AI agent

Speed up your support with AI

7 articles

Introduction to the AI agent

What is the AI Agent? The AI Agent is an autonomous support bot that handles customer tickets without human intervention. Built specifically for Shopify stores, it manages common support tasks that plague e-commerce stores. You can customize its tone, leverage your store data, and provide specific instructions for handling tickets. When enabled, the AI Agent is automatically assigned to new tickets and responds immediately unless configured otherwise. Human agents can remove the AI Agent from any conversation as needed. Key Features Playground Test the AI Agent safely by simulating conversations using your actual Shopify customer data. Shopify Actions The agent performs essential e-commerce tasks: - Order tracking and shipping updates - Address modifications - Order cancellations - Item replacements (size, color changes) - Order tagging - Standard helpdesk functions (ticket assignment, private notes) Knowledge & Guidance Train the agent using your store's products, store pages, help articles, canned responses, saved training responses and custom guidances for specific support scenarios. Multi-Platform Support Deploy across email, live chat, direct messages, and social media comments. Common Questions How do I prevent hallucinations? The agent is programmed to handover tickets when uncertain about available knowledge or guidance. The most effective prevention method is rigorous testing in the Playground using your historical tickets. Users who thoroughly test against old tickets see the best results. Can I limit which tickets the agent handles? Yes. Configure the AI Agent to respond only to tickets with specific guidance in the settings. This approach helps you gradually adopt the technology while maintaining control over ticket handling. What model powers the agent? We use multiple providers with proprietary technology for testing, evaluation, and tool execution. Our agent reliably follows complex, multi-step processes without the $1-per-ticket costs charged by other platforms. How do I add custom documents to the knowledge base? Copy your documentation into help center articles and leave them in draft status. Control which articles the AI Agent accesses through Knowledge settings. Alternatively, use AI training responses in Knowledge settings to add question-and-answer pairs directly. PDF and spreadsheet uploads are not currently supported. Does the agent work with multiple stores? The AI Agent functions across all stores connected to your account, but shares knowledge between them. For separate brands, use distinct Commslayer accounts (easily switchable via the top-left dropdown menu). Can the agent process customer images? Yes! AI agent is able to access and analyze pictures sent by customers.

Last updated on Sep 01, 2025

How to setup the AI agent

Enable Shopify permissions If you installed Commslayer before August 2025, you must reauthorize your Shopify connection to grant order editing permissions. 1. Navigate to Settings → Shops 2. Click "Reauth" if displayed 3. Complete Shopify authentication and confirm updated permissions Customize agent settings Configure the AI agent's identity and behavior through basic customization options. Agent name Most brands include "AI agent" in the name (e.g., "Awesome Brand's AI agent"). Some merchants, particularly dropshippers, use human names without AI disclosure. Your choice. General rules (optional) Define behavioral guidelines for the AI agent. Only add rules after thorough playground testing and guidance configuration. Tone of voice (optional) Specify communication style per channel (friendly, formal, brief, Gen Z, emoji-free). The agent defaults to channel-appropriate helpful tones. Change only if dissatisfied with default behavior. Signature Set email and direct message signatures. Useful for AI disclosure to customers. Handover settings Configure whether the AI agent transfers uncertain conversations to unassigned queue or specific human agents. Set the fallback message sent during handovers. Enable the AI agent Access AI agent settings from the left menu to select active inboxes. Restrict to enabled intents Critical setting that appears after inbox selection: - Disabled: AI agent handles all inbox tickets using available knowledge and guidance - Enabled: AI agent only responds to tickets with matching guidance, regardless of other available knowledge This restriction helps gradual adoption by limiting responses to specific scenarios like order tracking or cancellation requests. Operational details - Response delays: The AI agent includes randomized response delays for email and social media comments to appear natural and prevent customer frustration with instant replies. - Assignment behavior: The AI agent is automatically assigned to new tickets. Removing it stops responses to that conversation. If initially disabled for a conversation, the agent won't respond to existing messages until new customer messages arrive.

Last updated on Aug 14, 2025

Training the AI agent

The AI agent needs relevant information about your store and support processes to respond accurately to customers. Two methods accomplish this: Knowledge is your information library from Shopify (products, site pages) and helpdesk (help articles, training responses, canned responses) that the AI agent accesses. Knowledge is dynamically provided based on how well information matches customer requests. Guidance consists of custom instructions you write in natural language—like explaining processes to a new teammate. Use guidance to define AI agent behavior and responses for specific shopper scenarios. For example, guidance tells the AI agent what to say and do when someone requests a return. Knowledge sources available to the AI agent The AI agent accesses multiple information types to handle customer queries effectively. View all available data by navigating to AI agent → Knowledge sources. Available knowledge sources: - Help articles: Help portal content from your help center - Canned responses: Response templates created by human agents - AI training responses: Saved responses from successful human-agent interactions. Manually add question-and-answer pairs through the Knowledge portal - Shopify products: Product catalog data from your connected Shopify store - Shopify website pages: Store website content and page information AI training responses Responses you can save from good human-agent interactions. These provide the AI agent with examples of how to handle various customer questions, improving its ability to respond effectively. How to add an AI training response You can find an "Add AI training response" button by hovering over any message sent by a human agent. It opens a popup where you can edit the response (automatically polished by AI) and save it to your knowledge library. In the playground, you'll see a "Revise answer" button when you hover over any message sent by the AI agent. You can give the AI the expected correct response and save it to the training responses. Guidance When the AI agent picks up a ticket, it considers guidance before any other knowledge source or action. While shoppers don't see guidance directly, it significantly shapes their experience with your store. Your guidance enables the AI agent to handle shopper inquiries consistently with your brand. Guidance provides specific instructions and actions for the AI agent when it recognizes customer requests or scenarios. Think of it as teaching the AI agent your support team's best practices—not giving it scripts to copy and paste. Writing effective guidance Guidance field Use specific, customer-focused scenarios that match how customers describe their issues: - Good: "Customer wants to return item after 30 days" - Good: "Customer received wrong size shoes" - Good: "Customer asking about shipping delay" - Poor: "Returns" or "Shipping" or "Order issues" Trigger field Add context and variations to help the AI agent recognize the scenario. Include alternative phrases customers might use: Example 1: "Customer received the wrong size, color, or style and wants to exchange or return. May say 'this is too small,' 'wrong color,' 'not what I ordered,' or 'doesn't match the photo.'" Example 2: "Customer's order is taking longer than expected to arrive. May ask 'where is my order,' 'when will it ship,' 'tracking shows no updates,' or 'it's been X days.'" Example 3: "Customer wants to cancel their order that hasn't shipped yet. May say 'cancel my order,' 'I don't want this anymore,' 'changed my mind,' or 'ordered by mistake.'" "Instructions" field ⚠️ Critical: Write instructions for the AI agent, not message templates The AI agent needs to know WHAT to do, not exactly what to say. It will craft appropriate responses based on your instructions and the specific context of each conversation. ❌ DON'T write templates for the AI to copy: Send to customer: "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Your refund will be processed within 3-5 business days." ✅ DO write clear instructions for the AI to follow: 1. Apologize for the inconvenience 2. Explain that refunds typically process within 3-5 business days 3. Confirm the refund amount 4. Add label: "refund-processing" Why this matters: When you provide templates, the AI agent sends the exact same message regardless of context. When you provide instructions, the AI agent adapts its response to match the customer's tone, address their specific concerns, and maintain a natural conversation flow. Structure your instructions with: 1. Conditional logic (IF/THEN statements) IF order was placed within 30 days, THEN: - Confirm eligibility for return - Provide return portal link - Explain next steps IF order was placed over 30 days ago, THEN: - Explain the 30-day policy - Check if exception applies (damaged item, etc.) - Escalate to human agent if needed 2. Clear action steps 1. Verify the customer has an order 2. Check order date against return policy 3. Request photos of damaged items (if applicable) 4. Explain available resolution options 5. Process according to policy guidelines 6. Add appropriate labels for tracking 3. Information to gather - Ask for order number if not provided - Request photos for damage claims - Confirm shipping address for replacements - Get specific item details if multiple items ordered 4. Policy context (not scripts) Instead of providing a full paragraph to copy, give the AI agent the key policy points: Damage policy key points: - Report within 7 days for fastest resolution - Replacements ship in 1-2 business days - Full refunds available as alternative - Damaged items don't need to be returned - We cover return shipping costs Common guidance mistakes to avoid: Mistake 1: Writing customer-facing messages - Wrong: "Tell them: 'Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate your business...'" - Right: "Thank the customer for their patience and express appreciation for their business" Mistake 2: Over-scripting responses - Wrong: "Respond with: 'I understand your frustration...'" - Right: "Acknowledge the customer's frustration" Mistake 3: Missing conditional logic - Wrong: "Offer free expedited shipping" - Right: "IF order hasn't shipped yet AND customer needs item within 5 days, THEN offer expedited shipping upgrade. IF already shipped, THEN provide tracking and expected delivery date" Mistake 4: Vague instructions - Wrong: "Handle appropriately" - Right: "1. Verify warranty status, 2. If under warranty, initiate replacement, 3. If expired, offer repair options" Testing and troubleshooting guidance Test guidance using the AI agent playground where you can impersonate a customer and their order history. Ensure guidance is enabled in the Guidance settings. Signs your guidance needs improvement: - AI responses sound robotic or identical across different conversations - The AI isn't adapting to customer tone or specific situations - Important context from the conversation is being ignored - The AI is sending overly formal or scripted-sounding messages Remember: The AI agent is designed to have natural conversations. Your guidance should empower it to use its conversational abilities while following your business rules—not restrict it to copying and pasting pre-written messages. Supported actions for AI agent The AI agent can perform specific actions when instructed in your guidance. You can refer to these actions using natural language—the AI understands variations of how you describe them. ⚠️ Important: Shopify order management actions must be enabled under AI agent → Actions in your settings before the AI can perform them. Available actions: Order management (requires enabling in AI agent settings): - Get latest order information for customers - Add tags to Shopify orders - Remove items from orders - Change shipping addresses - Cancel orders - Hold order fulfillment Conversation management (always available): - Mark conversations as resolved - Mute conversation notifications - Change conversation status (open, resolved, snoozed) - Set or clear conversation priority - Assign conversations to teams or agents - Escalate to human agents - Add private notes to conversations - Add labels to conversations How to reference actions in guidance: You don't need exact wording—write naturally and the AI will understand: - "Cancel the customer's order" → AI cancels order - "Assign this to the returns team" → AI assigns to returns team - "Add a note about the damaged packaging" → AI adds private note - "Tag the order as 'rush-delivery'" → AI adds tag to Shopify order - "Hand this over to a human" → AI escalates to agent Common action mistakes: - Wrong: "Create a discount code" (not a supported action) - Wrong: "Process a refund" (not a supported action) - Right: "Cancel the order and escalate to human agent for refund processing" If you instruct the AI to perform an unsupported action, it will either skip that step or escalate to a human agent instead.

Last updated on Sep 02, 2025

AI agent actions

The AI agent can automatically handle common customer requests by performing actions in Shopify and your helpdesk. This eliminates delays when customers need immediate changes to their orders, especially outside business hours when human agents aren't available. Actions resolve requests instantly without human intervention, improving customer satisfaction and reducing team workload on repetitive tasks. Using actions in guidance Once enabled, you can reference these actions in your guidance instructions. The AI agent will automatically execute actions when mentioned in the "How to respond" field. Example guidance using actions: Title: "Customer wants to cancel unfulfilled order" How to respond: 1. Check if the order is unfulfilled 2. If unfulfilled, apologize and explain we can cancel it 3. Cancel order 4. Confirm: "Your order has been cancelled and refunded. The refund will appear in your account within 5-7 business days" 5. Mark conversation as resolved Action references in guidance: - "Cancel order" → Executes cancel order action - "Hold order fulfillment" → Puts fulfillment on hold - "Remove [item name] from order" → Removes specified items - "Add order tag: [order tag name]" → Tags the order - "Change shipping address" → Updates delivery address - "Process full refund" → Issues complete refund - "Edit order items" → Modifies order contents The AI agent recognizes these action phrases and performs the corresponding Shopify operations automatically. No special syntax required - just mention the action naturally in your instructions. Available Shopify actions These Shopify actions are available for the AI agent: Change shipping address Updates the delivery address for a Shopify order to ensure shipment to the correct location. The agent will verify the new address with the customer before making the update. Hold order fulfillment Temporarily pauses the fulfillment process for a Shopify order. This is useful when you need to make changes, verify information, or resolve issues before shipping. The order remains in a pending state until the hold is released. Edit order items Replaces or swaps items in a Shopify order (e.g., different size/color). The agent will: ask which item to remove and what to add, check stock availability, restock removed items, and handle payment adjustments. For price increases, creates a handover to your team for additional payment. For decreases, automatically refunds the difference. Sends confirmation email with updated order details. Remove items from order Removes specific items from a Shopify order when customers change their mind about certain products. The agent will confirm which items to remove, restock them in Shopify, refund the amount for removed items, and send a confirmation email with the updated order details. Tag Shopify order Adds custom tags to a Shopify order for better organization, tracking, or internal notes. Tags can help categorize orders (e.g., "urgent", "gift", "review_needed") and improve workflow management. Cancel order Cancels an unfulfilled Shopify order completely. This action will cancel all unfulfilled items, stop any pending fulfillment processes, automatically restock all products, process a full refund, and send a confirmation email. If the order is already fulfilled/shipped, the agent will apologize and explain that cancellation is no longer possible. Issue full refund Processes a complete refund for all items in a Shopify order, returning the full payment amount to the customer. Use with strict guidance as this refunds the entire order value. Enabling and configuring actions Navigate to AI agent → Actions to enable Shopify actions for your AI agent. Each action can be individually enabled or disabled using the toggle switches. You can also edit the conditions that are checked before the AI agent runs each action by clicking the "Edit" button. Actions only execute when all specified conditions are met, ensuring safe and appropriate automation of your order management processes. Available conversation management actions Mark conversations as resolved Automatically closes tickets when issues are fully addressed and no further action is needed. Mute conversation notifications Disables alerts for specific conversations to reduce noise from automated or non-urgent tickets. Change conversation status Updates ticket status between open, resolved, and snoozed states based on current situation and next steps required. Set or clear conversation priority Adjusts ticket priority levels to ensure urgent issues receive appropriate attention from human agents. Assign conversations to teams or agents Routes tickets to specific team members or departments based on issue type and expertise required. Escalate to human agents Transfers complex or uncertain situations to human agents when the AI agent cannot provide adequate assistance. Add private notes to conversations Creates internal documentation about customer interactions, actions taken, or important context for human agents. Add labels to conversations Applies labels to tickets for better categorization, reporting, and workflow management. Setup requirements Shopify permissions If you installed Commslayer before August 2025, you must reauthorize your Shopify connection to grant order editing permissions. 1. Navigate to Settings → Shops 2. Click "Reauth" if displayed 3. Complete Shopify authentication and confirm updated permissions Enable actions Shopify actions must be manually enabled in the AI agent → Actions interface. Simply connecting your Shopify store to Commslayer is not sufficient. Each action requires individual activation using the toggle switches. You can also configure conditions that must be met before each action executes. The AI agent uses existing Shopify permissions to access customer data and modify orders once actions are enabled. Actions only execute when the AI agent has sufficient information and confidence to complete the request safely. Uncertain situations are escalated to human agents.

Last updated on Aug 15, 2025

Testing the AI agent

The playground lets you safely test your AI agent before deploying it with real customers. You can experiment with responses, test guidance, and ensure everything works correctly without affecting actual customer interactions. What is the playground? The playground is a simulation environment where you can chat with your AI agent using real customer data from your Shopify store. Test different scenarios, validate responses, and refine your AI agent's behavior before enabling it on live conversations. You can find the playground by navigating to AI agent → Playground or simply clicking the Test button on other AI agent pages, which opens the playground on the side of the page. Good to know: AI agent can't access real customers order data unless you a) simulate them or b) replay an existing conversation with the contact. Testing your AI agent Chat directly Type questions and messages to see how your AI agent responds. Test various customer scenarios and language patterns to ensure appropriate responses. Replay existing conversations Import previous customer interactions using the Test button found below any customer message in your conversation history. This lets you test how your AI agent would handle real-world scenarios with real order data from your actual support tickets. Select channel Choose which channel you want to simulate - email & DMs, chat, or social media comments. The AI agent will adapt its tone and response style according to the selected channel. Simulate customers Pick specific customers to simulate by searching their name or email address. This is useful for testing Shopify actions and order-related guidance, as you can select customers with recent orders to use their order data for testing. Simulated actions Actions in the playground are simulated only - no actual changes are made to Shopify orders or conversations. This allows safe testing of order modifications, refunds, and other actions without affecting real customer data. The AI agent will show you what actions it would perform, but your Shopify store and customer conversations remain unchanged. Managing AI knowledge If you notice issues like repetitive canned responses or inappropriate knowledge sources, visit the Knowledge page. You can exclude or edit problematic knowledge sources to help your AI agent respond more naturally and effectively. Regular testing in the playground helps identify knowledge gaps and ensures your AI agent provides consistent, accurate responses across all customer interactions.

Last updated on Sep 18, 2025

Enable AI Agent Without Blowing Up Your Support Inbox

Rushing to deploy AI agents across your entire support inbox is a recipe for disaster. Customers receive confusing responses, your team scrambles to fix issues, and trust in automation plummets. The solution? A careful, gradual approach that prioritizes testing and monitoring over speed. Start with min. 5-10 well-tested guidance scenarios and expand once you've verified that everything works as expected. Avoid letting the AI handle everything in your inbox from day one. New to AI agents? Read our Introduction to the AI agent guide first to understand the basics, including Knowledge sources, Guidance, and Shopify Actions. 1. Restrict Responses to Enabled Guidance Only Consider using the "Restrict to enabled intents" setting to control which requests your AI agent can respond to: When checked: The agent will only respond to requests that match your enabled guidance scenarios When unchecked: The agent may attempt to answer any incoming message using general knowledge. This can lead to unexpected or incorrect replies without proper context. ⚠️ Important: Minimum 5 guidance scenarios required When using "Restrict to enabled intents," you must have at least 5 enabled guidance scenarios for accurate matching. With fewer than 5 guidances, the AI agent may incorrectly match customer messages to unrelated scenarios, causing confusing or wrong responses. Why 5 minimum? The AI needs enough variety to distinguish between different types of requests. Too few options forces the system to make poor matches rather than correctly identifying unmatched requests. Getting started quickly: - Create 5-10 guidance scenarios before enabling restriction - Start with these common scenarios: - "Customer asking about order status" - "Customer wants to cancel their order" - "Customer received wrong item" - "Customer asking about return policy" - "Customer reporting damaged product" - Test each in the Playground first - Once these work reliably, enable "Restrict to enabled intents" Alternative approach: If you want to start with fewer guidances, leave "Restrict to enabled intents" unchecked initially. The AI will use general knowledge for unmatched requests while you gradually build up your guidance library. 2. Test Everything in the Playground First Before enabling any guidance scenario for live customer interactions, test it thoroughly using the AI agent → Playground. The Playground lets you safely simulate customer conversations using your actual Shopify customer data. You can: - Chat directly with your AI agent using different customer scenarios - Replay existing conversations from your ticket history to test real-world situations - Select specific customers to test order-related guidance with actual order data - Test Shopify Actions safely (simulated only - no real changes made) Testing checklist: - Test each guidance scenario with 5-10 real customer messages - Use the Replay feature on historical tickets for that scenario - Verify response accuracy, tone, and any automated actions - Check edge cases and unexpected customer phrasing - Use Revise answer feature to correct any poor responses Learn more: Read our detailed Playground guide for step-by-step testing instructions. Remember: The AI agent can only follow the guidance and knowledge you provide—it cannot guess what you want it to say. Start small with simple scenarios and monitor performance for at least 3-5 days before expanding to more complex use cases. Need help writing effective guidance? Check our Knowledge & Guidance guide for detailed examples and best practices. 3. Use Clear AI Agent Identification Configure your agent's name and signature to make it obvious that responses come from AI, not a human agent. Recommended format: - Name: "AI Assistant" or "[Your Company] Bot" - Signature: "This response was generated by AI. Need human help? Just ask!" This approach: - Sets proper customer expectations - Reduces confusion if the AI responds incorrectly - Encourages customers to request human assistance when needed - Builds trust through transparency 4. Disable Conflicting Automations Before enabling your AI agent, turn off these features to prevent message conflicts: - Business hours settings that send automated responses - "Send message" automations such as auto-replies These can trigger unnecessary messages and create confusing customer experiences when combined with AI agents. 5. Set Up Knowledge Sources Before going live, review the knowledge sources your AI agent has access to: Essential knowledge sources: - Help articles - Your help center content (can be kept in draft status) - Canned responses - Templates your human agents use - AI training responses - Saved examples of good human agent interactions - Shopify products - Your product catalog (automatically synced) - Shopify website pages - Store content and policies Knowledge management tips: - Review AI agent → Knowledge sources to see what's available - Exclude irrelevant or outdated content that might confuse responses - Add AI training responses for common scenarios not covered elsewhere - Keep help articles in draft if you only want the AI to access them Detailed setup: Our Knowledge & Guidance guide explains how to configure each knowledge source. 6. Configure Shopify Actions (If Needed) If your guidance scenarios involve order changes, enable the appropriate Shopify Actions: Popular starter actions: - Get latest order information - Add order tags - Change shipping addresses - Cancel unfulfilled orders Setup requirements: - Navigate to AI agent → Actions to enable specific actions - If you installed Commslayer before August 2025, reauthorize your Shopify connection - Each action requires individual activation and condition setup Important: Actions only execute when the AI agent is confident. Uncertain situations automatically escalate to human agents. Learn more: Read our Shopify Actions guide for complete setup instructions and available actions. Rollback Plan Have a clear process for quickly disabling the AI agent if issues arise: 1. Immediately disable problematic guidance scenarios in AI agent → Guidance 2. Notify your support team of any customer confusion 3. Review and adjust guidance instructions based on issues found 4. Re-test thoroughly in the Playground before re-enabling Good to Know - AI agents include natural response delays on emails and social media comments - Start with your highest-volume, lowest-complexity requests - Plan for a 2-4 week gradual rollout timeline - Keep your human agents informed about AI capabilities and limitations - The AI agent is programmed to hand over tickets when uncertain - this prevents hallucinations - Regular Playground testing helps identify knowledge gaps and improve responses Related Guides - Introduction to the AI agent - Complete overview of features and capabilities - Training the AI agent - How to train your AI agent with store information and custom instructions - AI agent actions- Automate order management with AI-powered actions - Testing the AI agent - Step-by-step testing and validation instructions Quick Start Checklist - Read the What is the AI Agent? overview guide - Enable "Restrict to enabled intents" setting - Write 1-3 guidance scenarios for your most common issues - Test each scenario thoroughly in the Playground - Configure clear AI agent name and signature - Set up relevant Knowledge sources - Enable Shopify Actions if your scenarios require order management - Disable conflicting business hours and auto-reply settings - Brief your support team on the rollout plan - Enable AI agent with limited guidance scenarios - Monitor performance for 3-5 days before expanding

Last updated on Sep 02, 2025

How to enable AI social media comment moderation

AI will automatically hide toxic or inappropriate comments like spam, profanity, negativity, complaints, and ads. You can review and unhide comments if needed. Steps to Enable: 1. Go to AI agent -> Social media moderation. 2. Toggle on "Auto-hide inappropriate comments". To review hidden comments, check the Hidden comments view in the sidebar.

Last updated on Aug 14, 2025