Customer support has a reputation for friction. Long waits. Repeated questions. Missed expectations. As Paxton Hansen, GM of Support and AI at Redo, put it, “the word support is a trigger for pain.” Customers want fast, helpful answers, and brands want to scale without bloated headcount. This conversation explores how Redo’s Support AI and the Redo Customer Record connect pre-purchase and post-purchase to deliver one-to-one experiences that lift retention and revenue.

“With a record, how do you make it so that it is completely cohesive? For the customer, it should not feel like they are getting different messaging.” — Paxton Hansen

Why speed and consistency now decide loyalty

Customer expectations are at all-time highs. Ninety percent of customers say an immediate response is important, and most define immediate as under 10 minutes. Slow replies directly erode conversions and loyalty. Help Scout

The stakes are bigger than a single ticket. Seventy percent of consumers will abandon a brand after just two negative experiences, and nearly a quarter leave after only one bad experience. In short, two misses can end a relationship. Emplifi

The support problem most teams feel

Paxton distilled the shared pain: customers dread support and brands view it as a cost center. That mindset leaves value on the table because support and sales are not as separate as they seem.

“The two times you actually talk to customers are marketing and support. It blurs the lines between support and sales.”

When support is slow or generic, customers drop out. When it is fast and personalized, it becomes a retention engine.

What Redo built to change the equation

1) AI-first, human-approved replies. In Redo’s helpdesk, suggested answers are pre-generated and tuned to the brand. Agents approve or edit instead of writing from scratch, which cuts time to first response while protecting voice and accuracy.

2) Real sentiment analysis and social listening. Every message is summarized with sentiment so teams can see if a customer is only “okay” or truly delighted, then tailor the next touch accordingly.

3) Transparent AI with clean handoff. Paxton recommends telling shoppers they are chatting with AI and always offering a one-click path to a human. The goal is simple: let AI resolve the routine questions instantly while humans focus on exceptions. That transparency consistently produces better outcomes.

“Hyper-transparency is key. Let customers self-select. Move resistant customers to a human quickly while AI handles the rest.”

4) Guardrails you can tune in minutes. Teams shape behavior with a lightweight knowledge base, explicit “do not” rules, tone controls, and an AI Monitoring view to like, dislike, and refine phrasing. The system self-critiques and surfaces suggestions when it sees agents repeatedly answering a question a certain way.

“Knowledge is your best lever for guardrails. For tone, make micro-adjustments in monitoring.”

5) Actions, not just answers. Redo is building native actions inside conversations. For example, conversational exchanges and returns inside chat and email are in beta. Instead of linking to a portal, the AI can guide a one-to-one flow and steer shoppers toward instant exchanges or store credit.

6) Personalization from the Redo Customer Record.This is Redo’s differentiator. Data from site browsing, returns, exchanges, support history, emails, and OMS flows into one record that powers every touch.

“We are building what we consider the Redo customer record. Unique data from all touchpoints and unique actions for each customer.”

Why order editing and post-purchase moments matter

Shoppers frequently notice errors right after checkout, like a wrong address or size. Redo’s roadmap includes order editing across the thank-you page, order tracking, and support, so shoppers can fix mistakes before fulfillment. Shopify is actively expanding the new Thank you and Order status pages using blocks and app pixels, which makes native post-purchase flows like order editing and exchanges far more flexible for merchants. Shopify Help Center

A BFCM checklist for support leaders

1) Hit immediate-response benchmarks. Set SLAs to acknowledge within minutes on live channels and within 10 minutes on messaging. The speed standard aligns with what customers call immediate. Help Scout

2) Use AI as your seasonal surge team. Automate high-volume intents such as where-is-my-order, sizing, returns eligibility, exchange creation, and discount policy. Brands that answer faster earn materially higher satisfaction and win more repeat purchases. Desk365

3) Keep tone on brand and escalate early. Publish crisp knowledge snippets for pricing, returns windows, warranty coverage, and holiday shipping cutoffs. Add explicit “never promise” rules. Route any frustration or policy exceptions to a human immediately.

4) Close the loop between support and marketing. Use support signals to suppress marketing to angry shoppers and to trigger win-back offers after resolution. A unified record prevents the faux pas of sending a promo to someone mid-complaint, which wastes the chance to turn a tense moment into a repeat purchase.

5) Make the post-purchase pages do more work.Expose order editing and exchange options on the thank-you and tracking pages. Shopify’s newest checkout extensibility and page blocks make this easier to implement without brittle scripts. Shopify Help Center

What results can merchants expect

Paxton and team see AI resolving a substantial share of tickets at a fraction of the cost of fully manual handling. Industry research backs the strategy: faster replies and first-touch acknowledgments improve satisfaction and loyalty, while two poor experiences put most customers on the path to churn. Desk365

“AI solves immediacy. Then we inject brand voice and context so it feels one-to-one, not generic. The goal is an AI managed by one person, with humans approving exceptions instead of creating every reply.”

How to roll this out in your stack

1. Start with the highest-volume intents. Feed policies and how-to steps into the knowledge base as atomic entries. Approve suggested replies for a week to teach tone.
   
2. Wire the Redo Customer Record. Connect support channels, returns, exchanges, OMS, and site behavior so the AI can personalize by history.
   
3. Turn on conversational actions. Pilot exchanges or order edits in chat and email, then expand to the thank-you and tracking pages with app blocks. Shopify Help Center
4. Measure sentiment and close feedback loops. Use sentiment dashboards to find near-misses and follow up with a make-good or tailored recommendation.
   

The bottom line

Support is no longer a cost you endure. With AI and a unified customer record, support becomes the most data-rich sales channel you have. It acknowledges instantly, speaks in your voice, performs high-value actions like exchanges and order edits, and hands off politely when nuance is needed. When that happens, shoppers feel known and cared for, and the outcomes show up in repeat purchase and LTV.

Explore Redo’s Support AI and platform at redo.com