Automating Customer Service with Gorgias: Complete Ecommerce Guide

96% of customers say customer service influences brand loyalty. But manually managing email, chat, social, and phone becomes unsustainable as you grow.

Gorgias is the helpdesk built for ecommerce. It's not a generic tool adapted — it's designed from day zero for Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce.

The result: 60% automation of first-level requests, more time for complex cases, happier customers.

This tutorial is part of the ecommerce tools topic cluster. Also read the 10 essential tools for full context.

Step 1 — Create account and install
• Go to gorgias.com and choose your plan (from €10/month for 50 tickets)
• Shopify: install from App Store, authorize access
• WooCommerce: install plugin, enter API key

Step 2 — Connect channels
• Email: connect your support@yourstore.com
• Chat: install the widget on your site (customizable colors)
• Social: connect Facebook Messenger and Instagram DM
• SMS: optional, via Klaviyo or Attentive integration

Step 3 — Configure views Create custom views for your team:
• "All open tickets" (default)
• "Needs response" (unassigned)
• "Urgent" (orders with shipping issues)
• "VIP" (customers with 3+ orders)

Macros are response templates with dynamic variables. The 10 essential macros:

1. Where's my order? "Hi {{ticket.customer.first_name}}! Your order #{{ticket.customer.integrations.shopify.last_order.name}} was shipped on {{ticket.customer.integrations.shopify.last_order.fulfillments.0.created_at}} via {{ticket.customer.integrations.shopify.last_order.fulfillments.0.tracking_company}}. Tracking: {{ticket.customer.integrations.shopify.last_order.fulfillments.0.tracking_url}}"

2. Return policy "We accept returns within 30 days. Here's how: [link to returns portal]. Refund arrives in 5-7 business days."

3. Out of stock "{{ticket.customer.first_name}}, this product is temporarily out of stock. Want to be notified when it's back? I'll add you to the waitlist."

4. Size/color exchange 5. First order discount (for chat leads) 6. Payment issue 7. Cancellation confirmation 8. Invoice request 9. Negative feedback (escalation to manager) 10. Thank you post-resolution

Pro tip: every macro should sound human. Add emojis sparingly and create 2-3 variations for frequently used macros.

Rules automate actions based on conditions. The most powerful:

Auto-reply "Where's my order"
• Condition: message contains "where", "tracking", "shipping", "delivery"
• Action: send macro #1 automatically
• Result: 30% of tickets resolved without human intervention

Automatic tagging
• Condition: message contains "return" or "refund"
• Action: add "returns" tag, assign to returns team
• Result: intelligent ticket routing

VIP priority
• Condition: customer with 3+ orders OR lifetime value > €500
• Action: high priority, "VIP" tag
• Result: best customers get response in < 1 hour

Sentiment detection
• Condition: message tone = negative (Gorgias AI detects this)
• Action: urgent priority, notify team leader
• Result: intervene before the customer leaves a negative review

Auto-close
• Condition: ticket without customer reply for 5 days
• Action: send "All resolved?" message and close after 2 days
• Result: clean inbox, accurate metrics

First Response Time (FRT)
• Target: < 2 hours (business hours)
• Top performers respond in < 30 minutes
• Gorgias shows FRT per agent and per channel

Resolution Time
• Target: < 24 hours for standard tickets
• < 4 hours for urgent tickets
• Measure time from open to close

CSAT (Customer Satisfaction)
• Target: > 4.5/5
• Gorgias sends automatic post-resolution surveys
• Analyze trends: if it drops, something's wrong

Ticket per order
• Target: < 0.5 (less than 1 ticket per 2 orders)
• If high, the problem isn't support but product/logistics

Automation rate
• Target: 40-60%
• Percentage of tickets resolved without human intervention
• Increase gradually by adding rules and macros

Customer service isn't a cost — it's an investment in retention. Every well-resolved ticket is a returning customer.

Have a customer service problem you can't solve? Post it on Buildtheproblem.