Black Friday stress test: AI and WhatsApp slash volume and speed up support
Revolution Beauty teamed up with CM.com and let AI shoulder more of the Black Friday surge. The result: faster responses, fewer tickets hitting the queue, and human agents focused on the work that actually needs them.
Here's what happened and why it matters for customer support teams planning their next peak.
The numbers that matter
- ~25% containment: AI chatbots resolved nearly a quarter of customer queries end-to-end with no agent handover.
- WhatsApp scaled: 29% of all queries were handled by agents on WhatsApp, up from 4% in Black Friday 2024. If you haven't treated WhatsApp Business as a primary channel yet, this is your sign.
- Lower agent load: Tickets reaching human support were down almost 60% vs. Black Friday 2024.
- Backlog crushed: End-of-weekend unresolved queries fell 95% year-over-year. No dreaded Monday clean-up.
- Productivity up: Since adopting CM.com's Mobile Cloud Service, team productivity is up 50% compared to the previous system.
Why it worked
They pushed routine topics (product info, order status, delivery updates) into AI and self-serve flows, then routed edge cases to agents. Channel mix did the heavy lifting-leaning into WhatsApp where customers already spend their time.
The outcome: higher containment, faster first responses, and humans preserved for judgment calls and messy exceptions.
What support leaders can copy next peak
- List your top 10 contact drivers and build AI paths to fully resolve them. Set clear escalation rules and handover context.
- Treat WhatsApp as a first-class support channel with macros, SLAs, and queueing-don't bolt it on.
- Upgrade self-service: live order tracking, delivery ETAs, product FAQs, and returns flows that end with confirmation, not more emails.
- Staff humans for exceptions and time-sensitive orders. Use skills-based routing and real-time dashboards during spikes.
- Track the right metrics: AI containment, FCR by channel, CSAT/response time by channel, backlog aging, SLA adherence, and contact rate per order.
- Run a post-peak review within 72 hours. Collapse what worked into playbooks and retire anything that created friction.
What they said
Hodny Benazzi, General Manager at CM.com: "The Black Friday weekend is one of the biggest moments in the retail calendar. This also means it's the moment when customer service is really put to the test - and brands that aren't prepared for an influx of queries will always be exposed."
"Revolution Beauty's success shows they understand the importance of meeting customers where they are - whether that's on WhatsApp, online, or other social channels. By blending intelligent AI-powered chatbots with live support, they delivered fast, personalised service at scale on the channels shoppers prefer when it mattered most. This kind of AI assisted customer care isn't just a nice to have - it's the future of retail support."
Steve Griffiths, Head of Digital Development at Revolution Beauty: "It's been a record breaking weekend for us. We've seen huge demand for our Beauty Advent Calendar and Miracle Cream, which has led to a rise in queries around products and deliveries as people try to make the most of deals before they disappear.
"We've always prioritised customer service and having AI assisted chatbots working in sync with our team of service agents meant every customer got the help they needed, fast. People have changed how they like to communicate, and as a brand it's crucial we keep pace - meeting them on the channels they prefer, whether that's WhatsApp or elsewhere."
Stack note
Revolution Beauty's team uses CM.com's Mobile Cloud Service to blend automation with live expertise. That combination lifted productivity by 50% and kept the queue clean during the busiest retail weekend of the year.
Get your team ready for the next surge
If you're building AI-assisted support and want your team fluent in channel strategy, prompt design, and measurement, explore practical training built for support roles: Complete AI Training: Courses by Job.
Black Friday is a deadline. Ship your automation, tune your channels, and let your agents do the work that makes the difference.
Your membership also unlocks:
