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Keep Shoppers Engaged with the "Convert a Shopper on an Out-of-Stock Product Page" Sales Skill

What is the "Convert a Shopper on an Out-of-Stock Product Page" Sales Skill?

The "Convert a Shopper on an Out-of-Stock Product Page" Sales Skill uses behavioral AI to identify customers who have landed on product pages for items that are currently unavailable. Instead of losing these potential customers, Rep AI proactively approaches them with personalized assistance to recommend similar products, offer back-in-stock notifications, or guide them to alternative options that meet their needs.

Benefits

  • Reduce lost sales from out-of-stock situations

  • Keep shoppers engaged even when their desired product is unavailable

  • Provide helpful alternatives that match the customer's preferences

  • Capture customer information for back-in-stock notifications

How to Enable and Configure This Sales Skill

Basic Setup

  1. Navigate to AI Training → Sales Skills in your Rep Console

  2. Find the "Convert a Shopper on an Out-of-Stock Product Page" card

  3. Toggle the switch to ON to activate this skill

  4. Click the Settings button to customize the skill's behavior

Configuration Options

Rescue Algorithm™

The Rescue Algorithm™ is a core component that automatically detects when customers are viewing out-of-stock product pages. When activated:

  • Rep AI will use behavioral signals to identify customers viewing unavailable products

  • The AI will proactively approach these customers at the optimal moment

If the Rescue Algorithm™ is turned off, the AI will approach immediately instead.

To configure:

  1. Toggle the Rescue Algorithm™ switch to ON

Advanced Behavioral Settings

Fine-tune how Rep AI engages with customers viewing out-of-stock products:

  1. Additional AI Instructions: Provide specific guidance for how your Sales Assistant should behave and what it should avoid doing when interacting with customers viewing unavailable products

    Example AI Instructions:

    When approaching customers on out-of-stock product pages, always:
- Acknowledge the disappointment of the item being unavailable
- Suggest similar alternatives that are currently available
- Explain the key differences between the unavailable item and the alternatives
- Ask about specific features they're looking for to guide recommendations

  2. Suggestion Chips: When this skill is activated, customers will see helpful suggestion chips like "I have a question" or "Show me similar items" to facilitate engagement

Note: Additional approach rules with custom behavioral triggers are available for merchants with the Expert Zone package.

Known Issues and Special Considerations

Shopify's "Continue Selling When Out of Stock" Setting

Sometimes there can be a discrepancy between what appears on your store and what Rep AI detects as out-of-stock:

  • If you have enabled Shopify's "Continue selling when out of stock" setting, products might appear available on your storefront even though they have zero inventory

  • In these cases, Rep AI might still identify these products as in-stock because Shopify is treating them as available for purchase

  • If you notice Rep AI incorrectly identifying stock status, check this setting in your Shopify inventory management

To ensure alignment:

  1. In your Shopify admin, go to Settings → Products and inventory

  2. Check whether the "Continue selling when out of stock" option is enabled or disabled

  3. Ensure this setting aligns with how you want Rep AI to handle out-of-stock products

Bundle Products

Bundle products can sometimes present challenges for stock detection:

  • For bundles that combine multiple individual products, stock status is determined by the availability of all components

  • If some components are out of stock but the bundle still appears available, Rep AI might inconsistently identify the stock status

  • This can occur when using third-party bundle apps or when bundles are created as separate products

If you're experiencing issues with bundle products:

  1. Ensure your product catalog is synced recently

  2. Consider adding specific instructions for how Rep AI should handle your bundle products in the Additional AI Instructions

  3. For persistent issues, you may need to update your product data feed to accurately reflect bundle inventory status

Best Practices

  1. Be empathetic about unavailability: Use additional AI instructions to guide your AI to acknowledge the customer's disappointment while offering helpful alternatives

  2. Highlight similar products effectively: Encourage your AI to explain why alternative products are good substitutes for the unavailable item

  3. Offer back-in-stock notifications: Ensure your AI knows how to help customers sign up to be notified when items return to stock

  4. Review performance regularly: Use the "View analytics" option to monitor how effectively this Sales Skill is redirecting customers to alternative products

Troubleshooting

Issue: Sales Skill isn't triggering on out-of-stock product pages

Solution:

  • Verify the skill is toggled ON

  • Check that your product page correctly identifies and marks out-of-stock items

  • Review the behavioral settings to ensure they match your out-of-stock page structure

  • If using Shopify, check your "Continue selling when out of stock" setting

Issue: Customers aren't engaging with alternative product suggestions

Solution:

  • Update your AI instructions to better explain the benefits of alternative products

  • Ensure your product catalog has appropriate "similar product" relationships defined

  • Adjust the suggestion chips to be more specific to the product category

Issue: Rep AI incorrectly identifies products as out-of-stock (or vice versa)

Solution:

  • Verify product inventory in your e-commerce platform

  • Check for recent catalog sync issues

  • For bundle products, ensure all components' inventory status is correctly reflected

  • If needed, add specific instructions about how to handle inventory discrepancies

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