Introduction: Why follow this playbook?
Imagine a world where 30% of customer questions are answered instantly. Where your support agents never had to answer, “Where is my order?” or copy/paste your return policy again.
In this world, your support team also has 30% more time. And they can spend that time on complex questions, VIP interactions, and other high-impact projects.
Boston Proper, Made In Cookware, LSKD, Caba, Pepper Home, Baby Gold, Blender Bottle, Herschel Supply Co., and other leading CX brands live in that world — and you can, too!
Armed with Gorgias Automate, these brands implement strategic automation that delivers lightning-fast customer experiences at a fraction of the time and cost. We’ve worked with these brands — and hundreds more — to implement AI and automation.
The playbook below reliably automates at least 30% of support interactions. Top users are even surpassing 60% automation rate — meaning over half of their support requests are completely resolved without any human intervention!
4 key benefits of automating support
Looking back, AI and automation meant “chatbots.” And “chatbots” meant frustrating, unhelpful experiences for customers. But technology has advanced to provide personalized, high-quality experiences to your customers with AI and automation you can finely tune and control.
Let’s break down the main benefits of AI and automation for customer support.
1. Improve CX with fast response and resolution times
Automated responses have 0-second response and resolution times. This is a major win for your customer experience: According to HubSpot research, 90% of customers say immediate responses to customer support issues are “important” or “very important.”
If you can automate 30% of interactions, your overall response and resolution time drops by 30% — just like that. Plus, your agents can jump on the remaining tickets 30% sooner, improving the speed of your service even further.
"Since switching to Gorgias, the results have been incredible. We've seen nearly a 5% drop in return rates, faster response times, and a huge boost in customer satisfaction. Gorgias has not only helped us stay organized but also allowed our team to focus on what matters most — delivering a great customer experience. The difference is night and day."
—Zoe Kahn, VP of Retention and Customer Experience, Audien Hearing
2. Save on support costs
Humans are expensive. Our data shows that most agents spend about 5 hours per week on repetitive tickets. When you crunch the numbers, each ticket answered manually costs about $3.30.
Don’t get us wrong: Human agents are integral to any customer service program. But they should spend their premium time on high-impact conversations that automation can’t answer — not copy/paste order statuses over and over (and over).
"We used to have 2 teams: one in Buenos Aires (7 people) and one in the Philippines (5 people) to cover all the time zones. We recently decided to shift our focus to North America and thus part ways with the Philippines team. With all the automations we have set through Gorgias, and because our team in Buenos Aires has ramped up, we didn't have to hire back any extra agents."
—Shauna Cleary, Head of Ecommerce at Ekster
3. Prioritize high-impact and revenue-driving conversations
Brands with higher automation rates tend to drive more sales from support. Brands with at least 30% automation rates tend to generate around 8.7% of their companies' revenue, whereas brands that automate less than 5% of interactions only generate 4% of their company’s revenue.
Why? Automating repetitive customer requests gives you more time for high-impact conversations: complex issues, requests from VIP customers, and pre-sales questions.
"Our CX team uses unique sales codes for each BFCM. Last year, they generated around 3,000. With more time for important conversations, they drove $10,000 this past year."
—Ron Shah, CEO and Co-founder at Obvi
4. Offer 24/7 support, even with a small team
Automation doesn’t sleep or take a lunch break. It can also handle 10 questions in an instant, instead of responding one at a time. If you have a global customer base or a small support team, automation is even more crucial.
“Knowing they can reach us 24/7 is a huge thing for our customers, especially international customers. Because they want to get answers no matter what time it is.”
—Caela Castillo, Director of Customer Experience, Jaxxon
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