Inquiry Agent
Inquiry Agent
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Transforming E-Commerce Support with AI Operations Platform
Inquiry Agent is an AI-powered customer support operations platform that automates repetitive e-commerce inquiries while maintaining human oversight and control.
With Pendoah as its development partner, Inquiry Agent built a production-grade SaaS platform that integrates real-time email monitoring, commerce intelligence, and structured AI workflows, achieving:
of routine inquiries automated
email coverage tracking
live commerce data integration
SaaS architecture deployed
Market Context
The e-commerce customer support market is projected to reach $15 billion by 2028, yet most merchants struggle with high volumes of repetitive inquiries that overwhelm support teams and delay responses.
Industry data shows that 70% of customer support tickets are repetitive questions about order tracking, refunds, and subscription management. Support teams manually check Shopify orders, look up shipment tracking, and draft responses, leading to delayed communication and inconsistent customer experiences.
This gap between automation potential and manual operations presented a clear opportunity: build an AI-powered platform that handles routine inquiries with live commerce data while maintaining human oversight and governance. Inquiry Agent entered the market to meet that need, with Pendoah providing the technical architecture and SaaS platform execution.
The Challenge
E-commerce merchants face overwhelming volumes of repetitive customer inquiries, leading to delayed responses, inconsistent communication, and high agent workload.
- Manual checking of Shopify orders and shipment tracking for every inquiry
- Manual checking of Shopify orders and shipment tracking for every inquiry
- Inconsistent communication quality across support team members
- Inconsistent communication quality across support team members
The Vision
AI + Human Hybrid Operations
Automate routine inquiries while maintaining human oversight and control.
Live Commerce Intelligence
Integrate real-time Shopify and tracking data for accurate responses.
Enterprise-Grade Governance
AI guard rails, retry logic, and human feedback loops ensure reliability.
SaaS Marketplace Ready
Multi-tenant architecture with OAuth security and Shopify App Store integration.
Before & After
Before Inquiry Agent
- Manual handling of repetitive email inquiries
- Risk of missed emails and incomplete responses
- Inconsistent response quality across agents
- Fragmented tools across email, Shopify, and tracking
After Inquiry Agent
- AI resolves majority of routine inquiries automatically
- Full email coverage tracking with resolution status
- Structured, policy-aligned responses with live data
- Unified support operations platform with analytics
User Personas
E-Commerce Merchants
Need automated support to reduce workload and improve response times.
Support Agents
Required unified interface for AI assistance and manual ticket handling.
Store Managers
Wanted visibility into support performance and AI effectiveness metrics.
Platform Administrators
Needed multi-tenant management with role-based access and governance.
Implementation Journey
01
Discovery & Requirements Architecture
Analyzed e-commerce support workflows to define AI automation scope and integration needs.
02
Core Platform & Integrations
Built Gmail API, Shopify OAuth, 17Track integration with multi-tenant architecture.
03
AI Engine & Governance Layer
Developed intent detection, response generation, guard rails, and human feedback loops.
04
Analytics & Role Management
Implemented store analytics, agent performance tracking, and role-based access control.
05
Marketplace Readiness & Production Launch
Prepared Shopify App Store listing, OAuth flows, and production deployment infrastructure.
Design Principles
Human + AI Collaboration
AI automates routine tasks while humans retain control and oversight.
Data-Driven Accuracy
Live Shopify and tracking data ensure responses are factual and current.
Enterprise Reliability
Retry logic, guard rails, and safety layers prevent failures and errors.
Complete Coverage
Every email tracked with resolution status prevents missed inquiries.
Continuous Improvement
Human feedback loop enables controlled AI calibration and enhancement.
Features & Modules
Real-Time Email Monitoring
Gmail API integration with push notifications and thread continuity.
AI Intent & Response Engine
Detects intent, maintains context, generates policy-aligned responses.
Commerce Intelligence Layer
Shopify orders, 17Track shipments, and live status integration.
Hybrid Workflow Management
AI auto-replies, manual responses, and resolution status tracking.
Analytics & Performance Metrics
Store-level and platform-wide dashboards with AI effectiveness KPIs.
Multi-Tenant SaaS Platform
OAuth security, role-based access, and Shopify App Store integration.
Competitive Landscape
Option
Limitations
Why Inquiry Agent Wins
Manual Support
High workload, delayed responses, inconsistent quality
80%+ automation with maintained quality standards
Basic Chatbots
No commerce integration, generic responses, no oversight
Live Shopify and tracking data with human oversight
Help Desk Software
Ticketing only, no AI, manual data lookup required
AI-powered automation with integrated commerce data
Lessons & Future Roadmap
What Worked
Integrating live commerce data enabled accurate responses. Human-in-the-loop feedback provided continuous AI improvement without sacrificing control.
Challenge
Balancing automation speed with response accuracy required careful AI guard rail implementation and testing.
Improvement
Multi-layer validation and retry logic strengthened reliability and prevented incomplete or inaccurate responses.
Next Phase
- Expanded marketplace integration with additional e-commerce platforms beyond Shopify
- Advanced AI capabilities including sentiment analysis and predictive escalation
- Advanced AI capabilities including sentiment analysis and predictive escalation
- Enhanced analytics with customer satisfaction tracking and resolution time benchmarks
Conclusion
With Pendoah as its development partner, Inquiry Agent became a production-grade AI support operations platform that transforms e-commerce customer service, delivering measurable automation efficiency while maintaining human oversight, enterprise reliability, and data-driven accuracy.
For E-Commerce Businesses
Automate support while maintaining quality and control