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The Gorgias & Shopify Integration: 8 Features Your Support Team Will Love

See how Gorgias’s Shopify integration makes customer support easier—fewer tabs, faster replies, happier customers, and more revenue.
By Holly Stanley
0 min read . By Holly Stanley

Managing customer support as a Shopify store owner can feel like juggling too many tools at once.

Constantly switching tabs to look up orders, update customer information, or track returns wastes valuable time. Plus, it prevents your team from focusing on what really matters––delivering quick, personalized customer service

Gorgias’s Shopify integration solves this. It keeps all your Shopify data in one place, so your team spends less time toggling tabs and more time helping customers. The result? Faster responses, better service, and more revenue.

Below, we break down the eight key capabilities of this integration, each paired with practical use cases to showcase its real-world value.

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1. View Shopify data in tickets

What it does: Shopify order data is displayed directly within support tickets, allowing agents to view essential details like order status, customer information, and transaction history without leaving the helpdesk.

Use case: An agent handling a “Where’s my order?” request can instantly check tracking information and update the customer.

The fashion retailer Princess Polly improved their customer experience team’s efficiency by using Gorgias's deep integration with Shopify. Agents can view and update customer and order data directly within Gorgias, eliminating the need to switch between multiple tabs.

Taking a streamlined approach led to a 40% increase in efficiency, an 80% decrease in resolution time, and a 95% decrease in first response time

Screenshot of Shopify order data within Gorgias ticket
Customer order data, including their shipping address and product details, can be found directly in the ticket.

2. Perform Shopify Actions

What it does: Agents can update Shopify order and customer data with Shopify Actions right in Gorgias.

Key features:

  • Create a new order: Add existing products or custom items, apply discounts, modify quantities, add notes and tags, and choose to charge taxes. Then set the order as Paid or Pending and email the invoice to the customer.
  • Duplicate an order: Replicate an existing order and make adjustments as needed.
  • Cancel/refund an order: Cancel or refund orders by setting quantities to refund, specifying shipping amounts to refund, providing reasons for cancellation, restocking items, and notifying the customer.
  • Edit shipping address: Update the shipping address for an order.
  • Insert product links: Add product links or product cards from tickets so customers can add the product to their cart quickly.
  • Display the customer’s cart: View the exact items the customer has in their cart at the moment they reach out via Chat.

Use case: Agents can perform Shopify actions directly from Gorgias, such as adding products, applying discounts, updating quantities, or issuing refunds.

Screenshot of duplicate order Shopify action in Gorgias ticket.
Agents can perform Shopify Actions like duplicate an order directly from Gorgias.

3. Embed customer-specific Shopify data in Macros

What it does: Create templated responses called Macros with dynamic Shopify variables to automatically incorporate customer-specific information. 

Key features:

  • Dynamic variables: Macros can include variables that pull real-time data from Shopify, such as order status, tracking numbers, and customer details.
  • Automated actions: Beyond inserting dynamic content, Macros can perform actions like tagging tickets, setting statuses, or assigning conversations to specific agents. The automation streamlines workflows and ensures consistent handling of similar inquiries.

Use case: A customer inquires about their order. With one click, the agent uses a Macro that pulls in the order status and expected delivery date, creating a faster and more personalized response.

Take Try The World, a gourmet subscription service, needed a robust Shopify integration to handle an increasing volume of customer inquiries. By switching to Gorgias, they gained the ability to unify conversations and embed Shopify data directly into Macros. Now, agents could quickly generate personalized responses that included order details, tracking links, and customer-specific information. 

Try the World’s support team’s efficiency skyrocketed, enabling them to handle 120 tickets per day, up from 80, and reduce response times to just one business day. 

Screenshot of templated response with Shopify data in Gorgias ticket.
Shopify data lets agents create Macros, templated responses with personalized data.

4. Provide product information with Macros

What it does: Macros with embedded Shopify data let agents quickly and accurately share pre-sale information like product links, stock availability, and discount codes, helping to convert prospective customers into buyers.

Key features:

  • Dynamic Shopify variables in Macros: Agents can use dynamic variables to pull real-time product information.
  • Pre-built responses for common questions: Macros can include templated responses tailored for pre-sale inquiries, such as providing direct links to products or applying discount codes.

Use case: A customer asks if a specific product is available in their size and color. The agent can apply a Macro that automatically pulls the product's inventory details and includes a discount code, sending a response like this:

“Hi {{ticket.customer.firstname}},
Great news! The product {{ticket.customer.integrations.shopify.products[0].title}} is currently in stock in the size and color you’re looking for. You can check it out here: [Product Link]. Use the code WELCOME10 at checkout for 10% off your first order! Let me know if you have any other questions!”

How it helps:

  • Eliminates manual search and typing for agents.
  • Ensures accurate, real-time product information for customers.
  • Improves the likelihood of converting inquiries into sales.

5. Enable self-serve order management in Chat 

What it does: Using Gorgias’s chat widget, customers can track orders or manage their purchases on their own with no agent assistance needed.

Key feature:

  • Order management automation: Customers can access real-time order information, including status updates and tracking details, through the chat interface. This automation reduces the volume of live chat inquiries by up to 30%.

Use case: A customer wants to check the status of their recent purchase. By accessing the Chat widget on your website, they can enter their email and order number and receive instant updates on their order's progress, including shipping and delivery information, without waiting for an agent's response.

How it helps:

  • Automates routine inquiries and frees up your support team to handle more complex issues.
  • Enhances customer satisfaction thanks to immediate responses.
  • Reduces the need for multiple communication channels, consolidating support interactions in one place.

6. Use Shopify variables in Rules


What it does: Rules paired with Shopify variables can automate various support tasks, such as identifying specific customer segments or tagging tickets, to boost efficiency and consistency.

Key features:

  • Automated tagging: Rules can automatically tag tickets based on specific Shopify data. For instance, you can set up a Rule to tag tickets from customers with high order counts or significant total spending as "VIP."
  • Prioritization of tickets: Rules can prioritize tickets that meet certain criteria, such as high-value orders or repeat customers.

Use case: A customer with a history of substantial purchases contacts support. A rule detects that the customer's total spending exceeds a predefined threshold and automatically tags the ticket as "VIP." 

This tag can then trigger other workflows, such as assigning the ticket to a senior support agent or escalating its priority.

How it helps:

  • Improves customer experience by prioritizing high-value customers.
  • Maintains consistent service quality.
Rule setup for auto tagging VIP customers
Rules let you identify VIP customers using Shopify variables.

7. Track revenue with reporting

What it does: Gorgias offers comprehensive reporting that allows you to measure how your support interactions influence sales.

Key features:

  • Tickets converted: Tracks the number of support tickets that led to a sale within five days of the ticket's creation.
  • Conversion rate: Calculates the percentage of created tickets that resulted in sales, helping you assess the effectiveness of your support team's interactions.
  • Total sales from support: Sums the revenue generated from orders associated with converted tickets, accounting for refunds and order adjustments to provide accurate figures.

These metrics are accessible under Statistics → Support Performance → Revenue in your Gorgias dashboard. You can filter the data by integration, ticket channel, tags, or specific time periods to gain detailed insights.

Use case: By analyzing Revenue Statistics, you can identify which support channels or agents are most effective in driving sales. For example, if live chat interactions have a higher conversion rate, you might allocate more resources to that channel. 

Additionally, recognizing top-performing agents can inform training programs to elevate overall team performance.

For example, One Block Down, a Milan-based streetwear brand, struggled to manage a growing volume of customer inquiries across multiple platforms. By integrating Gorgias with Shopify, they centralized all customer interactions into a single platform, giving agents instant access to crucial information like order history and returns directly within tickets.

The setup allowed the team to measure the direct impact of their support efforts on revenue. 

The result? An impressive 1,000% increase in support-generated revenue and a 1-hour average first response time. By connecting the dots between customer service and sales performance, One Block Down demonstrated how proactive, data-driven support can directly influence the bottom line.

How it helps:

  • Quantifies the revenue generated from support interactions.
  • Faster team optimization with data-driven insights.
  • Understanding the correlation between support interactions and sales can help refine customer service strategies.

Screenshot of Revenue Statistics dashboard in Gorgias.
Revenue Statistics highlight which support channels and agents are best at generating sales.

8. AI Agent integration

What it does: AI Agent automates Shopify actions like canceling orders, editing order details, and reshipping items.

Key features:

  • Cancel Shopify order: AI Agent can automatically cancel unfulfilled orders upon customer request, restocking the items and issuing a full refund. A confirmation email is sent to the customer once the cancellation is complete.
  • Edit order shipping address: When a customer needs to update their shipping address, AI Agent verifies if the order is unfulfilled, confirms the new address with the customer, and updates it in Shopify accordingly.
  • Replace order item: AI Agent facilitates item replacements in orders by confirming the item to be removed and the new item to be added, checking stock availability, adjusting payments if necessary, and sending an updated order confirmation to the customer.
  • Reship order for free: In cases where an order is lost in transit or arrives damaged, AI Agent can duplicate and resend the order at no additional charge.
  • Remove order item: If a customer decides to remove an item from their order, AI Agent can handle the removal, restock the item in Shopify, process the refund for the removed item, and notify the customer of the updated order details.

Use case: A customer realizes they've entered an incorrect shipping address shortly after placing an order. They contact support, and AI Agent promptly verifies that the order is unfulfilled, confirms the correct address with the customer, updates the shipping information in Shopify, and sends a confirmation email—all without human intervention.

How it helps:

  • Automating routine order management tasks reduces the workload on human agents.
  • Quick and accurate responses to order modification requests lead to a better customer experience.
  • Automated processes ensure consistency and accuracy in handling order changes, reducing the likelihood of human error.
Screenshot of AI Agent Actions.
Using Gorgias’s AI Agent you can customize multiple Shopify actions with Gorgias.

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min read.

Introducing Conversational AI: The Smartest Way to Handle Chat, Actions, QA, and Insights

Gorgias is entering a new era of conversational AI. Watch out for these new and exciting features in 2025.
By Gorgias Team
0 min read . By Gorgias Team

Today, we’re announcing our deeper investment in conversational AI for ecommerce. 

"Since day one, Gorgias has been dedicated to helping ecommerce brands deliver exceptional customer experiences. We started with a helpdesk to centralize support, then introduced AI Agent to instantly resolve support questions,” says Romain Lapeyre, CEO of Gorgias.

“Now, we're taking the next leap forward with an AI Agent that powers the entire customer journey—anticipating buyer needs, boosting sales, and automating high-quality support. Today, I'm happy to announce Gorgias as the Conversational AI platform for ecommerce.”

Gorgias’s Conversational AI platform will let teams provide fast, scalable, and cost-effective support while helping them drive revenue growth. From automatic order changes and refunds to product recommendations and cross-sells, brands will be able to flawlessly combine their support and sales efforts.

The end result is an AI-powered customer journey where every customer interaction feels complete, personal, and connected, both before and after purchase.

Questions in Chat, resolved in seconds

Last year, we introduced AI Agent for email. 

Some brands call their AI Agent Lisa, some call it Wally, and most treat it like a real member of the team. But this reliable support sidekick was only available to answer customers on email—until now.

Get ready for instant responses that tackle support inquiries of all sizes. Now, your customers can enjoy fast responses that keep their shopping experience as smooth as possible.

On top of improving first response times, AI Agent can play an even more critical role in unblocking sales, suggesting products, and driving upsells and cross-sells.

With responses sent in 15 seconds or less, brands can delight customers with near-instant resolutions.

AI Agent responding in chat and email
AI Agent can autonomously respond to customers on email and chat.

Let your AI Agent take action

Actions let AI Agent perform customer requests on behalf of your support team. This includes changing shipping addresses, fetching fulfillment status, canceling orders, adding discounts, and more. 

You can use a library of pre-configured Actions for popular apps like Shopify, Rebuy, Loop, and more. And you don’t need any technical skills to set them up.

With almost half of queries requiring some kind of update, Actions is your go-to for complete resolutions so you can get more accomplished.

AI Agent actions are connected to ecommerce apps
AI Agent can perform actions on ecommerce apps, right from the Gorgias platform.

Quality built into every support ticket

Quality checks have traditionally been manual, time-consuming, and inconsistent. Our brand new Auto QA feature changes that by automatically scoring 100% of conversations on resolution completeness and communication quality—whether from a human or AI agent.

With Auto QA, team leads can:

  • Scale quality consistently and easily. Both human and AI agents follow the same quality standards, allowing for consistent, high-quality customer experiences.
  • Coach smarter. Use real-time QA ratings in tickets to give agents targeted feedback.
  • Track team performance. The dashboard highlights metrics by agent, showing what’s working and where to improve.
The Auto QA Score includes resolution, accuracy, efficiency, communication and text field for feedback
Receive automatic QA checks on all customer conversations with Auto QA.

Gain clarity on your AI Agent’s impact

Support teams should be in complete control of their AI. That’s why the AI Agent Report and AI Agent Insights were created—to help you know exactly how your AI Agent is performing and contributing to your customer service operations.

The AI Agent Report provides full visibility into AI Agent’s performance, covering metrics like First Response Time, CSAT, and one-touch ticket resolutions. Fully integrated into your Support Performance Statistics dashboard, the report includes:

  • The percentage of tickets automated by AI Agent
  • The number of tickets closed by AI Agent
  • Success rates for one-touch resolutions
  • How satisfied customers are with AI Agent’s responses
AI Agent performance displays metrics like automation rate and customer satisfaction
Monitor AI Agent’s performance with a glimpse into metrics like automation rate, closed tickets, and customer satisfaction.

AI Agent Insights takes it a step further. It analyzes AI Agent’s performance data and provides you with a dashboard of recommendations, including potential automation opportunities, popular ticket intents to optimize, and knowledge base improvements.

AI Insights show automation metrics and top intents
Find out which areas of your support workflow could benefit from automation with AI Insights.

Meet your new AI sales assistant

Soon, we’ll be expanding our AI capabilities with the launch of AI Agent for Sales, a tool designed to assist customers on their shopping journey.

AI Agent for Sales helps brands boost their sales capabilities through smart product recommendations, on-page checkout assistance, and personalized conversations. Now it's easier to reduce cart abandonment, suggest complementary products to boost average order value, and overcome pre-sale objections.

This new tool will bridge the gap between marketing and CX, ensuring brands can scale personalized interactions 24/7 without increasing headcount.

Coming soon: AI Agent for Sales
AI Agent for Sales is coming to chat soon.

Looking ahead with conversational AI

As we continue to innovate with conversational AI, our focus remains on helping you succeed.

By combining smarter tools with valuable insights, we’re creating opportunities for you to put your customers first and build deeper connections at every touchpoint.

Join us as we pave a new way for the future of ecommerce.

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min read.

AI Quality Assurance: The New Standard for Customer Support QA

Help your CX team deliver better service with AI quality assurance for fair feedback and consistent customer support.
By Christelle Agustin
0 min read . By Christelle Agustin

TL;DR:

  • The landscape of QA is moving from manual to AI-powered, where AI can analyze every customer interaction, uncover patterns, and suggest data-driven changes at scale.
  • Automating QA allows ticket reviews to be routine. This means customers will always receive high-quality support.
  • Every customer interaction is reviewed with AI QA — not just a sample. This gives support leaders full visibility into performance and service quality.
  • AI QA saves time and improves agent and AI Agent feedback. By automating ticket reviews, agents receive instant, unbiased feedback, and leaders can focus on big-picture CX improvements.

This year, 71% of customer experience (CX) leaders are using AI and automation to handle the holiday shopping season. These tools, including AI agents and email autoresponders, speed up tasks like responding to customers and updating orders.

But answering tickets isn't enough. Responses must also be high-quality, whether from humans or AI. And while customer satisfaction (CSAT) is the standard measure of how successful these interactions are, they have major limits.

CSAT scores don’t tell the full story about whether agents were helpful or if they used on-brand language. These gray areas in quality lead to missed sales, higher return rates, and frustrated customers during peak periods.

AI quality assurance (QA) is changing that. In this article, we’ll see what QA looks like today, how AI can simplify the process, and how CX teams can use tools like Auto QA to improve quality across all conversations.

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Traditional customer support QA is falling by the wayside

Today, QA in customer support is a largely manual responsibility. Customer conversations are reviewed by CX team leads to ensure customer satisfaction and identify areas for agent coaching. Team leads evaluate agent responses against a checklist of best practices, including the proper use of language, product knowledge, consistency, and helpfulness.

However, reviewing tickets takes a long time.

QA is important, but it's hard to prioritize when customers are actively waiting for help with refunds, urgent order edits, or negative reviews. And when CX teams are under-resourced and short-staffed, it’s easy to put QA on the back burner. 

What’s more, as AI plays a bigger role in responding to customers, quality assurance must evolve to ensure the quality of AI-generated responses, not just human responses. 

Over time, the lack of QA in CX can hold back support teams for three reasons:

  1. Delayed feedback makes it harder for agents and AI tools to improve.
  2. Leaders have less time to train agents and refine workflows.
  3. Inconsistent service risks losing customer trust and loyalty.

What is AI-powered QA in CX?

AI-powered quality assurance (QA) uses AI to automate the process of reviewing customer interactions for resolution completeness, communication, language proficiency, and more. 

Instead of team leads spending hours manually sifting through tickets, AI takes over and evaluates how well tickets were resolved by agents.

Shifting this traditionally manual work to an automated process pulls teams out of the weeds and into more beneficial work like speaking to customers and upselling.

Manual vs. AI-powered QA
Manual QA is prone to inconsistent checks and fewer tickets reviewed compared to AI-powered QA.

With AI QA, routine ticket reviews are not just an optional part of your customer service strategy, they become a permanent part of it. The road to greater customer trust, resolution times, and stronger product knowledge becomes easier.

Read more: Why your strategy needs customer service quality assurance

Why choose AI-powered QA over manual QA? 

Manual QA is like trying to review a handful of tickets during a flood of new customer requests. Team leads can only focus on a small sample, leaving most interactions unchecked. Without complete visibility, creating a standard across all interactions is challenging.

Now, switch over to AI QA. You don’t have to choose between QA duty or answering tickets — QA checks are automatically done. You’ll still need to monitor AI’s performance, but now there’s more time to focus on creating strategies that improve the customer experience.

Here’s how AI QA and manual QA measure up to each other:

Feature

AI QA

Manual QA

Number of Tickets Reviewed

All tickets are reviewed automatically.

Only a small sample of tickets can be reviewed.

Speed of Reviews

Reviews are completed instantly after responses.

Reviews are time-consuming and delayed.

Consistency

Feedback is consistent and unbiased across all tickets.

Feedback varies depending on the reviewer.

Scalability

Scales, regardless of ticket volume.

Struggles to keep up with high ticket volumes.

Agent Feedback

Provides instant, actionable feedback for every resolved ticket.

Feedback is delayed and limited to a few cases.

Leader Advantage

Frees up leaders to train the team and improve workflows.

Disadvantageous, as leaders spend most time manually reviewing tickets.

7 benefits of using AI quality assurance in CX

AI quality assurance helps CX leaders move beyond manual reviews by offering fast, thorough insights into performance and customer needs. Here are seven key benefits it brings to your team.

1. Improved visibility into customer interactions

AI QA reviews every ticket, giving CX leaders a complete view of agent performance and customer trends. Nothing slips through the cracks, so you can act on real data each and every single time.

What the team wins: Key areas to focus on to improve the customer experience.

What the customer wins: A consistent support experience where their concerns are fully addressed.

2. Instantly identify major customer pain points

Only a third of customers highly trust businesses, and without QA checks in place, that trust only deteriorates.

AI QA feedback can highlight confusing policies or common product issues that lead to unhappy customers. With instant feedback, teams can quickly make changes and create better, consistent customer experiences.

What the team wins: Faster fixes for recurring issues.

What the customer wins: A smoother, frustration-free experience.

3. Faster identification of process gaps

Agents can receive feedback that instantly highlights gaps in workflows or unclear escalation steps. This is an efficient way to resolve issues within the wider team before they become more significant problems.

What the team wins: Process issues are solved quickly.

What the customer wins: Faster resolutions with little to no delays.

4. Standardized scoring for AI and human agents

AI QA evaluates both AI Agent and human agent interactions using the same criteria. This creates a level playing field and ensures all customer interactions meet the same quality standards.

What the team wins: Fair evaluations for both AI and human responses.

What the customer wins: High-quality support, no matter who handles the ticket.

5. More time for coaching and training

With less time spent on manual reviews, leaders can dedicate more energy to team development. Training sessions guided by AI insights help agents improve quickly and ensure the team delivers support that aligns with protocols.

What the team wins: More focused skill-building based on data.

What the customer wins: Clearer and more accurate support.

6. Drives continuous knowledge for the entire team

AI QA is helpful for showing agents which areas they need more training on, whether it's being better about using brand voice or polishing up on product knowledge. This leads to better support processes and stronger product understanding across the team.

What the team wins: Better support tactics and product expertise.

What the customer wins: Faster resolutions due to knowledgeable agents.

7. Enhanced customer experience through consistently high-quality support

Since all tickets are reviewed, teams can feel confident they’re delivering high-quality support on a regular basis. Customers get clear, helpful answers, while agents gain insights from every ticket with AI feedback.

What the team wins: Consistent support performance.

What the customer wins: Reliable support they can trust.

How accurate is AI QA?

AI QA analyzes tickets using predefined categories to evaluate how complete and helpful agent responses are. Let’s take a closer look at how it maintains accurate ticket reviews with an AI QA tool like Gorgias’s Auto QA.

It measures multiple metrics

Auto QA evaluates tickets based on three key areas: Resolution Completeness, Communication, and Language Proficiency.

For Resolution Completeness, it checks if all customer concerns were fully addressed. For example, if an agent resolves only one of two issues raised, the ticket is marked incomplete. Tickets where customers resolve issues on their own or don’t respond to follow-ups can still be graded as complete if handled appropriately.

Communication quality is scored on a scale of 1 to 5, assessing clarity, professionalism, and tone. Agents earn higher scores when they provide clear solutions and remain positive throughout the interaction.

Finally, Language Proficiency evaluates whether an agent displayed high proficiency in the language of the conversation. The score considers how well spelling, grammar, and syntax were employed.

Auto QA in action
Gorgias’s Auto QA scores agent responses based on communication and completeness.

Teams can improve AI with their own feedback

Auto QA isn’t set in stone. Team leads can expand on AI-generated feedback by adding their comments. For example, if a resolution is graded as ‘Incomplete,’ a team lead can explain why and provide additional context. This helps clarify the evaluation for the agent and also helps the AI model improve over time.

How to get started with AI quality assurance using Auto QA

Ready to bring the benefits of AI QA to your team? Here’s how to get started with Auto QA:

  1. Audit your current QA process to identify gaps. How do you currently review tickets? Pinpoint areas where manual QA falls short, such as inconsistent feedback or missed interactions.
  2. Pilot Auto QA with a small team. Introduce Auto QA to a small group of agents to test its impact. This allows you to find out how the new QA process fits into your workflow and how it affects agent performance.
  3. Use AI insights to refine processes. Analyze the feedback Auto QA provides to identify process gaps or recurring issues. Use these insights to update your workflow, improve training, and address root causes of customer pain points.
  4. Gradually scale adoption across the team. Once the pilot is successful, roll out Auto QA to more agents. Make sure everyone is trained on how to use its insights and integrate the tool into daily operations.
  5. Monitor and provide feedback to improve AI accuracy. Review Auto QA’s evaluations to ensure accuracy. Add manual feedback as needed to fine-tune its scoring on future tickets.
  6. Measure the impact on performance and satisfaction. Track key metrics like ticket close rates, resolution times, and customer satisfaction scores. Use this data to understand how Auto QA transforms your QA process and drives better results.

Make high-quality responses a standard with Auto QA

AI QA isn’t just about automating ticket reviews — it empowers CX leaders to focus on what truly matters: training and improving processes.

Leave spot-checking and inconsistent application of policies and brand voice in the past. As a built-in feature of Gorgias Automate, Auto QA makes high-quality customer interactions your brand’s standard. 

Book a demo now.

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

Further reading

Our AI Approach: Onboard, Automate, Observe, and Coach

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

TL;DR:

  • Gorgias views AI as an extension of CX teams, treating it like a human support agent by Onboarding it with your policies, Automating ticket handling, Observing its response quality, and Coaching it with continuous feedback.
  • AI Agent uses a combination of GPT-4o, brand-owned data, and third-party integrations like Shopify to provide accurate responses while limiting hallucinations.
  • AI Agent can fully resolve requests and perform actions to improve first response and resolution times without sacrificing support quality.
  • Human feedback continuously refines AI Agent performance to keep it effective and on-brand.

Chances are, you’ve had at least one frustrating experience with AI in customer support. Even with 69.2% of customer support professionals using AI, you’re still skeptical about making AI a permanent part of your customer support operations.

At Gorgias, building AI has been a thoughtful process. We insist on only shipping AI features that improve customer experiences, not degrade them. 

To help you understand how we’re approaching AI, we’ll walk through the four pillars that ensure a positive AI experience for you and your customers: Onboard, Automate, Observe, and Coach.

  • Onboard: Teach the AI your processes and brand voice.
  • Automate: Let the AI start handling tickets in your inbox.
  • Observe: Keep a close eye on the quality of the AI’s response.
  • Coach: Give feedback to continually improve the AI’s accuracy.

Putting it all together: we view AI as the ultimate assistive tool for customer experience (CX) teams.

AI changes the way CX teams operate

Before diving into the four pillars, let’s set the stage. Two major changes have occurred in the past few years:

  1. Customer expectations for instant answers across channels are growing.
  2. We have the technology to answer hundreds of tickets simultaneously, each in <1 minute — without breaking the budget on uncapped hiring.

As AI removes the grunt work from support teams’ plates, repetitive tasks such as providing order status updates, processing returns, and answering frequently asked questions can be offloaded to AI.

AI can even handle the mental work of reading, summarizing, categorizing, prioritizing, and tagging, even when a human needs to step in.

Agents can then focus on higher-impact tasks, like speaking to VIP customers on the phone, offering new support channels, driving upsells and cross-sells, and much more. This is how CX teams evolve

Brands using Gorgias’s AI Agent in the alpha testing phase are already automating as much as 30% of email tickets. By the end of 2024, we envision over half of brands’ customer tickets to be handled by AI Agent.

Psycho Bunny quote from Tosha Moyer about AI

The 4 pillars of AI at Gorgias

Our overall goal is to make CX tools, including AI, that are great for customers and their overall business goals. We follow four pillars when it comes to AI at Gorgias.

Onboard: Teach the AI your processes and brand voice

Bringing AI into your support team is like onboarding a new agent. Like any agent, AI should know:

  • How to talk like your brand, using brand-specific voice and language
  • Your policy, products, and FAQs
  • How your helpdesk processes work, i.e. tagging tickets for organization
  • Which topics should be handed over to a superior (in the case of AI, a human)

AI should model the most efficient support reps who know their brand inside and out — while being able to empathize with customers at lightning speed. That is the future of great customer service

How it looks in Gorgias

AI Agent’s main knowledge reference is your owned data, including your Shopify storefront and backend, Help Center articles, order data, brand voice, conversation history, and other URLs where your brand content is stored. 

When adding AI Agent to your Gorgias account, you can sync each of these resources to empower your AI Agent with the knowledge it needs to answer questions and resolve basic issues. 

To enhance AI Agent’s answering power, the Guidance feature allows you to provide detailed instructions on how AI Agent should interact with customers. 

While the prior resources are centered around brand knowledge, Guidance is more like team processes. You can instruct AI Agent to ask follow-up questions, confirm details, and treat customers one way or another depending on factors like whether:

  • Their order was placed within the last XX days
  • They have spent more than $XX with your brand
  • They are domestic or international customers
  • And so much more

Guidance templates for AI Agent in Gorgias
Train AI Agent by using Guidance templates or create your own.

Tosha Moyer, Senior Customer Experience Manager at menswear brand Psycho Bunny, highlights the value of our internal guidance feature. “The internal guidance feature is so important because we have a lot of internal processes that we do not need to be described in a customer-facing article, but we want AI Agent to be able to access that information and manage tickets accordingly.”

Last, you can instruct AI to speak in your brand’s voice. When setting up AI Agent, you can provide your team’s tone of voice guidelines, brand bible, and other resources to ensure your agent represents your brand identity. 

AI Agent tone of voice selection gif
Choose AI Agent's tone of voice, from Friendly, Professional, Sophisticated to Custom.

Automate: Let the AI start handling tickets in your inbox

AI can do so much more than restate your brand policies. At Gorgias, we believe AI should fully resolve inquiries — and that means taking action.

According to a report by Gartner, 82% of customers say quick resolutions influence their decision to stay loyal to a brand. When we empower AI to take action, customers have better experiences and are more likely to keep doing business with a brand.

How it looks in Gorgias

AI Agent uses the latest model of ChatGPT, 4o, combined with the content you already have to send human-like answers to customers.

But AI Agent doesn’t only regurgitate your Help Center content. It goes one step further by updating customers’ orders, changing addresses, sending order and return statuses, and more.

Native integrations with Shopify and other apps in the Gorgias ecosystem allow AI Agent to fully resolve basic inquiries by pulling customer-specific data and performing actions in other tools. 

Our goal is to make connecting these tools as simple as possible, minimizing the need for technical setups like configuring API calls. 

AI Agent summarizes its actions after it resolves a ticket
AI Agent can respond, cancel orders, and initiate more Actions.

Of course, AI’s decisions on when to execute these Actions should come from your team. That’s why you can set up conditions for each Action, specifying when (and for whom) the Action can fire.

Customize an Action's settings.

AI Agent includes a variety of pre-built Actions from popular ecommerce apps like Shopify, Recharge, and Loop Returns — with many more on the way. You can also build Custom Actions with any 3rd-party tool. 

AI Agent can initiate actions using your integrated third-party apps.

Within two months, AI Agent outranked Psycho Bunny’s human agents’ resolution times. It resolved tickets in under 2 minutes, compared to the human average of 4+ hours. Customers even gave AI Agent a 4.67/5 CSAT score —  nearly 0.1 points higher than human agents’ average CSAT score.

Observe: Keep a close eye on the quality of the AI’s response

AI is a new technology — we humans are still building trust and comfort. In fact, only 3 in 10 Americans are able to identify AI use in digital use cases, according to the Pew Research Center. This suggests a lack of transparency in how companies use AI.

In a problem-solving service like customer support, AI’s role and decision-making should be transparent: Agents should know which tickets are handled by AI, what exactly the AI did, and why. 

How it looks in Gorgias

Agents can see the logic of AI Agent right in the ticket view.  This includes the knowledge source it used, the specific actions it took, and the exact responses it generated. All actions made by AI Agent are highlighted in purple or symbolized by the purple sparkle AI Agent icon.

View every action AI Agent makes on tickets and provide feedback to refine its behavior.

Being able to discern AI responses from human ones allows brands to: 

  • Ensure the accuracy of AI responses to provide speedy resolutions.
  • Quickly correct AI missteps to maintain high standards of service.
  • Build customer trust by being transparent about AI’s role in the customer support process.

We highly recommend nominating one human agent to review AI Agent’s responses. Set aside time each week to review to understand how it behaves, when it responds vs hands over, and the most common knowledge resources it pulls from.

Coach: Give feedback to continually improve the AI’s accuracy

Inevitably, AI won’t be perfect from day 1. Just like a new agent, AI needs coaching. That’s why the final pillar of our AI philosophy is improving AI’s knowledge and performance through coaching. 

When AI makes a mistake, you should have the power to correct it so that future errors are avoided. When AI acts correctly, you should also be able to encourage and reinforce its positive behavior. 

A continuous cycle of coaching helps AI become more aligned with your brand’s standards.

How it looks in Gorgias

Feedback is built into AI Agent. Every decision AI Agent makes can be rated with a thumbs-up/down system. Encourage AI Agent to continue making the same actions with a thumbs up, and change behavior with a thumbs down. 

You can see how AI handles every situation in detail, giving you full transparency. Reviewing these decisions leads AI to better align with your brand’s standards.

AI Agent summary of actions in the ticket view
Rate how well AI Agent responded to tickets and improve its future responses.

In addition, you can easily instruct AI Agent to pull from different Guidance instructions and Help Center articles or execute different Actions — with the easy ability to create or edit those resources in just a few clicks.

Choose which resources AI Agent should pull from.

Empower your team with AI

At Gorgias, we designed AI to enhance your customer support experience. By leveraging the pillars of Onboard, Automate, Observe, and Coach, we ensure that AI Agent is an effective and reliable partner for your team.

With AI handling low-priority repetitive questions, your team can focus on creating more meaningful connections. This includes prioritizing VIP customers and escalated tickets, upselling, and engaging in higher-impact activities.

The future of AI at Gorgias is bright, with continuous improvements and new features on the horizon. Embrace the power of AI and see how it can transform your customer service team.

Book a demo today to experience the benefits of AI Agent for yourself.

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How Your CX Team Will Evolve with AI

By Halee Sommer
9 min read.
0 min read . By Halee Sommer

TL;DR:

  • AI will handle repetitive customer questions without replacing human agents, allowing them to focus on more strategic and meaningful tasks.
  • AI will enable CX teams to focus on revenue-generating duties like upselling and building better customer experiences.
  • AI drives strategic insights by allowing your team to analyze trends and share actionable insights with product, marketing, and operations teams.

Your customer experience team is considering investing in AI and automation, but you might be wondering: What will happen to your team after? 

They aren’t going anywhere.

Instead, your team has more time to tackle high-priority work that often gets put on the back burner, like:

  • Coaching AI to make it more efficient
  • Handling complex issues
  • Focusing on revenue opportunities like upselling or cross-selling
  • Building better customer experiences
  • Analyzing insights and impacting the whole business

We’ve found that automating just 30% of your incoming ticket load can take on the work of three support agents. Overall, AI is a tool that can streamline customer service work and make your agents' lives easier.

Just as a helpdesk unifies all customer messages and removes the part of the process where agents have to jump between inboxes, AI eliminates the grunt work of reading and resolving repetitive tickets and more.

Automating tickets opens a world of opportunity for your support agents. Let’s break down how your CX team will evolve once AI joins the party.

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AI frees your team from repetitive questions, turning them into AI coaches

One of the biggest benefits of incorporating AI within your ecommerce CX strategy is encouraging your team to become AI coaches. 

When you automate “traditional” CX tasks, like answering incoming tickets, your team gains back time to provide feedback to continuously improve your AI and create more effective processes.


         

‎Empowering your human agents to become AI coaches could happen in multiple scenarios, such as:

  • Providing feedback on AI interactions to improve AI’s responses, align with your brand guidelines, and boost first contact resolution rates.
  • Updating your Help Center and internal knowledge base so AI can learn from your content to provide on-brand customer experiences. Agents should continuously document workflows and relay instructions from customer interactions, such as product information and customer sentiment.
  • Integrating third-party tools to let AI perform actions. AI shouldn’t only be a tool for communication, it should also resolve issues. Connect 100+ apps and integrate your entire ecommerce tech stack to let AI carry out actions like canceling orders, changing addresses, and sending unique discount codes.

How Psycho Bunny trains their AI

Psycho Bunny uses Gorgias’s conversational AI tool, AI Agent, to automate 26% of customer tickets, providing empathetic and personalized responses to customer questions rather than generic auto-replies.

An incoming customer inquiry may occasionally require an agent to refer to internal, non-public information. At Psycho Bunny, AI Agent uses Guidance to leverage internal information and prompts to properly resolve or escalate issues as needed.

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

AI Agent animation

               After AI Agent provides a resolution, it asks your agents for feedback to improve its behavior.
             
         

AI lets your team drive revenue

AI lets your team upsell and cross-sell 

AI can handle most of your incoming repetitive questions, like “Where’s my order?” or “What’s my size?” but where it falls short is tackling high-priority issues, like a question asked shortly after a purchase is made. 

When it comes to ticket prioritization, we recommend using AI to handle low-priority tickets to free up your team to solely take care of the most pressing customer issues. Low-priority tickets are not time-sensitive or tied to generating a sale, making them perfect candidates for automation.


         

With AI handling easy-to-resolve issues, your team can focus on high-priority and revenue-related requests. High-priority tickets include those tied to revenue, such as VIP or returning customer inquiries, escalated cases like potential bad reviews, and conversations needing immediate responses via SMS or live chat.

AI lets your team run revenue-generating tactics

Every conversation with a customer is an opportunity to drive a sale. 

Your support team is on the frontline of customer interactions. No one knows your brand's customers and their pain points better. 

When you allow AI to manage ticket loads, the nature of your team changes from simply managing grunt work to becoming more like sales associates. 

This is an opportunity for agents to think beyond answering tickets and to become cross-functional partners across the brand, providing more value to the business overall by:

  • Generating unique discount codes: Create unique discount codes using Convert campaigns. This helps incentivize purchases and track the effectiveness of your campaigns. For example, supplement brand Obvi positions their CX team as sales associates and support agents, helping to triple sales while resolving issues.
  • Proactively engage shoppers to lift revenue by 13%. Mimic the in-store shopping journey by letting AI engage with customers on chat as they shop. Chat is an efficient way to upsell without disrupting the shopping experience.
  • Integrating more revenue-generating tools: Make the most of customer experiences by connecting app integrations specializing in customer loyalty like Loyoly, rewards like Toki, and personalized messaging like Yotpo.
  • Monitoring revenue statistics: Utilize Gorgias's Revenue Statistics to keep track of customer behavior and sales trends. Your team can use these insights to identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
Unique discount code on a Gorgias Convert campaign

               Generate unique discount codes with Gorgias Convert.
             
         

How Manduka increased conversions

Manduka implemented Gorgias Convert, an ecommerce marketing tool designed to turn first-time shoppers into repeat customers. Using onsite campaigns, Convert leverages audience segmentation to provide proactive and personalized interactions to increase conversions and boost average order value.

For instance, when an online shopper looks likely to leave Manduka’s website and meets certain conditions, a discount code campaign is triggered if customers sign up for email or SMS marketing messages.

Between April and August 2023, Manduka’s on-site Convert campaign saw:

  • Total campaign revenue: $32,349.46
  • Impressions: 62,690
  • Clicks conversion rate: 25.28%
Manduka discount campaign using Gorgias Convert

         

“Gorgias Convert is amazing, we highly recommend it,” says Jessica Botello, Customer Service Manager at Manduka. “Gorgias Convert is almost a one-to-one translation of the in-person retail experience to the online retail experience where that wasn't available before.”

(For anyone considering implementing Convert, we also offer a Convert Bootcamp to get CX teams up and running in just a few weeks.)

AI allows your team to build new customer experiences

When AI can automatically handle the bulk of incoming customer inquiries, you can put your human team on channels that push conversations and higher lifetime value (LTV).

Here are some ways to enhance your customer experiences:

  • Offer consultations through live chat: Encourage one-on-one support through personalized, conversational customer service. Real-time assistance helps build customer trust and increases product education and customer satisfaction.
  • Expand support channels to Voice and SMS: According to Salesforce, 79% of customers expect consistent communication across different channels. Widen your reach by offering support on phone and SMS to provide immediate support, accessibility, and more sales.
  • Develop interactive product quizzes: With Gorgias Automate's Flows feature, agents can create custom multi-step paths to answer shoppers' questions based on their preferences. Matching shoppers to your most suitable product helps them get familiar with your offerings and builds interest in purchasing.
  • Improve product descriptions to reduce return rates: Meet customer expectations by crafting clear, detailed descriptions. Comprehensive descriptions help shoppers understand what product they’ll receive, leading to fewer returns and better customer satisfaction. See how Love Wellness optimizes their product pages here.

How JAXXON uses their extra time to create new customer relationships and sales

Caela Castillo, Director of CX at JAXXON, notes that automation is not a total replacement for agents but a tool that provides instant information to shoppers while allowing agents to focus on more critical, revenue-generating tickets.

While Automate automatically resolves 37% of their tickets, JAXXON agents have more time to attend to higher-impact conversations, such as escalations and particular product-related questions. In addition, they can spend more time in the back end of their helpdesk by creating engaging chat campaigns and improving their self-service resources.


         

AI lets your team provide strategic insights

AI makes agents' jobs more strategic. 

With a bulk of tickets automatically managed, your team can spend less time putting out small fires. Agents can identify trends in customer interactions and make better-informed decisions that affect more than the CX team.

The key is to share insights and collaborate with other teams to improve the business as a whole. 

Here are specific insights to share with certain teams: 

  • Product Team: Report on which products are causing the most tickets to identify and address issues.
  • Marketing Team: Analyze which campaigns may have been misleading by tracking customer complaints and dissatisfaction to improve future promotions.
  • Operations Team: Identify big spikes in lost or delayed packages to streamline order fulfillment logistics and improve delivery processes.
  • Sales Team: Provide insights on customer feedback related to pricing and product preferences to refine sales strategies.
  • Customer Success Team: Share trends in customer satisfaction and common issues to improve your onboarding program.

         

How Topicals reduced returns using customer satisfaction insights

Topicals wanted to reduce the high number of returned products by providing more helpful information to shoppers before they went to the checkout, so they leveraged Gorgias Automate to handle 69% of incoming tickets

With Automate, Topicals’ return rate dropped significantly, and sales from customer support increased by 78%. Agents also gained free time to think more strategically about the customer experience overall. Thanks to improved pre-sales conversations, customer satisfaction scores are now at 4.8/5.

As a result, the Topicals team now better understands what types of customer experience generate more sales and higher satisfaction scores. Best of all, they can leverage these insights to continuously fine-tune the experience.

“Being able to track customer satisfaction scores in Gorgias is a really big help to us. Before, we didn't know if we were doing well or not, but now we can see people like the service we provide. And we use the KPI tracking data for internal monthly meetings to review performance and see where we can improve.”

— Deja Jefferson, Customer Experience Manager at Topicals

Empower the evolution from support agent to AI coach

There’s a lot of fear around AI. We get it — change is hard (and scary). 

It’s important to choose a tool you can trust. At Gorgias, AI and automation aren’t new trends. From Automate to AI Agent, Gorgias has led the revolution in AI-driven customer support solutions for 15,000 ecommerce brands.

Sign up for free to kickstart your journey in automating CX with the power of AI.

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Eliminating Pre-sales Friction with Effective Educational Campaigns

By Matilda Lee
6 min read.
0 min read . By Matilda Lee

TL;DR:

  • Revisit your data: Use data from historical support tickets and customer feedback to identify common concerns.
  • Encourage real-time conversations: Use live chat support with specific CTAs to entice customers and provide personalized assistance.
  • Optimize timely messaging: Deliver campaign messages at the right moment based on browsing patterns.
  • Educate to reduce returns: Clear and thorough product information helps set accurate expectations, leading to fewer misunderstandings and returns.

In the competitive ecommerce landscape, turning browsers into buyers is like… trying to get a cat to take a bath (if you know, you know). You can activate various website campaigns until something sticks, but without relying on concrete data, you may never see the conversions you want.

This is where addressing pre-sales friction points comes into play. In other words, resolving concerns that customers face before making a purchase.

Once you’ve determined the problem areas, you can use Convert campaigns to lead customers to the checkout. These onsite campaigns have proven to enhance customer engagement, drive conversions, and significantly reduce return rates. 

Ready to gain new customers? Let’s deep dive into identifying pre-sales friction points and resolving them with Convert campaigns.

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How to identify pre-sales friction points

Creating campaigns that convert requires identifying your top pre-sales barriers. These are obstacles in the buying journey that prevent customers from proceeding with a purchase.

Some sale-preventing questions could be:

  • How do I know which size will fit me best?
  • What are the shipping costs and delivery times for my location?
  • What is your return policy if the product doesn't meet my expectations?
  • What are other customers saying about this product?

Proactively addressing these friction points can remove customers' hesitation when purchasing.

Take a look at three data sources to identify your brand’s specific friction points.

  1. Historical Tickets: Review your past customer support tickets, especially those in the product or pre-sale categories, to find valuable insights into customer concerns. For instance, TUSHY, a leading bidet brand, discovered that many shoppers had questions about toilet compatibility. After they targeted this concern with a campaign, they reduced customer hesitation and boosted the conversion rate by 10%.
  2. Customer Feedback: Surveys, reviews, and customer interactions are rich sources of data. Collecting and analyzing customer feedback can help identify recurring issues and areas where additional information or support is needed. 
  3. Website Analytics: Use tools like Google Analytics to determine when visitors drop off or spend excessive time on certain pages. For example, if many visitors exit on the product detail page, they might need more information or reassurance before making a purchase.

3 solutions to reduce friction points using Convert

After you’ve identified the obstacles in customers’ buying journeys, the next step is to resolve them.

Targeted onsite campaigns with Convert are an excellent way to tackle these issues. 

Here are three effective strategies to address common pre-sales friction points and enhance the shopping experience for your customers.

Solution #1: Use real-time messaging on the cart page

As of 2024, 70% of customers worldwide end up abandoning their online shopping carts. Price, value, competitors — there are many reasons why customers choose not to checkout. The solution is to engage with customers in real time while deep in shopping mode.

Conversational campaigns are among the highest-performing Convert campaign strategies, allowing brands to address customer questions and provide personalized assistance instantly.

TUSHY enhances product education by launching an educational campaign for shoppers browsing their product pages. The campaign features a video demonstrating how easy it is to install their bidets, reassuring customers about the simplicity of using their products.

TUSHY alleviates customer concerns about product installation with an educational campaign.

Tips for Effective Real-Time Engagement:

  • Compelling Call to Action (CTA): A generic CTA like “Let us know if you have any questions” is good, but specificity can resonate more with shoppers. For example, if you sell linen pants, try a CTA such as: “Ask our team below if you have any questions on linen care instructions or how you can expect the fit to adjust after washing.”
  • Bandwidth Management: If 24/7 live chat support isn’t feasible, consider implementing different versions of the campaign for business hours and off-hours. Offer options for future scheduling or provide offline resources like quizzes, guides, or FAQs to keep customers engaged and informed. Brands can also leverage AI Agent to handle email conversations.

Solution #2: Capture customer attention at the right time using historical data

Timing is a critical factor in the success of onsite campaigns. Messages should be delivered at the right moment to ensure visitor attention without interrupting their browsing experience.

Fortunately, with Convert, you can target an audience based on the time spent on a visit or specific page. 

Check out how cosmetics brand Glamnetic appeals to browsing customers who spend more than a minute on their page:

Glamnetic’s engagement campaign promotes their 14-day money-back guarantee to browsing customers.

Strategies for Timely Messaging:

  • Analyze Browsing Patterns: Study the typical browsing time on your target pages. Campaign messages should appear after the visitor has had enough time to process the content but before they move on to another page. This balance is essential to maximize engagement without causing frustration.
  • A/B Testing: Experiment with different delay times and message formats to identify what works best for your audience. Continuous testing and optimization can refine your approach and improve overall campaign performance.

Solution #3: Proactively assist shoppers in the product page

Educating customers is about providing information and empowering them to make confident purchasing decisions.

If customers are hesitant to buy from you, consider creating educational campaigns for:

  • Product installation
  • Product use 
  • Sizing/fitting guide
  • Product comparison guide

Glamnetic runs focused educational campaigns to provide customers with helpful product info and tutorials, like how to apply lash extensions. These campaigns make shopping easier and answer customers' specific questions, helping them make better buying choices. 

The results? +27% higher conversation rate and +12% AOV. 

Glamnetic educational Convert campaign
Glamnetic targets new customers by using an educational campaign that includes a tutorial for applying lash extensions.

Convert campaigns success: compelling data

Numbers don’t lie, and these impressive data points highlight the impact of well-crafted educational campaigns:

  • 6%+ Engagement Rate: Convert educational campaigns have an average engagement rate of 9.09%, compared to the 1-3% benchmark. This means customers are more engaged with relevant and informative content.
  • 11%+ More Conversions: 31% of tickets in these campaigns are converted, far exceeding the industry benchmark of 5-20%. Educational content helps resolve customer queries and moves them closer to making a purchase.
  • 3%+ Boost in Conversion Rate: Convert campaigns have an overall conversion rate of 12.52%, compared to the 3-9% benchmark. Educated customers are more likely to complete their purchases, boosting sales.

Experience the true meaning of conversions with Gorgias Convert

Making the leap from browser to buyer is no easy feat. By addressing the friction points in the buyer journey, brands can smooth the path for their customers. These strategies not only enhance the shopping experience but also build customer confidence and trust. 

The data speaks for itself: well-crafted educational campaigns drive higher engagement, better conversion rates, and significantly reduce returns. Remember, you're not just selling a product — you're providing a solution, building relationships, and fostering long-term success in your brand.

Let the campaigns do all the work, and book a demo with Gorgias if you’re not leveraging Convert campaigns already.

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Customer Expectations Have Changed — Here’s What You Can Do

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

TL;DR:

  • Ecommerce sales are expected to rise by 8.8% in 2024, presenting new growth opportunities.
  • Longer consideration times mean businesses need to engage customers at every stage of their buying journey.
  • SEO remains crucial for growth, with over half of consumers using search for pre-purchase information.
  • Ethical AI and well-managed returns can boost customer trust and loyalty while driving sales.

Let’s stop with the doom and gloom ecommerce trends and talk about what’s really up: growth.

Yep, you read that right. 

Ecommerce sales are set to soar by 8.8% in 2024, and the digital marketplace is ripe with opportunity.

Sure, we’ve all been budget-conscious for the past year or more—businesses and consumers alike. And we’re not saying you shouldn’t be.

Despite that, there is a ton of opportunity to grow your sales this year. It’s just time to understand how consumer behavior is shifting and how you should adapt to it.

So, what’s changing? We shared six trends to know about below.

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1. Consideration times are longer

There’s no denying that the more budget-conscious mindset is creating longer consideration times.

According to a 2023 consumer behavior report from Knocommerce, only 23.4% of shoppers reported discovering a brand and making a purchase on the same day. 

Meanwhile, 15.3% reported buying in the first week, and 61.3% of people reported taking longer than a week to make their first purchase.

What this data tells us

It's imperative to adopt a full-funnel approach and strategically engage customers at every stage of their buying journey. 

How? First, you must understand what they need to learn about your products, when they need to learn it, and which customer service channels and content formats they prefer for learning about your products.

Part of the issue is knowing how to simply be available for your customers. They shouldn’t feel like they’re on a scavenger hunt on your website, trying to track down your product FAQs and contact information.

Helpdesks are a great way to solve both issues. For example, with Gorgias On-site Campaigns, you can integrate live chat across your website to recommend products to shoppers in a subtle way, typically at various stages of their buying cycle like,

  1. Personalized messages on product pages that resonate with individual shopper preferences and browsing history.
  2. Recommending complementary products or upgrades based on the customer's current cart selection.
  3. Capitalizing on the excitement of new product launches to capture the attention of browsers.
  4. Implementing winback campaigns targeted at customers who have previously engaged with your brand but haven't made a purchase recently.
  5. Using browse and cart abandonment strategies to re-engage customers who have shown interest in your products but haven't completed the purchase process.
  6. Providing valuable educational content that addresses common pain points, showcases product benefits, and guides customers towards informed purchasing decisions.
  7. Sending targeted holiday campaigns around seasonal trends and shopper preferences to drive conversions.
Glamnetic uses Gorgias Convert to promote their new nail collections

               Glamnetic uses Gorgias Convert to promote new collections.
             
         
Manduka uses Gorgias Convert to help browsing customers

               Manduka uses Gorgias Convert to help browsing customers make a purchase.
             
         

2. Search still matters

Over half of consumers (55% to be exact) rank search as their top source for pre-purchase information. 

Despite what some marketing gurus share online, SEO is still an essential part of any brand’s growth strategy. Don’t sleep on SEO as an acquisition channel.

What to do about this 

Don’t forget the basics of SEO. 

We know it’s easy to forget when to set up an internal link or use a specific keyword, but there are a few best practices you should use to make sure your SEO engine is chugging alone:

  • Conduct keyword research to identify high-value keywords related to your products or services and integrate them strategically into your website content, meta tags, and headings. 
  • Focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that addresses user queries and provides valuable information to enhance your search visibility and rankings. I.e. don’t try to “game” the system.
  • Use Customer Knowledge Bases to improve your website's visibility in search engine results and attract organic traffic. Incorporate targeted keywords and search-friendly formatting into your knowledge-base articles to maximize their SEO impact.
  • Keep your website content fresh, relevant, and up-to-date to maintain search visibility and engage users effectively. 
  • Track and analyze key SEO metrics, such as keyword rankings, organic traffic, and conversion rates, to measure the effectiveness of your SEO efforts. If possible, do this at least every few months (we know you’re busy!).

Remember, SEO takes time to build. Two things you should know:

  1. Traffic reflects past efforts (often taking at least 6 months to show results).
  2. Your success 6 months from now depends on your work from 6 months ago.

Essentially, what you do today will shape your results next year, which is why it’s worth investing ASAP.

3. Customers expect AI safeguards. Prioritize an ethical AI strategy

According to a report by Salesforce, 74% of customers express concerns about the unethical use of AI. Additionally, 80% emphasize the importance of human validation of AI output.

Can shoppers be any more clear about the fact that we need a human-centered approach to AI implementation?

AI is impacting how customers trust businesses. Plain and simple, you need to implement an ethical strategy and make sure it’s managed by humans.

What this data tells us

There’s a fine balance between speed to resolution and adding a human element to every customer message. And you can have both automation and humans running the show.

Businesses that take this approach meet customer expectations for AI safeguards while driving operational efficiency and delivering exceptional customer experiences.

The proof is in the pudding: According to Gorgias data, within just 28 days, merchants who automated up to 20% of tickets experienced an impressive 8-point increase in repeat purchase rates. 

Automation goes beyond keyboard shortcuts or macros; it serves as a hands-off assistant capable of engaging customers and impacting revenue significantly—while making it easy for a human to jump in at any point for more specific customer inquiries.

TL;DR: Don’t be afraid to embrace automation as a strategic tool for customer engagement and growth. 

4. Returns are becoming a profit driver, not a cost center

Returns are an inevitable part of ecommerce, with up to 30% of sales potentially resulting in returns. 

Contrary to common belief, returns are not a cost center—they can be transformed into a profit driver and a valuable touchpoint for enhancing customer loyalty and retention.

In fact, 91% of consumers actively track their packages, indicating a high level of interest and engagement in the returns process.

By making it easy for customers to track returns and exchanges directly from the order tracking page, you reduce return-related support tickets while providing a transparent experience for buyers.

TL;DR: A well-handled return can start a new chapter in the customer's relationship with a brand, not the final page.

What to do about this

At the end of the day, returns can be costly… Unless you customize the returns experience based on shopper segments and save time to re-allocate to other growth-related initiatives. 

Some tips:

  1. Customize the returns experience: Only offer free returns exclusively to VIP customers to incentivize loyalty and increase customer satisfaction.
  2. Understand return reasons: Collect data on return reasons to gain insights into areas for improvement. For example, customers will tell you how to improve product quality, refine the buying experience, and tailor messaging to better meet expectations.
  3. Empower customers: Provide customers with the autonomy to initiate returns independently. By enabling self-service returns, businesses can streamline operations, reduce resource-intensive support tickets, and enhance overall efficiency.
  4. Use integration solutions: Leverage integrated platforms such as Gorgias and Loop Returns to streamline returns management and customer support processes. With two-way integration, merchants can access comprehensive returns data directly within their Gorgias admin interface, enabling faster ticket resolution and improved customer service.

               JAXXON has a self-service portal for returns and exchanges.
             
         

Read more: Ecommerce returns: 10 best practices for taking your online store to the next level

5. Customers expect connected journeys: Break down your business silos

A staggering 79% of customers expect consistent interactions across different departments. Unfortunately, only 45% of customers feel that companies currently provide such consistency. 

Additionally, 56% of customers report the frustration of having to repeat or re-explain information to different representatives, highlighting the disconnect between departments within organizations.

PwC states that 44% of consumers are willing to engage with chatbots to seek product information before making a purchase, making it even more important to have consistency across departments.

Today, customer support teams play a dual role as both problem solvers for post-purchase inquiries and guides for customers exploring products before buying.

What this data tells us

Your support team must understand how to provide consistent support, pre-sale and post-sale. No matter where a buyer is in their journey, every message should feel consistent with the rest of the brand’s ethos.

Our recommendation? 

First, develop templates and macros for customer communication to ensure consistency in tone of voice. By providing standardized responses, businesses can maintain a cohesive brand identity and deliver a seamless experience to customers.

Second, keep all customer information in one centralized location to avoid the need for repetitive inquiries and ensure a holistic view of each customer's interaction history with the brand. No one should have to repeat themselves when trying to get support.

Last, promote a customer-first mindset across the entire organization by prioritizing the needs and preferences of customers in all decision-making processes. For a real-life example of what this looks like, Amanda Kwasniewicz, VP of Customer Experience, shares the strategies she uses at Love Wellness in this article here.

(Teaser: the team shares customer feedback directly in Slack for the whole company to see.)

Love Wellness shares customer feedback on Slack to promote a customer-first mindset across the organization.

         

6. Email is harder, time to diversify

You’re likely already aware that Gmail, Yahoo, and others are imposing stricter rules for inbox placement, making it harder for marketing emails to reach their intended recipients.

Not only that, but according to Klaviyo's benchmark report, email-placed order rates have remained stagnant, with only a minimal increase from Q1-Q3, reaching just 0.8%, and a slight rise to 0.9% in Q4. 

PWC also shares that TV and social ads remain highly influential in customers’ purchase decisions, whereas email is closer to the bottom. This doesn’t mean you should stop investing in email marketing, but connecting with customers in other ways is a good idea to supplement your email efforts.

What to do about this

You can explore many other channels—SMS, direct mail, mobile apps. Even voice marketing is a super unique and niche way to connect with audiences today.

Here at Gorgias, we’re experts at customer experience marketing, and using conversational customer service is a great way to engage with customers directly and personally—without hoping the message hits their inbox and not the spam folder.

This communication style engages customers using various channels, including live chat, messaging apps, chatbots, and even voice support. 

For example, skincare brand Topicals increased sales by 78% using conversational customer support. Specifically, the brand uses Quick Response Flows to automate answers to common questions, such as: 

  • How should I use the Faded Serum?
  • Where do you ship?
  • How do I apply to the Ambassador Program?
  • How do I find the right products for my skin type?

All of this takes place within a self-service chat. These chat flows also guide shoppers to additional helpful resources in Topicals' Help Center or product pages. If a customer still has unanswered questions, a customer support agent can take over the conversation and chat with them directly.

Topicals uses Gorgias Automate to provide instant support to customers

               Topicals uses Gorgias Automate to provide instant support.
             
         

Change can be good — embrace it

If there’s one thing we’ll leave you with, it’s this: 

Embrace the shifts, leverage the trends, and explore new avenues of engagement. 

You don’t have to be scared of new customer expectations, and thankfully, there are a ton of awesome tools out there now that make it easier than ever before to connect with your buyers.

With Gorgias, you can set up conversational marketing across your website, connecting with customers in ways that resonate and drive results. You can try it out for yourself here.

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Why Automation is the Future of CX

By Halee Sommer
6 min read.
0 min read . By Halee Sommer

TL;DR:

  • Automation increases repeat purchase rates, boosts response times, improves resolution times, and allows brands to scale faster while saving time and money.
  • 94% of ecommerce experts agree that automation is going to be more important in ecommerce.
  • Brands saw an 8-point increase in repeat purchase rates in 28 days by handling repetitive inquiries with automation.
  • Gorgias users report 52% faster resolutions, reducing response and resolution times, making customers happier.

For most CX teams, budgets are getting tighter, but tickets are on the rise. 

With strapped teams and incoming customer issues, automation is becoming an ideal tool. 

94% of Gorgias customers agree, according to our recent survey. 

Supporting automation in your workflow now is a surefire way to set your team up for success. Let’s explore why we’ll see an AI and automation-driven future within CX. 

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Automation increases repeat purchase rates 

Happy customers are the best fuel for growth. Why? 

Happy customers want to come back to shop with you, and we know that repeat customers give long-term value to your brand. 

Findings from 12,000+ Gorgias merchants show that repeat customers: 

  • Account for only 21% of customers but generate 44% of revenue
  • Make up 46% of orders
  • Generate 300% more revenue than first-time customers

Our research also found that it is five times less expensive for a brand to retain an existing customer than it is to source a new one. 

If you want to see improvement in your repeat purchase rates, automation is the way to go. Automation can handle repetitive inquiries from customers, like “Where’s my order?” so your team can focus on high-touch problems. 

Brands that use Gorgias to fuel automation see improved repeat purchase rates. Within 28 days, merchants who automated up to 20% of tickets increased their repeat purchase rate by 8 points.

Automation boosts response times

Gorgias's research found that 90% of U.S. customers expect an immediate customer service response. Of those customers, 60% want that response in 10 minutes or less. 

A significant advantage of automation is that it effectively gives you a zero-second response time. When you trust automation to handle even a tiny percentage of your incoming tickets, you will see a decrease in your first-response time (FRT)

After Shinesty implemented Gorgias's Automate, the company saw a 65% boost in its first response time. This change in FRT made a monumental impact on the support team's workload.

Thanks to Automate, Shinesty is able to deflect 55% of incoming tickets with automation, giving CX agents more time to deliver personalized and proactive support to customers. 

On this improvement, Molly Kerrigan, Senior Director of Retention at Shinesty, says: 

“Automate has allowed us to focus on improving customer experience from the ground up, because we're not so deep in ‘ticket town.’”

Thanks to automation features from Gorgias, Shinesty gained the best of both worlds, providing excellent customer service while saving the budget. 

Automation improves resolution times

An added benefit of lightning-fast response times is getting to a resolution faster. This is more than just a nice-to-have — it makes your customers happier. 

As we said earlier, happy customers are more likely to shop again and cite an overall more positive experience with your brand. This is a full-circle moment that shows how a slight change in workflow can lead to significantly positive results. 

In 2022, Gorgias studied over 10,000 ecommerce brands to understand the connection between customer experience and growth. We found that lowering the average resolution time to under 6 hours gave companies a 2% boost in revenue. 

With Gorgias, customers see resolution times improve dramatically, with automatically handled tickets resolving issues 52% faster than those handled without.


         

That happened at Psycho Bunny, where the customer support team saw resolution times improve by a staggering  99.4% after implementing Gorgias’s AI Agent to automate 26% of customer tickets.  

With AI Agent to support the team, Psycho Bunny’s human customer support agents were free to spend more time on higher-value tasks beyond answering FAQs.

“Our customer support KPIs are already fantastic: we're already leading in the industry,” says Tosha Moyer, Senior Customer Experience Manager at Psycho Bunny. “To improve on that, we need AI — it’s not physically or financially possible with human agents alone.”

Automation allows brands to scale faster

Growth is always the goal, and incorporating automation into your existing CX workflow is a tool for achieving that growth. 

Brands that use Gorgias's automation tools can successfully scale their customer service operations quickly.  

For example, just 30 days after deploying Gorgias's automation features, brands see an average 1% increase in CSAT. 

It's a small move in the meter that has a long-lasting impact on team morale, improved customer interactions, and a more positive experience for shoppers. 

Obvi relies on Gorgias’s automation features to efficiently handle 150+ tickets each day with a slim team. 

Gorgias Automate manages about 27% of Obvi’s incoming tickets — which consist of low-priority, simple, or repetitive customer inquiries. This frees up the support team to answer complex tickets and drive sales, leading to an astonishing 10x boost in revenue over BFCM. 

Even better, Obvi was able to achieve all of this after onboarding Gorgias in just two weeks. 

“AI is going to help us transform ourselves into deeper thinkers by taking over simple, standardized functions,” says Ron Shah, CEO and Co-founder at Obvi. “In the ecommerce world, Gorgias is getting ahead with doing that for customer support — they’re the center of the AI revolution, and that is the standard customers are expecting.”

Automation saves time & money

Your team can focus on more meaningful work by automating responses to repetitive questions or low-priority tickets. 

Quickly solving a customer's problem also means they can get back to checkout faster. 

But remember, automation is a tool, not a replacement for human agents. Automation helps teams of all sizes drive value, gaining extra support without spending more overhead. 

‎July turns to Automate to tackle 30% of incoming tickets, taking on the workload of three extra agents

In this case, the company has the demand to support a bigger team but not the budget. Automation helps July fill this gap to provide a seamless customer experience without overextending their human teammates. 

“We immediately deflected 450 tickets a month just by setting up some automated Quick Responses,” says Alex Naoumidis, Head of Operations and CX at July. 

“Now, we don’t waste the customer or the agent’s time with basic questions that probably don’t require any human interaction.”

Gorgias Automate: Your solution to an automated future

Gorgias is leading the revolution in AI-driven customer support solutions

Features like our AI-generated Help Center, AI Agent, Flows, and Quick Responses allow brands to autonomously answer customer questions and track and measure AI-customer interactions to create more meaningful customer experiences and transform how support is delivered. 

Start a free trial to see Gorgias’s AI and automation features in action.

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Offer More Self-Serve Options with Flows: 10 Use Cases & Best Practices

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

Unfortunately, many shoppers struggle to find the information they need while shopping online, even when self-service portals should be standard, according to 88% of consumers.

At Gorgias, we focus on simplifying customer experiences with AI and automation tools. Our automation tool, Flows, is a self-service feature that delivers shoppers instant answers throughout the entire buying journey, whether it’s to find the right size or track an order.

Keep reading, and we’ll show you how to leverage self-service options at every customer touchpoint using Flows. We’ll start with 10 Flows examples from ecommerce brands, show you how to do it yourself on Gorgias, and then put all the learnings together with some best practices.

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What are Flows? 

Flows are designed to initiate simple interactions that quickly guide shoppers to the information or actions they need. They minimize website bounce rates and enhance automation rates for ecommerce customer support teams.

Flows enhance your website's chat by automating interactions with customers. They provide an immediate automated response with just one click or guide customers through a branching path that caters to their specific needs. This path could include multiple-choice questions or even prompt customers to log in and select an order.

Effective ways to use Flows:

  • Sizing guide
  • Returns and exchanges portal
  • Warranty claim handler
  • Free shipping checker
  • And more

Read more: The types of Flow steps

10 powerful use cases for Flows

Flows are so versatile that they can be used for every type of shopping experience, whether a shopper has just discovered you or they’re already a dedicated brand advocate.

We’ll go through 10 use cases that could benefit from a Flow, show you how real ecommerce brands use them, and how you can make them yourself with Gorgias Automate.

1. Answer shipping policy inquiries

Provide instant answers to customers' shipping inquiries with an easy-to-access shipping policy Flow directly on your website. This Flow efficiently resolves questions about shipping times and fees, helping customers quickly go from browsing to buying.

Nomad states their shipping policy in a Flow that conveniently answers processing time, shipping time, and shipping rates:

Do it yourself on Gorgias

Gorgias has a templated Flow to get you started. Here's what a shipping policy Flow might look like:

Shipping policy Flow builder
If your shipping policies vary by region, include options that reflect those regions.

2. Automate returns & exchanges 

If a customer isn’t satisfied with your product, don’t make it harder for them to return it.  A returns Flow not only clarifies your return policy to motivate a customer who's on the fence but also connects them directly to the right process to start a return or exchange. All they have to do is enter their order number and email, and they’re done.

No handling it on the agent side and waiting from the customer end.

Try out bag brand CALPAK’s returns Flow in the tour below:

Do it yourself on Gorgias

Gorgias has a templated Flow to get you started. Here's what a return and exchange Flow might look like:

Return and exchange policy on Gorgias
If returns policies vary for international locations, include an option for international customers to select in the Flow.

3. Recommend products to browsing customers

A product-matching quiz can solve decision fatigue if shoppers are faced with multiple versions of a product — like a supplement for different concerns, beverage flavors, or makeup for different skin tones. 

Sol de Janeiro, the fast-growing body care brand, boasts shower gels, body creams, and fragrances of different scents and colors. To prevent customers from feeling overwhelmed, Sol de Janeiro offers product-matching quizzes.

For example, their What body cream is right for me? quiz asks customers about their main skin concern. If a customer’s concern is smooth skin, they’ll recommend a body cream supporting skin elasticity. If the concern is firmer-looking skin, they recommend a cream rich in antioxidants.

Here’s what the Flow looks like on Sol de Janeiro’s website:

Do it yourself on Gorgias

Gorgias has a templated Flow to get you started. Here's what a simple product recommendation Flow might look like:

Product recommendation template on Gorgias
A product recommendation flow can consist of one or multiple questions.

4. Manage subscriptions in a few clicks

Seventy-four percent of customers forget they’re paying for a subscription, based on C+R Research. Keep customer relationships honest and show customers that they have full control over their memberships, whether they want to upgrade, downgrade, or cancel their subscription plans.

Even if you have a customer portal for managing subscriptions, not all customers will look for it on their own. A Flow can bridge this gap by guiding customers directly to the portal while significantly reducing the volume of subscription-related tickets in your inbox.

Online vet care service Dutch lays it all out with a subscription management Flow, providing customers with straightforward instructions: 

Do it yourself on Gorgias

Gorgias has a templated Flow to get you started. Here's what a subscription management Flow might look like:

Subscription management template on Gorgias
The subscription management Flow template provides information about changing subscription frequency, products, delivery details, payment information, and cancellation.

5. Display your warranty policy

Big ticket purchases need extra support in case of defective parts. Tell customers you’ve got their back by displaying your warranty policy upfront. You’ll ease their concerns and earn their loyalty knowing their premium buy is protected.

Bidet brand TUSHY sells premium bidets. To provide similarly premium customer experiences, they have a 12-month guarantee on equipment and parts. They present their warranty policy Flow on their website:

Do it yourself on Gorgias

Gorgias has a templated Flow to get you started. Here's what a warranty policy Flow might look like:

Warranty policy on the Flow builder

6. Notify customers about product restocks

“Sold Out” or “Out of Stock” aren’t the nicest words to see on a product page, especially if you’re a repeat customer ready to buy your favorite product. To keep customers in the loop, create a Flow that lets them know the status of your products.

For the baby stroller brand Zoe, popular products sell out quickly. To efficiently manage customer inquiries, they created a When are you expecting a restock? Flow. It informs customers about product availability and also encourages them to leave their email address or SMS number. This ensures they can purchase a stroller as soon as it's back in stock and allows Zoe to connect with them for future marketing efforts.

Do it yourself on Gorgias

Here's what a restock notification Flow might look like:

Restock flow in the flow builder
A restock flow can contain as few as three steps.

7. Troubleshoot an order

Products may require additional assistance depending on their usage. These can be products like electronics, apparel, and furniture. If customers are asking the same troubleshooting question, it would be best to add a troubleshooting Flow.

Check out how CAKES handles product issues with a simple Troubleshoot Flow:

Do it yourself on Gorgias

Gorgias has a templated Flow to get you started. Here's what a troubleshooting Flow might look like:

8. Welcome new customers

Nothing beats a warm welcome, especially for new customers who are just starting their journey with your brand. A welcome Flow is essential for engaging these newcomers right from the start. It provides them with crucial product education and relevant information, setting the tone for a supportive customer relationship. 

Take a look at how Crunch Labs, STEM building kits for kids, assists customers with a welcome Flow:

Do it yourself on Gorgias

Here's what a welcome Flow might look like:

Welcome flow
A welcome flow can address multiple FAQs within one flow.

9. Ensure perfect product matches with a sizing guide

Apparel brands face frequent sizing inquiries that can lead to returns. A sizing guide Flow provides clear, self-service information upfront, reducing sizing issues. This Flow acts as a self-service tool that customers can use to find their correct size before purchasing. 

Here’s how gender-inclusive apparel brand Both& guides customers to the right size:

Do it yourself on Gorgias

Gorgias has a templated Flow to get you started. Here's what a sizing guide Flow might look like:

Sizing guide flow

10. Answer pre-sales questions

Unanswered pre-sales questions can deter purchases. A pre-sales question Flow delivers immediate, thorough answers, leads to a boost in customer confidence, and reduces post-purchase dissatisfaction.

Organic soap brand Dr. Bronner’s provides shelf life information for all their products with a Flow:

Do it yourself on Gorgias

Here's what a pre-sales question Flow might look like:

Pre-sales flow
Pre-sales questions aim to alleviate customer concerns before they decide to buy your product.

Keep these Flows best practices in mind

Stick to 1-step Flows to maximize automation potential 

Single-step Flows are the most engaging Flows because there’s no opportunity for shoppers to drop off. Single-step Flows can link out to additional resources, like a Help Center article or a returns and subscription portal through tools like Loop Returns or Recharge. 

💡 Pro Tip: Keep Flows to a maximum of five steps. Any more and you're likely to lose customers’ attention.

Include shipping and returns policies in your Flows

Online stores’ top-performing Flows are almost always about shipping and return policies. Make sure to anticipate customer questions by creating a Flow for each policy, succinctly answering questions like:

Shipping Policy:

  • How long does shipping take?
  • How much does shipping cost?
  • Where do you ship?
  • Where is my order? (with a link to Order Management tracking if possible)

Return Policy:

  • What is the return window?
  • Cost of return shipping
  • Condition item(s) must be in
  • How do I initiate a return? (with a link to the Return Portal if possible)

Create Flows for each language

Flows will not appear for shoppers unless the language of the Flow matches the language of the shopper's browser — including regional languages. 

If a Flow is only in English (UK), it will not show up for American shoppers whose browsers are in English (US).

If you sell internationally, we highly recommend adding all possible languages to Flows, including regional languages.

Note: Gorgias Chat supports 15 languages, including English (US and UK), French (France and Canada), Spanish, Danish, Swedish, Italian, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Czech, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, and Finnish.

Read more: Multi-language support for Chat

Link to other self-service tools (like Loop, Recharge, Help Center, etc.)

Flows often automate interactions when they send customers to another page (like a Recharge login page or a Loop portal, or even sometimes a Help Center article). 

If a customer’s inquiry could be solved with one of these tools, include a link to the right page in the Flow’s automated answer.

Automate engagement with Gorgias Automate

Join brands like Shinesty that use Gorgias Automate to transform their customer experience. By using Flows, Quick Responses, Order Management, Article Recommendations, AI Autoresponders, and AI Agent, Shinesty has been able to automate over 50% of their customer tickets. 

Book a demo now and be a part of the 15,000+ ecommerce brands using Gorgias to transform their customer experiences.

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How to Reap the Benefits of Automated Chat

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

TL;DR:

  • The benefits of automating chat include reduced workload, round-the-clock support availability, multi-language support, FAQ resolutions, and a convenient customer self-service channel
  • Use Gorgias Automate’s Quick Responses, Flows, Order Management feature, and Article Recommendations to provide a complete automatic chat experience
  • Automated chat uses answers pre-set by you which means it cannot produce answers without your approval

Live chat users wait an average of 30 seconds before they get an answer. However, large language models like ChatGPT have flipped customer expectations with unbeatable rapid responses. 

Thirty-second replies may be possible for customer service teams who handle one chat conversation at a time — assuming they have deep product knowledge — but agents who handle multiple chats will be hard-pressed to beat that average.

Chat automation is the best way to offer instant support without an agent. Automating chat means customers get support 24/7 in multiple languages and relevant answers in seconds. More importantly, agents can provide more meaningful customer experiences because they don’t have to monitor chat.

Below, learn how to turn live chat into an automated channel in four steps with Gorgias Automate. Then, we’ll go over how three ecommerce brands overcame some of the most common chat challenges.

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The benefits of automating chat

Automating live chat support results in a win-win situation for agents and customers. These are the five instant benefits you get when automating chat. 

Benefit 1) Reduces agent workload 

Automated chat responses mean team members don’t need to operate chat unless customers specifically ask for human support. 

Using automation as your first line of defense means fewer repetitive tickets and more time for agents to take care of urgent, customer-specific inquiries.

Benefit 2) Empowers customers to resolve issues on their own

According to Tidio, around 73% of customers prefer to find answers on their own as opposed to getting them from a support rep. Automated chat provides easy-to-receive answers and is a simple way to let customers self-serve without the wait time. 

Listen to how shoe brand Merry People uses Gorgias Automate’s chat-based automation features called Flows to cut response time down by 60%:

‎Benefit 3) Delivers support 24/7

Having a live chat widget may be an excellent way to expand customer support, but its functionality is also limited by your business hours and agent availability. 

With automated chat, these concerns disappear since chat can remain active even when your agents are off the clock.

Read more: There’s more to chat than you think: debunking 5 chat myths

Benefit 4) Speaks in multiple languages

According to a survey by CSA Research, 40% of customers will not buy from websites in other languages. 

With multi-language automated chat, you don’t have to worry about losing prospective customers. Rather, it’ll be easier for you to turn website visitors into repeat shoppers.

Gorgias Chat is a multi-language chat solution that can serve shoppers from anywhere. Languages include English (US and UK), French (France and Canada), Spanish, Danish, Swedish, Italian, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Czech, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, and Finnish.

Benefit 5) Resolves frequently asked questions

Chances are, customers on chat will ask one of these questions: 

  • Where’s my order?
  • Do you take returns? 
  • Do you ship internationally?
  • What size should I get? 

If you’re used to manually responding to these questions, know that there’s a faster way. Once you’ve identified your brand’s most asked questions, you can automate the answers to them, eliminating the need to type out replies on chat.

How to automate chat in 4 quick steps

If you have chat on your website, you’re halfway there. The next step is automating it to start reaping the benefits. Here’s how to use Gorgias Automate to automate chat in four steps.

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Step 1) Resolve FAQs with Quick Responses

Automated chat’s main ability is to answer frequently asked questions. You probably know that tickets with FAQs can pile up extremely quickly, causing your agents to miss the important questions.

To automate FAQs, use Quick Responses. These are one-click Q&A scenarios displayed on chat for customers to quickly get the answers they need. You can activate up to six responses and may toggle questions on and off to save them for later.

Quick Responses settings on Gorgias
Edit Quick Responses with links, images, and Shopify products.

💡 Pro Tip: Gorgias Chat is multi-language and automatically detects a shopper’s default language based on their browser settings. This way, you can provide global support without hiring additional agents.

Step 2) Simplify order management

A third of online purchases are returned which means agents ultimately spend time processing refunds. The most effective solution is to automate order management through chat so that agents can instead use the extra time upselling.

With Gorgias, you can provide a self-service returns portal through integrations like Loop. This allows customers to process returns on their own, making their shopping journey straightforward and strengthening their trust in your brand.

Order management return order settings in Gorgias
Select your preferred returns management integration to provide a return portal in chat.

💡 Pro Tip: Always encourage exchanges by recommending products in a different size or variant or a product of a similar value. This way, customers can still experience what you have to offer without requesting a refund.

Check it out: Return policy template generator

Step 3) Provide personalized support with Flows

Flows are more dynamic than Quick Responses and let you create personalized and interactive conversations. The resulting answer or action of these Flows all depends on the customer’s input, enabling you to deliver answers for every type of shopper.

As the name suggests, Flows are based on a flowchart structure and are best used for questions that have multiple answers. Here are some ways you can use Flows:

  • Product matching quizzes 
  • Sizing guides
  • Filing warranty claims 
  • Scheduling services 

Flows settings on Gorgias
This Flow allows customers to input their details to change their order’s delivery date.

Step 4) Deliver detailed answers with AI-powered Article Recommendations

For more comprehensive answers, turn to Article Recommendations. When customers ask a question on chat, Gorgias AI finds the most relevant article to send. These articles are pulled right from your Help Center or customer-facing knowledge base.

To get Article Recommendations on chat, you’ll need to first populate your Help Center with articles your customers care about.

Here are some Help Center articles to get you started:

  • Do you offer free shipping?
  • How much does shipping cost?
  • Do you ship internationally?
  • What is your return/exchange policy?
  • What do I do if I receive the wrong item in my order?
  • How do I cancel my membership/subscription?

Article Recommendations on Gorgias
Connect your Help Center to Chat to enable Article Recommendations.

Related: How to optimize your Help Center for AI Agent

How 3 brands debunk automated chat myths

If you still have some hesitation about automating chat, it’s time to clear them up. Let’s take a look at real use cases and how three ecommerce brands have cleared up misconceptions about automated chat myths with Gorgias Automate.

Myth 1) Automated chat is complicated to set up

Solution: No coding or special add-ons are required to set up automated chat. 

With Gorgias Automate, you can set up Quick Responses, Flows, Order Management, and Article Recommendations in a matter of minutes. Each feature can be toggled on or off, helping you shorten setup time and offer support in whatever way is best for your brand.

Collagen supplement brand Obvi found Automate’s user experience to be intuitive, setting up chat just a few weeks before Black Friday–Cyber Monday. They were able to increase conversion rates (CRO) and earn $10,000 in revenue just by activating automated chat.

Here’s how Obvi’s CEO, Ronak Shah, benefited from using Gorgias Automate:

Myth 2) Automated chat increases your tickets

Solution: Automated responses deliver instant resolutions, which keep ticket volumes low. 

Tickets are only created when customers talk to live agents. This allows customers to solve issues on their own, unlike when using social media for support.

Underwear brand Shinesty uses Flows to address a variety of inquiries, from account registration to order tracking. Their Flows are so effective that 90% of the time, inquiries are completely resolved by automation. 

Shinesty’s Flows successfully resolve customer inquiries 90% of the time.

Here’s how Shinesty’s four-person team increases customer satisfaction scores with Automate:

‎Myth 3) Automated chat gives inaccurate answers 

Solution: Automation is customizable and acts on parameters set by you. 

Unlike AI chatbots or generative AI which produces responses through machine learning, automated chat uses responses defined by you. 

In Gorgias, you can customize Quick Responses and Flows with your brand voice in mind. This guarantees that customer messaging is always relevant, on-brand, and accurate. Chat cannot compose brand-new answers on its own. 

According to Alex Naoumidis, Head of Operations and CX at July, Flows helped their support team accomplish the work of three agents. They were still able to provide a human touch, resulting in 450 tickets deflected.

‎Support and sell more with Gorgias Automate

If the success stories of these brands have inspired you to upgrade your customer experience, it’s time to see what Gorgias Automate can do for you. 

Setup is straightforward — no coding needed — and you can start seeing improvements in your customer agents’ workflow and your customers’ satisfaction straight away.

Book a demo with Gorgias today and discover how chat automation can streamline your operations and increase customer engagement.

How to Prime Your Website to Automate CX

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

TL;DR:

  • Automating customer experience (CX) can save costs, reduce agent burnout, and increase customer satisfaction
  • A good website user experience consists of fast load times, informative product pages, mobile optimization, and guest checkout
  • Automate CX by using automated chat, replacing email links with contact forms, updating your help center, and deploying onsite campaigns
  • Do not overcomplicate the user journey by only providing automatic support — route back to human agents

Nowhere is the customer experience more important than on your website. CX is so much more than post-purchase troubleshooting. CX that grows your brand makes the entire buying journey as effortless as possible, from the first ad to the 10th item purchased.

Your website isn’t only the marketing team’s domain. Your support team’s input is crucial to ensure customers can find all the answers they need without waiting around.

With a better website experience for your customers, you enable more sales and reduce the repetitive inquiries for your agents.

Here are some tips to enrich your website with CX automations that will delight your customers and your team.

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Why automating CX is essential

With 63% of consumers expecting service agents to know their unique needs and preferences, your efforts should be focused on improving support speed and responsiveness — and that starts with automation. 

Here are the five benefits of automating your customer experience:

  1. Cost efficient: Automating routine questions cuts down the cost of human labor, redirecting resources to more impactful areas of customer service.
  2. Reduced workload for agents: Your support team can focus on more complex issues instead of spending time on questions that can be answered with automated replies.
  3. Increased customer satisfaction: Automation provides fast answers, keeping the shopping experience uninterrupted.
  4. Enhanced navigation and user experience (UX): A website optimized for automation is easier to navigate and shop from, and reduces cart abandonment rates.
  5. Prevents support overload: Automation helps your agents from lessening their touchpoints with customers where it’s not needed, allowing customers to feel in control of their own journeys.

How website UX and CX work together

If done correctly, your website's UX should be so intuitive and smooth that shoppers barely notice it. For ecommerce stores, a well-thought-out website UX consists of everything from a logical menu to a straightforward checkout flow. 

Below, pay attention to the following website elements as they directly influence the buying journey and can impact customer satisfaction.

Informative product pages

Engaging and detailed product descriptions add substantial value by influencing buying decisions and simplifying the shopping experience.

Take a look at how Good Protein keeps descriptions engaging but short in three bullet points, includes social proof by displaying customer ratings, and provides flavor, size, and subscription options in one section:

Good Protein
Good Protein provides all important product information upfront.
         

Mobile optimization

According to Airship’s 11,000-respondent survey, 76% of shoppers shop through retailers’ mobile websites. With a significant portion of online sales coming from smartphones, it’s best to test your website on mobile devices. If users can’t complete a purchase through mobile, you lose out on a large fraction of sales.

Minimized distractions

Reducing distractions like unnecessary pop-ups and banners keeps the shopper focused on the main goal of conversion. Streamlining content to spotlight key campaigns or product launches can dramatically improve conversion rates.

Quick page load times

Fast-loading pages are crucial for keeping potential customers engaged. Delays can significantly deter shoppers, as studies show that even a one-second delay in page loading can reduce conversions by 7%.

Check out Google’s PageSpeed Insights to assess your website's performance.

Streamlined checkout process

Simplifying the checkout process and providing multiple payment options, such as guest checkout, removes common barriers to conversion by offering a convenient purchasing process.

Swimwear brand TRIANGL makes shopping easy and fast by adding a Quick Buy button to every product:

TRIANGL makes it easy for shoppers to buy products without making an account.
         

‎Exceptional customer support

Tools like live chat or help centers provide a portal through fast support. AI-powered support tools like Gorgias Automate combine automated responses with the option for human interaction, ensuring customer inquiries are addressed promptly.

This integration of website UX with automated customer experience strategies creates a more efficient, enjoyable, and productive shopping environment that exceeds customer expectations.

Related: Stop Marketing, Start Converting playbook

Implement these 5 strategies to prep your website for automation

Keeping your customer support options visible is the key to prepping your website for automation. 

Follow these five methods to provide easily accessible support routes, simplify communication, and help customers quickly find the information they need. 

1. Keep chat active 24/7

When you hear “chat,” you may think about not having enough bandwidth to offer live chat all the time. Well, that’s just a common chat myth

In fact, chat doesn’t require agents to operate 24/7. You can configure live chat to only be active during your busiest hours or even deactivate it altogether and replace it with automated FAQs to keep customer questions answered throughout the day. 

Here’s how ALOHAS keeps their chat running using Gorgias Automate’s Quick Responses:

ALOHAS uses Quick Responses to answer questions about shipping policy
         

‎Beyond automating common questions, chat can also accomplish other support-related tasks:

  • Email Capture: When live agents aren’t available, automation can ask for customer emails so that their inquiries can be routed to your support inbox.
  • Article Recommendations: Chat questions can be scanned and matched with the most relevant article, reducing the need to talk to an agent.
  • Order Management: Automate WISMO requests with an order management portal right in chat. Customers can track, return, cancel, or report an issue on their own without waiting for an agent to do it for them.

Don’t forget that chat is one of the most visible components on your website. Make sure the chat dialog can be minimized and hidden to avoid disrupting the shopping journey.

2. Replace email with structured contact forms

Leaving your customer support email on your contact page is the equivalent of leaving plain URLs on your website — it’s disorganized and can attract spam like no other channel.

Contact forms are far superior to email links because they collect all necessary information (like issue type and contact information). This helps agents provide resolutions as efficiently as possible because tickets are already structured and include the necessary details.

For example, Gorgias Chat includes Offline Capture to collect customer inquiries while agents are offline. Gorgias Helpdesk then uses the structured information to detect customer intent, making interactions easier to manage.

CALPAK uses email capture on Gorgias
CALPAK enables email capture so that chat inquiries can be handled even when live chat is offline.
         

3. Display your Help Center and contact form prominently

Make your Help Center visible no matter which page shoppers are on. Displaying important customer support resources like this in your website's header, footer, and various emails like marketing messages and order confirmations allows customers to self-serve, without having to contact a live agent.

With Gorgias, you can use one-page Help Centers to create a seamless experience from one page to another on your online store. This setup allows customers to quickly find the answers they need, improving accessibility while reducing the demand on your team.

Here’s what clothing brand Princess Polly’s one-page Help Center looks like:

Princess Polly keeps the user experience seamless by keeping the Help Center a part of their website, so customers can go back to shopping whenever.
         

4. Make sure your knowledge base is up-to-date and comprehensive

Updating your knowledge base, whether it's a Gorgias Help Center or another FAQ page, directly impacts the customer journey. Gorgias's AI Agent uses the Help Center as its primary source to autonomously handle over 30% of customer email inquiries, drawing on articles that cover necessary topics like shipping, orders, product information, and account management. 

To optimize your Help Center for AI, ensure your content is comprehensive and current, particularly in areas such as policies and product updates. All articles should be published, not saved as drafts, to be accessible to AI Agent. Regularly reviewing your articles encourages customer self-service and reduces reliance on agent assistance.

5. Maintain engagement with targeted campaigns

Targeted onsite campaigns on product pages educate customers and boost confidence, especially when tailored to your top-selling products. For instance, when items are out of stock, campaigns can redirect customers to similar products, as demonstrated by Glamnetic during their product launches.

Additionally, Gorgias Convert chat campaigns like those used by Manduka, which highlight product guarantees, provide valuable pre-sales information that mimics the support of a physical store.

Related: Convert Campaigns playbook

The 3 don’t s of website optimization

There are pitfalls to avoid when optimizing your website for better user experiences. Keep the user journey simple and always provide options for human assistance like live email or voice. Below are three key mistakes to steer clear of.

1. Don't complicate the user journey

The user journey includes all interactions from browsing to the post-purchase experience, and automation should make this process seamless, not hinder it. Avoid adding unnecessary steps or making critical information hard to find, as this can disrupt the shopping experience and force customers to seek help when it isn't needed.

For instance, include a guest checkout option on the checkout page to simplify purchases, and ensure that links to your Help Center or Contact page are easily accessible in the top navigation. 

Watch out for these common elements that can confuse the user journey:

  • Complex navigation: A convoluted menu system can make it difficult for customers to find what they need.
  • Hidden support information: Essential details like shipping costs and return policies should be visible and easy to find.
  • Excessive pop-ups: Overloading pages with pop-ups can frustrate users.

2. Don't only provide automated support

Automation is valuable but don’t rely on it — it's still important to provide avenues for human assistance when needed. This includes support options like live chat, email, phone, and social media

The key is balance: make it easy for them to reach out to human support once they realize self-service options are insufficient. This might involve including contact options in a Help Center or contact page rather than displaying raw email addresses everywhere.

3. Don't forget to test regularly

Maintaining an optimized website requires data-driven testing and optimization. You can improve your website by following customer feedback and suggestions. Once changes have been applied, monitoring performance metrics and user behavior can ensure the user journey remains solid.

Metrics to track: 

  • Cart abandonment rate: A high abandonment rate may mean that your checkout process is too complex, causing shoppers to exit early.
  • Page load time: Slow-loading webpages negatively impact the customer experience. 
  • Bounce rate: Difficult navigation, slow loading times, or an unattractive layout are all factors that contribute to a high bounce rate. 
  • Conversion rate: Conversion rate indicates which areas of your website are performing well and which are not. Pay attention to conversion rate to prioritize areas for improvement, such as optimizing landing pages or adjusting the user journey.

Automate 30% of CX for exceptional customer experiences

July, a leading luggage brand, uses the power of Gorgias Automate to deliver unbeatable user experiences. With Automate, routine tasks typically handled by level 1 agents are accomplished automatically. Agents are then able to free up valuable resources to focus on more complex inquiries.

Ready to elevate your CX game? Book a demo today and unlock the full potential of automation for your business.

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