Vaonis Secures Global Customer Support Efficiency and Instant Product Recommendations with Zipchat AI

Vaonis manages a multilingual global audience with instant, automated responses that reduce support tickets and accelerate the buying journey.

By connecting Zipchat to their extensive knowledge base, Vaonis provides immediate clarity on product compatibility and order status, ensuring customers receive 24/7 assistance without increasing manual workload.

Key results

• Automated day-to-day customer inquiries to reduce team workload
• Delivered instant, accurate answers in multiple languages for a global customer base
• Provided immediate responses to repetitive questions regarding order status and shipping
• Successfully migrated from Shopify Inbox to a smart, automation-driven solution
• Enabled 24/7 support coverage outside of standard business hours
• Improved pre-purchase conversion by offering instant product recommendations
• Streamlined the decision-making process for customers comparing different telescope models

Company overview

Vaonis represents the cutting edge of modern astronomy, specializing in the design and manufacture of smart telescopes that bridge the gap between complex astrophotography and user-friendly exploration. Their flagship products, such as the Vespera II, are renowned for integrating advanced imaging technology with detail enhancement capabilities. By automating the most difficult aspects of stargazing, Vaonis allows users of all experience levels to capture stunning images of the cosmos. Their ecosystem extends beyond hardware to a sophisticated companion app and specialized accessories like dual-band filters and custom protective gear, all designed to make the wonders of the universe accessible to a worldwide audience.

Headquartered in France but serving an international market, Vaonis caters to a sophisticated demographic that values both technological precision and aesthetic design. The brand has successfully positioned itself as a leader in "Stellina" and "Vespera" lines, moving away from traditional, manual telescope setups toward a digital-first experience. This commitment to innovation requires a support infrastructure that can explain complex technology simply while maintaining the high-touch feel of a premium brand.

Industry: Consumer Electronics / Aerospace
Headquarters: France
Website: View website

Why Vaonis chose Zipchat

The primary motivation for Vaonis to seek out a new solution was the inherent limitation of traditional chat tools. Before integrating Zipchat, the team utilized Shopify’s native chat and inbox tool. While functional for basic messaging, the native solution lacked the intelligence required to scale with a growing, global brand. It offered no deep connection to a knowledge base and lacked the smart automation necessary to handle a high volume of inquiries. Consequently, almost every customer question required a human response, created significant delays, and put an unnecessary strain on the support staff.

Vaonis faced a specific challenge common to high-end tech brands: managing a diverse, multilingual customer base. Customers from all over the world reach out with repetitive but essential questions regarding product compatibility, shipping timelines, and basic setup. Manually translating and responding to these "non-technical" queries was not a sustainable model for growth. The brand needed a way to provide immediate, accurate answers in the customer’s native language without forcing the support team to spend their entire day on basic troubleshooting and status updates.

The switch to Zipchat was driven by the need for a solution that could act as a first-line defense. By connecting Zipchat directly to their detailed knowledge base, Vaonis aimed to automate the answers to common questions like "How does it work?" or "Which accessories do I need?". This move was designed to ensure that the human support team remained available for deep technical troubleshooting and high-value interactions, rather than being bogged down by basic FAQ-style tasks.

Results in practice

The implementation of Zipchat has fundamentally changed how Vaonis interacts with potential buyers and existing owners. The AI has proven to be highly effective at managing high-intent inquiries. When customers are at the critical point of purchase, they often ask specific questions about which telescope model best fits their specific use case. Zipchat handles these comparisons with precision, acting as a digital sales assistant that understands the nuance of the product line. It guides users through their decision-making process, effectively reducing hesitation and helping to increase conversion rates on the storefront.

Beyond sales, the daily impact on the support team has been transformative. Because Zipchat is active 24/7, it provides a "smoother buying experience" for customers shopping in different time zones. Whether a customer is asking about shipping in the middle of the night or trying to understand compatibility between a filter and a telescope during the weekend, the AI provides a confident and consistent response. This immediate feedback loop prevents small questions from turning into support tickets, keeping the inbox manageable and the customer satisfaction levels high.

"Zipchat helped us handle day-to-day customer questions faster without adding workload to our support team. Customers get clear answers instantly, and our team can stay focused on the few cases that truly require technical troubleshooting. The result is quicker response time, fewer tickets, and a smoother buying experience—especially outside of business hours."

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Which specific problem did Zipchat help you solve?

Zipchat helped us handle day-to-day customer questions faster without adding workload to our support team. We have a multilingual customer base, and the biggest challenge was providing immediate, accurate answers in the customer’s language—especially for repetitive, non-technical questions (order status, shipping timelines, product compatibility, “how does it work?”, basic setup, etc.). With Zipchat connected to our knowledge base, customers get clear answers instantly, and our team can stay focused on the few cases that truly require technical troubleshooting. The result is quicker response time, fewer tickets, and a smoother buying experience—especially outside of business hours.

How effective is Zipchat at recommending products to your customers?

Very effective for quick, high-intent questions. Zipchat understands what customers are trying to achieve and can recommend the right product or accessory based on the context and the information we’ve provided in our knowledge base. It’s particularly strong when customers compare options, ask “which model is best for my use case?”, or need a simple decision guide. The multilingual support is a big plus: customers can ask in their own language and still get confident, consistent recommendations immediately. It won’t replace a deep technical consultation, but for most pre-purchase questions it’s a great conversion helper and reduces hesitation at the key moment.

Were you using another chat solution before Zipchat? If so, which one—and what motivated you to make the switch?

Before Zipchat, we were using Shopify’s native chat/inbox tool. It was fine for basic messaging, but it’s very limited: no real knowledge base connection, no smart automation, and it doesn’t scale well for a multilingual audience. Most questions still required a human to reply, which created delays.

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