What the agent handles
- Takes order status questions
- Explains returns and exchanges
- Answers sizing and product questions
- Emails return instructions
- Logs damaged or missing items
Retail
AI receptionist for online stores
Gives online shoppers a real voice on the phone for order status, returns, sizing and shipping questions, answered from the store's own policies.
CallerWhere is my order? The tracking hasn't moved in four days.
CallerI ordered a medium and it's way too small. How do I exchange it?
CallerDid my payment go through? I got an error but my card was charged.
Where calls go
Customer serviceShippingReturnsPayments
Warm transfer: When a customer has been charged twice or is disputing a payment, the agent warm-transfers to the payments team.
Why online stores miss calls, and what an AI receptionist changes
Most online stores in Canada are run by a handful of people, and the person who would answer the phone is also packing orders in a warehouse unit, replying to emails and fixing a product listing. Calls spike at the worst times: the week of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the days around the holiday shipping cut-off, and right after a launch or restock email goes out. Shoppers who can't reach anyone open a chargeback, leave a review, or abandon the cart they were about to buy.
A RealVoice AI receptionist gives an online store a real voice on the phone. It explains your return window, how exchanges work, who pays return shipping and how long refunds take to appear, all from your own policies. It answers sizing questions from your size chart, gives shipping times for each region of Canada, explains what a tracking status like "label created" usually means, and handles pre-order and restock questions from the dates you give it.
As part of setup, the team connects it to your store platform and carrier tracking, so a shopper who gives an order number and email hears the order status and the latest tracking scan, and can have the tracking number texted to them. It never issues refunds or approves exchanges itself. When a customer has been charged twice or is disputing a payment, it warm-transfers them to whoever handles payments, and if nobody can pick up, the details go out by text and email right away.
Example call, start to finish
- CallerHi, I ordered a medium hoodie from you and it's way too small. How do I exchange it for a large?
- AI receptionistSorry it didn't fit. Exchanges are free within thirty days, as long as the tags are on. I'll send your request to the returns team, and they'll email you a prepaid label. Can I have the order number and the email on the order?
- CallerIt's 10482, and the email is jen.boucher at gmail. But there's another thing. I tried to just order the large yesterday, it gave me an error, and now I've been charged twice.
- AI receptionistI understand why that's worrying. Mark handles charges and refunds, so I'll put you through to him now. One moment.
- AI receptionist(privately, to Mark) Jen Boucher, order 10482. Wants to exchange a medium hoodie for a large, and the returns request is in. She also says a reorder of the large yesterday gave an error and she's been charged twice. Connecting.
After the call: Mark takes the call knowing the order number and the double charge, and the returns team gets the exchange request by email with the order number and size. Anyone on the team can open the recording and summary of the call in the RealVoice portal later.
How it fits your day
- Black Friday to Cyber Monday
- Many calls are answered at the same time, so a sale doesn't bury your inbox in "I called and nobody answered" emails.
- Holiday shipping cut-off
- Callers hear your last order date for Christmas delivery to each region, and anyone whose parcel is late hears the latest carrier scan, with a note to customer service if it has stalled.
- Launch and restock days
- After a drop email goes out, sizing and restock questions are answered from your product notes while the team ships orders.
- Nights and weekends
- Shoppers browse late. Their questions get answered and their order problems become clean messages for Monday morning.
Your software
Today it answers from your store's policies, keeps every call, message and summary in the RealVoice portal, and texts each caller that their request was passed on. If your online store runs Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce or Lightspeed eCom, the team can set up a connection to it; custom integrations are quoted separately.
What a missed call costs
If your average order is around $85 and a good customer orders four or five times a year, one frustrated buyer who can't get through is worth several hundred dollars in sales over a couple of years. Add a chargeback fee when they dispute a charge they couldn't ask you about. Even a few missed calls a day during a sale week costs more than it looks. Run your own order value through the missed-call calculator on our homepage.
Questions online stores ask
Can it look up an order or tracking number?
Yes. Once your store and carrier tracking are connected during setup, it finds the order by number and email, reads back its status and where the parcel was last scanned, and texts the tracking number on request.
Does an online store even need someone answering the phone?
Many shoppers won't buy from a store they can't call, and a phone number customers can actually reach heads off chargebacks and bad reviews. The agent gives you that number without hiring someone to sit by it.
Can it process returns or refunds?
It explains your return and refund policy and sends each return or exchange request to your team with the order details. Approving and issuing refunds stays with you.
What does it do when a customer says they were charged twice?
It takes the order number and what happened, and warm-transfers the caller to your payments person with a private summary. If nobody's free, the details go out by text and email right away.
Can it help customers in Quebec in French?
Yes. It can take the call in French or English, and in many other languages, and it asks the caller before switching.
Will shoppers know they're talking to an AI?
It tells them if they ask. You choose its name, voice and greeting, so it sounds like your brand.
Hear it as your own online store's front desk
Request a free demo call and the agent will phone you, set up as a business like yours.