--- title: "AI Skills for WooCommerce and Shopify Support | ThriveDesk" canonical: "https://www.thrivedesk.com/ai/skills/" author: ThriveDesk description: "AI skills are plain-language steps your AI agent carries out in your WooCommerce or Shopify store, so order requests get resolved the way your team handles them." categories: [page] --- # Your AI agent handles order requests the way your team does, step by step If you’ve used skills in Claude or OpenAI, it’s the same idea for support. You write the steps in plain language, and your AI agent carries them out in your store: it checks the order, asks for a photo of the damage and issues the refund. [Start free trial](https://app.thrivedesk.com/auth/register) [Book a demo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/demo/) 7-day free trial · No card required Start from your notes Paste the checklist your team already uses for damaged items. AI turns it into a skill with steps, branches and actions, and you check it before it goes live. Write in natural language Write each step the way you’d brief a new teammate. Type / and the step can act: look up the order, update the address, refund it. Keeps up with the conversation A customer sends the order number before Neo asks, then wants a different size instead of a refund. Neo skips the step that’s covered and switches to another skill. How it works ## How a skill gets picked and followed Your help center tells Neo what your policy says. A skill tells it what to do next. Neo brings in the skill a conversation needs and follows its steps. 1. 01 ### It reads the name and when to use it Every skill starts with a name and a line about when it applies. That’s all Neo needs to tell which one fits the message in front of it. 2. 02 ### It opens the one that fits Once a message matches, Neo opens that skill’s full steps. A conversation about a refund and a new address can use two skills. 3. 03 ### It follows the steps Neo works down the list, checking your orders and help center for the facts. When a step says to stop, it hands the conversation to a teammate with a private note. Use cases ## Six skills a store could start with Each one is a name, a line about when it applies and a few steps. No flow builder to map and no code to write. If your team can write a checklist, they can write a skill. - ### Order tracking When to use it A customer asks where their order is or when it will arrive. 1. 1 Look up the order by email or order number. 2. 2 Share the tracking link and the expected delivery date. 3. 3 If it’s late, say sorry and pass it to a teammate. - ### Shipping address change When to use it A customer wants their order sent somewhere else. 1. 1 Check whether the order has shipped. 2. 2 If it hasn’t, update the address and confirm the new one by email. 3. 3 If it has, explain that it can’t be changed and pass it to a teammate. - ### Order cancellation When to use it A customer wants to cancel an order they just placed. 1. 1 Check whether the order has shipped. 2. 2 If it hasn’t, cancel it and confirm by email. 3. 3 If it has, explain how to return it instead. - ### Damaged or wrong item claim When to use it Something arrives broken or isn’t what the customer ordered. 1. 1 Say sorry and ask for a photo. 2. 2 Check the order and the shipping details. 3. 3 Offer a refund, or pass it to a teammate to send a replacement. - ### Product recommendation When to use it A shopper asks which product is right for them. 1. 1 Ask what they plan to use it for. 2. 2 Suggest up to two products that fit, with links. 3. 3 Offer to answer questions about sizing, shipping or returns. - ### Complaint escalation When to use it A customer is angry or says they’ll leave a bad review. 1. 1 Say what went wrong before anything else. 2. 2 Read the last few messages so they don’t have to repeat themselves. 3. 3 Hand the conversation to a teammate with a private note. 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We needed to serve our premium customers first to keep our business running. ” ![Mehedi Hasan](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/mehedi.CxiVuND-.jpg)Mehedi Hasan CEO, Themefisher ![Themesgrove logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/tg_logo.mI64JEaF.png) > “ At some point, we were paying top dollar yet not all our support requirements were being met. After some digging, we found ThriveDesk. ” Mohammad Zannatun Nime Support Executive, Themesgrove ![Sigmative logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/sigmative-logo.DGIzEm09.svg) > “ I love ThriveDesk so much. It’s easy to use and user friendly — the best choice for anyone who wants to modernize a classic support system and get live chat built in. ” ![Selim Rana](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/selim-rana.CQkT8t1-.jpg)Selim Rana Founder, Sigmative Muslims Day > “ The performance of ThriveDesk is very good, and it’s intuitive. I just tried the AI chatbot — add a few knowledge base articles and it’s answering mostly correctly. ” Abdullah Al H. CEO, Muslims Day FAQ ## Questions about skills Anything else? [Talk to us](https://www.thrivedesk.com/contact/). ### What is a skill in ThriveDesk? A skill is a set of step-by-step instructions, written in plain language, that tells Neo how to handle one kind of request, like a refund or a “where’s my order?” question. It has a name, a line about when to use it and the steps to follow. ### Do I need to write code to create a skill? No. Write a skill the way you’d brief a new teammate, one step at a time, in your own words. To add an action, like looking up an order, type / and pick it from the list. ### Can AI write a skill for me? Yes. Paste your team’s notes on how to handle the request, even a rough list, and AI drafts the skill with its steps, branches and actions. Read it, change what you need and set it live. ### How does Neo know which skill to use? Neo reads each skill’s name and its “when to use it” line, then picks the one that matches the conversation. It opens the full steps only for that skill. If a conversation needs two skills, such as a refund and a change of address, Neo can use both. ### What if a customer answers out of order? Neo follows the steps with the whole conversation in view. It skips a step the customer has already answered, asks only for what’s missing and switches to another skill if the customer changes what they want halfway through. ### What can a step ask Neo to do? A step can ask Neo to look up an order or a customer’s past conversations, search your help center, refund an order within the limit you set, or hand the conversation to a teammate with a private note. It can also give the exact wording for a reply. ### Is a skill the same as my help center? No. Your help center holds facts, like what your return policy says. A skill holds the procedure: what to check and what to do when someone asks for a return. Neo uses both in the same conversation. ### Do my guardrails still apply? Yes. Guardrails like refund limits and topics that always go to a person apply on top of every skill. A skill can also tell Neo when to stop and hand the conversation to a teammate. ### Can I test a skill before customers see it? Yes. Open Test in the skill editor and chat with Neo the way a customer would. You see which steps it followed, skipped or switched away from before you set the skill live. ### How do I improve a skill later? Open a conversation where Neo took the wrong turn, find the step it misread and reword it. The next conversation uses the new wording. ### Do skills work on email and chat? Yes. Skills aren’t tied to a channel, so the same steps apply wherever Neo answers. ### How are ThriveDesk skills related to Claude and OpenAI skills? The idea is the same: a written set of steps an AI follows for one specific job, brought in when that job comes up. ThriveDesk skills are built for support, so their steps can use your orders, your customers and your help center. ## What stores use skills for [See all use cases](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/) - ### [Order & shipping support](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/order-shipping-support/) Answer “Where’s my order?” and explain returns straight from your store data. - ### [Automate support](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/automate-support/) Answer routine questions on email and chat, and pass the rest to your team. - ### [Increase sales](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/increase-sales/) Answer pre-sale questions and suggest the right product while shoppers are still on the page. - ### [Reduce cart abandonment](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/reduce-cart-abandonment/) Answer the question holding up a stalled cart or checkout.