# Cases for refunds and requests, with a person approving every reply

> An AI agent that opens cases for refunds, complaints and requests in chat, collects the details, and drafts replies a person approves before they're sent.

Canonical: https://heykiko.io/features/cases-and-approvals
Last updated: 2026-11-05

When a customer asks for a refund, reports a problem or needs something only your team can decide, Kiko opens a case, collects the details you need in the chat and gives the customer a reference. Your team works the case from one list, and Kiko drafts each reply from your template for a person to approve, edit or reject before it's sent.

## How a case works

1. **Kiko spots a request**: A refund, a damaged item, a quote: whatever you've described for each case type, in the customer's own words.
2. **It collects the details**: The order number, what went wrong: the fields you set, asked for in the chat, and any photo they send is kept on the case. Required ones must be given first.
3. **Your team takes it**: The case lands in Inbox › Cases with a reference. The people who follow that type are told, and someone picks it up.
4. **A reply is approved, then sent**: Kiko drafts the reply from your template and the case's details; a person approves, edits or rejects it. The customer hears back on WhatsApp or Telegram.

Included on Growth and up, after a 14-day free trial.

## What a case type sets

- **When to open one**: In a sentence: “The customer asks for a refund, or wants to return an item.” Start from a ready-made template by industry, or a blank one.
- **The details to collect**: Short or long text, numbers, amounts, dates, emails, phones, links, addresses, or a choice from your list, each required or not.
- **Who the reply is for**: The customer, or someone else such as a claims department, with a reply template Kiko fills in.
- **Time limit and follow-ups**: From 4 hours to a week to resolve, with a reminder past it, and an update to the customer if a case waits for days.

## Working a case

- **A list or a board**: New, In progress, Waiting on customer and Resolved, with quick views such as “Replies to approve”, “Overdue” and “Nobody has it”.
- **Everything on one page**: The details Kiko collected, the chat, a timeline of who did what, and every photo and PDF the customer sent.
- **Owner, priority and due date**: Assign it, set a priority, a due date, tags and a follow-up, and write internal notes your customer never sees.
- **Pick it up from WhatsApp**: When a new case nobody owns opens, the people who follow that type can get a WhatsApp message with a button; the first to tap gets it.
- **Alerts that reach people**: When a case opens, needs approval or runs late, by email, WhatsApp, Telegram or in the app.
- **Open one from any chat**: Your team can open a case from a conversation in the shared inbox, too.

## What you can set

In Actions › Case types, for each agent.

| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| On | Off stops Kiko opening new cases of that type; open ones carry on. |
| Approval needed | Every reply waits for a person to review, edit or reject it. Strongly recommended. |
| Message the customer as it moves | On WhatsApp or Telegram when the case is sent on or resolved, and on your follow-up schedule. |
| Time limit | No limit, or 4 hours, 8 hours, 1 day, 2, 3 or 5 days, or 1 week; past it, whoever looks after the case is told. |
| Follow up after | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 14 or 30 days before a waiting customer gets an update. |
| Consent notice | Optional. Kiko shows it and waits for a yes before collecting anything; for sensitive cases. |
| Who's told | The people who hear about every case of this type, on top of its owner. |
| Reply template | What stays the same in every reply, with [brackets] for what Kiko writes. |

## Good to know

- **Approval is for the reply**: A person approves what's sent. The refund itself happens in your own systems: HeyKiko doesn't take or return payments.
- **Customers keep their reference**: On any channel a customer can ask Kiko about their case with its reference. Updates as it moves are sent on WhatsApp and Telegram.
- **Ratings after it's resolved**: On WhatsApp and Telegram the customer can be asked to rate how it went; a reply that is just a rating is recorded, anything else goes to Kiko.
- **Team members see their own**: A team member sees the cases they own and the unassigned ones, not everyone else's.
- **Testing creates nothing**: In the Playground, Kiko is told a case was opened, but none is created.

## How other tools handle it

From each tool's own pricing and product pages, checked 4 November 2026.

| Tool | Cases and approvals |
| --- | --- |
| HeyKiko | Yes, Growth and up |
| Chatbase | Partly: Helpdesk tickets |
| SiteGPT | No |
| Tidio | Partly: Ticketing |
| Respond.io | Partly: Lifecycle stages |
| Intercom Fin | Partly: Through your helpdesk |
| Botpress | Partly: Through your helpdesk |

## Questions about cases and approvals

### Can an AI chatbot handle refund requests?

Yes. Kiko opens a case when a customer asks for a refund, collects the order number, the reason and any photos in the chat, and gives them a reference. Your team decides; Kiko drafts the reply and a person approves it before it's sent.

### Does a person approve before the customer hears back?

Yes, when “Approval needed” is on for the case type, which is strongly recommended: every reply Kiko drafts waits for someone to approve, edit or reject it.

### What details can the chatbot collect?

Whatever each case type needs: short or long text, numbers, amounts, dates, emails, phone numbers, links, addresses, or a choice from your own list. Required details must be given before the case moves on.

### How does my team know a new case came in?

The people who follow that case type are told by email, WhatsApp, Telegram or in the app, and on WhatsApp they can pick an unassigned case up with one tap.

### Can customers check on their case?

Yes. They can ask Kiko with their reference on any channel, and on WhatsApp and Telegram they're told when the case is sent on or resolved.

### Is this a helpdesk like Zendesk?

It covers requests that start in a chat: cases with owners, priorities, time limits, notes and approvals, next to your shared inbox. There's no email ticketing and no connection to Zendesk or other helpdesks.

### Which plans include cases?

Cases are on the Growth plan and up, after a 14-day free trial with no card.

## Related

- [Customer support](https://heykiko.io/solutions/customer-support)
- [Shared inbox](https://heykiko.io/features/shared-inbox)
- [Human hand-off](https://heykiko.io/features/human-handoff)
- [Online stores](https://heykiko.io/solutions/online-stores)
- [Pricing](https://heykiko.io/pricing)
- [Appointment booking](https://heykiko.io/features/appointment-booking)
- [Train on your website and files](https://heykiko.io/features/train-on-your-website)
- [Lead capture](https://heykiko.io/features/lead-capture)
- [Live answers from your database](https://heykiko.io/features/database-answers)
- [Product recommendations](https://heykiko.io/features/product-answers)
- [Test and tune your agent](https://heykiko.io/features/test-your-agent)
- [Knowledge access by role](https://heykiko.io/features/knowledge-access)
- [Ask Kiko](https://heykiko.io/features/ask-kiko)
- [Privacy controls](https://heykiko.io/features/privacy-controls)