5 ways to use an AI shopping assistant to better serve customers during BFCM

AI shopping assistants are changing the way people shop during Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM). Over the past couple of years, Amazon rolled out Rufus, an AI shopping assistant for customers, and other large brands have followed suit.

Consumers are quickly adopting the technology, too: 78% have used AI shopping tools, according to Klaviyo’s 2025 AI consumer shopping survey. People want speed and value—and at no time is this more true than during BFCM.

To meet high-volume demand during BFCM, AI shopping assistants, or customer agents, can help busy marketing and customer service teams deliver quick, personalized service and shopping experiences.

K:AI Customer Agent was built to answer common questions, offer personalized recommendations, and even nudge people to complete a purchase after abandoning a cart—all important drivers of BFCM activity.

Here are a few ways you can use Customer Agent to improve the customer experience and keep up with demand, no matter how busy you get during BFCM.

1. Make personalized recommendations with an AI shopping assistant

The holiday season calls for all hands on deck. Both time and talent are limited as teams manage traffic spikes. Klaviyo’s 2024 BFCM data found that Klaviyo customers received 1.3 million orders in a single hour on Black Friday.

K:AI Customer Agent can help your team sell faster and smarter during the BFCM rush because it’s trained on your customer data and storefront. When your AI shopping assistant is plugged into customer data that reflects personal preferences, online behavior, and buying intent signals, you can avoid the generic interactions that have characterized AI chatbots in the past.

Let’s say a BFCM shopper comes across a social media campaign for an arts supply brand and decides to visit their ecommerce store. While searching for paints, brushes, and canvases, the shopper compares deals across multiple tabs. They zero in on a beginner painter’s bundle, but they need to make sure it’s age-appropriate for their 8-year-old niece.

Customer Agent delivers a precise answer and, within the brief exchange, learns that the shopper is buying a gift for a young artist. Just before check-out, the AI agent up-sells the customer on a deal for an easel—a must-have for newbies.

Here are just a few more examples of how Customer Agent can use your data to offer more informed, relevant recommendations that are more likely to increase revenue:

• Recommending products based on a specific query: When a shopper asks a specific question, Customer Agent can then send them product recommendations related to their question.
• Providing personal BFCM shopping assistance: BFCM incentivizes customers to search widely for the best deals. Conversational assistance such as product comparisons or sizing guidance can keep visitors engaged and ultimately close more sales by speeding up the consideration stage.

The bottom line: Personalized attention can make each shopper feel like they’re your only customer. AI shopping assistants that are trained on your customer and product data can provide more personalized, detailed product recommendations, which can increase revenue without human involvement.

2. Add Customer Agent to the channels where your customers already are

BFCM shoppers don’t stick to one channel—they move between your website, text messages, and inbox throughout their buying journey. By adding Customer Agent to each of these touchpoints, you can meet customers where they are, offer help in the moment, and keep conversations consistent across every channel.

Here’s how it can work:

• Web chat: A shopper browsing your site gets a product recommendation from Customer Agent. For example, they receive a recommendation for a pair of running shorts based on their past purchases or preferences. They add the item to their cart, but don’t check out. Instead of losing that interaction, the conversation data feeds into Klaviyo, ready to trigger the next step.
• SMS: Later, that same shopper receives an SMS abandoned cart flow. The message invites them to reply if they have questions about the product. They respond with: “What shorts are best for running marathons?” Customer Agent instantly provides a tailored, conversational answer, complete with a link to the right product. This time, they complete the purchase, no human agent needed.
• Email: After checkout, the shopper receives an order confirmation and later an email saying their package is out for delivery. When they reply to ask, “Where’s my order?” Customer Agent immediately retrieves tracking details and confirms the order is arriving today. The shopper gets peace of mind, and your support team never has to handle the repetitive inquiry.

The bottom line: By placing Customer Agent across web chat, SMS, and email, you create a connected, self-service experience that scales effortlessly during peak BFCM volume. It’s like extending your team’s capacity without hiring seasonal help—keeping your customers supported, engaged, and ready to buy again.

3. Nudge people toward completing their purchase with an AI shopping assistant

Slow response times are a top pain point during BFCM. Our AI consumer shopping survey found that 75% of consumers have abandoned an online purchase because they couldn’t find quick product answers. And according to the Baymard Institute, one of the reasons people abandon their carts is that the check-out process is too long or complicated.

During BFCM, when people are making quick decisions, a small nudge from a customer data-informed AI agent may be exactly what you need to have a better Q4 than you did last year.

K:AI Customer Agent can smooth out the check-out process by providing quick answers to common product questions, increasing the likelihood that someone will complete their purchase. Customer Agent keeps shoppers engaged and tackles conversion obstacles with:

• Real-time responses to frequent customer inquiries, such as sizing, shipping timelines, etc.
• “Add to cart” prompts within conversations
• Conversational help for customers who are browsing

When you upload brand-specific collateral (PDFs, documents, guides), Customer Agent learns from these materials to offer shoppers custom responses and recommendations. And as it chats with customers and learns more about them, it gets even better at offering personalized service.

The bottom line: During BFCM, when shoppers are pulled in all directions by attention-grabbing promotions from competitors, an AI shopping assistant can offer quick answers that lead to faster purchase decisions when there’s hesitation.

4. Manage orders with an AI shopping assistant so human agents don’t have to

BFCM means heavier support volume, which can strain your customer service team. The more you can take off your human agents’ plates, the better service you can provide. When your customer support team isn’t burdened by common order questions during BFCM, you can zero in on more strategic, meaningful tasks, such as personalized service for high-value customers.

“Since enabling K:AI Customer Agent, we’ve seen a dramatic reduction in support tickets—especially valuable heading into BFCM, when inquiries surge,” says Rachel Fagan, VP of marketing at natural fragrance brand Happy Wax.

“In the last 90 days, over 50% of conversations handled by Customer Agent were fully resolved without any service team involvement,” Fagan adds. “Customers get instant answers, and our team gains bandwidth for high-touch moments. That’s setting us up for success this BFCM.”

With Customer Agent, real-time order support isn’t limited to your team’s availability. Customers can consult the agent at any time to:

• View their latest shipping status. During BFCM, customers are juggling multiple orders across different brands. Customer Agent can provide real-time shipping updates to prevent customers from digging through their inbox for the latest update.
• Get quick answers about store policies. BFCM is all about gift giving, which means it’s important for people to be aware of your returns and exchange policies. Customer Agent can provide quick, concise answers about those policies to help customers understand a store’s policies.
• Handle the holiday support surge. During BFCM, support inboxes are flooded with questions like “Where’s my package?” or “It says delivered, but I don’t see it.” Customer Agent can instantly answer order-tracking questions, confirm delivery details, and even guide customers through next steps for damaged or misdelivered items.

The bottom line: By relieving your support team of common inquiries, an AI shopping assistant can give them more time to focus on serving frequent purchasers and high spenders.

5. Serve customers on their preferred channels during BFCM

During BFCM, people discover and shop with brands across different channels. They might see a product review on TikTok, browse an online store after getting a holiday email promo, or make a snap decision after receiving a last-chance reminder via text message.

That means brands need to meet customers where they’re at with omnichannel shopping assistance.

K:AI Customer Agent offers support via text messaging, email, web chat, RCS, and, coming soon, WhatsApp. This omnichannel support makes it possible for customers to access uninterrupted AI shopping service across their entire journey with your brand.

Of course, the holiday season is prone to logistical disruptions, meaning not all BFCM support requests are simple, straightforward inquiries. Complex issues such as changing a delivery address while an order is in transit often require deeper coordination. This is where human agents should step in.

When K:AI Customer Agent can’t resolve a question, it routes the conversation to an AI helpdesk for human intervention. This handoff includes full conversation context across all channels and relevant details such as customer data, order information, and service history.

That way, your human agents don’t waste valuable time digging for information, and your customers never have to repeat themselves.

The bottom line: During high-activity periods like BFCM, customer requests can easily fall through the cracks, especially when they’re active across multiple channels. When you offer AI shopping assistance that can easily escalate to a human agent across multiple channels, you’re creating a memorable experience that can lead to repeat revenue.

Go from conversations to conversions with K:AI Customer Agent

Grabbing consumer attention during BFCM is only the beginning. Stores need to offer quick access to answers, personalized product recommendations, and easy ways to manage orders without needing to contact a human agent.

With AI shopping assistants for ecommerce, slow responses, missing product information, and check-out friction no longer have to hold brands back. K:AI Customer Agent delivers fast answers when customers need them—and even encourages people toward a sale when they’re about to abandon a purchase.

This holiday

season, go into BFCM with a game plan to deliver faster customer service and drive repeat revenue into the new year.