How Otrium scaled support by automating 50% of its 120,000 customer queries

Otrium is a fashion e-commerce marketplace on a mission to ensure every item produced is worn. Combining fashion, technology, and logistics, they help brands sell excess inventory in a way that feels easy for customers.

As the company scaled, Otrium knew that delivering a great customer experience couldn't come at the cost of growing their support team indefinitely.

Tessa van der Lof, Head of Operations at Otrium, is responsible for building a sustainable and scalable customer service model that aligns with the company’s growth. She spoke with us about how her team started using AI to scale support, reduce workload, and improve the customer experience.

“A big part of my role is focused on scaling our customer service experience as we grow without necessarily growing the team at the same pace.” – Tessa, Head of Operations, Otrium

Watch the full interview below:

Wasting time on repetitive queries

As support volumes increased, Tessa’s team was spending too much time answering the same types of questions – mostly about returns, refunds, and order statuses. These recurring requests were taking time away from more complex, high-value customer cases that required personal attention.

“So, what we were facing was actually a lot of repetitive questions that our agents were very busy with, like questions about their return, about refunds or “Where is my order?”. And we really wanted the team to focus on the more complicated topics.”

This friction point made it very clear: Otrium needed a solution that could handle simple queries autonomously, without sacrificing service quality.

Scaling customer support while keeping the human touch

Otrium’s support team was inundated with routine queries that could easily be handled by automation. But their priority wasn’t just reducing workload or saving costs. It was improving customer satisfaction while building a service model that could scale with the business

Tessa was looking for a solution that helped Otrium’s customer service team:

• Provide faster responses to routine questions
• Scale support quickly during peak seasons
• Free up time to focus on complex tickets
• Maintain a human, empathetic tone in their service
  

Enter: Oliver, Otrium’s AI customer service agent built with Engaige.

Building a more human AI support experience

With Engaige, Otrium created an AI agent named Oliver with the capabilities to fully resolve repetitive tickets with fast, accurate answers delivered in a natural, conversational tone.

For the team, it was crucial that Oliver didn’t sound robotic. The goal was to keep the experience human, even when no human was involved. And that’s exactly what Engaige delivered.

“Engaige offered control, flexibility, and the ability to really incorporate AI in a more human way.”

Customers now get immediate responses, even during peak periods or outside office hours. And if Oliver can’t solve the issue? It smoothly hands it off to a human agent, so nothing falls through the cracks.

Faster responses, happier customers, and room to grow

Since launching Oliver, Otrium has seen noticeable improvements in their support performance:

• Faster response times across all ticket types
• Higher customer satisfaction scores
• A team that’s free to focus on complex cases instead of repetitive ones
• A scalable setup that supports their rapid growth and seasonality

“With Engaige, we are able to automatically resolve 50% of the 120,000 support tickets that we receive annually.”

Engaige gave the team full control and flexibility over how AI is used in their workflow, allowing them to tailor Oliver’s responses to match their tone of voice, policies, and customer expectations.

Looking ahead: using Engaige beyond customer service

Otrium doesn’t see AI as a complete replacement for its customer service team. Instead, it recognizes AI is a valuable long-term partner that enables them to scale sustainably.

“For us, AI is foundational, not just a trend. AI is integral to our ongoing evolution.”

Looking ahead, Otrium’s team is excited to explore how Engaige can support other areas of the business. This includes personalising customer journeys, improving inventory logic, and even assisting their brand partners with smarter product recommendations and automated support.

Curious how AI can help your team scale customer service without sacrificing quality? Book a personalised demo with Engaige today.