AI Assistants
Customer support automation
Replies to common customer emails and texts from approved answers, and holds sensitive messages for a person.
The same support questions arrive again and again.
Common questions answered, requests triaged, and issues routed to the right person.
$750–$2,500 setup + $100–$300/mo Estimate
Assists your team; it does not replace people entirely.
Overview
How it works
The same support questions arrive every week. Where's my appointment? What areas do you serve? How do I reschedule? Customer support automation answers those emails and texts for you, in the same thread, using only the knowledge you've approved.
It also knows when to step back. Messages about refunds, complaints, contracts, invoices, pricing, or anything else you flag are held as drafts for a person to review. The customer gets a short note that someone from your team will reply personally, and you see the draft ready to edit and send.
Every message is logged and tied to the customer's record, so your team can see the full conversation in one place. Support automation assists your team. It handles the routine work so your people can focus on the conversations that need them.
What it looks like
A typical walkthrough
For example, here's a typical week of support for a landscaping company.
A routine email comes in
A customer emails asking which day the crew comes to their street. The system checks the message, writes a reply from the approved knowledge, and answers in the same email thread.
The message is tagged in Outlook
The original email stays unread in the shared inbox and gets a tag showing the AI replied, so the team still sees it.
A customer texts a question
Another customer texts the business number asking about fall cleanup. The system replies by text with the approved answer.
A complaint is held for a person
A customer writes about a billing mistake and asks for a refund. The word "refund" triggers escalation. The customer gets a short acknowledgment, and a draft reply waits in the dashboard for the owner.
The owner reviews and sends
The owner reads the draft, adjusts the wording, and sends the reply personally.
Newsletters and no-reply mail are skipped
A supplier newsletter and an automated shipping notice arrive. The system recognizes them and doesn't reply.
One sender writes again and again
A customer sends several emails in one afternoon. After the daily cap for that sender is reached, the system stops auto-replying and leaves the rest for the team.
Under the hood
How our system does it
Inbound email through Microsoft Graph
The system checks your Outlook inbox for unread mail on a regular schedule, using a secure app connection through Microsoft Graph. It replies inside the original thread and leaves the message unread so your team still sees it.
Inbound texts through Twilio
Texts to your business number arrive through Twilio. STOP, START, and HELP are handled before anything else, so opt-outs are honored right away and no AI reply goes to someone who opted out.
Automated mail is filtered out
Before replying, the system checks the sender and headers. No-reply addresses, bounce notices, auto-submitted messages, mailing lists, newsletters, your own domain, and already-tagged messages are skipped.
Escalation keywords hold a draft
You choose the words that need a person, such as refund, complaint, legal, cancel, invoice, or price. When a message contains one, the AI's draft is held in an approval queue instead of being sent, and the customer receives a short acknowledgment.
Per-sender daily caps
Each sender gets a limited number of automatic replies per day. Once the cap is reached, further messages are logged and left for your team, which prevents reply loops and keeps conversations human.
Replies come from approved knowledge
Claude, the AI model from Anthropic, writes each reply using only your approved knowledge. If a message needs pricing, a commitment, or a person, the reply says the team will respond personally.
Everything ties back to the customer record
Each inbound message is matched to an existing contact or creates a new one. Replies, acknowledgments, and held drafts are all logged in that customer's thread in your dashboard.
Clear tags in your inbox
Handled emails are tagged in Outlook as either replied by the AI or needing you, so anyone on the team can see what's been covered at a glance.
Works with
What it does
What it does
Replies to routine emails
Answers common questions in the same email thread, using your approved knowledge.
Replies to customer texts
Answers inbound texts on your business number, and honors STOP, START, and HELP first.
Holds sensitive messages
Keeps drafts for refunds, complaints, pricing, and other flagged topics in an approval queue.
Acknowledges held messages
Tells the customer a person will reply, so they aren't left waiting in silence.
Skips automated mail
Ignores newsletters, no-reply senders, bounces, and mailing lists.
Caps replies per sender
Limits automatic replies to each sender per day to prevent loops.
Tags your inbox
Marks each handled email so your team knows what's done and what needs them.
Logs every message
Keeps a full thread for each customer in your dashboard.
What it can do for you
Why it helps
Faster answers to routine questions
Customers get a reply to common questions without waiting for someone to free up.
More time for the hard conversations
Your team spends its time on complaints, decisions, and relationships, not repeat questions.
Nothing sensitive goes out unchecked
Messages about money, contracts, or complaints wait for a person.
One clear view of support
Tags and threads show what's handled and what's waiting.
What you control
Your rules, your approvals
- The escalation keywords that hold a message for a person
- Whether replies send automatically or every draft waits for approval
- The daily auto-reply cap for each sender
- Domains and senders the system skips
- The approved knowledge replies are built from
- Turning the inbox or text responder on or off at any time
Who it's for
Is this a good fit?
- Businesses that answer the same customer questions by email or text every week
- Small teams sharing one support inbox
- Owners who want sensitive messages to always reach a person
- Probably not the right fit if most of your support messages need case-by-case judgment or account changes
How we work
From first conversation to live
Discovery
We review the questions your customers send most, how your inbox is shared, and which topics must always go to a person.
Setup on your business profile
We build your approved answers, escalation keywords, caps, and skip lists into one business profile, and connect Outlook and your text number.
Test in safe mode
We run with every reply held for approval first, so you can see exactly what the system writes before anything sends.
Go live
When you're comfortable, we switch routine replies to automatic and keep escalations held for a person.
Ongoing review
We review replies and held drafts with you, update approved answers, and adjust keywords as patterns change.
Scope
What's included, and what isn't
Exactly what's included is confirmed in writing for each project.
Included
- Outlook inbox responder that replies in-thread
- Inbound text replies with STOP, START, and HELP handling
- Escalation keywords with an approval queue for drafts
- Customer acknowledgments for held messages
- Automated mail and newsletter filtering
- Per-sender daily reply caps
- Inbox tags and full conversation logs in your dashboard
- Testing in safe mode and ongoing review
Not included
- Microsoft 365, Twilio, and AI usage charges, which are billed by those providers
- Refunds, account changes, or other actions in your systems
- Staffing for escalated conversations
- Replies on topics outside your approved knowledge
What you'll provide
- Your common customer questions and approved answers
- Topics and words that must always reach a person
- Admin approval to connect your Microsoft 365 mailbox
- Your Twilio business number, or approval to set one up
- Who on your team reviews held drafts
Safeguards
Controls built in
- Replies come only from approved knowledge, and unknowns go to a person
- Escalation keywords hold drafts for human approval
- STOP is honored right away, and opted-out contacts get no further texts
- No replies to no-reply senders, newsletters, or mailing lists
- Per-sender caps prevent reply loops
- Original emails stay unread so your team still sees them
- You own your mailbox, phone number, and customer data
FAQ
Questions owners ask
Will customers know an AI replied?
Replies are clear and plain, and the system never pretends a person handled something they didn't. If a customer asks, they're told it's an automated assistant. Anything sensitive goes to a person.
What happens with complaints or refund requests?
They're held. The AI writes a draft, but it waits in your approval queue, and the customer receives a short note that a team member will reply personally.
Can I approve every reply before it sends?
Yes. You can keep all replies in the approval queue, or let routine replies send automatically while escalations wait for you.
Will it reply to newsletters or automated emails?
No. The system checks senders and headers and skips no-reply addresses, bounces, mailing lists, newsletters, and your own domain.
What if a customer emails ten times in an hour?
Each sender gets a limited number of automatic replies per day. After that, messages are logged and left for your team.
Does it work with my existing Outlook inbox?
Yes. It connects to Microsoft 365 through a secure app registration that your administrator approves, and replies inside your existing threads.
Put customer support automation to work
Tell us what you need. We reply with a few questions, and scope and price are confirmed in writing before any work starts.