You already know AI can reduce ticket volume, but what if it could also increase your revenue?

For e-commerce brands, support isn’t just about resolving issues anymore. It’s an overlooked, under-leveraged sales channel. Every time a customer asks a question like:

• "Will this fit me?"

• "Do you have this in another color?"

• "Is this back in stock soon?"

—they’re revealing buying intent.  What if your AI agents could also spot buying intent, recommend products, and even recover abandoned sales—all while sounding helpful, not pushy?

In this post, we’ll show you how AI can transform support from a cost center into a revenue-driving machine—and how Fini makes that happen out of the box.

Support Is the Most Overlooked Sales Channel

E-commerce support has traditionally focused on problem-solving: tracking shipments, managing returns, or answering product FAQs. But increasingly, brands are realizing that many of their inbound support chats happen before the sale.

Every day, your support team gets messages like:

• “Is this available in medium?”

• “What’s the difference between these two?”

• “Do you offer free shipping?”

• “Is this coming back in stock?”

These aren’t just questions—they’re buying signals. And if you respond quickly and helpfully, the user is far more likely to convert.

In fact, according to Gorgias, 70% of pre-checkout questions relate to product details, sizing, or availability—all things that block purchases. With AI, you can respond instantly, 24/7, without hiring more agents. And if done right, these interactions don’t just deflect tickets—they drive revenue. (source)

How AI Turns Support Into Sales

AI doesn’t just answer questions—it can guide users toward a purchase decision in real time. Here’s how:

1. Intent Recognition

AI agents classify incoming messages as pre-sale (buying intent) or post-sale (support-related).

“Do you have this in another color?” → Buying intent detected.

2. Product Surfacing

By integrating with your catalog and inventory system, AI can:

• Show what’s in stock

• Suggest similar alternatives

• Highlight limited quantities
  
  
  

3. Personalization

Fini’s AI can tap into customer behavior—like cart contents or past orders—to make tailored suggestions:

“You bought this hoodie last month—this new color just dropped.”

4. Promo Awareness

It can nudge users with contextual offers:

“Add $10 to your cart to unlock free shipping”
“That item qualifies for 15% off with this code!”

These aren’t generic messages—they’re smart, real-time nudges that feel like helpful guidance, not a sales pitch.

3 Common Sales Moments AI Can Capture

Let’s break down the most common revenue opportunities hiding in your support inbox:

💬 1. Product Comparison Questions

“What’s the difference between these two sneakers?”

Customers often use support chat to help them choose between two or more similar items. A good AI agent can immediately surface key differentiators (e.g., fit, fabric, reviews) and suggest a recommended option based on what’s in stock.

🔄 2. Out-of-Stock Alternatives

“When will this be back?”

 Instead of ending the conversation, AI suggests similar products that match size, color, or price—and can even enroll the user in a restock alert.

🚚 3. Discount or Shipping Nudges

“Do you have any promos?”

 If a customer asks about discounts or if they’re close to a shipping threshold, AI can dynamically recommend a low-cost add-on, or automatically surface available discounts to increase conversion. Together, these moments create a flow that feels natural, helpful, and conversion-focused.

How to Design AI Flows That Sell (Without Feeling Pushy)

Support-driven selling should feel like good service, not a pop-up ad. Here’s how to make it seamless:

• Use data: Train the AI on product metadata, promotions, and customer profiles.

• Get the tone right: Use soft-sell language like "You might also like" instead of "You should buy."

• Add logic for escalation: If a customer seems unsure or frustrated, route to a human.

Bonus: AI can even follow up with cart recovery nudges or product restock alerts, automatically.

Building the Right Stack

To power this, your AI agent should be integrated with:

• Your product catalog and inventory system

• Your CRM or customer data platform

• Promotion rules and discount logic

When these systems connect, AI can provide relevant, real-time answers that directly support conversion.

What This Looks Like in Practice

A strong example of support-led selling in action comes from the brand Princess Polly, a fashion-forward DTC retailer. By integrating AI-powered chat and email automation using Gorgias, they empowered their support agents—and bots—to resolve questions and boost sales at the same time.

Princess Polly trained their support flows to:

• Recommend products based on user behavior and current promotions

• Surface sizing guides and back-in-stock alerts automatically

• Proactively apply discounts during chat when a promo code was eligible

Results:

• Customer satisfaction scores jumped to 4.7/5

• 15% of support interactions led to a purchase

• Their support team became a net contributor to monthly revenue

Full case study via Gorgias →

Conclusion

Support is no longer a cost center—it’s a growth lever. When designed intentionally, AI agents can deliver value to your users and your bottom line.

Ready to turn your support tickets into revenue?