It’s peak season. Ticket queues are spiking, response times are slipping, and manual returns are eating margins. The good news: you don’t need a months‑long CX transformation to stabilize support. In 72 hours, you can launch a tight set of AI agent automations that deflect WISMO tickets, accelerate refunds and exchanges, and protect AOV—without blowing up costs or control.

What you’ll deploy in 3 days

• 10 high‑impact automations that work with Shopify, WooCommerce, and common helpdesks.
• Guardrails that keep policy decisions consistent and safe.
• A simple scorecard to prove impact by the end of Week 1.

The 10 automations

1) WISMO deflection with live order status

Connect your agent to order data and carriers so it can answer “Where is my order?” instantly via chat, email, or WhatsApp. Show last scan, ETA, and a one‑tap notify me on delivery option. Target: 30–50% deflection on WISMO within 7 days.

2) Returns and refunds self‑serve (policy‑aware)

Let customers initiate RMAs, generate labels, and choose returnless refunds for low‑value items under thresholds. The agent enforces policy windows, item exclusions, and geography rules, then posts outcomes to your helpdesk and ERP.

3) Exchange instead of refund

When a return is eligible, the agent proposes size/color swaps and in‑stock alternatives, checking inventory and price differences. Offer instant store credit bonuses to nudge exchanges over refunds.

4) Shipping exception triage

For delays, lost, or damaged shipments, the agent opens a carrier ticket, sends proactive apologies, and applies goodwill credits under caps. Escalate to human if claim windows or value thresholds are exceeded.

5) Out‑of‑stock waitlist and back‑in‑stock concierge

Convert disappointment into intent. The agent captures size/color preferences, subscribes the customer, and pushes personalized restock alerts and alternatives.

6) Pre‑purchase FAQs that actually convert

Ground the agent on your product catalog, sizing, materials, and policy pages. Add Buy Now and Add to Cart actions directly in chat for decisive shoppers.

7) VIP and wholesale fast lane

Detect high‑value customers by tags or LTV; route them to a priority queue with a human‑in‑the‑loop. The agent drafts answers; humans hit send. Measure first response time and conversion lift on this segment.

8) Fraud checks before cancellations

Instead of canceling borderline orders, the agent requests alternate verification (e.g., address confirmation or different payment method) and holds stock for a short window. Recover legitimate revenue without manual back‑and‑forth.

9) Review requests and UGC harvesting

After delivery, the agent schedules a friendly review request and invites a short video or photo. It tags common themes (fit, quality, shipping) to feed merchandising and PDP copy.

10) Account deletion and privacy requests (fast & consistent)

Automate DSAR and deletion flows with confirmations and audit trails. You reduce backlog and meet compliance SLAs while keeping human oversight for edge cases.

Launch plan: 72 hours

Day 1 — Connect, ground, and guard

• Connect your store (Shopify/Woo) and helpdesk. Import policies (returns, warranty, price match) as a single source of truth.
• Ground the agent on FAQs, PDPs, and shipping pages. Add carrier API keys.
• Define red lines: refunds over $X, hazardous goods, international duties—must escalate.

Day 2 — Ship the big three

• WISMO status with proactive notifications.
• Policy‑aware returns and exchange offers.
• Shipping exception triage with goodwill credits under caps.

Day 3 — Tune and expand

• Add VIP routing, OOS waitlist, and post‑delivery review requests.
• Instrument analytics and start your weekly scorecard.
• Run guardrail tests and a quick eval sweep on critical flows.

Measure what matters

• Deflection rate (WISMO, FAQ)
• Median first response time (by channel)
• Refund cycle time (initiation → completion)
• Exchange rate (% of returns converted)
• CSAT and resolution time
• Cost per ticket and agent errors per 100 tickets

If you’re new to agent evaluation, start with scenario tests and trace grading. Our 7‑day blueprint shows how to establish reliable baselines: Agent Evals in 7 Days.

Safety, identity, and cost control

Support automations touch money, privacy, and brand. Put these guardrails in place from day one:

• Policy gates: Only allow refunds/exchanges under explicit thresholds; require human approval for exceptions. See Secure Desktop AI Agents.
• Agent identity: Register agents, issue credentials, and log actions so you always know which agent did what. Reference: Agent Identity in 2026.
• Control plane: Centralize policies, secrets, and telemetry across chat, email, and WhatsApp. Learn how in Agent Registries Are Here.
• FinOps: Cap tokens per conversation, cache frequent answers, and route simple queries to smaller models. Practical tactics: Agent FinOps: 18 Tactics.

Implementation notes (that save hours)

• Grounding first, generation second: Pull exact order data and policy snippets; then let the model generate human‑style responses.
• Deterministic templates for money moves: Refund approvals, RMA emails, and exchange quotes should use locked templates with variable slots.
• Proactive beats reactive: Push shipment updates and restock alerts. Every proactive message prevents a ticket.
• Escalation clarity: Define when to hand off, who owns it, and how the agent packages context for humans.

Get this live with HireNinja

If you’d rather not stitch this together solo, try a prebuilt Customer Support Ninja that ships the WISMO, returns/exchanges, and shipping‑exception flows out of the box. You can start free and add guardrails as you scale.

Try HireNinja — Free

Week‑1 scorecard (copy/paste)

Channel: Chat / Email / WhatsApp
Tickets per day: ____  Deflection: ____%
Median FRT: ____ min   CSAT: ____/5
Refund cycle time: ____ days  Exchange rate: ____%
Agent errors /100 tickets: ____   $/ticket: ____