AI Companion is an intelligent assistant that automatically generates reply suggestions for customer messages. It helps you respond faster while maintaining complete control over what gets sent to your customers.
How It Works
When a customer sends a message, AI Companion:
- Analyzes the conversation - Reviews the full conversation history and the new customer message
- Generates a suggestion - Creates a thoughtful, context-aware reply draft
- Displays the suggestion - Shows it in your conversation view for review
- Tags conversations - Can suggest or apply conversation tags so conversations are organized by topic, priority, or type
- Waits for your approval - Never sends automatically; you decide whether to send, edit, or dismiss
Key Benefits
Respond Faster
Cut response time in half with instant draft suggestions. Instead of starting from scratch, you get a complete reply draft that you can review and send—or edit to match your style.
Consistent Tone
AI Companion learns from your conversation history and adapts to your communication style. It maintains your brand voice across all messages, ensuring customers receive consistent, professional support.
24/7 Availability
AI Companion works around the clock. Even when you're away, it prepares reply suggestions so you can respond quickly when you return.
Knowledge Base Integration
Connect your documentation or FAQ site, and AI Companion will reference it when generating suggestions. This ensures accurate, up-to-date information based on your actual knowledge base.
When to Use AI Companion
AI Companion is ideal when you:
- Receive many customer messages daily
- Want to reduce response time
- Need help drafting technical or detailed responses
- Want to maintain consistent tone across team members
- Have a knowledge base or documentation site
When to Reply Manually
You may prefer manual replies when:
- The conversation requires personal judgment or emotional nuance
- You need to discuss sensitive account or billing information
- The customer's question is very specific to their account
- You want to add a personal touch that AI might miss
Security and Privacy
AI Companion is designed with security in mind:
- Encrypted API keys - Your AI provider API keys are encrypted before storage
- Sensitive data redaction - Credit cards, SSNs, and passwords are automatically redacted before sending to AI
- No auto-sending - You maintain complete control over every message
- Direct billing - You pay your AI provider directly; SupportRetriever doesn't charge for AI usage
Supported AI Providers
AI Companion works with four leading AI providers:
- OpenAI (GPT-4o) - Industry standard, reliable performance
- Anthropic (Claude Haiku 4.5) - Fast and efficient
- Grok (Grok-3) - Alternative option
- Gemini (2.5 Flash) - Google's AI offering
You choose which provider to use, and you'll be billed directly by that provider for API usage.
Getting Started
Ready to set up AI Companion? The setup process takes just a few minutes:
- Navigate to AI Companion settings in your dashboard
- Choose your AI provider and add your API key
- Optionally connect your knowledge base URL
- Start receiving reply suggestions automatically
Example Workflow
Customer: "I can't log into my account. I've tried resetting my password but haven't received the email."
AI Companion suggests:
Hi there,
I can help you get back into your account. Let's troubleshoot the password reset email issue.
First, check your spam folder - Sometimes reset emails end up there.
If you don't see it:
- Verify the email address you're using matches your account
- Wait 5-10 minutes (emails can be delayed)
- Try requesting another reset email
If you still don't receive it, let me know and I can manually reset your password.
You review, make any edits, and send when ready.
Related Topics
- Setting up AI Companion - Step-by-step setup guide
- Using AI suggestions - How to use suggestions in daily workflow
- Choosing an AI provider - Compare providers and select the best one
- AI Companion security and privacy - Learn about security features