AI Agent for Shopify support
An AI customer service agent for Shopify that knows when to step aside
Where is my order, which size should I take, is it back in stock: the Hushdesk AI agent answers the questions your team types every day, from your own orders, macros and help articles. Anything it cannot check, and anyone who is upset, goes to a person with a draft already written.
- Off until you switch it on
- Copilot first, Autopilot when you trust it
- Email, live chat and contact form
- Every decision logged with a reason
How it decides
What happens to one customer message
Follow a single message from the moment it arrives to the moment it is answered or handed over. Five checks, in this order, every time.
Step 1: It reads the message and works out the topic
The AI agent picks up every new customer message on the channels you switched on: email, live chat or your contact form. First it checks the conversation is still its business. Closed and spam tickets are ignored, and if a teammate replied in the last two hours it stays out of the way. Then it reads the topic from the customer’s own words, using fourteen e-commerce topics such as order status, sizing advice, delivery delay, damaged item and return or refund.
A teammate is on it: skipped and logged
Step 2: It writes from what your store already knows
The reply is drafted from the whole conversation, the Shopify order the ticket is about (or the customer’s latest orders), the macros that fit the question and your matching help articles, in the tone and with the house rules you set. Then Hushdesk compares every link, order number, amount and code in that reply with the same data. If the AI wrote something your store never told it, such as a discount code, the check catches it.
Something it cannot match: handed to a person
Step 3: It checks how the customer feels
Some messages should never get an automatic answer, however simple the question. Words like unacceptable, scam, chargeback, lawyer or dispute, or an angry tone, mark the customer as upset. The AI still prepares a draft, because a good starting point saves your team time, but it posts it as an internal note with the reason and adds your hand-off tag, so the right person picks it up.
Upset customer: always a person
Step 4: It sends, waits, or hands over
In Copilot every draft becomes an internal note and a teammate decides. In Autopilot a reply goes out only when the topic is one you allowed, the customer is calm, the AI is at least as sure as your threshold (85% unless you change it), nothing needed checking and today’s cap has room. Even then the reply waits in an undo window first, and a new message from the customer replaces it with a fresh answer.
All clear: sends after the undo window
Step 5: It writes down what it did and why
Every run lands on the AI Agent activity page: answered, sending, drafted, handed over, skipped, cancelled or failed, with the topic, how sure it was and the reason in plain words. Replies still in their undo window show a countdown and a Cancel button. After a week of reading this page you know which topics are safe to hand over and which ones still need a person.
Every decision on the record
Order #1042 · $94.00Two modes
Copilot vs Autopilot: AI drafts or AI replies
Most stores start in Copilot, read a week of drafts, then move the topics they trust to Autopilot. You can switch back at any time, and the setting applies to the whole workspace.
| Question | Copilot | Autopilot |
|---|---|---|
| Who sends the reply | A teammate, after reading the draft | The AI, for the topics you allow |
| Where the draft goes | An internal note on the ticket | To the customer, after the undo window |
| Topics it covers | Every topic gets a draft note | Ticked topics are answered; the rest get a draft note |
| Upset customers | Draft note; a person replies | Never answered automatically; hand-off tag added |
| Daily cap and undo window | Not needed: nothing is sent | Both apply to every automatic reply |
| Best for | Your first week, and topics where wording matters | Repeat questions you have checked, like where is my order |
Swipe the table sideways to compare.
Guardrails
What the AI agent will never do
An AI customer service agent is only useful if you can predict it. These limits are not prompts that the model may or may not follow: they are checks in Hushdesk that run on every reply before anything reaches a customer.
Invent a fact
A link, order number, amount or code that is not in your data stops an automatic send.
Answer an upset customer
Anger, legal words or a chargeback threat go to a person, every time.
Wander off topic
Topics you have not ticked get a draft note, not an automatic reply.
Guess
Below your confidence threshold it hands over instead of sending.
Talk over your team
If a teammate replied in the last two hours, it stays out of the conversation.
Run up a tally
The daily cap stops automatic replies at the number you choose.
Rush a reply
Every automatic reply waits in your undo window unless you choose to send at once.
Work where you said no
Channels you switched off are left entirely to your team.
Your controls
AI agent settings, in plain words
Everything the AI agent does is set on one page by an admin. It answers from the Shopify data that the Shopify integration brings into each ticket, and from the saved replies you keep in macros.
- Channels
- Email, live chat and contact form. Email and chat are on by default.
- Topics on Autopilot
- Default: order status, sizing advice, product questions, and stock and restock.
- Confidence threshold
- From 50% to 99%. The default is 85%.
- Daily cap
- From 1 to 2,000 automatic replies a day, counted from midnight UTC. The default is 100.
- Undo window
- Send at once, 30 seconds, or 1, 2 or 5 minutes. The default is 1 minute.
- Tone and sign-off
- Warm, professional or playful, signed the way you like, or not at all.
- House rules
- Up to 2,000 characters in plain words, such as “never promise a delivery date”.
- Hand-off tag
- Added when Autopilot holds back. The default is “AI - Needs agent”.
Getting started
A calm first week with your AI agent
Day 1
Switch it on in Copilot
Connect your store and an AI provider, pick the channels and leave the mode on Copilot. Nothing reaches customers yet. The how it works guide covers the install.
Days 2 to 7
Read the drafts and the log
“Use this draft” moves a good note into the reply box to edit and send. The activity page shows which topics come up most and why anything was held back.
After a week
Move trusted topics to Autopilot
Start with order status, the question behind most tickets (see where is my order). Keep refunds and complaints with people.
The AI Agent and AI drafts are included on every plan, Free included; see pricing for what each plan adds, or browse the integrations that feed it data.
FAQ
AI agent for Shopify support: questions and answers
What is an AI agent for customer support?
An AI agent for customer support is software that reads a customer’s message and answers it, or prepares an answer for a person. In Hushdesk it writes from your Shopify orders, macros and help articles, then either drafts the reply for your team or sends it for the topics you allow.
How does the Hushdesk AI agent decide whether to send a reply?
It sends only when every check passes: Autopilot is on, the topic is one you allowed, the customer is calm, its confidence meets your threshold, nothing in the reply is missing from your data and the daily cap has room. If any check fails, the draft goes to your team as an internal note.
What is the difference between Copilot and Autopilot?
In Copilot the AI never sends anything: it posts each draft as an internal note and a teammate decides. In Autopilot it replies by itself for the topics you tick, after an undo window, and hands everything else to a person with the draft and the reason attached.
Can an AI agent make up a discount code or tracking number?
Not in a reply that Hushdesk sends automatically. Before sending, it checks every link, order number, amount and code in the reply against your store data. If one is missing from that data, Autopilot hands the ticket to a person and the note lists exactly what needs checking.
Which customer questions can the AI agent answer on its own?
Only the topics you tick. The defaults are order status, sizing advice, product questions, and stock and restock. It also recognises delivery delays, damaged or wrong items, returns and refunds, cancellations, address changes and discount codes; those stay with your team unless you allow them.
What does the AI agent do when a customer is angry?
It does not answer them. Words such as unacceptable, scam, chargeback, lawyer or dispute, or an angry tone, mark the message as upset. The ticket gets your hand-off tag and an internal note with the AI’s draft and the reason, so a person can reply quickly and personally.
Can I stop an automatic reply before the customer sees it?
Yes. Each automatic reply waits in an undo window you choose: send at once, 30 seconds, or 1, 2 or 5 minutes. During that time you can cancel it from the AI activity page, and a new message from the customer replaces it with a fresh answer.
Does the AI agent reply when a teammate is already handling the ticket?
No. If a teammate replied to the conversation in the last two hours, the AI agent leaves it alone and logs the run as skipped. It also ignores closed, spam and deleted conversations, and any channel you have not switched on for it.
Which channels does the Hushdesk AI agent work on?
Email, live chat and your contact form. You choose the channels in the AI Agent settings, and email and chat are on by default. Messages on a channel you leave off reach your team in the inbox as usual, with no AI involvement.
How do I limit how many replies the AI agent sends?
Set a daily cap between 1 and 2,000 automatic replies; the default is 100 and the count starts again at midnight UTC. When the cap is reached the AI keeps drafting but stops sending, and each draft goes to your team as an internal note with the reason.
Can I change how the AI agent sounds?
Yes. Pick a warm, professional or playful tone, add a sign-off such as your team’s name, and write house rules in plain words, up to 2,000 characters, like “UK returns are free”. The AI follows them in every reply it drafts or sends.
Is the AI agent switched on as soon as I install Hushdesk?
No. It is off until an admin switches it on, and it needs an AI provider connected first. Even then it starts in Copilot, where nothing reaches a customer until a person reads the draft and presses send. You can switch back to Copilot at any time.
Let the AI take the routine, at your pace
Start in Copilot on the Free plan. Unlimited seats, no card needed, and nothing sent until you say so.
