to paralysis. In his research, participants faced with too many options were less likely to make a choice and less satisfied when they did.

In ecommerce, that means overload costs conversions. When shoppers must evaluate too many variables, they hesitate, second-guess, or abandon.

Shoppers today expect empathy and ease, not persuasion. When you suggest rather than push, you signal empathy and support.

This is especially important for conversational commerce. Suggestion humanizes automation by making AI interactions feel like conversations rather than transactions.

When you push and persuade, you create a memorable experience for customers — but it’s not the kind you want them to remember.

One Reddit thread perfectly captures the problem: a user tried to cancel their Thrive Market membership and had to ask nine times before the chatbot complied.

Each time, the AI assistant tried to talk them out of it (offering deals, guilt-tripping responses, or irrelevant messages) until the customer’s frustration boiled over.

The thread exploded not just because it was mildly infuriating, but because it illustrated what customers fear most about automation: a lack of empathy.

Suggestion is how you design for trust, ease, and interaction. And for ecommerce and CX professionals, suggestion bridges browsing and buying by prompting dialogue in a gentle, psychologically sound way.

5 ways to use suggestion with agentic AI

The magic of suggestion is that it works with human psychology, not against it. It bridges the space between what a shopper wants to do and what helps them do it.

That’s the foundation of the Fogg Behavior Model, developed by Stanford’s Dr. BJ Fogg. The model states that behavior happens when three things intersect:

1. Motivation — the user wants to do something.
2. Ability — they can do it easily.
3. Prompt — they’re nudged at the right moment.

When these three align, the likelihood of action skyrockets.

In conversational commerce, suggestion is the gentle push that turns intent into interaction.

Below are five ways to apply suggestion with agentic AI (think chat, assistants, and marketing tools) to drive trust, dialogue, and conversion.

1. Build trust with a friendly invitation

A first impression shapes the entire interaction.

A greeting like “Need help?” or “Looking for something special?” signals availability without applying pressure. It’s the digital equivalent of a store associate smiling and saying, “Let me know if you need anything.”

This works because of linguistic framing, which is a form of persuasive language that subtly shapes how people interpret intent.

• Sentences using personal pronouns (“you,” “we”) increase perceived warmth and empathy.
• Questions (vs. imperatives) activate a conversational schema in the brain, inviting a cooperative response.
• Short, low-stakes phrasing signals that engagement is voluntary.

In practice, this means:

• Replace “Start chat now” with “Need a hand finding the right fit?”
• Use punctuation and tone cues that convey friendliness.
• Let the chat invite linger rather than pop up suddenly — this gives users agency.

Take a look at Glamnetic. Its shopping assistant sits at the bottom-right corner of every page. While shoppers scroll on the homepage, a prompt appears: “Shop with AI.” It’s transparent about being an AI chat, but subtle enough to be there for shoppers when they’re ready to use it at their own leisure. 

Gorgias Shopping Assistant is an easy way to do this. At the right moment, Shopping Assistant appears with a greeting such as “Need help?” or “Chat with our AI!” It’s friendly, low-pressure, optional, more “Hey I’m here if you need” than “Buy now!”

2. Make decisions easier by offering fewer choices

If you’ve ever scrolled through 80 product filters and given up, you’ve experienced choice overload. This is the Paradox of Choice in action: 

More options = higher cognitive effort = lower satisfaction.

Suggestion works because it reduces mental effort. When an AI assistant limits quick-reply options to just a few (say, “Long sleeve,” “Short sleeve,” “Sleeveless”), it transforms chaos into clarity.

Each small tap provides forward momentum, a concept known as the goal-gradient effect: the closer we feel to completing a goal, the faster and more positively we act.

How can you apply this to agentic AI? 

• Keep quick replies between 3–5 choices — enough to feel personalized, not overwhelming.
• Present them as progressive steps, not isolated decisions (e.g., “Show me styles” → “Show me colors” → “Add to cart”).
• Always include a “Something else” or “Other” option to preserve user autonomy.
• Refresh options dynamically based on prior selections — a technique known as choice scaffolding.

Gorgias’s Shopping Assistant does this well, surfacing only the most relevant next steps. Instead of forcing open-ended typing, it guides shoppers through mini-decisions that build confidence. Here’s an example from Okanui, showing four clear options to reply to Shopping Assistant.

3. Encourage interaction with a user-friendly design 

Before a shopper reads a single word of text, their brain has already judged whether your interface feels safe to engage with.

That’s the Aesthetic–Usability Effect — when people perceive something as visually appealing, they assume it will be easier and more trustworthy to use.

Design psychologist Don Norman put it best: “Attractive things work better because they make people feel better.”

Here’s why visual subtlety matters:

• Rounded edges and soft shapes signal continuity and friendliness (the human brain associates curves with safety; sharp angles with danger).
• Muted palettes and neutral contrast lower visual stress, allowing the interface to fade into the background until needed.
• Micro-animations — like a gentle glow or slide-in — trigger attention without hijacking focus.
• Minimizable elements give users a sense of control, reducing resistance to engagement.

OSEA’s product description page is a beautiful example of unintrusive design in action. The buttons have rounded edges, the 10% offer isn’t covering other page elements, and the chat sits in the bottom-right corner, making it easily accessible if a shopper has questions about the product.

4. Match your timing to the customer’s pace

Timing is everything in suggestion-based design. Even the most thoughtful interaction will fail if it appears at the wrong moment.

That’s where the Fogg Behavior Model becomes tactical: Behavior = Motivation × Ability × Prompt

When shoppers are motivated (interested in a product) and able (engaging is easy), a well-timed prompt (chat bubble, message, or offer) turns potential into action.

But mistime it, and you risk the opposite. A chat that appears too early feels like spam. Too late, and the user’s interest window closes.

Here’s how to align the timing sweet spot:

• Use behavioral triggers: Fire prompts after meaningful engagement (e.g., 25–30 seconds on a product page, reaching 70% scroll depth, or idling for 15 seconds).
• Match prompt to context: Offer size guidance on apparel pages, warranty info near checkout, or live help on return pages.
• Respect frequency: One well-placed nudge beats five redundant ones.
• Localize timing: Adjust based on device and location. Mobile users often need faster cues due to shorter browsing sessions.

Gorgias Shopping Assistant does all of the above. Using context — such as the current page, conversational context, and cart behavior — helps the AI trigger prompts like “Need help choosing a size?” or “Have questions about shipping?”

5. Aim to educate, reassure, or inspire — not just sell

Every small suggestion — a phrase, a button shape, a pause, a tone — creates what behavioral economists call a moment of micro-trust.

Individually, these moments may feel insignificant. But together, they turn a static interface into a relationship.

When greeting, choices, design, and timing align, conversation becomes the natural outcome — not the goal. That’s what conversational commerce gets right: it reframes success from “did they convert?” to “did they connect?”

For CX teams, this shift requires designing for the emotional continuity of the experience:

• Did each prompt respect the shopper’s autonomy?
• Did the interaction feel like a two-way exchange?
• Did the system adapt to intent rather than dictate it?

We love this example from Perry Ellis to drive this tip home:

Designing for trust in an age of AI

As AI continues to shape how people shop, brands face a choice: Design for control, or design for trust.

Suggestion is the path to the latter.

The right cue, delivered at the right time, reminds people that even in automated spaces, there’s still room for empathy and understanding.

Gorgias was built on the belief that great commerce starts with conversation, not conversion.

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TL;DR:

• AI Agent is getting more accurate every month: It’s improved 14.9% this year thanks to better LLMs, constant updates, and user feedback.
• It writes more correctly than most humans: With a 4.77/5 language score, it’s nailing grammar, tone, and clarity better than human agents.
• It’s empathetic, too: AI Agent now shows more empathy and listens better than human agents.
• Brands are gaining confidence fast: Quality scores jumped from 57% to 85% in just a few months, and CX teams are noticing.
• Customers are almost as happy with AI as with humans: AI Agent’s CSAT is just 0.6 points shy of human agents’ average CSAT.

Handing trust over to AI can be intimidating. One off-brand reply and you undo the reputation and customer loyalty you’ve worked so hard to build. 

That’s why we’ve made accuracy our top priority with Gorgias AI Agent.

For the past year, the Gorgias team has been hard at work fulfilling the pressing  demand for accuracy and speed. AI Agent is getting smarter, faster, and more reliable, and merchants and their customers are happier with the output. 

Here’s the data.

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AI Agent delivers more accurate answers than ever

This year, AI Agent’s accuracy rose from 3.55 to 4.08 out of 5, a 14.9% improvement from January. This average score is based on CX agents' ratings of AI Agent responses in the product, on a scale of 1 to 5.

In the past year, we’ve improved knowledge retrieval, added new integrations, expanded reporting features, and asked for more feedback in-product.

We saw the steadiest leap in July, right after the release of GPT-5. AI Agent began reaching levels of consistency and accuracy that agents could trust.

AI Agent writes with more linguistic precision than humans

Clear, easy-to-understand language helps people trust what they’re reading. Website Planet found that 85% more visitors bounced from a page when typos were present. That’s why we’ve made it a priority for AI Agent to respond to customers with correct grammar, syntax, and tone of voice. 

The efforts have paid off: AI Agent scores a high 4.77 out of 5 in language proficiency compared to 4.4 for human agents. The result is error-free messages that are easy to read and consistent with your brand vocabulary.

AI Agent shows that empathy can be scaled

Accuracy isn’t just about saying the right thing; it’s also about how a message lands. For that reason, we track AI Agent’s communication quality. Did it reply with empathy? Did it exhibit active listening and respond with clear phrasing?

Recently, AI Agent is even scoring slightly above humans with 4.48 out of 5 in communication, compared to 4.27. This means AI Agent captures the nuance of every message by considering the background context and acknowledging customer frustration before it gives customers a solution. 

AI Agent resolves every part of a customer’s question

What happens when a ticket ends without a clear answer? Customers feel neglected and leave the chat still unsure. This can make your brand look out of touch, leaving customers with the lingering feeling that you don’t care.

But don’t worry, we built AI Agent to close that loop every time: AI Agent’s resolution completeness score sits at a perfect 1 out of 1, compared to 0.99 out of 1 for human agents. 

In practice, this means customers feel cared for and understood, while your team receives fewer follow-ups, giving them more time to focus on strategic, high-priority tasks.

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

Brand confidence is on the rise

Building a great product is a two-way conversation between our engineers and the people who use it. We listen, review feedback, ship changes, and measure what improves.

From January to November 2025, AI Agent quality rose from about 57% to 85%. August was the first big step up, and September kept climbing. Brands are seeing fewer low-quality or incorrect answers and more steady decisions.

This is proof that merchants and their shoppers are witnessing the improvements we’ve been making, for the better.

Related: The engineering work that keeps Gorgias running smoothly

Shoppers are rating AI support almost as high as human support

At the end of the day, what matters is how customers feel when they talk to support. Do they trust the answer? Do they find it helpful? Are they running into more friction with AI than without it?

Our data shows that customers are appreciating AI assistance more and more. Since the start of 2025, AI Agent on live chat has gotten a CSAT score 40% closer to the average CSAT of human agents. For email, the gap has narrowed by about 8%.

The goal is to eventually achieve a gap of zero. At this point, AI’s support quality is indistinguishable from that of humans. To get there, we’re focusing on practical improvements like accuracy, clear language, complete answers, and better handoff rules.

How we measure CSAT gap: The CSAT gap is calculated by subtracting AI CSAT from human CSAT. When the number is closer to zero, AI is catching up. When it’s negative, AI is still below human results.

Reliable AI interactions start with accuracy

Behind every accurate AI reply is a team that cares about the details. AI Agent doesn’t make up answers—it follows what you teach it. The more effort your team puts into maintaining an up-to-date Help Center and Guidance, the better the customer experience becomes.

As we look ahead to 2026, we’re focused on fine-tuning knowledge retrieval logic, refining Guidance rules, and continuously learning from feedback from you and your customers.

We’re proud of the strides AI Agent continues to make, and can’t wait for more brands to experience the accuracy for themselves.

Want to see how AI Agent delivers exceptional accuracy without sacrificing speed? Book a demo or start a trial today.

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TL;DR:

• Fast ≠ good. Chasing faster replies without accuracy or empathy leads to frustrated customers, burned-out agents, and declining CSAT.
• Speed-only AI backfires. Quick but wrong responses damage trust and increase ticket volume.
• Train your AI like a new hire. The best results come when AI learns your tone, workflows, and policies—not when it’s treated as plug-and-play.
• Balance speed with quality. Brands like Boody, Cocorico, and TUSHY show that when AI is trained thoughtfully, teams can scale automation and keep the human touch.
• Adopt an accuracy-first mindset. The future of CX belongs to brands that prioritize reliability, empathy, and consistency over being the fastest.

Speed gets all the glory in customer support. The faster the reply, the happier the customer. That’s not always true. When CX teams chase response times at the expense of accuracy or empathy, they often end up with the opposite effect. Frustrated customers, burned-out agents, and slipping CSAT are common when speed is the only priority.

As more teams adopt AI tools that promise instant results, the risk grows. Quick responses mean nothing if they’re wrong or robotic. 

In this post, we’ll unpack why “fast” doesn’t always mean “good” and how an accuracy-first approach to AI leads to better support, and stronger customer relationships in the long run.

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The speed trap: why CX teams fall for it

Response time has become the go-to measure of “good” support. Dashboards light up green when messages are answered in seconds, and teams celebrate shaved-down handle times. 

But focusing on speed alone can create a dangerous blind spot.

When “fast” becomes the only KPI that matters, CX leaders make speed-at-all-costs decisions. They may roll out untrained AI tools, overuse canned replies, or push agents to close tickets before solving real problems.

On paper, the metrics look great. In reality, customer sentiment quietly drops.

It’s no surprise that 86% of consumers say empathy and human connection matter more than a quick response when it comes to excellent customer experience. 

Fast support might satisfy your dashboard, but thoughtful, accurate service is what satisfies your customers.

Pitfall #1: Maximizing speed and sacrificing quality

A chatbot replies instantly, but gives the wrong answer. The customer follows up again, frustrated. Now your ticket volume has doubled, your agents are backlogged, and the customer’s confidence in your brand has dropped.

That’s the hidden cost of speed-first support. When teams prioritize quick replies over correct ones, CSAT falls, costs rise, and trust erodes. Customers remember the experience, not the timestamp.

They want to feel understood and confident that their issue is solved. A fast reply that misses the mark doesn’t deliver reassurance, empathy, or clear next steps. It’s not speed they value. It’s resolution, accuracy, and a sense that someone genuinely cared enough to get it right. 

Bad AI answers sting more than slow ones because they feel careless. Especially when they repeat the same mistakes. Accuracy builds credibility; speed without it breaks it.

How Boody delivers high-quality replies while maintaining speed

Boody, for example, found the balance. With AI trained on their tone of voice and workflows, they reduced response times from hours to seconds while maintaining a high CSAT score and freeing agents for meaningful work. 

The bamboo apparel brand uses Gorgias AI Agent to reassure the customer that someone is on the way to help, especially for urgent situations. It’s been instrumental in collecting preliminary information for more nuanced situations, like photos and product numbers for warranty claims.

As Boody’s CX Manager, Myriam Ferraty, explained the key is using AI to provide instant low-effort answers when customers need a prompt response. 

“If a customer reaches out about product feedback or issues, AI Agent prompts the customer to give us all the information we need. When an agent gets to the ticket, they can jump into solution mode right away.” —Myriam Ferraty, CX Manager at Boody

Boody found a way to avoid the “fast but frustrating” trap by pairing speed with quality, and the numbers prove it:

• 99.88% faster first-response times: Boody’s AI Agent reduced average response times from 7 hours to just 31 seconds.
• 9+ hours shorter resolution times: Within one month of implementation, resolution times dropped significantly while accuracy stayed high.
• 26% of all interactions handled by AI: Their AI agent took on repetitive queries, freeing human agents for higher-value conversations.
• 10% revenue lift from support: With agents focused on community engagement and brand experience, customer interactions began driving measurable revenue.

These results show what happen when CX teams train AI thoughtfully, it can becomes a trusted extension of the support team, instead of only increasing speed booster.

Takeaway: Fast and good is possible, but only when your AI is trained, guided, and measured for precision, not just speed.

Read more: How CX leaders are actually using AI: 6 must-know lessons

Pitfall #2: Treating AI as plug-and-play

Many CX teams expect AI to “just work” out of the box. They install a shiny new tool, flip the switch, and hope it starts solving tickets overnight. But AI isn’t a magic button. It’s a new team member. And like any new hire, it needs training, context, and feedback to perform well.

Untrained AI can quickly go off-script. It might give inconsistent answers, slip into the wrong tone, or worse, hallucinate information altogether. The consequences are confused customers, damaged trust, and more cleanup work for your human agents.

AI performs best when it’s trained on your brand voice, policies, and knowledge base. The best CX teams don’t settle for default settings or cookie-cutter templates. They invest time to train their AI. That’s what turns it from a generic chatbot into a genuine brand representative.

How Cocorico’s well-trained AI led to customer trust (and laughter)

Cocorico, a French fashion brand, shows what this looks like in practice. Instead of setting AI loose, their team invested time in teaching it how to communicate naturally and on-brand. Within just a few months, they achieved:

• 48% automation rate, handling nearly half of all customer requests.
• 22-second average first-response time, without losing personalization.

At first, Cocorico’s Ecommerce Manager, Margaux Pourrain, admitted she was hesitant to trust AI, “We were apprehensive about launching AI. On the technical side, I thought, ‘Would the AI respond professionally? Would it respond appropriately? Could it create more work by requiring constant verification?’ On the customer experience side, I was nervous it would feel impersonal.”

Her doubts didn’t last long. Once trained on Cocorico’s workflows and brand tone, AI transformed how the team engaged with customers, “AI Agent responds so personally that customers often don’t realize they’re talking to AI. We’ve even seen customers interacting playfully and joking around with Maurice.”

Takeaway: With proper training and oversight, AI can become a trusted teammate that enhances customer experience rather than diluting it.

Read more: How AI Agent works & gathers data

Pitfall #3: Losing the human touch

When CX teams chase faster replies above all else, it’s easy to forget that great support involves connection. Agents and AI start focusing on closing tickets instead of solving problems.

Speed-only goals create fast but flat experiences that technically help customers but don’t feel human.

Over-automation can strip away the warmth and personality that make a brand memorable. Customers might get an answer in seconds, but if it lacks empathy or context, trust takes a hit. Research supports that brands that prioritize emotional intelligence in support interactions see stronger loyalty and retention rates.

How TUSHY keeps their AI playful, not robotic 

TUSHY, the bidet brand known for its witty tone, took a more thoughtful approach to automation. With Gorgias Shopping Assistant, pre-sale questions about compatibility, installation, and recommendations are handled automatically. This frees up human agents to focus on relationship-building conversations.

As Ren Fuller-Wasserman, TUSHY’s Senior Director of Customer Experience, explained, keeping conversations authentic was central to their approach:

“Too often, a great interaction is diminished when a customer feels reduced to just another transaction. With AI, we let the tech handle the selling, unabashedly, if needed, so our future customers can ask anything, even the questions they might be too shy to bring up with a human. In the end, everybody wins!”

That human touch has paid off. TUSHY’s Shopping Assistant mirrors their playful brand voice and delivers real results:

• +20% increase in chat conversion rate overall
• 81% higher conversion rate compared with human agents
• 13× ROI from the Shopping Assistant investment

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

Takeaway: Automation shouldn’t erase your brand’s humanity, it should amplify it. When AI is trained to reflect your tone and values, it can boost both efficiency and emotional connection.

The smarter path forward: accuracy-first AI

The future of customer support doesn’t involve being the fastest. Instead it means being the most reliable. Accuracy-first AI reframes automation from a race to respond into a strategy to build trust.

When customers get the right answer, in the right tone, every time, they’re more likely to stay loyal, even if it takes a few seconds longer.

So what does accuracy-first AI actually look like?

• Starts with training and clear guardrails: Like any new team member, your AI needs onboarding. These guardrails include context, escalation rules, and examples of what “great” looks like.
• Learns from past tickets and feedback: Continuous improvement keeps your AI sharp and aligned with evolving customer expectations.
• Reflects your tone and knowledge base: Every response should sound like you, not a generic script.
• Complements instead of replaces human agents: AI should take the repetitive load so humans can focus on empathy, problem-solving, and connection.

Accuracy-first AI is a mindset shift. Teams that treat AI as a coachable teammate, not a plug-and-play tool, will unlock faster resolutions and higher CSAT in the long run.

Read more: Coach AI Agent in one hour a week: SuitShop’s guide 

Build for accuracy, instead of speed

Speed might win you a customer’s attention, but accuracy is what earns their trust. Fast replies mean little if they’re wrong, off-brand, or robotic. The real differentiator in modern CX isn’t how quickly you respond, it’s how effectively you resolve issues and make customers feel understood.

AI should enhance your team’s expertise, not replace it. Train it on your tone, coach it like a new hire, and measure it on quality as much as efficiency.

The brands that will thrive in the AI era won’t always be the fastest. They’ll be the most reliable, human, and consistent. 

Looking for AI-led support that’s fast and human? Book a demo with Gorgias to see how accuracy-first automation can elevate your support.

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TL;DR:

• Happy agents lead to better CX outcomes. When agents genuinely enjoy using their platform, it boosts productivity, morale, and customer satisfaction.‍
• Gorgias makes agents’ lives easier. CX teams at Glossier, Tommy John, and Brunt Workwear unanimously preferred Gorgias over legacy systems.‍
• AI helps teams scale without losing the human touch. By handling basic inquiries, AI gives agents more time for high-impact conversations and personalized support
• Agent satisfaction drives business impact. Brands saw improved team efficiency, reduced operational friction, and revenue gains from more focused, empowered agents.

Everyone talks about how important it is for your ecommerce tools to drive business growth, boost productivity, and deliver a high return on investment. But the equally important (yet often overlooked) third layer is how a tool affects the people using it day-to-day. 

The hidden costs of sticking to the CX status quo

The moment CX and ecommerce leaders start noticing slipping KPIs, frustrated agents, or rising support costs, they ask themselves a question, “Is it time to look for something new?” Sticking with the same tool might seem easier — no demos, evaluations, migrations, onboarding, or retraining involved. 

But ignoring the shortcomings of your current CX platform can snowball into larger issues over time. 

When CX agents don’t like the platform they’re working in daily, bigger problems arise:

• Agent productivity declines 
• Morale and employee retention suffer
• Operational costs rise
• Customer experience takes a hit
• Poor data and reporting if agents aren’t using tags or ticket fields correctly

Beyond the thousands of dollars saved in operational costs or hours saved per ticket, Gorgias helps CX agents focus on what they do best — creating the best customer experience possible. 

When a platform makes agents’ lives easier, they have more time to focus on the moments that matter, like proactively reaching out to VIPs, sending surprise birthday gifts, or empathetically handling nuanced tickets. Not to mention, they enjoy doing it. 

At our annual customer conference, Gorgias Connect, we asked three CX leaders to share their experiences using Gorgias. Aside from the impressive FRTs and CX-generated revenue metrics, one theme stood out — they all mentioned how much their agents enjoyed using Gorgias. 

Glossier’s agents have more time to be expert product consultants 

Emily Weiss first launched a beauty blog and community, Into the Gloss, in 2010 as a space dedicated to sharing real information, advice, and tips with real people. 

This laid the groundwork for Glossier, launching in 2014 with a fresh “skin first, makeup second” philosophy. Amidst the “full glam” era of makeup defined by smoky eyes and bold lips, Glossier’s skincare-oriented approach disrupted the norm. 

From the beginning, Glossier has attracted a strong community thanks to its products designed based on community feedback and its social media presence. Today, more than a decade later, the brand has evolved, but its core principles have stayed the same.

As a customer-obsessed beauty brand, it’s no surprise that Glossier takes a thoughtful approach to customer experience. 

We sat down with Cati Brunell-Brutman, Head of CX at Glossier, to dive into how the team uses Gorgias to make their lives easier while creating better relationships with customers. 

Glossier’s proactive approach to customer experience

How do you approach customer experience at Glossier?

I always like saying customer experience vs. customer service because I think customer service feels like we’re just solving problems in a transactional way. Customer experience is proactive and involves looking at the entire customer journey. 

Our team interacts with customers from the moment they first land on the website to when they become repeat users of a product, and eventually, when they become subscribers. There are many opportunities along the way for our team to connect with people, engage in conversations, and make complementary product recommendations. 

This was what our founder really wanted this team to be—beauty editors. Everyone on the CX team is an editor (or a product expert), making curated recommendations. My vision for our CX team is to give them more time to lean into that. 

Simplifying workflows with AI to empower agents

What are you doing differently now to make sure that your team and your business are more resilient? 

My motto for the year is simplify and automate. I don't want anyone on my team to spend their whole day in a Google spreadsheet. So I’m asking questions like, ‘What can I automate? How can I connect tools?’

I really look to my team, especially the newer members, for this, and encourage them to ask, 'Why do we do this?' Because if the answer is because we've always done it that way, that's not a good enough answer for me. 

I’m focusing on finding those moments to simplify things so that the team can concentrate on impactful work, such as creating connections and engaging with people. That’s what I really want my team to focus on because it’s what brings value to their work, our customers, and the brand. 

How did your team react when you switched to Gorgias from your previous platform? 

We actually had our agents weigh in on this. We showed them demos of all the platforms we were considering and had them attend the meetings to speak with the teams. 

Then, we ran a poll in Slack and asked the team, ‘If you were making this decision, what platform would you choose?’ All of the agents unanimously voted for Gorgias. So, we’re definitely fans. 

How has implementing AI into your CX strategy affected the team?

Throughout the industry, I think people are concerned that there’s going to be a transition to a state where CX is 100% AI, everybody is going to lose their jobs, and customers won’t be able to talk to a person. 

But as we've implemented AI at Glossier, we’ve maintained the same team size as when we first started. We just have so much more automation of things like with WISMO tickets, returns, exchanges, and basic tickets that we don’t need a human to answer with macros for six hours straight. 

Deeper human-to-human connections powered by better tools

With the additional capacity, what can your team now focus on?

The team is actually able to do more work because they're not dealing with an antiquated technical system, which makes their jobs easier and also saves us money in the long run.

Now, our agents can perform tasks that actually require a human. AI can send out tracking links, and people can do the people work. 

We receive a lot of questions about our products, like how to use them or specific recommendations. And that's when we want a person to sit down, look at the customer’s selfie, and do a shade match. Then our editors can ask follow-up questions about what the shopper is looking for and why. 

What makes your agents unique, and how does Gorgias help support them?

One of the things that I really love about Glossier is that our editors — our agents — are people, and we have customers who know them by name. 

It’s really unique, and they’re almost like internet celebrities within our community. I'll go to our Reddit page and see customers posting screenshots of their conversations with our agents, and other customers will reply saying ‘Oh my gosh, yes!’ or ‘They helped me too!’ 

Customers will DM us things like ‘This editor recommended a lipstick for me. It was great, I love it. Can that person recommend a blush for me as well?’ 

Being able to aggregate all those conversations across social media DMs, emails, and chats in one place is invaluable.

Where would your team be without Gorgias? 

Having a really bad time in Gmail.

Tommy John found that Gorgias was the perfect fit for its CX team

In 2008, Tom Patterson was a medical salesperson frustrated with ill-fitting undershirts. This problem he faced every day was the catalyst for him to found Tommy John, a dual-gender underwear, loungewear, and apparel company. 

Tommy John launched with its flagship product, the Stay-Tucked Undershirt, to solve Tom’s initial struggle that he knew other customers were also facing. Fast-forward a few years, and Tommy John expanded into more categories with innovative underwear product lines 

Customer comfort has always been the main priority for Tommy John, embedded in everything from product design to its Best Pair Guarantee. The CX team is responsible for maintaining a customer experience that is just as smooth and seamless as the products they're buying. 

Max Wallace, CX Director at Tommy John, shared his experience migrating from a legacy platform to Gorgias and how it impacted his team. 

The search for a platform that supported both customers and agents

What motivated you to find a new platform? 

We knew we had to seriously explore other options when we were assigned yet another Customer Success Manager on our former platform after having gone through several in a short span. It felt like we were starting from scratch every time, which made it challenging to elevate our CX alongside such a critical partner.

We wanted to do right by our customers and our agents, ensuring they had the reporting and tools they needed, plus more. Gorgias really offered all of those things.

What was most important to you and your team when evaluating helpdesks? 

We didn’t want anything that was reinventing the wheel. One platform we looked at wasn’t doing the agents justice by only allowing them to view their own tickets. 

We really wanted our agents to have a holistic understanding of the volume we’re receiving, which Gorgias provides. Now they have this fleshed-out understanding of every customer interaction, and that’s been a game-changer. They’ve been loving it.

Gorgias gave agents the tools they needed to thrive 

How has Gorgias impacted agent productivity and impact? 

We have definitely seen greater speed and productivity.  Even something as simple as macro suggestions has helped steer new agents in the right direction. That’s going to be huge during peak seasons, like BFCM. 

And the fact that agents can move seamlessly between conversations without losing context means they’re handling more interactions, faster, with less frustration. They feel confident in their workflows, rather than being bogged down in repetitive tasks.

Within two months, using Gorgias’s AI Agent has enabled agents to minimize time-consuming manual tasks and spend more time with high-intent customers, generating over $100,000 in sales. 

I’m confident Gorgias will help us achieve our goal of making selling and CX much more integrated. We do want to reward our team for their efforts in driving sales, and we can track conversion rates per agent in Gorgias.

Why was voice integration such a priority for your team?

Before, our agents didn’t have visibility into previous phone calls that other agents had taken. I can't tell you how many times there has been confusion regarding what's going on with the customer because our agents did not have visibility into the customer’s history. We’d have to pull the call recording, pass it along, and by then, the customer would have already been waiting.

So it was essential for us to find a helpdesk that we could use voice with. Now with Gorgias Voice, agents can look back in the timeline, listen to the call, or even read a transcript or AI-generated summary. That’s just been amazing, and they’re loving that. 

Tying revenue back to call tickets, where most of our upselling and cross-selling happens, has been another huge win.

Tommy John’s agents unanimously prefer Gorgias

How did agents react after the switch?

The number one thing that validates that we made the right decision is that our agents truly love Gorgias.

Two weeks after going live, we asked, ‘Do you feel you will be more efficient working in Gorgias than our previous platform?’ And it was unanimous — Gorgias, completely. And this was just two weeks in, with everyone still getting their feet wet. 

We sent out a survey, and seeing every single person answer in favor of Gorgias told me everything I needed to know about how quickly the team was adapting and how much they preferred the platform.

What has been the CX team’s feedback after using Gorgias for a while? 

Gorgias has really paid off for our agents in terms of their efficiency. Being able to transition seamlessly from a phone call to a follow-up email with just one click is amazing. And having all of that in the timeline — phone calls, emails, chats — that can’t be beat. 

Brunt Workwear’s team stays engaged by helping more customers each day

Eric Girouard founded Brunt Workwear in 2019 to fill a gap in the market for comfortable, high-quality workwear for skilled tradespeople. He came from blue-collar roots himself, and many of his friends and family also work in the trades.

Eric started the company in his garage, focusing on direct-to-consumer sales. Brunt Workwear aims to create products that aren’t just for tradespeople, but are actually built by them.

The workwear brand incorporates a significant amount of customer feedback into the design process to create products that actually make their lives easier. Brunt Workwear’s commitment to its customers is even more evident in its product naming convention — each product is named after a specific tradesworker. 

When we spoke with Ruth Trieger, Director of Customer Experience, she shared how the CX team achieves its goal of making solutions as easy as possible for their busy customers — and why agent satisfaction can’t be overlooked.

How Brunt Workwear makes every customer feel at home

How do you think about the state of CX today?

The best retail or CX advice I’ve ever received is to think of everyone who walks into your store or visits your website as someone entering your home. For every visitor, you will do some basic things, such as taking their coat or offering them something to eat or drink. But if you truly want to make someone feel welcome, you’re going to meet them in a way that aligns with their preferences and makes them feel like they’re a part of something. 

When you make someone feel welcome, they build an emotional connection with a brand that far transcends any product. That’s a powerful thing. 

As I consider customer experience and the growth of AI, I realize there is a constant need to deliver fantastic experiences while using the right amount of resources. If you can do that while still creating a memorable experience, you have a customer for life.

Making life easier for customers and agents with an intuitive platform 

What is your goal when designing experiences for Brunt Workwear’s customers?

Our customer is very busy and very hardworking. They have very little spare time. So if or when something goes wrong, I encourage my team to think, ‘How can we make the solution as easy as possible?’ That’s our goal — to put ourselves in their shoes and reduce friction wherever we can. 

AI can handle repetitive questions, allowing our agents to jump in quickly when nuance or empathy is needed most. What matters is making sure we are there for customers in the moments that really count.

How does Gorgias help your team achieve these goals compared to previous platforms you’ve worked with?

I come from a customer service training background, and I am used to teams needing weeks to train someone on a platform. With Gorgias, I was able to navigate the system myself in very little time. 

As a young but fast-growing brand, we have to be very nimble and change things quickly. Gorgias enables us to do that with a level of ease I've never experienced in my career, so we’re really grateful for the platform. 

I love that our agents can interface with the platform in a way that is very easy, which is good for them. From a productivity and metrics standpoint, if they’re moving easily through a platform, I also know that means they’re able to accomplish more touchpoints with our customers — more phone conversations, more emails, more chats. And that means we are helping more people. 

How does improved agent satisfaction tie back to business results?

At the end of the day, if you don’t have a happy, high-functioning team, you have literally nothing in all the world. We have a talented team, and the more customers they interact with, the more likely those people are to stay with the brand. So we see an increase in customer lifetime value when our agents can spend more time with our customers. 

Gorgias helps agents move from mountains of tickets to meaningful connections 

What additional opportunities does AI open up for your team?

AI is not replacing the human touch; it’s giving us more room to lean into it. It reduces friction so that CX agents can take on higher-value work like running close-the-loop programs, proactively reaching out on the phone, and answering faster. 

If a customer is asking, ‘Where is my order?’, I don’t need to take up an agent’s time with that because AI can get them a simple, fast answer. Then, when another customer needs somebody’s time, they’re there because that person isn’t answering a mountain of tickets. 

That’s the exciting part, AI handles the repetitive stuff, and our agents get to focus on making real connections. 

How has Gorgias enabled you to communicate the value of CX to the broader business internally? 

The reporting in Gorgias has allowed us to become a true strategic partner in the business. CX sees everything: what’s working, what’s not, and what customers are asking about. For every new product launch, every campaign, and every change, my team is on the front lines. With Gorgias’s reporting, we can bring that insight back to the rest of the organization and help shape smarter decisions.

What’s been cool is that we’re now part of the feedback loop in a much more meaningful way. Without Gorgias, we would not be able to add the same level of value as a strategic partner. That’s where I see our role continuing to shift — becoming more proactive, faster at serving customers, and a critical business function. 

At the end of the day, CX knows what’s working, what isn’t, and how customers are feeling. The more we vocalize that, the better off the entire company is.

Choose a CX platform that your CX team actually wants to use

Happy, empowered agents deliver the kind of experiences that keep customers loyal and businesses growing. 

Glossier, Tommy John, and Brunt Workwear show what’s possible when teams have a platform designed for them. More efficiency, more impact, and more human connections. Because when agents love their platform, everyone wins.

TL;DR

• Conversational commerce builds trust. Real-time conversations replace static help pages with authentic interactions that drive confidence and loyalty.
• bareMinerals boosted conversions by 5%+ using Gorgias Shopping Assistant to guide shade matching in real time, and saw zero returns on AI-assisted purchases.
• Tommy John reduced wait times and grew revenue, automating post-purchase updates while freeing agents to focus on higher-value, relationship-driven support.
• Orthofeet and Arc’teryx proved conversations convert. Chat turned returns and product questions into loyalty- and revenue-building moments.

You’re seconds away from hitting “buy now,” but one last question nags at you: does this shade actually match my skin tone? You open a live chat, only to be met with a bot that pastes a help-center article. So you close the tab.

Today’s shoppers crave immediacy and authenticity. They expect real answers, not ticket numbers. Yet too many ecommerce brands still rely on static FAQs, delayed email replies, or chatbots that feel anything but conversational. The result is often missed sales, frustrated customers, and eroding loyalty.

Conversational commerce bridges that gap. By meeting customers where they are, in real time and on their terms, brands can turn every interaction into an opportunity to build confidence and connection.

In this post, we’ll explore how leading ecommerce brands use Gorgias to strengthen trust and loyalty through real-time conversations across the entire customer journey, from discovery to delivery and beyond.

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What is conversational commerce (and why it’s the future of ecommerce)

Conversational commerce is the blending of conversation and shopping. Instead of forcing customers to navigate pages, FAQs, or documents, brands engage shoppers in real time through natural, two-way dialogue. This usually takes place over:

• Chat
• SMS
• Social media DMs
• Voice assistants

Unlike traditional live chat, you meet customers wherever they are. Conversational commerce easily switches across channels (chat, SMS, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.) while preserving context, tone, and personalization. 

The goal is to make every interaction feel as natural as a text with a friend, but with the power to guide a purchase, resolve an issue, or suggest a product.

So, how are top brands putting conversational commerce into practice to build real trust? Let’s dive into four examples.

bareMinerals builds confidence to purchase with product guidance

Imagine browsing foundation shades late at night, unsure which one will suit your skin tone. That hesitation is often enough to make a shopper abandon their cart.

That was the challenge for bareMinerals. More than half of their incoming support tickets were product questions. Many of them were about shade matching, formulation updates, or discontinued SKUs.

They needed a way to replicate the helpfulness of a beauty advisor you can call on as you browse a store.

So bareMinerals brought in Shopping Assistant, an AI-powered virtual beauty consultant built to answer product-discovery questions in real time.

It integrates with their Shopify catalog (so it never suggests out-of-stock items), trained on the nuances of context, product benefits, and discontinued color conversions.

Here’s what happened within 30 days:

• Increased conversions: bareMinerals saw a 5%+ conversion uplift and a 5.5% increase in average order value (AOV).
• No returns: There were zero returns on AI-influenced purchases during that first month, even within a standard 30-day return window.
• Increased ROI: It generated 8.8x ROI and accounted for ~3.9% of gross merchandise volume (GMV).
• Happier customers: CSAT on AI-handled tickets outpaced human agents (AI: 5.0 vs. human: 4.6). Plus, bareMinerals’ CX team now reviews AI conversations to train human agents on phrasing, tone, upselling moves, and recognizing intent.

Takeaway: By offering real-time, contextual product guidance that mirrors an in-store consultant, bareMinerals eliminated guesswork, reduced returns, and strengthened trust before a single purchase is finalized.

Tommy John relieves post-purchase anxiety with instant order updates

One of the most anxiety-inducing moments for any shopper? Waiting for their order. Questions like “Has my order shipped yet?” or “Where’s my package?” often lead to multiple back-and-forth contacts, burdening support and testing customer patience.

Underwear brand Tommy John experienced this firsthand. Their CX team felt the strain of repetitive, predictable post-order questions, which could be better spent on complex cases. The team needed an automated fix without a huge lift, and so they adopted AI Agent.

AI Agent handled the bulk of their routine tickets, pulling from order data and pre-configured guidance to reply instantly without agent involvement.

See how AI Agent instantly jumped in to help a customer who needed to change their address:

The impact was immediate:

• Faster resolution times: Many customers receive real-time status updates without the wait time.
• Reduced ticket load: Agents no longer spend time on repetitive, low-value queries.
• More bandwidth for agents: Agents can focus on complex issues or proactive outreach.
• Revenue impact from support: Within just two months, support-driven sales from phone calls alone reached $106K+, with 20% of calls converting into purchases.
• Customer and team satisfaction: Average phone wait times dropped (~34% improvement), CSAT climbed, and agents unanimously preferred Gorgias over their legacy tools.

Takeaway: Post-purchase communication is a trust moment. Fast, accurate, and proactive responses reassure customers that their order matters.

Orthofeet maintains trust with a speedy returns process

Returns are often a brand’s biggest trust test. When a customer navigates through the hassle of a return, they’re watching closely: Is this going to be smooth and transparent, or frustrating and impersonal?

Orthofeet, a leading orthopedic footwear brand knew this too well. Before Gorgias, their CX stack was disjointed, a combination of Freshdesk, Dialpad, and outsourced chat. As they grew, this meant tickets piled up without central visibility. They needed a tool that gathered every piece of context in one place. 

That’s when they implemented AI Agent. As AI Agent handled tier-1 queries, like validating return eligibility under Orthofeet’s policy and directing customers to the returns portal, agents gained more time to focus on VIP customers, nuanced issues, and phone conversations.

The results were powerful:

• Automated workflow: They automated 56% of tickets in under two months, far exceeding their original target.
• Faster response times: Email first-response times dropped from ~24 hours to 35 seconds; chat FRT improved from minutes to 13 seconds.
• Stable headcount: The team could maintain high growth while keeping headcount stable, all while elevating service quality.
• Customers became AI champions: Customers embraced the AI-driven experience. One even sent a handwritten note praising their “friendly” and “helpful” AI.

Takeaway: Conversational commerce helps you blend technology and humanity to deliver scalable, emotionally resonant support. Even when things go wrong, a thoughtful conversational experience can repair, rather than erode, trust.

Arc’teryx increases conversions with personalized recommendations

Conversational commerce can create selling moments inside conversations you already have with shoppers. 

Arc’teryx, known for its technical outdoor gear, wanted to guide customers choosing between products like the Beta AR and Beta SL jackets. With Shopping Assistant, they turned real-time product questions into opportunities to upsell, cross-sell, and educate.

When shoppers linger on a page or ask for comparisons, the AI offers quick, tailored recommendations, suggesting the right jacket, complementary layers, or accessories. The result? More confident buyers and higher-value orders.

The results speak volumes:

• Increase in conversions: Arc’teryx achieved a 75% increase in conversion rate (from 4% to 7%) after rolling out Shopping Assistant.
• Influenced revenue: The tool influenced 3.7% of overall revenue, meaning conversations directly drove meaningful sales.
• Substantial ROI: They also saw 23x ROI on their AI Agent investment. 

Takeaway: Smart, conversational prompts transform everyday chats into meaningful sales moments,  proving support channels can drive revenue, not just resolve tickets.

Trust is the new conversion metric

Every conversation is a chance to earn (or lose) trust. Whether it’s helping a shopper find their perfect shade, tracking an order, or smoothing out a return, conversations can turn moments of uncertainty into opportunities for connection.

Brands like bareMinerals, Tommy John, Orthofeet, and Arc’teryx prove that conversational commerce builds stronger relationships, higher retention, and measurable revenue.

The future of ecommerce will revolve around conversations that create trust at every click.

If you want to see how Gorgias can bridge support and sales for you, book a demo today.

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TL;DR:

• Get instant context with Ticket Summaries. Jump into any conversation without digging through past messages or tabs.
• Organize tickets and customers with Ticket and Customer Fields. Attach properties to tickets and customers to see the whole picture, then turn it into reportable data.
• Support global customers with real-time translations. Engage in natural conversations in your customer’s language without paying for another tool.
• Resolve urgent issues with Priority Scoring. Rank tickets by importance, so high-value or sensitive issues don’t get overlooked.
• Onboard quickly with in-house migration. Whether you’re coming from Zendesk or Richpanel, Gorgias handles the move for you.

We recently unveiled the latest upgrades to Gorgias Helpdesk during Moments that Matter: Meet the Modern Helpdesk. 

The event was hosted by Bora Shehu, VP of Product Design, with updates from John Merse (VP of Product), Fraser Bruce (Senior Solutions Consultant), Nicole Simmen (Senior Manager, Customer Implementation), and a customer story from Michael Duran (Operations Manager, Authentic Brands).

From quality of life improvements to brand new features, here’s what’s waiting for you in Gorgias.

Watch the full presentation here:

Support faster with built-in ticket summaries

Agents shouldn’t have to dig for context. Every conversation now comes with Ticket Summaries. Whether an agent has jumped into a ticket mid-conversation or is dealing with a new customer, these AI-generated summaries tell the whole story in no time.

We’ve also given the Customer Timeline a makeover. Now, you can glance at past tickets and order updates in one clean view. Plus, a dedicated Order View lets agents dive into past purchases without leaving the ticket or opening a new tab.

Enrich your data with detailed ticket and customer properties

Agents have always had visibility into customer history, but now that context is easier to act on.

Ticket Fields automatically tags tickets with AI-detected reasons, whether that’s shipping questions or product feedback, to help organize your conversations more effectively.

Then, add in another layer of data using Customer Fields (in beta) to note whether you’re speaking to a longtime, VIP customer or a customer with a history of high returns.

All of this data can be funneled into your ticket reports, making it easier for your team to discover new insights about your products, support quality, and more.

Speak every customer’s language with instant translations

Taking your brand global doesn’t have to mean hiring a whole new team or spending extra on a localization tool. AI-powered translations (in beta) will soon be available on the helpdesk.

Finally, your team will be able to support customers in any language in real-time. Customers write in their native language, agents respond in theirs, and the exchange feels natural on both sides.

Never miss urgent tickets with Priority Scoring

How many times has an urgent ticket been buried at the bottom of your inbox? The new Priority Scoring system prevents that by automatically labeling tickets as Low, Normal, High, or Critical based on your Rules. 

For example, you might label a negative Facebook comment with threatening sentiment as ‘High,’ or bump high-value shoppers to the top with a ‘Critical’ label. This ensures your team always sees the conversations that need the most attention, so no sensitive issue slips through the cracks.

Shape every call journey with the new IVR flow builder

Now in beta, our flow-based IVR (interactive voice response) system lets teams on Gorgias Voice build customized call journeys for every type of conversation. Route customers through interactive menus, segment them based on their data, or direct them to voicemail, and schedule SMS follow-ups and callbacks.

To match agent availability, you can set business hours per phone number and per channel across storefronts. Teams also have more flexibility with ring strategies (ring available agents all at once or one at a time), wrap-up time between calls, and faster availability refreshes.

Stay on top of every goal with custom dashboards

We understand that CX teams need more than surface-level KPIs—they need to know what’s actually driving performance, revenue, and retention. 

With Dashboards, you can build reports focused on CX data you care about, from agent performance to product return trends. Then, filter by store or sub-brand to zoom in on the details each team is responsible for.

We’re also introducing the Human Response Time metric to show how quickly your team responds to escalations from AI Agent. This gives you a clear sign of what issues require human attention, how fast they’re resolved, and whether you need to adjust staffing.

Effortless, in-house migration for new joiners

Leave the moving to us—we now manage migrations in-house. Depending on your plan, our Implementation team will transfer emails, customers, macros, and more for you. Combined with 99.99% uptime, switching platforms is smoother, faster, and more reliable than ever.

For accelerated performance, consider our 50-in-50 implementation program, which aims to resolve 50% of your ticket volume using AI Agent within 50 days.

Enterprise customers receive a dedicated Enterprise CSM, optimization workshops, and 24/7 support to get the most out of Gorgias from day one. 

What’s coming next

Our teams are hard at work changing the landscape of customer experience. Here’s what’s on the Gorgias Product Roadmap:

• Cleaner, minimal interface. We’re giving our UI a new look to reduce clutter and highlight key information, making conversations front and center.
• Detailed order view. Quickly view past purchases and make order updates without opening new tabs or interrupting your workflow.
• Shop right in chat. Soon, product photos, descriptions, and even customer reviews will be shown directly in Gorgias Chat, so shopping experiences are as frictionless as possible.
• Scheduled CSV exports. Prove the value of CX with automated exports, perfect for stakeholders, whether they use Gorgias or not. 
• New integration with Assembled Workforce Management. Our partnership will help you leverage Gorgias ticket data to optimize forecasting and agent scheduling.
• Role-based access control. Decide which dashboards, views, conversations, and settings can be accessed by each user role.
• Okta single sign-on. Let your team sign in to Gorgias using the same authentication service you use for the rest of your tech stack.

The future of support starts with your helpdesk

Our latest helpdesk updates make it easier than before to create memorable customer moments.

As Bora Shehu, our VP of Product Design, said, “We hope that the tools we’re building help you spend less time on robotic work, and more time on impactful human work that grows your businesses through the power of conversations.”

If you’re not on Gorgias yet and want to see what’s possible, book a demo today.

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TL;DR:

• 58% of fashion shoppers “bracket” orders—buying multiple sizes and returning what doesn’t fit. This drives high return rates, increased costs, and customer frustration.
• 70% of returns are due to sizing issues. Nearly half of shoppers abandon carts over inconvenient returns.
• Leading solutions include: AI-powered fit tools, 3D visualizations that show scale and model stats, “fit finder” tools, at-home fitting experiences, and AI-powered customer support.
• Brands that replicate the fitting room online gain higher retention, lower costs, and stronger sustainability.

Sizing has long been a friction point for ecommerce fashion shoppers.

Without the ability to try items on, 58% of shoppers resort to "bracketing"—ordering multiple sizes of the same piece and returning what doesn’t fit. 

While it gives customers a temporary fix, it ultimately creates frustration for them and logistical headaches for brands. 

The result is rising return rates, higher costs, and wasted resources. To break this cycle, ecommerce brands need to rethink how they guide shoppers toward the perfect fit. The good news is that many brands are already showing the way by using AI-powered tools and smarter product experiences to replicate the fitting room from the comfort of home. 

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Returns are getting unsustainable 

Recent data highlights just how severe the return challenge has become for fashion and apparel retailers: 

• 46% of shoppers have abandoned a purchase because return methods were inconvenient. 
• Fashion and apparel brands get twice as many return requests than any other industry.
• According to Gorgias data, 70% of returns are due to sizing confusion.
• “Will this fit me?” is one of the top reasons customers contact support.

In addition, rapidly rising concerns around sustainability and climate change, as well as heightened awareness around over-consumption, are prompting consumers to make changes in their purchasing habits. 

Brands who prioritize well-fitting, long-lasting pieces and reduce carbon footprints and the amount of clothing diverted to landfills by lowering returns can actually benefit from a strategic edge. 

“Those who choose to approach sustainability with a long-term mindset even while battling short-term problems will be rewarded with more efficient business operations and a competitive advantage,” writes McKinsey in its State of Fashion 2025 report.

Effective sizing solutions for ecommerce brands 

Most brands already have size charts, but shoppers don’t want to measure themselves, or find those charts to be inaccurate.  

When shoppers lack confidence in choosing the right fit, they either abandon their carts or rely on bracketing, both of which lower profitability and customer trust. 

Forward-looking fashion and apparel brands are solving sizing issues by using tools for a more intuitive shopping experience. This ultimately helps them build loyalty, increase retention, and reduce returns. 

Implement AI-powered body measurement tools

Rather than purely providing static size charts on your website, opt for AI-generated personalized fit recommendations instead. 

For example, European fashion retailer Zalando reduced size-related returns by 10% using AI-driven advice.

The brand flags whether an item is true to size or not. It also offers the ability for customers to see recommendations based on logged fit-based return reasons,  past purchases, and other clothing items that fit them well. 

Zalando also launched a body measurement feature in 2023 where shoppers can actually scan themselves for more accurate size advice.  

Show size and scale in product photos 

As AI grows in proficiency, there are more tools than ever to help shoppers visualize product scale and fit. 

For example, accessory shop LeSportsac uses Tangiblee, a product experience tool, to help customers understand scale and what fits inside each bag.

Performance hunting gear shop KUIU takes another approach. It uses a photo-based layering guide, so shoppers can see how the size and fit look with multiple layers on a model. Different model stats shown within product photography give contextual sizing cues.

Sleep shop Cozy Earth takes a similar route, stating model height and size on product photos.

Introduce “fit finder” tools 

Some brands are helping shoppers pick the right size with interactive quizzes based on factors like height, weight, and the sizes of other clothing items that fit well. SuitShop is among those brands using a Fit Finder quiz on its website.  

Similarly, Psycho Bunny leverages the AI tool True Fit as a size finder on product pages. 

Bring the fitting room home 

Ergonomic shoe brand Orthofeet eliminates sizing qualms altogether by including customizable inserts inside each box. Fitting spacers ensure a snug fit and arch enhancement for those who need it, helping shoppers get comfortable shoes that fit.

Jonas Paul Eyewear shares the “try it on at home” approach, offering a free or low-cost home try-on kit. 

Leverage AI-powered customer support

Gorgias Shopping Assistant helps brands meet that need by delivering human-like guidance at scale, giving shoppers instant answers that feel personal. 

For example, VESSEL uses Shopping Assistant in chat to provide real-time support on sizing and inventory, helping customers choose with confidence. By addressing fit questions directly, Shopping Assistant reduces returns and builds trust at the point of purchase.

Similarly, outdoor clothing retailer Arc‘teryx provides an “ask me anything” AI chat where shoppers can confirm any questions they have around fit or sizing. 

The future for ecommerce size guides 

Sizing for ecommerce fashion and apparel brands has become a business-critical challenge. With 70% of returns tied to fit issues and nearly half of shoppers abandoning purchases over inconvenient returns, brands that replicate the fitting room online stand to gain a competitive advantage.

From Zalando’s 10% reduction in size-related returns to VESSEL’s use of AI-powered chat, the path is clear: investing in smarter size chart solutions pays off with higher retention, lower costs, and stronger sustainability. 

The brands that provide fitting room-level experiences online now will set themselves apart from the rest.

Book a demo to see how Gorgias, the leading conversational commerce platform, helps fashion brands cut returns, drive sales, and deliver fitting-room level experiences online.

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TL;DR:

• Conversational commerce replaces static support with real-time conversations. Instead of making customers wait or dig through FAQs, brands can respond instantly via chat, messaging apps, and voice assistants.
• The main types are live chat, AI assistants, messaging apps, and voice support. Each helps guide shoppers and answer questions instantly.
• It’s most effective during key moments like cart hesitation, post-purchase anxiety, and peak seasons. Proactive conversations reduce drop-offs and boost conversions.
• Start small and scale. Begin with repetitive questions or cart recovery, then layer in automation and AI as you grow.

While your competitors are still making customers wait days for email replies, the smartest brands are having conversations that close sales in real time.

Instead of forcing customers to search through FAQs or go through an automation loop, conversational commerce lets you have instant chats through live chat, messaging apps, and even AI assistants.

In this guide, we’ll explain conversational commerce, where it delivers the most value, and how to start using it to drive revenue and improve CX without overwhelming your team.

What is conversational commerce?

Conversational commerce means using real-time, two-way conversations as your storefront. Rather than bottling up questions in FAQ pages or forcing customers to wait for your support team to respond, you can instantly connect via:

• Chat
• AI agents
• Messaging apps
• Voice assistants

Maybe someone is on your product page and asks a question like, “Does this jacket run large?”. Through chat, they get an instant answer, increasing the chance of a sale. Or a shopper receives personalized recommendations via WhatsApp and checks out, all without leaving the app.

These channels allow you to meet customers where they already are, effortlessly. When paired with AI chatbots, you can deliver fast, accurate responses 24/7, even while your team is off the clock. That means better experiences for your customers and more sales captured for your brand.

Conversational commerce bridges the gap between shopping and support. It turns your support team (and AI tools) into revenue drivers by helping shoppers feel seen, heard, and ready to buy.

Types of conversational commerce

Conversational commerce means bringing your storefront into the flow of conversation, wherever that happens for your customers. 

Here’s where those conversations typically happen:

1. Live chat
2. AI assistants
3. Messaging apps
4. Voice assistants

1. Live chat

This is a chat widget on your site, often in the bottom right corner, where shoppers can ask questions and receive immediate answers from a human agent or automation.

It’s a quick path to support or purchase, which one agent can manage multiple chats from simultaneously, boosting efficiency and keeping things personal.

2. AI assistants

These smart helpers use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand what shoppers mean beyond what they type. They guide customers through questions, offer product suggestions, handle FAQs, and can sometimes complete transactions right in the chat, even handling post‑purchase support like order status or returns.

Natural Language Processing (NLP): The processing of understanding and interpreting natural language using computers. NLP is used in tasks such as sentiment analysis, summarization, speech recognition, and more.

3. Messaging apps

Think WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and SMS—the apps where customers already spend their time in their day-to-day. Instead of sending them to shop on your website, you bring the shopping to them. Answer their questions, provide recommendations, and win purchases in a channel they already trust.

4. Voice assistants

Voice assistance isn’t limited to smart speakers like Siri and Alexa anymore.

Now, AI voice support lets brands deliver natural conversations over the phone, without needing a massive contact center team. These AI voice agents can:

• Answer common questions using branded knowledge
• Route calls or escalate when needed
• Handle returns, exchanges, or order tracking
• Personalize support based on customer intent and past behavior

AI-powered voice support combines the human feel of a phone call with the speed and accuracy of automation. It's especially useful for high-ticket products, customers who prefer calling, or peak season overflow when your human team is maxed out.

The benefits of conversational commerce for ecommerce brands

Conversational commerce isn’t a CX buzzword. When done right, it directly impacts your bottom line.

Here’s how it pays off for ecommerce brands:

1. Higher conversion rates
2. Faster and more efficient support
3. Bigger carts, fewer drop-offs
4. Stronger customer relationships

1. Higher conversion rates

When customers can ask questions and get answers in real time, whether it's sizing info, shipping details, or help choosing between products, they’re far more likely to hit “buy.”

Success story: Clothing brand Tommy John generated $106K+ in sales in just two months through conversation-led upselling and cross-selling, with a 15% conversion rate.

2. Faster and more efficient support

Conversational commerce tools like AI agents help offload the repetitive support tasks, including answering questions like “Where’s my order?” or “What’s your return policy?”

With that time back, agents get time back to:

• Handle complex or sensitive customer issues
• Follow up with VIP customers
• Collaborate with marketing and sales teams to improve processes
• QA conversations to enhance human and AI agent performance
• Update knowledge docs used by AI tools for more accurate resolutions

Instead of getting buried in basic tickets, your team gets to do the work that really moves the needle for your customers and your business.

Related: Every successful marketing campaign starts with a customer question

3. Bigger carts, fewer drop-offs

The right nudge at the right moment, like a personalized recommendation from an AI shopping assistant, can turn a single item into a full cart. You can also recover more abandoned checkouts by re-engaging customers directly through chat or a messaging app.

Read more: You’re missing out on sales without an AI shopping assistant—here’s why

4. Stronger customer relationships

Conversational commerce lets you meet customers with a human (or human-like) touch. When your brand is helpful, fast, and easy to talk to, shoppers remember and return. 

In the long run, that means better customer retention, higher lifetime value, and more organic growth through word of mouth.

When conversational commerce creates the biggest impact 

Conversational commerce shines brightest when the stakes are high or when the moment is just right.

Here are the critical moments where a real-time conversation can make all the difference:

1. When shoppers have items in their cart but are hesitating to check out
2. Right after customers place an order, and anxiety starts to kick in
3. During peak shopping seasons like Black Friday and Cyber Monday
4. When customers are browsing complex products like skincare, makeup, or apparel

1. When shoppers have items in their cart but are hesitating to check out

A customer’s on your product page, they’ve added an item to their cart, but are hesitating. Maybe they’re unsure about sizing, shipping time, or which variation to choose. This is where a quick, helpful chat, automated or human, comes in and becomes the difference between bounce and conversion.

Pro tip: Use proactive chat prompts based on page behavior to start the conversation before the shopper leaves.

2. Right after customers place an order, and anxiety starts to kick in

After a customer hits “place order,” expect more questions to roll into your inbox. Where’s my order? How do I track it? What’s your return policy? Post-purchase excitement—and anxiety—is normal, and a smart AI agent helps you get ahead of these questions while putting customers at ease.

3. During peak shopping seasons like Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Black Friday. Holiday rush. Product drops. These are prime opportunities to boost revenue—but they also flood your support team. Conversational commerce tools help you scale without sacrificing quality, keeping shoppers happy and sales flowing.

4. When shoppers are browsing complex products like skincare, makeup, or apparel

If you sell skincare, supplements, tech, or anything that requires a bit of education, your customers likely need guidance before they commit. A personalized conversation helps them find the right fit and feel more confident in their purchase.

What to consider before you start

Conversational commerce sounds exciting, and it is. But before you dive in, it’s worth thinking through a few key factors to set your team (and your customers) up for success.

1. Cost vs. ROI: Start small, scale smart
2. Team resources: Who’s managing the conversations?
3. Customer expectations: Meet them where they are

1. Cost vs. ROI: Start small, scale smart

You don’t need a full-blown chatbot army on Day 1. Start with your highest-impact touchpoints, like pre-sale FAQs or WISMO questions, and layer in automation over time. The goal is to generate clear ROI early, then expand once you see traction.

Here’s how to gradually implement automation into your CX process:

• Identify your top repetitive questions. Use your support data to pinpoint your most common tickets. For most brands, these are WISMOs, shipping concerns, and product-specific questions.
• Create macros for your most-asked questions. These macros will be used to answer the top recurring questions. For agents, this means no more copy-pasting the same responses.
• Build out self-service automation flows. Once you’re feeling more comfortable with automation, set up self-service flows to let customers resolve their own needs, like checking order status, starting a return, or finding their size.
• Automate your top channels. Don’t stop at email. Automate responses on live chat, Instagram DMs, and SMS too. Shoppers expect speed everywhere, not just on your site.
• Maintain impact, then introduce conversational AI. If your CSAT is still healthy after these changes, you can expand to using conversational AI for faster support and team efficiency.

The goal isn’t to automate everything, it’s to automate smartly so your team can spend time where it counts: high-touch sales, VIP support, and strategic growth.

Learn more: How Dr. Bronner's saved $100K/year by switching from Salesforce, then automated 50% of interactions with Gorgias

2. Team resources: Who’s managing the conversations?

Do you have in-house agents ready to handle live chat? Or do you need automation to handle the bulk of it? Make sure your setup aligns with your team’s bandwidth.

Pro tip: Tools like Gorgias AI Agent and Shopping Assistant can handle the support and sales heavy lifting, making them perfect for lean CX teams.

3. Customer expectations: Meet them where they are

Your customers aren’t just on your website. They’re messaging on Instagram, browsing via mobile, or checking their texts. To deliver great conversational commerce, you’ll want to show up in the places your shoppers already use.

Pro tip: Don’t spread your efforts too thin. Start with the channel that aligns with your goals and customer behavior, live chat, SMS, or social DMs, and build from there.

How to get started with conversational ecommerce in 2 steps

Ready to make conversational commerce part of your CX strategy? You don’t need to overhaul your tech stack or hire a whole new team. With Gorgias, you can start fast, stay lean, and scale smart.

Here’s how:

1. Start with AI Agent for 24/7 support

Gorgias AI Agent is designed to take repetitive tickets off your team’s plate, from “Where’s my order?” to “How do I make a return?” It understands natural language, pulls in relevant customer data, and responds in seconds—all using your brand’s approved knowledge.

The result is faster responses, fewer tickets, and more time back for your team.

2. Add Shopping Assistant to drive revenue

While AI Agent, covers the support front, Shopping Assistant is your digital salesperson. It engages high-intent shoppers in real time, recommends the right products, and even upsells or cross-sells based on what the customer is browsing.

Whether it’s helping someone choose the perfect shade or nudging them to complete their cart, Shopping Assistant is designed to increase AOV and reduce abandonment.

The future of ecommerce is conversational

Every time a shopper lands on your site, scrolls through Instagram, or replies to a shipping update, they’re opening the door to a conversation. The brands that show up quickly, helpfully, and with the right message, are the ones winning loyalty and revenue.

With AI Agent, you can automate accurate responses to common questions, giving your team time back without sacrificing customer experience. And with Shopping Assistant, you can turn those conversations into conversions, offering personalized recommendations, upsells, and discounts based on shopper intent.

You don’t need a massive team or months of setup to start. Just the right tools, and a strategy built for your customers.

Book a demo and learn how Gorgias helps you turn every conversation into an opportunity to grow.

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