What do marketplace buyers and sellers contact support about?
Buyers ask about orders, claims and refunds. Sellers ask about payouts, fees, verification and listings. Agent reads the account's role from your platform before it answers, so "where's my money?" follows the buyer path or the seller path, never a mix of both.
| Conversation type | Can Agent resolve it? | Hand off when | Data Agent needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order hasn't arrived (buyer) | Yes: shares tracking, chases the seller, opens a claim once the window passes, refunds within your limit | Tracking shows delivered, the seller contests the claim, or the order is above the refund limit | Order, tracking, seller handling time, buyer claim history |
| Item not as described or damaged (buyer) | Partly: collects photos, compares them with the listing at purchase, opens the return | The seller disagrees, or the buyer mentions a counterfeit or a safety hazard | Listing snapshot, buyer photos, the seller's return policy |
| Cancel an order or check a refund (buyer) | Yes: cancels before the seller ships and reports refund status and timing | The item has shipped or was made to order, or a chargeback is already open | Order status, payment and refund records |
| Payout status (seller) | Yes: next payout date, amounts and any hold with its recorded reason | The account is under review, payout details changed recently, or trust and safety placed the hold | Payout ledger, holds and reserves, verification status |
| Fees and commission (seller) | Yes: breaks down the fees on an order, sends invoices, reverses a fee charged in error within limits | A disputed amount above the limit, or terms from a negotiated contract | Fee schedule, per-order fee ledger |
| Verification and seller documents (seller) | Partly: says what is missing and sends the secure upload link | Documents rejected twice, a name mismatch, or selling blocked for missing information | Verification status, never the documents themselves |
| Listing removed or account restricted (seller) | Partly: explains the policy and the recorded reason, then logs the appeal | Always, for the appeal decision | Moderation record, the policy cited, previous strikes |
| Answering a buyer's claim (seller) | Yes: explains the deadline and what evidence to upload | The seller alleges buyer fraud, such as an empty box or a swapped item | Claim status and deadline, evidence received so far |
| Tax forms and income reports (seller) | Yes: when forms are issued and where to download them | A taxpayer ID correction, a disputed reported total, or any "what should I declare?" question | Tax profile status, reported totals |
| Suspicious message or user (either side) | Intake only: warns against paying or shipping outside the platform and records the report | Always, as urgent | Message thread, both user IDs, the listing involved |
"Partly" means Agent gathers the evidence, then hands over with everything it looked up attached.
How does an AI agent handle an order that never arrived?
Agent checks tracking, gives the seller a deadline to act and refunds the buyer from your guarantee only if the seller doesn't resolve it. Non-delivery cuts both ways: the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center counted 56,478 non-payment and non-delivery complaints in 2025, with about $503 million in reported losses.
Example procedure: buyer says the order hasn't arrived
- Confirm the buyer is signed in and the order is theirs. If the account is the seller on that order, switch to the seller claim procedure.
- If the order hasn't shipped and the seller's handling time has passed, give the seller 2 business days to ship or cancel, and tell the buyer that date. Under the FTC's Mail Order Rule, sellers must ship to US consumers within the time they state, or 30 days if they state none.
- If it shipped and the delivery estimate hasn't passed, share the tracking link and the estimate. No claim yet.
- If the estimate passed 3 or more days ago, or tracking hasn't moved in 5 days, open an item-not-received claim. The seller has 3 business days to add proof of delivery, reship or refund.
- If tracking says delivered, ask the buyer to check with neighbors and reopen after 48 hours.
- If the seller misses the deadline, refund the buyer from your guarantee (through the Stripe connector if you use Stripe) and flag the claim for seller recovery. Agent never debits a seller itself.
- Tell each side the outcome in its own thread; never pass on either party's contact details.
Guardrails: refunds up to $200 per order; one guarantee refund per buyer every 90 days without review; no refund while a chargeback is open; no splitting the difference between parties.
Escalate at once on: a seller's proof of delivery that the buyer still disputes; 2 or more item-not-received claims from one buyer in 90 days; any request to pay, refund or talk outside the platform; "scam", "police" or "lawyer"; an order above $200.
Example conversation (illustrative, not a real customer)
Buyer (in-app chat, Sunday 9:12 a.m.): My record player was meant to arrive Wednesday. Tracking hasn't changed since last Monday.
Agent: Sorry about that. Order 58214 shipped on the 3rd and its last scan was at a regional sorting center 6 days ago. I've opened a claim and asked the seller to reship or refund by Wednesday the 15th.
Buyer: And if they don't?
Agent: Then I'll refund the full $164 to your card that day under our buyer guarantee.
What should a marketplace AI agent never decide on its own?
A marketplace AI agent must never pick a winner in a contested dispute, decide an appeal, release a held payout or change where a seller gets paid.
- No verdicts between parties. When buyer and seller tell different stories, Agent lays out both sides' evidence for a person. It acts alone only on undisputed facts, such as a missed seller deadline.
- Appeals go to people. The EU Digital Services Act requires online platforms to accept complaints about moderation decisions for at least six months and to decide them under the supervision of qualified staff, not by automated means alone (micro and small platforms are exempt from this part). Agent logs the appeal and confirms receipt; your policy team decides.
- Use the recorded reason. The same law's statement-of-reasons duty covers removed listings, suspended accounts and restricted payments. Agent quotes the reason your team wrote down and never improvises one.
- Payouts stay locked. No releasing holds or reserves, and no bank detail edits. A payout-account change after a new login always goes to trust and safety.
- No documents in chat. Seller verification happens in your verification flow. Under the INFORM Consumers Act, US marketplaces must collect and verify bank, tax ID and contact details from high-volume sellers. Agent sends the secure link and reports status.
- Keep deals on the platform. Requests to pay by wire, gift card or a payment app, or to "text me instead", trigger an immediate handoff and a warning to the user.
- No legal, tax or financial advice. Agent explains when a tax form arrives, but "what do I owe?", intellectual property disputes and anything resembling legal or financial advice go to people.
- Data handling. Connectors carry explicit, revocable permissions. Aftersales offers a GDPR DPA and US hosting; Scale adds SSO, SAML and SCIM (security). Your marketplace keeps its own legal obligations; no software makes a platform compliant.
Which channels should a marketplace automate first?
Start with signed-in chat in the buyer app and the seller dashboard. That is where Agent can see the user's role, orders and payouts without asking for anything.
- Buyer app and website chat. Tracking, cancellations and claims, with the order already in context.
- Seller dashboard chat. Payout, fee and claim questions asked next to the numbers they concern. If buyers and sellers use separate apps or brands, Scale's multi-brand messenger and help center keeps each side's answers apart.
- Email. Sellers write long explanations and attach invoices. Agent replies with status and directs identity documents to the secure upload flow.
- Social DMs. Buyers who complain publicly get a private reply with their order already looked up.
WhatsApp, SMS, phone and Slack Connect land in the same Inbox when you need them; never send login or payout links by text.
Which marketplace systems does an AI agent need to connect to?
Each system below connects to Agent through the Aftersales API or webhooks; confirm specific connectors on a call.
| System | What Agent reads | What Agent may do |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace platform (orders, listings, users) | Order status, listing snapshot, account role | Cancel an unshipped order, open a claim |
| Payments and payouts provider | Charges, refunds, payout schedule, holds and reserves | Refund a buyer within limits (Stripe connects directly); nothing on payouts |
| Identity and seller verification | Verification status and missing items | None |
| Trust and safety and moderation tools | Moderation record, recorded reason, strikes | Log an appeal or a user report |
| Shipping and carrier tracking | Scans, delivery estimate, proof of delivery | None |
| CRM such as Salesforce | Seller tier, account manager | Log the conversation |
When Agent sees a run of payout-missing messages after a payout batch, it hands off with the batch date attached so finance can check one batch rather than many tickets. Start every connection read-only and grant actions one at a time.
How much does AI customer service cost for a marketplace?
A goods marketplace with 12 support agents, 15,000 buyer and seller conversations a month and Agent resolving half of them would pay about $8,600 a month in list-price software, before staffing.
Assumptions: annual billing (monthly is 20% more); Growth, for separate buyer, seller and trust and safety inboxes; a 50% resolution rate, below Aftersales' 71% median after 90 days, because disputes and appeals go to people.
| Line | Calculation | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Growth seats | 12 × $69 | $828 |
| Agent resolutions | 15,000 × 50% = 7,500 × $0.99 | $7,425 |
| Copilot add-on | 12 × $29 | $348 |
| Lite seats for finance and trust and safety reviewers | Up to 20 free on Growth | $0 |
| Total | $8,601 |
That is about 57 cents per conversation in software; conversations Agent can't help with are free. See pricing.
How do you launch an AI agent on a marketplace in 30 days?
Launch one side at a time, start read-only, and have trust and safety approve every escalation rule before buyers or sellers meet Agent.
- Days 1 to 7: split and scope. Tag last quarter's conversations as buyer or seller and pick two intents per side: tracking and refund status, payout dates and fee breakdowns. Load the buyer guarantee, seller handling-time policy and payout schedule into Knowledge. Trust and safety signs off the scam keywords.
- Days 8 to 14: connect and rehearse. Connect orders, tracking and the payout ledger read-only. Staff play both sides in scripted tests.
- Days 15 to 21: launch for buyers. Buyer app chat, read-only intents; the disputes lead reviews handoffs each morning.
- Days 22 to 30: add sellers and actions. Open seller chat, then switch on cancellations, claims and guarantee refunds within limits. Report resolution rate, handoff reasons and CSAT separately for buyers and sellers.
Agent's handoffs land in the queues described in our helpdesk setup for marketplaces.