How Aaltjes Online handles customer questions 24/7 with AI

Growth put increasing pressure on customer service

Aaltjes Online specializes in biological solutions for pest insects, such as fungus gnats, white grubs, and leatherjackets. The company started small, from a garden shed at one of the founders' homes, but grew rapidly in a short period of time. As the business grew, so did the number of customer questions. Especially during busy periods, the inbox could quickly fill up, with as many as 30 to 60 emails per hour on peak days.

Much of that pressure fell on a single employee. Extra hours were needed, sometimes even on weekends, while Aaltjes Online wanted to help customers within one working day. During busy periods, waiting times sometimes increased to two or three days. For René Koops, Ecommerce Manager at Aaltjes Online, this was the moment to look for a solution that could support the company's growth without putting additional pressure on the existing team.

From onboarding to live in just a few hours

Aaltjes Online discovered Watermelon through someone they knew who had previously worked with the platform and was enthusiastic about how easy it was to use. Because the team was in the middle of a busy period and had little time to extensively compare different providers, Aaltjes Online decided to get started quickly.

According to René, the implementation was surprisingly straightforward. He completed the company profile, defined the tone of voice, and specified what the AI Agent could and could not say. The website was then crawled, including its many blogs and knowledge pages about insects and biological pest control. Within a few hours, the Agent was already able to answer detailed questions and was ready to go live. After launch, Aaltjes Online was also able to quickly work with Watermelon's support team to resolve questions and further optimize the Agent.

'Setting up the system and getting it to communicate the way we wanted was really quick. Within a few hours, you could see that it was able to use the website, blogs, and specific information effectively.'

From standard questions to in-depth product advice

The AI Agent was not only meant to handle frequently asked questions, but also to help customers choose the right product. This is particularly important for Aaltjes Online because biological pest control depends on several factors, such as the type of insect, its size, temperature, humidity, and the timing of treatment.

In practice, the Agent goes further than René initially expected. Customers sometimes ask questions about insects he does not immediately recognize himself, while the Agent is still able to recommend the right type of nematodes. Because human oversight is extremely important to Aaltjes Online, their biological experts review all advice to ensure it is accurate. New information from their own experts is also shared directly with the Agent, ensuring customers always receive the right and most up-to-date advice. Aaltjes Online also sees visitors clicking through to relevant product pages after conversations and continuing to make a purchase in the webshop.

Instant answers outside office hours

One of the biggest advantages is that customers are no longer dependent on office hours. Over the past 90 days, the AI Agent handled more than 1,400 conversations, 52% of which took place outside office hours. This means hundreds of customers received immediate answers in the evening, at weekends, or even during the night to questions they previously would have had to send by email.

This is particularly valuable for Aaltjes Online during peak periods. In one busy month, the number of conversations handled by the Agent reached around 1,000. According to René, without the AI Agent, the team would probably have needed additional capacity or would have had to work more hours.

'If we hadn't had the Agent, we might have needed to hire someone extra. Or the people already here would have had to work more hours.'

AI as a tool, not a replacement

After launching on the Dutch webshop, Aaltjes Online has now also deployed the AI Agent on its German webshop. This saves a significant amount of time because nobody in the office speaks fluent German, making email communication more time-consuming. Instagram and Facebook have also been connected.

For René, the future lies in combining AI with personal contact. The Agent handles as many recurring questions as possible, while employees remain available for complex situations, dissatisfied customers, or people who specifically want to speak to a human. This allows Aaltjes Online to maintain its personal service while enabling the team to handle significantly more customer questions with the same capacity. Where customers previously sometimes had to wait two or three days for an answer during busy periods, they now receive immediate help from the AI Agent, including in the evenings and at weekends.

'Response times have improved significantly. Even on Saturdays and Sundays, customers get an answer and know which products they need.'