When Novel founder Joe DeWulf noticed the same questions coming up repeatedly about his shoppable video platform, he recognized a familiar pattern. As creators and brands adopted Novel’s technology to transform their videos into shopping experiences, they needed guidance on everything from basic setup to advanced customization.
The Challenge of Video Commerce Support
Novel helps businesses create shoppable video experiences, primarily on Shopify but extending to other platforms as well. “The commerce video space is incredibly nuanced,” DeWulf explains. “Brands care deeply about aesthetics and customization, but they also need immediate answers about implementation.”
A common question kept surfacing: why didn’t video embeds look quite right? The answer was straightforward—a minimum of 4-5 videos were needed for optimal display—but explaining this and other nuances repeatedly wasn’t scaling.
Finding a Different Approach
DeWulf had been approached by several AI support solutions. “One well-known founder reached out about training AI on our support tickets, but the pricing was in the thousands,” he recalls. “More importantly, I wondered how it would handle product updates. Would we need to retrain everything?”
After analyzing Novel’s HubSpot export, patterns emerged in support questions that pointed to opportunities for automation. But what caught DeWulf’s attention was the possibility of turning documentation into an interactive copilot within Novel’s platform.
CSS Blocks: A Faster Path to Customization
Instead of building complex UI controls for video customization, DeWulf used DocsHound to create a library of CSS code blocks that customers could easily implement.
“Building UI controls for every possible customization would have been a massive undertaking,” DeWulf notes. “With code blocks in our knowledge base, customers get more flexibility, faster implementation, and we can quickly add new customization options as needs arise.”
An AI Copilot That “Changes Everything”
“Over the last 12 months we’ve received over 1,000 support requests,” DeWulf shared. “Now, over 90% of customer support questions are answered immediately, with bulleted steps, images/gifs, and links. It’s become a real differentiator for us.”
The system handles everything from pricing estimates to technical implementation:
- “I get 150,000 website visitors/month, how much will Novel cost?”
- “How do I change from carousel layout to stories layout?”
- “Can I remove the border on the video?”
- “I have an old version of Shopify, what do I do?”
“The answers are often better than what I could type out myself,” DeWulf notes. “Even for complex queries about pricing, it provides perfect estimates and suggests appropriate subscription plans.”
Integrated Everywhere
Novel integrated their AI copilot across their help site, marketing pages, and application interface. The system intelligently routes queries between the app, sales, and documentation, ensuring users get the right information in context.
“Having an AI copilot that truly understands our product has changed how we think about support,” DeWulf explains. “It’s not just about answering questions—it’s about making our product more accessible and powerful for our users.”
Want to see how DocsHound can transform your product experience? Try DocsHound for free.