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AI Agent Assist: How It Helps Support Teams Respond Smarter

AI agent assist cover
Written by: Jelisaveta Sapardic
Updated:

Support conversations often happen under pressure. Agents juggle live chats while searching for the right information and trying to sound helpful without delay. 

AI Agent Assist tools are built to lighten that load. These systems work quietly in the background, offering reply suggestions and surfacing relevant content while helping agents respond in real time.

The benefits aren’t just theoretical. Service teams adopting AI report improvements in productivity by 66%, and that starts with helping agents feel supported.

Let’s see what this looks like in practice.

Support faster replies with a real-time AI assist tool

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What is AI agent assist?

AI agent assist is a tool designed to help human agents do their jobs faster and more confidently, without taking over the conversation. Instead of replacing support reps, it works alongside them, quietly offering useful suggestions during live chats or emails.

These tools act like an intelligent copilot. When a customer asks a question, the agent assist AI tool can suggest a response, pull relevant help articles, detect the tone of the message, and flag when a conversation might need escalation. The goal is to give agents what they need to respond quickly and with precision. Especially when handling multiple chats at once or facing unfamiliar questions.

Some tools also learn from your previous conversations and internal knowledge, which helps them tailor suggestions to match your brand’s voice and policies. That way, agents spend less time searching for answers and more time focusing on the customer.

An example of Tidio's Copilot with the option to offer an AI-generated answer to the user.

Tidio’s AI Copilot is one example of such a tool. It integrates with platforms like Zendesk, Intercom, Gmail, and Gorgias, giving agents on-brand responses as they work. Copilot learns from your help content and previous conversations, then suggests replies your team can use, edit, or skip entirely.

Why use an AI agent assist tool in customer service?

AI agent assist software is designed to support your human team, and not replace them. It offers live guidance and cuts down on repetitive tasks, making it easier for agents to work with confidence. 

Here’s how it helps:

A list of benefits that come with using an AI agent assist tool.
  • Speeds up responses with real-time suggestions: AI Copilot recommends relevant replies and help articles while agents type, reducing time spent on manual searches.
  • Improves accuracy and consistency: by drawing from your latest help docs, AI assist tools ensure agents deliver up-to-date, reliable answers. Salesforce reports that its AI agents resolve customer inquiries with 93% accuracy.
  • Supports agents during onboarding and training: new agents get in-the-moment guidance on tone, content, and workflows, helping them ramp up faster. Actually, agents using an AI tool handled more than 13% of inquiries per hour compared to those without it.
  • Helps agents focus on the customer: with repetitive lookups handled in the background, agents can focus on solving issues and building rapport. In fact, service professionals save more than 2 hours a day thanks to AI.

AI agent assist in action: what it does and where it helps

AI-powered agent assist tools work alongside your team in real time, guiding conversations and offering support exactly when it’s needed. And Tidio Copilot is built to do just that. It helps agents stay accurate and confident across every customer interaction.

What Tidio Copilot does in real time

Support agents often juggle multiple conversations at once, switching between help desk tools, internal documents, and knowledge bases just to answer a single question. Tidio Copilot is designed to reduce that friction. Instead of adding more steps, it quietly assists in the background, offering helpful suggestions as the conversation unfolds.

Here’s what an AI agent assist solution can do for you in the context of Tidio Copilot:

  • Delivers on-brand reply suggestions: Tidio Copilot reads incoming customer messages and recommends accurate replies that match your tone and approved content. These suggestions appear live in the agent’s workspace, helping your team respond quickly while maintaining consistency.
  • Pulls help center content and data sources: Copilot automatically searches through your connected knowledge base, including articles and FAQS, and surfaces the most relevant content to answer the customer’s question. Agents can easily review and send this information without switching tabs.
  • Generates real-time recommendations: Copilot can answer product-related queries or pricing questions based on your uploaded data. It handles these requests in seconds, giving agents clear and factual suggestions that reduce the need for manual lookups.
  • Improvises when no direct match is found: when a customer asks something new or complex, Copilot creates a helpful response using AI, based on related context. Agents see the draft first and can edit or approve it before sending, giving them control while saving time.
Tidio's Lyro AI Copilot is capable of improvising when no direct match is found.

Read more: Check out the benefits and elements of a solid AI knowledge base

Where Tidio Copilot fits into your workflow

The value of a smart assistant depends on how easily it fits into what teams are already doing. Copilot was built to work alongside existing tools and processes, not replace them.

Here’s how it can fit with your needs:

  • Works with your current help desk: Copilot integrates directly with Zendesk, Intercom, Gorgias, and Gmail through a simple Chrome extension. There’s no need to change platforms or migrate data.
  • Covers all support channels: Agents using live chat, email, or social media can all benefit from Copilot’s suggestions. It operates across every channel your team already supports.
  • Offers flexible setup options: You can use Copilot as a Chrome extension or access it within the Tidio platform itself. Either way, it functions as a natural part of your existing workflow.
  • Connects to your custom knowledge: Copilot pulls answers from your curated content, including the same data sources used by Lyro. You stay in full control of what it learns and suggests.
  • Built to scale with the Tidio ecosystem: Because Copilot lives within the same ecosystem as Lyro, it’s easy to manage both tools together. This creates a more cohesive setup for teams that want to mix automation with live agent support.

Begin using Copilot with your help desk today

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How to start using AI agent assist

Getting started with an AI agent assist tool like Tidio Copilot is quick and doesn’t require any major changes to your current tools. Whether you’re using Zendesk, Intercom, or another help desk, Copilot fits right into your existing workflow. 

With just a few setup steps, you can start assisting agents in real time and improving response quality from day one.

1. Install the Tidio Chrome extension

Head to the Chrome Web Store and download the Tidio Copilot extension. This brings Copilot directly into your browser, making it visible inside the tools your agents already use. Once installed, it quietly adds suggestions and knowledge-based responses right into your existing help desk view.

Installing Tidio Copilot Chrome extension.

2. Create a free Tidio account

If you haven’t already, create a free Tidio account. This gives you access to the Copilot dashboard, where you can manage settings, connect content sources, and invite team members. The setup process takes just a few minutes, and no credit card is required to get started.

Tidio account creation window.

3. Add your knowledge base or help center links

To generate accurate replies, Copilot needs access to your support content. You can link to your FAQ pages, shipping policies, return instructions, or any help center articles your team relies on. Copilot will automatically scan this content and use it as a foundation for suggestions, ensuring answers stay consistent and factual.

Lyro's Data sources panel is where you can add your knowledge base-related content.

Read more: Here are the tips to build a great knowledge base chatbot for your needs.

4. Invite your agents and test it in live conversations

Once everything is connected, it’s time to put Copilot to work. Invite team members to try it out in real customer interactions, whether in live chat, email, or social channels. They’ll see suggested replies appear in context, based on the message and tone of the conversation. This is a great way to test how Copilot fits into your current flow before fully rolling it out.

Tips to get the most out of your AI agent assist tool

After your AI agent assist is up and running, a few simple practices can make a big difference. These tools work best when they’re aligned with your team’s workflow, and your knowledge base stays up to date. Whether you’re just getting started or already using Copilot every day, these tips will help your agents stay consistent and get real value out of every interaction.

Connect rich content sources

Link help articles and FAQs so your AI assistant has reliable data to work with during conversations. The more structured and complete the information, the more helpful the assistant will be. Consider linking things like product manuals, pricing tables, and policy docs to support a wide range of inquiries.

Keep your knowledge base up to date

Accurate suggestions depend on accurate content. Regularly review and refine your documentation to reflect the latest policies and workflows. Outdated or inconsistent info can confuse both agents and customers, so schedule monthly reviews or assign ownership for each content area to keep things fresh.

Help your team trust the assist

Encourage agents to see the AI as a co-pilot, not a script. It’s most effective when paired with human judgment and flexibility. Let agents know it’s okay to modify or dismiss suggestions, and use real conversations to show how AI can reduce effort while keeping the customer experience consistent.

Try Tidio Copilot today

Real-time AI agent assist tool like Tidio Copilot supports agents in real time. It does so by suggesting on-brand replies, pulling help center content, detecting customer tone, and even improvising when no direct data is available. It integrates with platforms like Zendesk, Intercom, Gorgias, and Gmail—no migration needed. Teams use it to handle chats and tickets more efficiently, while reducing response time and easing the load on new agents.

If you’re looking to speed up support without sacrificing quality, Copilot is an easy way to give your team that extra layer of assistance.

Support faster replies with a real-time AI assist tool

Learn more about AI chatbots

Jelisaveta Sapardic
Jelisaveta Sapardic

Jelisaveta is a Content Writer at Tidio with a background in language and technology. She creates clear, research-backed content that helps SMBs improve customer interactions, streamline support, and stay ahead of industry trends.