Every missed call or long hold time is a direct hit to your bottom line and your brand’s reputation.
You are managing a growing team, but the cost and complexity of scaling a 24/7 phone line feel like a never-ending battle.
You know that if your customers can't get an answer in seconds, they’ll find a competitor who will give them one.
This guide will go over the best AI phone support agents for eCommerce to help you automate 70% of your calls.
First, we break down the top six tools on the market.
Then, we show you exactly how to pick the one that fits your Shopify store.
Editor’s note: Want to hear some sample calls made for your Shopify store?
- Just paste your store URL
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- Listen to demo calls for my store
What is an AI phone support agent for e-commerce?
An AI phone support agent is a program that uses conversational AI to chat with customers on the phone.
Instead of just sending callers to different departments, it understands what the customer is saying and can have a real conversation to resolve their problem.
This technology differs from traditional "press 1 for sales, press 2 for support" systems.
These AI agents use natural language to determine what your customers need, no matter how they ask. They listen, think, and talk back.
Many advanced agents connect directly to your store's backend, like your Shopify admin.
This lets them do specific things like check an order status, help a customer with a return, or answer questions about a product.
Our criteria for choosing an AI phone support agent
To find the most suitable tools, we evaluated each platform based on what matters to an online brand.
- E-commerce focus and integrations: How well does it connect with platforms like Shopify? A good AI agent should be able to pull up order details, shipping info, and product data to give helpful and accurate answers.
- Speed and ease of setup: Can you get it up and running in a few minutes without needing a developer? The best tools are built for busy store owners who need a solution that just works.
- Automation effectiveness: What percentage of calls can it actually solve without needing to pass it to a human? A high resolution rate is a key factor for saving time and money.
- Control and safety: Can you customize the AI's personality to match your brand? And more importantly, what happens when it doesn't know the answer? It should be able to safely hand off the call to a person with all the right context.
- Pricing transparency: Is the pricing model clear and simple? Predictable monthly plans are often easier to budget for than complex, usage-based models that can lead to surprise bills.
A comparison of AI phone support agent platforms
Here’s a quick look at the platforms we reviewed to help you compare them at a glance.
A review of six AI phone support agent platforms
Now, let's get into a more detailed review of each platform to see what makes them tick.
1. Ringly.io
Ringly.io is an AI phone support agent made specifically for Shopify stores. Its AI, named Seth, is built to be a dedicated member of your support team, taking calls 24/7. Seth's main role is to answer common questions, find orders, and handle returns and exchanges.
It has been shown to resolve over 73% of calls without any human help.
- Pros: A key feature is its sharp focus on e-commerce, and the setup is designed to be quick, letting you go live in just a few minutes with no coding needed. Ringly.io also has a unique guarantee where you don't pay until Seth can resolve at least 60% of your first 100 calls, allowing businesses to test its effectiveness before committing.
- Cons: Its native integrations are built around Shopify, but it can connect to thousands of other apps through Zapier. It is a specialized tool for phone support, so if you want one platform for chat, email, and phone, you might need to pair it with something else.
- Pricing:
- Grow Plan: $349/month for 1,000 call minutes.
- Scale Plan: $1,099+/month for 3,000+ minutes and custom support.
2. Zendesk AI
Zendesk is a well-known name in customer service, and its AI agent is a big part of its platform. It’s made to work smoothly inside the Zendesk Suite, using your existing help articles to automate conversations.
With its voice features, it can provide automated phone support as part of a larger omnichannel setup.
- Pros: If your team is already on Zendesk, the integration is seamless. The AI can handle a high volume of interactions. It offers an enterprise-grade solution from an established provider.
- Cons: The tool is designed to work within the Zendesk ecosystem, which may be a consideration for businesses not already using it. The pricing model, which charges per automated resolution, can become difficult to predict for stores with fluctuating call volumes.
- Pricing:
- Suite Plans: Start at $55/agent/month (billed annually).
- AI Resolutions: Some plans come with a certain number of free resolutions, but the pay-as-you-go rate is $2.00 per resolution.
3. Intercom (Fin)
Intercom's AI agent, Fin, is a tool for automating support across chat, email, and phone.
It's known for having natural, back-and-forth conversations and can even perform actions in other systems. For e-commerce stores, it can do things like give order updates and process refunds.
- Pros: Fin is designed to provide a human-like conversation experience. It also provides no-code tools for setting your brand's tone, and its "Procedures" feature is useful for handling complex, multi-step jobs.
- Cons: Intercom is an omnichannel-first platform, which means phone support is just one piece of a much larger system. Fin Voice is currently limited to certain customers and requires a custom quote, making it less accessible for smaller stores that just need a phone solution.
- Pricing:
- The standard Fin AI Agent costs $0.99 per resolution on top of a base plan.
- Fin Voice is only available through a custom quote from their sales team.
4. Gorgias
Gorgias is a helpdesk created for e-commerce, with deep integrations for Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento.
Its AI features are designed to automate common retail questions on chat and email and can resolve up to 60% of inquiries.
- Pros: Its focus on e-commerce means it understands the context of orders, shipping, and returns better than generic tools. Gorgias is a platform used by over 15,000 brands.
- Cons: Gorgias is mainly a text-based helpdesk. While it has a "Gorgias Voice" feature to bring calls into the helpdesk, its core AI automation features are built for text channels, not for having independent, conversational phone calls like dedicated voice agents.
- Pricing:
- Plans are based on your monthly ticket volume.
- Features like the AI Agent and voice usually have additional usage-based fees.
5. Bland AI
Bland AI offers a conversational AI platform for developers. It’s not an out-of-the-box solution but a set of API tools that let you build your own custom voice agents for any purpose, whether it's support, sales, or something else.
- Pros: For teams with developers, it provides a high degree of flexibility and control. You can fine-tune the models, pick a unique voice, and build a truly custom AI agent for your exact needs.
- Cons: This is a developer-first platform. It requires coding and technical knowledge to set up, making it less suitable for most e-commerce teams looking for a simple, plug-and-play tool. The "build it yourself" model also means the time to value may be longer compared to out-of-the-box solutions.
- Pricing:
- Pricing is based on per-minute usage.
6. Ada
Ada is an enterprise-level automation platform that's used for building complex chatbot experiences with its no-code editor.
It's used by large companies to manage detailed workflows in over 50 languages and across multiple channels, including voice.
- Pros: The platform is designed for mapping out specific, multi-step conversational flows that connect to your internal systems. It also has strong security and compliance features that are a good fit for large organizations.
- Cons: Ada requires a dedicated team to build and manage its complex workflows. The pricing is only available by quote, which typically means it's aimed at enterprise clients, not small or medium-sized online stores.
- Pricing:
- Available only upon request through a custom quote designed for enterprise needs.
Three tips for choosing an AI phone support agent
Choosing the right agent involves focusing on a few key factors to ensure you get the most value. We've summarized the three most important considerations in this infographic:
1.
Opt for a specialized tool over a general one. An AI agent built for e-commerce already understands things like order numbers, SKUs, and return policies. A generic AI has to be taught everything from scratch, which takes more time and work. Look for tools with native Shopify integrations.
2.
Find a risk-free way to test it out. A key question with any AI is, "Will it actually work for my customers?" Platforms that offer a performance-based trial, like Ringly.io's guarantee to resolve 60% of calls before you pay, let you see its value without any upfront cost.
3.
Pick predictable pricing that grows with you. Per-resolution or per-ticket pricing can be difficult to manage and may lead to surprise bills, especially during busy times like Black Friday. A flat-rate monthly plan based on call volume is often easier to budget for and lets you scale without worrying about the cost of every call.
It's about augmenting your team, not replacing it
The right AI phone support agent should fit into your store's workflow, not make you change how you operate.
For many online stores, a specialized tool that understands the e-commerce industry and integrates smoothly with their platform can be an effective choice.
The idea isn't to replace your support team. It's about freeing them up from answering the same questions over and over. That way, they can spend their time on the more complex conversations that really build customer loyalty.
If you run a Shopify store and want to see how quickly you can automate your phone support, you might want to check out Ringly.io. The setup only takes a few minutes, and you can see how it works for your store risk-free.
Ready to put your phone support on autopilot? Start your free Ringly.io trial and see how Seth can help your store in minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What key features define the best AI phone support agent for ecommerce?
Effective agents have a deep integration with e-commerce platforms like Shopify, allowing them to access real-time order and product data. They should also have a high call resolution rate, a simple no-code setup, and transparent, predictable pricing.
How much technical skill is needed to set up an AI phone support agent?
Ideally, none. Many solutions, especially those built for store owners like Ringly.io, are designed for a plug-and-play setup. You should be able to get it running in minutes without writing any code or hiring a developer.
Will an AI phone support agent completely replace my human customer service team?
Not at all. The goal is to augment your team, not replace it. The AI handles common, repetitive questions (like "where is my order?"), which frees up your human agents to focus on more complex issues that require a personal touch.
What kind of pricing model is ideal when choosing an AI phone support agent for e-commerce?
While it depends on your call volume, many stores find flat-rate monthly plans easier to budget for. Pricing models based on per-resolution or per-minute usage can become unpredictable and expensive, especially during busy sales seasons.
Can an AI phone support agent understand my store's specific return policies and product details?
Yes, an effective agent should. Platforms designed for e-commerce can connect to your store's data and knowledge base. This allows them to learn your specific policies, product information, and FAQs to provide accurate answers to your customers.
How does an AI phone support agent know when to transfer a call to a person?
They have built-in safety features. If the AI doesn't know the answer to a question or senses the customer is getting frustrated, it's programmed to smoothly hand the call off to a human agent along with the context of the conversation.
