Gorgias Chat: Native chat vs. 3rd-party AI chatbot

Customer expectations are higher than ever; based on a HubSpot study, 82% of consumers expect quick service and a personalized service experience. This is why online shops have been incorporating web chat or live chat. However, customers also expect immediate online responses and 24/7 availability. We can say for sure that poor response times reflect negatively, and that’s why e-commerce businesses are increasingly turning to automation tools like AI-powered support chatbots. The global chatbot market has increased to approximately $19.57 billion, compared to just $2.47 billion in 2021.

These tools offer:

• Instant replies to a question or comments
• Round-the-clock support, even outside business hours
• Lead qualification before service agent routing
• Scalable customer service without increasing headcounts - no need for a service department!

If you want to learn more about the full score, we have prepared a list of benefits and use-cases of chatbots for e-commerce that might help you!

We’ll look at chat options available in Gorgias and why AI-first might be the way to go. But let's talk Gorgias now - one of the most popular helpdesk platforms for e-commerce.

Chat options for Gorgias users:

Gorgias' native chat:

Gorgias' built-in chat widget covers all the basics, including fast load times, mobile optimization, simple automation features, and integration with ticket management tools. Some of its features include:

Live Chat Widget: The standard Gorgias option is a chat widget that is installed directly on your online store. This widget enables real-time, human-led conversations, allowing agents to provide quick answers, build relationships, and help drive conversions. It’s an excellent choice for stores focused on real-time, human-to-human conversations, where agents can provide in-depth support for complex issues.
Designed to be lightweight and fast, the Gorgias chat app is highly user-friendly for both customers and agents.

Service Automation Options: With Gorgias automate, you can improve your live chat with self-service options that let your customers track and manage their orders without any agent interaction.

Gorgias uses the following tools for some basic automations:

• Rules: Create customized workflows that automatically tag, assign, and respond to tickets based on specific triggers, boosting efficiency and ensuring no query slips through the cracks.
• Macros: Save time with templated answers to simple questions, providing faster resolutions while keeping communication consistent across channels.
• Ticket auto-assignment: Automatically assigning tickets to your support team members.

Order management: A self-service order management with end-to-end order tracking that allows your clients to independently track orders, report issues, cancel orders, or initiate order returns.

Multichannel Support: Manage conversations from social media messages, email, and SMS conversations all in one place, improving your team's ability to handle high ticket volumes and streamline your service workflow.

Analytics and Reporting: Track important metrics like ticket resolution time, CSAT scores, and active support conversations. Use insights to optimize your agent workflow and improve the overall customer experience.

Notification Triggers: Set up SMS notifications and email notifications for events like ticket updates, confirmation messages, order fulfillment services, shipment notifications, or pickup notifications.

3rd-party integrations:

Basic chat works well for simple support. But if you want self-service support, service automation, or smart features like automated FAQs or lead qualification, it’s time to add an AI chatbot.

This combo handles repetitive tickets, offers quicker responses, and lets your team focus on the things that actually need a human.

The truth is, there are so many options out there, and it can get overwhelming, so we narrowed it down to the best 5 AI chatbots to make it easier for you!

Why go external?

While Gorgias' native chat is great for the basics, you might start feeling some limitations if you’re handling high ticket volumes and customer conversations, or want faster service automation.

Here’s a quick comparison:

So, if you want an overall stronger customer experience, incorporating chatbots might be a better long-term move.

If you want to learn more about how to integrate a 3rd-party with Gorgias, we have created a step-by-step guide. Which you can use to get an idea for any app, and not just Amio!

When to integrate AI chatbots into Gorgias?

You might want to add AI chatbots if you're noticing any of these:

• High ticket volumes that overwhelm your team.
• Repetitive questions like "Where’s my order?" (WISMO tickets), or "How do I return this?" or follow-up questions.
• Scaling customer support quickly without hiring dozens of new customer support agents.
• Needing faster response times to improve customer experience and CSAT scores.

If any of that sounds familiar, it’s a sign that it's time for an AI-powered chat solution.

3rd party option in detail

Let's take Amio as an example and explain how the AI chat integration can actually help your shop:

A ChatGPT/AI-powered chatbot platform tailored for e-commerce. It offers multi-language support, omnichannel messaging, and different integrations.

A couple of advantages:

• Accessing order details for the checkout process, order tracking, and refunds.
• Integrating the product catalog for personalized product recommendations.
• Customizable chat widgets - will set your brand's tone of voice.
• Pre-defined answers with a natural communication style for common service interactions with full control over the replies.
• Uses the latest ChatGPT artificial intelligence to answer each query promptly.
• Real-time and top-down analytics give you a clear view of your chatbot’s overall impact, from big-picture performance to insights from individual conversion rates.
• Multichannel support based on your communication preferences for faster response times.
• Multilingual customer support for global e-commerce businesses.

Connection with Gorgias:

• Amio replaces the default Gorgias chat widget with its AI-powered widget. It connects directly to Gorgias, so live agents can still respond from within the Gorgias environment (no extra tools or training needed).

Pricing:

• Paid plans starting from 150€/month
• Request a demo, and/or start with a 14-day free trial.

While Gorgias’ pricing ranges from €105 to €185 per month, implementing an SMS or voice support will increase your costs. Likewise, if you want to automate your chat responses fully, you’ll need to purchase Gorgias Automate as an additional subscription.

Impact on your shop

Based on real results from users, incorporating AI chatbots into your Gorgias setup can help your business by:

• Accelerated response times: Chatbots can speed up response times by 3x, with the average time of response being less than 5 seconds.
• Improved conversion rates: 22% of Datart's requests were deflected to automated channels. This causes an increase in conversion rates, as customers receive quicker responses to their queries.
• Higher efficiency: Automated systems have led to a 90% reduction in ticket resolution time. (When you deflect those repetitive tasks, you allow for your support teams to increase productivity.)
• Revenue growth through automation: Brands like Europcar with an average automation level of 67%, can see up to a 10x boost in revenue during peak shopping periods.
• Operational cost savings: Footshop has achieved a 33% reduction in customer service operation costs by automating routine inquiries.

Conclusion

If your support team is small, overwhelmed, or you're scaling fast, relying on Gorgias’ native chat alone may start to hold you back. While it’s great for real-time human conversations, it lacks the automation and scalability an average e-commerce requires.

After all, the best setup isn’t either-or; the ideal solution is hybrid:

Gorgias + a 3rd party integration = Best of both worlds: human agents + automation solution.

Start small with a cost-effective option. Test the chatbot on high-volume questions. Measure CSAT, resolution time, and agent workload. Check if AI support makes sense; chances are, it will!

And feel free to get in touch, we'll be happy to help ✌️

‍