What does a retail AI chatbot do for a department store?
It answers the shoppers who write on your store's website, by text or by voice, in their own language and at any hour. With Zanus AI the same AI also takes your phone line, e-mail and web forms. It sends each question to the right department, answers from your approved store information, reads availability from your inventory, holds items for pickup, books appointments and hands the rest to your people.
Is it also a retail answering service for our phone line?
Yes, and the calls are answered by the AI itself, not by a room of operators. It picks up on your store's own number day and night, answers from the same approved information as the chat, transfers a caller to the department that can help, saying who is calling and why, and takes a message with the callback number read back when nobody is free.
Can shoppers talk to the website chat instead of typing?
Yes. A shopper can type or speak to the chat from any page of your website, and a talking avatar can greet them if you switch it on. It answers in 40 languages from your approved pages and department guides, offers a hold or a fitting appointment, and passes the conversation to an associate whenever your rules ask for one.
Can it send callers to the right department?
Yes. Tell Lisa your departments and who answers each one, and the AI asks what the caller needs, then transfers the call to that department, saying who is calling and why. If nobody picks up, it takes a message with the callback number read back and puts it on that department's list.
How does it know what we have in stock?
It answers from your own inventory records in AI Inventory, never from a guess. A caller or a chat shopper hears whether the item, size or color is there and can have it held for pickup. When the record shows none, the AI says so plainly and offers what your rules allow, such as another size or a call from the department.
Can shoppers put an item on hold by phone or chat?
Yes, in the departments you allow. The item is held under the shopper's name for the time you set, the department sees the hold on its list, and the shopper gets a confirmation. Payment happens when they come in: the AI takes no card numbers and charges nothing.
Does it handle returns and exchanges?
It takes the request by phone, chat, e-mail or form and checks it against the return rules you wrote, such as the return window, the receipt and the item's condition. Requests that fit your rules move ahead for your customer service desk; anything outside them goes to the manager you name, with the whole conversation attached.
Can it book gift registry, alterations and personal shopping appointments?
Yes. Each registry consultant, tailor or personal shopper has their own calendar, and the AI books into it by phone, chat or form, with a confirmation and a reminder. AI Auto-Call can ring the day before: a yes confirms the visit, a no frees the slot for another shopper.
Will it replace the associates who answer our phones?
That is not the point. The AI takes the repeat questions about hours, parking, stock and returns, plus the evening and holiday calls, so your associates can stay with the shoppers standing in front of them. Each department chooses AI only, AI first or a person first, and you can change it whenever the season changes.
What languages can it speak with our shoppers?
The shopper's own. Each caller is answered in their language, the website chat works in 40 languages by text or by voice, and a call can go to the associate who speaks it. Visitors from out of town get the same answers about hours, services and stock as your regular customers.
Can we keep the store's phone number?
Yes. Keep the number printed on your bags, receipts and ads, and forward it to the AI. There is nothing to port and nothing to install, and the forwarding stays under your control on your own line.
How is the retail AI chatbot priced for a department store?
Zanus AI is priced per company, never per seat, so every department, floor and associate works under one subscription. You choose the modules your store needs, from the phone and chat to holds, returns and training, and the plans are on the pricing page.
Can it help our seasonal hires through the holiday rush?
Yes. Your policies, store services and department guides go into an internal assistant that answers only from your documents and shows the source. New hires can ask it anything on the floor, take the training courses you recorded by talking, and see the right answer on their screen while a caller waits on the line.
What is the difference between the 7-day free trial and the demo?
The free trial builds a sandbox of your own store from your website and runs for 7 days, with no card. The demo shows the AI front office already set up and arrives by e-mail in about 2 minutes, with nothing to prepare on your side. Many owners watch the demo first, then start the trial.
