[AI shopping & agentic commerce]() / [Use cases]() / [Delivery-aware answers]() [How it works]() [What you get]() [Scope]() [Start a review]() [AI shopping & agentic commerce]()[Help choosing]() # Recommend only what can arrive in time. Assistants offer what’s in stock and show a delivery date you can keep, on your own site and in the answers outside it. [Start with an AI shopping review]() [How it works]() Olive M · stock sent Synced - Google AI Mode In stock**Out of stock** 10:12 - ChatGPT In stock**Out of stock** 10:15 - Copilot In stock**Out of stock** 10:17 - Perplexity In stock**Pending** Tonight The moment Olive M sold out, as each assistant was told. ## Sound familiar? - A shopper asks for a jacket by Friday, and the assistant suggests one that ships Monday. - A variant sells out, and assistants keep offering it until the next feed read. - The delivery date differs between the assistant, the page and the confirmation email. A promise an assistant makes is still your promise. A sold-out variant or a missed date costs the order, then a support contact, then trust. ## What changes. ShowTodayWith the engine Stock Checked when the feed runs Refreshed about every 15 minutes where the route supports it Sold out Still offered until someone notices Leaves the answer, and the closest variant in stock takes its place Dates A generic shipping line A delivery date for this shopper’s address, checked before it’s shown Promise Lost between systems Kept on the order, so service sees what was said ## How it works. 5 steps, 4 stages. - AI**1** - Rules and automation**3** - Your team**1** - Approval 1. 1 Read 1. Rules and automation ### Read stock and cut-offs Stock by variant, carrier cut-offs and address-based delivery estimates, from Shopify, NetSuite and the 3PL. - Shopify - NetSuite - ShipBob 2. 2 Decide 1. AI ### Match the need to what can arrive Reads the shopper’s date and constraint, then picks the closest variants in stock. 2. Your team Approval ### Set the substitution rules Your merchandiser decides what counts as a fair substitute, and what never does. 3. 3 Show 1. Rules and automation ### Show the date, or say it can’t Assistants, pages and feeds show a delivery date only when it can be kept. - Merchant Center - ChatGPT 4. 4 Keep 1. Rules and automation ### Attach the promise to the order The date shown travels to the order, so service sees what was said. - Shopify - Gorgias Missed promises tune the cut-offs ## What you get. Real work, every week. Days of stock · canvas field jacket, M Day 4 · 10:02 am - Sand M**26 days** - Navy M**18 days** - Olive M**0 days** Olive M is sold out, so answers switch to Navy M, arriving Thursday. What the assistants are allowed to offer, by variant. Anything at zero leaves the answer. Shortlist · “by Friday” Variant Arrives Offered Navy M Thursday Yes Sand M Thursday Yes Olive M Out of stock No, Navy M instead The shortlist a shopper’s date produces: only what can arrive, and what replaced what couldn’t. ## How you’ll know it’s working. 1. Promise-kept rate Orders that arrive by the date the assistant showed. 2. Sold-out offers a week Answers that offered a variant with no stock, by assistant. 3. Stock-caused contacts Support contacts that trace back to an offer or a date that wasn’t true. Baselines agreed before we build. ## Works with what you have. Commerce - Shopify - NetSuite Fulfillment - ShipBob Search & AI - Merchant Center - ChatGPT Support - Gorgias We configure first Shopify’s inventory and delivery settings, and Merchant Center’s availability and shipping fields, cover a lot. We test them with real baskets and addresses first. Inventory behavior varies by location and channel, so we check that too. We build when Stock lives in several systems, or dates depend on cut-offs and locations the native fields can’t hold. ## What a first build includes. Built in your accounts, around your team. Scope, fee and baseline agreed before we start. 1. 1 Design 2. 2 Build 3. 3 Run it, or hand it over [Start with a review]() [Scope this build]() ### We build - A stock and delivery-date service the assistants read - Substitution rules, signed off by your merchandiser - Refresh and withdrawal for every destination - The delivery promise stored on the order ### We start from - Stock by variant and location - Carrier cut-offs and service levels - Feed and storefront access ### From your team Owner Head of ecommerce, with operations Involves - Ecommerce - Operations - Merchandising - Customer service ## Questions teams ask. How fast do answers change when stock does? It depends on the route. Some accept price and stock updates about every 15 minutes, and others read a file once a day. We map the refresh window for each destination and only show a date we can keep. What if an assistant ignores our update? We record what we sent, when it processed it and what it showed. If a destination lags, the record shows it, and the fix is at the source or with the platform. Who owns it once it’s running? You do. It’s built in your accounts, documented, with training for the people who run it. Ownership usually sits with your head of ecommerce, with operations. We can keep running it with you, or step back. How do we start? Usually with an AI shopping review: two to four weeks, a fixed fee credited to the build, and a plan that’s yours. If the job is already clear, we can scope the build directly. ## Part of your AI shopping engine. One of 13 use cases, in 5 parts. [See the whole AI shopping engine]() 1. [Found & right **3**]() 2. [Help choosing **3**]() 3. [Orders that complete **3**]() 4. [Buying on account **1**]() 5. [Proof & route **3**]() In help choosing - [**Guided shopping**Build a shopping assistant that helps customers choose]() - **Delivery-aware answers**You’re here - [**Compatible baskets**Build compatible baskets for technical purchases]() Works with - [**AI answer accuracy**Find and fix what AI assistants say about your products]() - [**Stock-aware spend**Keep ad spend on products you can sell]() See it at work - [**In Fernway’s launch week, through AI**Day 4: Olive M sold out]() ## Promise only what can arrive. Start with an AI shopping review. [Start with an AI shopping review]() [**Talk it through first**15 minutes]() We reply within one business day. --- Source: [https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/delivery-aware-answers/]() [Contact Keating & Co](mailto:nelson@thekeating.co) · [Agent guidance](https://www.thekeating.co/llms.txt)