Sales and support modes
The same question means different things from different visitors. "Does it work with Shopify?" from a prospect is a sales question; from a customer mid-setup it's a support question. Your agent detects which and adapts.
How the two modes differ
Support mode answers the question directly and practically. It can search your docs and open a ticket when a visitor needs a human. It draws on all your content, including AI-generated drafts.
Sales mode answers in a deliberate shape: answer first, then one line on why it matters, then one line on why your product is strong here, then a concrete low-friction next step. Every claim must be grounded in a cited source — the agent won't make a product claim it can't back up.
Sales mode is also more conservative about sources. It's restricted to curated and standard content, so AI-generated drafts never inform a sales answer. A wrong support answer costs a follow-up; a wrong sales claim is a promise you have to keep.
How the mode is chosen
In precedence order — the first one that applies wins:
- A page rule. If a page rule sets the mode, that's final.
- The session. Once a conversation has a mode, it stays pinned for that session.
- The classifier. The agent compares the message against known sales and support phrasing. If it's genuinely ambiguous, it spends one quick model call to decide.
- Page hints. Signals from the page itself.
- Support, as the fallback.
Steering it
You don't have to accept the automatic result. The reliable lever is page rules — on pages where you already know the intent, set it explicitly:
- Pricing, plans, and checkout → sales
- Docs, dashboard, account settings → support
Automatic detection is good, but you know your pricing page is a sales page. Tell it.
Improving sales answers
Sales mode is only as good as the grounding you give it. If your agent can't cite pricing, it can't answer pricing questions well. Check the sales gauge on your readiness score — it flags exactly which of pricing, company story, features, and brand voice are missing.