In-Platform AI Support Agent

Sole architect and builder

Stack

  • Laravel
  • Claude Code
  • in-platform data access

Numbers

  • 1 support-staff role eliminated
  • ~$1,500/yr in eliminated SaaS spend (Zendesk)
  • Resolution times down sharply; participant experience moved from "open a ticket" to "ask in-context"

Problem

We were running Zendesk for customer support across research-participant inquiries. The volume justified the cost but not the experience — participants had to leave the platform to get help, and the support workflow was disconnected from the system data needed to actually resolve issues.

Approach

Built a unified in-platform support flow with an AI agent that has direct read access to the relevant participant data, can resolve common issues autonomously, and escalates to a human queue with full context attached when it can’t.

Outcome

Eliminated one support-staff role and about $1,500/yr in SaaS spend. Resolution times dropped sharply. The participant experience moved from “open a ticket and wait” to “ask in-context and get an answer.”