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The discount_negotiator skill

Written by Joseph Russo, Principal Architect, Networks and Tech, AskVault · Reviewed by Allison Chan
Last updated: · 5 min read

What the skill does

Discount negotiation is the riskiest mutating action a chatbot can take. Mis-applied discounts hurt margins immediately and can cascade if the bot starts giving everyone the maximum allowed discount. discount_negotiator guards against that: every offer is capped by the maximum discount (a fixed 15%) and by a per-workspace rate limit.

When a customer asks for a discount, the skill makes three checks before anything happens:

  1. The maximum discount. Anything above 15% is refused, whatever the AI asks for.
  2. A verified customer. The visitor must be signed in with identity verification, with your server signing their email as the user_id. The discount goes only to the Stripe customer with that email; the AI cannot pick a different customer.
  3. Your written discount policy. The discount must match a rule you wrote in your knowledge base; if no rule covers it, the skill refuses.

Only then does it create a one-time, single-use coupon for exactly that percent and apply it through your connected Stripe account. The same request (same percent) is not applied twice in the same conversation within 24 hours, and the skill is rate-limited per workspace. Today every request is declined at the policy check, so no coupon is created yet: see the Stripe setup page.

The skill is on Business and above. Business+

Setup

  1. Connect Stripe on the Integrations page. See Stripe setup.
  2. Write your discount policy in your knowledge base: who qualifies and for how much. The skill refuses any discount your policy does not cover.
  3. Turn the skill on on the Skills page.
  4. Test it from your widget with identity verification on, signed in as an email that has a Stripe customer. The chat playground isn't identity-verified, so the skill refuses there. Today every request is declined (see Stripe setup).

When the bot offers a discount

The AI decides from the conversation, for example when a customer asks for a coupon or says the price is the problem. AskVault does not watch page pauses, carts or repeat visits.

Before anything is applied, the request must be 15% or less, come from a customer signed in with identity verification, and match your written policy. If any check fails, the skill refuses and the bot can offer to connect the customer with your team.

Limits

  • Plan availability. Business and above.
  • Maximum discount. 15%.
  • Payment provider. Stripe only; Shopify discount codes are not supported.

Common pitfalls

Bot offers discounts too freely (once discounts are enabled). Your written discount policy is too broad. Narrow it to the cases where a discount is allowed.

Discount not on the invoice. Check the customer in Stripe Dashboard > Customers for an AskVault coupon (its metadata carries askvault_conversation_id).

Repeat discount seekers. There is no per-customer lifetime limit, so write your policy to say who qualifies, for example first orders only.

FAQ

Can the bot create new discount codes?

Only one kind, and not yet in practice: today every discount request is declined, because the policy check can't yet read your discount ceiling (see Stripe setup). When a request passes, the skill creates a new Stripe coupon for exactly that percent, with Stripe's duration set to "once" and at most one redemption, and attaches it to the Stripe customer whose email your site signed. It never uses a coupon you created yourself.

Can I give different customers different discounts?

Not as a separate setting. Write the segments into your discount policy, for example VIP customers up to 15% and everyone else up to 5%. The 15% maximum applies to everyone.

Does this work with subscription discounts?

The coupon the skill creates has Stripe's duration set to "once", so it is not a repeating discount. Today every discount request is declined (see Stripe setup).

How do I prevent the bot from offering discounts to non-paying-intent visitors?

Say so in your written discount policy, for example that discounts apply only to customers ready to order. The skill refuses any discount the policy does not cover.

What's the typical lift from this skill?

There is nothing to measure yet: today every discount request is declined. Once discounts are enabled, a discount can win back a hesitant customer at the cost of margin; we have no conversion data to share, so measure the net effect on your own business.

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