An overview of Gorgias AI guidance: A complete walkthrough for 2026

If you're running an ecommerce store, you know the support inbox never sleeps. Customers want answers, and they want them now. This is why AI has gone from a futuristic buzzword to a must-have tool for handling the constant stream of questions and freeing up your team for the trickier problems.

Gorgias is a big name in the ecommerce helpdesk world, especially for Shopify brands, and its AI Agent is a popular feature. But just flipping a switch on an AI isn't the whole story. You need to be in the driver's seat, teaching it your brand's voice and rules. That’s what Gorgias AI guidance is all about.

This article is your complete walkthrough of the Gorgias AI guidance feature. We’ll get into what it is, how to set it up, where it works best, and how to maximize its impact for your brand. By the end, you'll know exactly how to use it as a foundational part of your growing brand's support strategy.

What exactly is Gorgias AI guidance?

Think of Gorgias AI guidance as the playbook you give your AI Agent. It's a feature that lets you write custom, step-by-step instructions in plain English to tell your AI how to act in certain situations. When a customer ticket lands in your inbox, the AI Agent checks your Guidance first, before looking at your Help Center or anything else. This makes it the final word on how your bot should behave.

It’s all about making sure the AI plays by your rules. You can tell it precisely what to say when a customer asks for a return, complains about a shipping delay, or needs help with sizing. This keeps your automated replies on-brand and in line with your company policies.

You can create this playbook from scratch or use one of Gorgias’s templates for common ecommerce questions, like "Where Is My Order?" (WISMO) or return requests. For any brand that's intrigued by automation, this feature offers an impressive level of control.

How to set up and structure your Gorgias AI guidance

The idea of giving your AI a playbook is great, and Gorgias makes it easy to ensure your instructions are crystal clear. The AI is smart, and providing a structured format is the best way to get the results you want.

Getting the hang of the “when, if, then” framework

Gorgias built its Guidance feature on a simple but effective logic called the "When, If, Then" framework. It’s an intuitive way to lay out your instructions so the AI can follow them perfectly.

Here’s a simple breakdown:

• When: This is the trigger, the specific scenario. For example, "When a customer asks to return an item." This will also be the title of your Guidance, making it easy to find later.

• If: These are the conditions that tell the AI which direction to go. For instance, "If the order was placed less than 30 days ago." You can stack multiple "if" statements to handle different outcomes.

• Then: This is the action the AI takes if a condition is met. For example, "Then, send the customer a link to the returns portal and explain what to do next."

graph TD A[Start: Customer asks for a return] --> B{WHEN: Customer wants to return an item}; B --> C{IF: Order |Yes| D[THEN: Provide return portal link]; C -->|No| E{IF: Order > 30 days old?}; E -->|Yes| F[THEN: Politely inform return window is closed]; D --> G[End]; F --> G[End];

When you put it all together, a basic return Guidance might look like this: WHEN a customer wants to make a return:

• IF the order is less than 30 days old, THEN let them know they're eligible and give them the link to the return portal.

• IF the order is more than 30 days old, THEN politely tell them it's outside the return window.

Using variables and actions to make your guidance smarter

To handle real customer issues, your Guidance can be dynamic. Gorgias makes this possible with variables and actions.

Variables are placeholders for data from your Shopify store. You can drop things like "[Order Tags]", "[Fulfillment Status]", or "[Customer Tags]" right into your "if" statements. This lets you build personalized rules. For example, you could write a rule that says, "IF the "[Customer Tag]" is 'VIP', THEN offer them free expedited shipping on their next order."

Actions take things a step further by letting the AI perform tasks. You can embed commands like "[Use Action: Cancel Order in Shopify]" in your "then" statements. This turns your AI into a capable agent that can actually resolve issues directly.

Formatting tips for your Gorgias AI guidance

To keep everything running smoothly, it's a good idea to follow these best practices from Gorgias's own guides:

• Be descriptive with names: Name your Guidance something clear, like "Return Policy for Final Sale Items," to help your team manage them easily.

• Make it easy to scan: Use bullet points for lists and numbered steps for processes.

• Break up long text: If an instruction is detailed, split it into smaller, more manageable paragraphs.

• Get specific: Provide a clear process for the AI: "1. Acknowledge the customer's request. 2. Apologize for any inconvenience. 3. Provide the specific solution."

Common ways to use Gorgias AI guidance

The best part about Guidance is using it to automate the questions that frequently appear in your inbox. By letting the AI handle these, your team can focus on complex problem-solving.

Here are a few of the most popular ways people use it.

Automating "where is my order?" (WISMO) requests

WISMO tickets are common for any store. With Guidance, you can set up a flow that automatically checks an order's status. If the package has shipped, the AI provides the tracking number. If it's still being processed, it can give an estimated date. This effectively manages a massive chunk of your daily tickets.

Managing returns and exchanges

You can use Guidance to have your AI act as a helpful guide for returns. It can check the order date against your policy and send customers straight to your portal if they are eligible, ensuring a smooth and consistent experience.

Answering questions about products and sizing

Guidance also supports pre-purchase inquiries. For example, if a customer asks about sizing for a specific product, you can create Guidance that points them to the right chart and offers fit tips, helping drive conversions.

How much does Gorgias AI guidance cost?

Gorgias's pricing is designed to scale with your business. It is mostly based on the number of "billable tickets" you handle each month, with AI features integrated to add value.

This video provides a helpful walkthrough of how to configure the Gorgias AI Agent for your brand.

The AI Agent is available as an add-on or included in various plans. Gorgias typically uses a usage-based model for "automated interactions" or "resolved conversations." For instance, you might pay around $0.90 per resolution. This ensures you are paying for actual results and efficiency.

While costs can fluctuate during peak seasons like Black Friday, this model allows you to manage high volumes without needing to rapidly hire more human staff.

Plan	Base Price (Monthly)	Included Helpdesk Tickets	Cost per AI Resolution	Overage Fees
Basic	$60/mo	300	$0.90 (plus ticket cost)	$40 / 100 tickets
Pro	$360/mo	2,000	$0.90 (plus ticket cost)	$36 / 100 tickets
Advanced	$900/mo	5,000	$0.90 (plus ticket cost)	$36 / 100 tickets

This pricing is based on info available at the time of writing. For the latest details, you should always check the official Gorgias pricing page.

Considerations for scaling with Gorgias AI guidance

Gorgias AI guidance is a powerful feature for handling many core customer inquiries. As your brand grows and your needs become more specialized, you might consider these points for an optimized setup:

1. Managing complex workflows: The "When, If, Then" framework is excellent for clear rules. For extremely intricate, multi-layered scenarios, teams sometimes look to augment these rules with complementary tools to maintain a bird's-eye view of all interactions.

2. Expanding knowledge sources: Gorgias is highly optimized for your Help Center and Shopify data. If your team keeps extensive information in other locations like internal wikis in Confluence or Google Docs, you can use integrations from the Gorgias marketplace to help bridge these knowledge gaps.

3. Comprehensive testing: Gorgias provides a "Test Mode" for checking individual rules. For very high-volume stores, using additional simulation tools can provide even deeper insights into your automation rate before you go live.

4. Scalable pricing: The per-resolution model is designed to grow with you. As your volume increases, it can be helpful to track these costs to ensure they remain aligned with your support budget.

For teams that want to pull in even more knowledge sources or want extra confidence before launching at a massive scale, there are specialized options that work alongside Gorgias.

A powerful and flexible alternative: eesel AI

If you're looking to enhance your existing setup, you can give your helpdesk a major upgrade with eesel AI. It is designed to work as a complementary tool that plugs directly into Gorgias, making it even more capable.

Here’s how eesel AI can support your Gorgias setup:

• Go live in minutes with simulation: eesel AI lets you run simulations on thousands of your past tickets. This gives you a data-backed preview of your automation rate and shows you exactly how the AI will respond before it ever talks to a customer.

• Connect all your knowledge: eesel AI acts as a bridge between Gorgias and your other tools. It connects with over 100 tools, including Confluence, Google Docs, Notion, and Slack, ensuring your AI has all the info it needs.

• Deep customization: With eesel AI's prompt editor, you get fine-grained control to define the AI's persona and build custom actions that can perform tasks in any system via API.

• Predictable monthly pricing: eesel AI's pricing is based on a flat monthly fee. This makes it a great choice for brands that want predictable costs regardless of how many resolutions they achieve.

Feature	Gorgias AI guidance	eesel AI
Setup	Intuitive "When, If, Then" rule building.	Self-serve, go live in minutes.
Knowledge Sources	Optimized for Help Center & Shopify.	100+ integrations (Confluence, Google Docs, etc.).
Pre-Launch Testing	Integrated "Test Mode" for rules.	Simulation on thousands of historical tickets.
Customization	Strong control over specific scenarios.	Fully customizable workflow engine with API calls.
Pricing Model	Usage-based resolution fees.	Flat monthly fee for predictable budgeting.
Integration	Native to the Gorgias platform.	Works within your existing Gorgias helpdesk.

Take control of your AI support with Gorgias AI guidance

Gorgias AI guidance is a reliable and capable tool for any brand on the platform. It’s a fantastic way to begin your journey into support automation and provides the control needed to handle repetitive questions effectively.

As your business matures, you can build on this foundation by exploring the wider Gorgias ecosystem and complementary tools.

Specialized solutions like eesel AI are built to support this growth. By bringing all your knowledge together and working alongside Gorgias, eesel AI provides a flexible way to deliver high-quality automated support.

Ready to see how you can enhance your support automation? Start your free trial with eesel AI or book a demo to see our powerful simulation for yourself.