AI reply templates: stock, price, delivery

Three questions cover most of the messages a small shop receives: is it in stock, what does it cost, when will it arrive. AI can answer all three on its own — provided the template gives an exact answer and offers a next step.

The problem is almost never the model. It’s that nobody told the assistant what a good reply looks like: how much detail to give, how to end, and when to stop.

What makes a template actually work?

Three parts in a fixed order. Direct answer — one useful detail — next step.

1. 1

   Direct answer

   The first sentence answers the question. No «thanks for reaching out».

2. 2

   One detail

   Whatever the customer would ask next: size, timing, condition. One, not a list.

3. 3

   Next step

   A concrete action: «confirm the size and I'll reserve it» or «want a payment link?».

Order matters. Put the next step first and it reads as pressure; leave it out entirely and the conversation quietly dies after your answer.

What’s the template for «is it in stock?»

[Yes/No + specifics]. {product} in {size/colour} is available — {quantity} left.
[Detail] We ship {day/timeframe}.
[Step] Shall I reserve it for you?

If it’s out of stock, the structure holds and only the middle changes:

{product} in {size} is out right now — back {date}.
Similar option in stock: {alternative}.
Want to see the alternative, or should I message you when it arrives?

What’s the template for price questions?

{product} — {price}.
[Detail] That includes {what's included}; delivery {condition}.
[Step] Shall we go ahead?

If price depends on volume, the template names a range and collects the missing variable:

From {unit price} each, from {N} units — {discounted price}.
Roughly how many do you need? I'll work out the exact figure.

What’s the template for delivery questions?

Here the customer almost always wants two things: how long, and how much. An answer missing the second half guarantees another message.

{City} — {timeframe}, {cost or «free over X»}.
We dispatch {days} until {cut-off time}.
Where are we shipping to?

Exchanges and returns — {window} from delivery, no interrogation.
All we need is {condition: tag intact / original packaging}.
Want me to check the size against your measurements so you don't have to?

When should the template hand over to a human?

When any of four things appears: haggling, a complaint, a non-standard order, or a third repeated question inside one conversation. The last one is the most reliable signal — if a customer asks three times, the assistant missed the point, and every further reply makes it worse.

Write these conditions into the assistant’s instructions as an explicit list. «Be helpful» is not an instruction. «If you see the words complaint, faulty, refund — hand the conversation to a manager» is.