Case study · Shopify app · AI

Support Hero: an AI helpdesk built for Shopify.

Support Hero is an AI helpdesk for Shopify merchants. It brings Gmail and custom email accounts into one ticketing inbox, learns the merchant's own support rules from a knowledge base, and either drafts replies for review or resolves repetitive tickets on its own. We built the app through to its Shopify App Store launch.

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Languages
6
Core screens
3
App Store launch
2026

Live storefront · scrolling top to bottom

01 / PROJECT DETAILS

The project at a glance.

Support Hero is a Shopify app that automates customer service and ticketing with AI.

apps.shopify.com (opens in a new tab)
Client
Support Hero
Industry
AI and automation
Region
United States
Platform
Shopify App Store
Engagement
Product build through App Store launch
Timeline
2025–2026

What we delivered

  • Shopify app development
  • AI reply drafting
  • Unified inbox
  • Knowledge base
  • App Store launch

02 / THE PROBLEM

Support spread across inboxes, answered without the order in front of you.

A Shopify merchant's support usually lives in several email accounts, and whoever answers has to look up the order in another tab. Generic AI tools can write a polite reply but do not know the shop's policies or the customer's order. The app had to bring the mail into one place, answer the way this merchant would, and know the facts of the order.

Mail in several places

Gmail and custom email accounts had to arrive in one ticketing inbox.

Every shop has its own rules

An AI that does not know the returns policy gives answers the merchant then has to correct.

Answers need order context

Returns and refunds cannot be handled without the real order and product details.

The same tickets, every day

Repetitive questions take up time that could be automated safely.

03 / THE SOLUTION

One inbox, trained on the merchant's own rules.

Support Hero consolidates Gmail and custom email accounts into a Shopify-native ticketing inbox. The merchant teaches it their standard procedures through a knowledge base. Live shop integration gives the AI the real order and product details, so it can handle returns and partial refunds. It then either drafts a reply for review or resolves repetitive tickets unattended in Autopilot mode.

  • A unified inbox

    Several Gmail and custom email accounts managed as one ticket queue inside Shopify.

  • Knowledge base training

    The AI follows the merchant's own support guidelines instead of generic answers.

  • Live shop data

    Order and product details are pulled in real time for each ticket.

  • Autopilot mode

    Repetitive tickets are resolved by rules the merchant sets, without waiting for a person.

Desktop and mobile · the same build

04 / STRATEGY

Let the merchant decide how much the AI does alone.

Four decisions shaped the build.

  1. 01

    Draft first, automate second

    A merchant can review AI replies before trusting Autopilot with the repetitive ones.

  2. 02

    The shop's rules, not ours

    Training on the merchant's own procedures keeps answers consistent with their policies.

  3. 03

    Context before language

    Order data matters more than fluent wording when a customer asks about a refund.

  4. 04

    Three screens, no more

    Analytics, the inbox and Autopilot setup: everything else stays out of the way.

05 / SCREENS

The storefront in motion.

The whole homepage on desktop and on a phone, scrolling top to bottom side by side. Hover to hold it still.

06 / RESULTS

What shipped for Support Hero.

6

Languages

English, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, French

3

Plans

free, $29 and $79 a month

3

Core screens

analytics, inbox and Autopilot setup

May 2026

Launched

on the Shopify App Store

07 / PROCESS

How the engagement ran.

The same four stages as every engagement, with the specific work done for Support Hero at each one. The steps play through in order.

  1. Stage 1

    Audit and scope

    We review the current theme, apps and analytics, then write a fixed-scope SOW with named deliverables and a date.

    What we did for Support Hero

    • Mapped a merchant's support across email accounts
    • Defined what the AI may do alone
    • Scoped three screens

  2. Stage 2

    Design and build

    Work happens in a dev store on a Git-backed workflow. You get a preview link from week one, not a reveal at the end.

    What we did for Support Hero

    • Built the unified inbox for Gmail and custom email
    • Built knowledge base training
    • Connected live order and product data

  3. Stage 3

    QA and launch

    Cross-browser and device QA, redirect map, analytics verification, then a launch window agreed with you rather than dropped on you.

    What we did for Support Hero

    • Added Autopilot mode for repetitive tickets
    • Passed Built for Shopify review
    • Launched on the App Store, 28 May 2026

  4. Stage 4

    Hypercare

    Fourteen to sixty days of included post-launch support while real traffic finds the edge cases.

    What we did for Support Hero

    • Six languages supported
    • Free, $29 and $79 plans live
    • KPI analytics for the support team

08 / THE STOREFRONT

Scroll the whole page.

The full Support Hero homepage as shoppers see it. Scroll inside the frame to move through it from the offer strip to the footer.

Platform

  • Shopify
  • Shopify App Store
  • Built for Shopify

Channels and AI

  • Gmail
  • Email
  • AI Autopilot
  • Knowledge base
Support Hero homepage, full page