Fix the Loop: Don’t Tell Customers to Contact Support When They're Already Talking to Fin | Community
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Fix the Loop: Don’t Tell Customers to Contact Support When They're Already Talking to Fin

  • May 28, 2025
  • 5 replies
  • 850 views
Fred Walton
Employee

We noticed a recurring issue in some of our Fin-involved conversations. Fin was surfacing Help Center content that included phrases such as "please contact support" or "reach out to us through the Messenger."

While this wording makes sense when someone is reading an article independently, it can cause confusion during a live support interaction. When Fin presents this type of content mid-conversation, it can give the impression that the customer is not already receiving support. This creates friction and can lead to drop-off.

To improve the experience, we provided more specific guidance for Fin to follow. We instructed it not to include phrasing that directs customers to contact support, since they are already in a support conversation. Instead, Fin should treat the interaction as part of the support experience by either providing the information the customer needs or asking for clarification to help resolve the issue.

This change reduced unnecessary loops and made Fin feel more integrated into the support experience.

It was a small adjustment that led to a noticeable improvement in how helpful and natural Fin’s responses felt to customers.

May 28, 2025

​@Fred Walton Would you be willing to share the exact type of guidance used for this behavior? Before guidance was introduced as a feature, we kept adding similar phrases into the most impactful relevant snippets so to “trigger” Fin to provide the information almost at any time. We’ve had good results with that method, and seems that having targeted guidance and targeted content is the best bet. 

​@Luka Dujmovic, this is the guidance we use:

Never tell the customer to "contact support," "reach out to us," "please contact us through the Messenger," "reach out to our support team" or use similar phrasing.
The customer is already speaking to support or sales in this conversation.
Treat this interaction as the support or sales experience.

Instead, respond helpfully by either:
Providing the information or steps they've asked for
Asking for any clarification needed to assist

We have found this works well with a high success rate but we continually update our guidance if we notice any issues. 

I hope this helps.

    5 replies

    Luka Dujmovic
    Forum|alt.badge.img+3

    ​@Fred Walton Would you be willing to share the exact type of guidance used for this behavior? Before guidance was introduced as a feature, we kept adding similar phrases into the most impactful relevant snippets so to “trigger” Fin to provide the information almost at any time. We’ve had good results with that method, and seems that having targeted guidance and targeted content is the best bet. 

    Fred Walton
    Employee
    • Fred WaltonEmployee
    • Author
    • Employee
    • May 28, 2025

    ​@Fred Walton Would you be willing to share the exact type of guidance used for this behavior? Before guidance was introduced as a feature, we kept adding similar phrases into the most impactful relevant snippets so to “trigger” Fin to provide the information almost at any time. We’ve had good results with that method, and seems that having targeted guidance and targeted content is the best bet. 

    ​@Luka Dujmovic, this is the guidance we use:

    Never tell the customer to "contact support," "reach out to us," "please contact us through the Messenger," "reach out to our support team" or use similar phrasing.
    The customer is already speaking to support or sales in this conversation.
    Treat this interaction as the support or sales experience.

    Instead, respond helpfully by either:
    Providing the information or steps they've asked for
    Asking for any clarification needed to assist

    We have found this works well with a high success rate but we continually update our guidance if we notice any issues. 

    I hope this helps.

      C
      Forum|alt.badge.img
      • CarterLaka
      • New Participant
      • May 14, 2026

      Hi, 

      We’re still having this issue, and even received a negative trust pilot review because of this. This should be a solved problem, part of Fin’s baseprompt. If someone is talking to Fin, they are talking to support. It should never recommend they reach out on another channel, or contact support...
      ​@Fred Walton have you developed this prompt any further?

      H
      Forum|alt.badge.img+1

      We’ve had to add the following guidances to deal with the many ways Fin doesn’t realize that he’s support:

      “If a user asks to create a ticket, route to a human agent. Do not tell customers to create tickets and do not draft ticket requests.”

      Seriously, why was fin drafting tickets and then asking them to copy and paste it? haha

      and separately, the big one:

      “If any of the following conditions are met, immediately offer to connect the user with a human agent without asking for confirmation first:

      - The response provided to the user includes a recommendation — direct or conditional — to open a support ticket, contact support, or reach out to the support team, regardless of whether it appears as a primary suggestion or as a fallback after troubleshooting steps

      - The response includes phrases such as "open a support ticket," "create a ticket," "contact support," "reach out to support," or any similar wording indicating that human intervention is needed

      - The user explicitly asks how to contact support or requests a link to submit a support request

      - The sourced answer does not fully resolve the user's issue and suggests support as a next step

      Do not ask the user if they would like to be connected — offer it directly and proactively.”

       

      We add to it as customers find different ways to phrase it.

      J
      Forum|alt.badge.img
      • James Miller
      • New Participant
      • May 25, 2026

      ​@Fred Walton Would you be willing to share the exact type of guidance used for this behavior? Before guidance was introduced as a feature, we kept adding similar phrases into the most impactful relevant snippets so to “trigger” Fin to provide the information almost at any time. We’ve had good results with that method, and seems that having targeted guidance and targeted content is the best bet. 

      ​@Luka Dujmovic, this is the guidance we use:

      Never tell the customer to "contact support," "reach out to us," "please contact us through the Messenger," "reach out to our support team" or use similar phrasing.
      The customer is already speaking to support or sales in this conversation.
      Treat this interaction as the support or sales experience.

      Instead, respond helpfully by either:
      Providing the information or steps they've asked for
      Asking for any clarification needed to assist

      We have found this works well with a high success rate but we continually update our guidance if we notice any issues. 

      I hope this helps.



      Thanks! Is there any recommended way to tell Fin that it can escalate it via the workflow if required that you recommend?

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