Support channels
What a customer support bot is good at, and where it leaves customers stuck
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A customer support bot is software that answers customer questions automatically, usually in a chat window, from scripted flows or your help content. It's quick with fixed answers, but most bots can't look up an order or change anything.
What a customer support bot is#
It's the chat window that pops up and asks how it can help. Behind it is one of two things.
A rule-based bot follows a script. It offers buttons (Track my order, Returns, Talk to us) and walks the customer down a decision tree someone built by hand. It's predictable, and it breaks the moment a customer types something the tree didn't expect.
An AI bot reads your help centre and writes an answer in its own words. It copes with messy questions far better. But it's still answering from documents, so it knows your returns policy, not whether this customer's return arrived.
What a support bot is good at#
Questions with one fixed answer. Do you ship to Canada? How long do I have to return something? Nobody wants to wait in a queue for those, and a bot answers them at any hour. If they're a big share of your queue, that's a real load off your team.
Where it leaves customers stuck#
Anything about the customer's own order. Where's my parcel? This arrived broken, can I get a refund? A bot that can't see your store can only send a tracking link or the policy page. The customer reads it and emails you anyway, because the problem's still there.
That's why containment rate flatters support bots. The conversation ended, so it counts as handled, even though the customer is about to open a ticket on another channel. Check repeat contacts within a couple of days instead (our ticket deflection page has the long version).
Support bot or AI support agent?#
If your queue is mostly fixed-answer questions, a support bot is fine. If it's mostly order questions, you want an AI support agent: one that's connected to your store and can make changes within your rules. It should also hand over when it isn't confident.
Hay.chat does both. It answers from your docs like any decent bot, and with Shopify or WooCommerce connected it looks up the order and can update an address or issue a refund when your playbook says the case is clear-cut. The full list is on the actions page.
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