5 trips sold in 7 days. Zero humans involved.

The 11pm customer who never came back

A customer asks about your workshop in Iceland at 11pm on a Tuesday. Your team replies the next afternoon. By then, they've already booked with someone faster.

This isn't hypothetical. Marco Carotenuto, founder of WeShoot, still remembers the email: "I booked with another tour operator because you didn't respond fast enough."

Travel is a high consideration purchase. People shop around, check multiple operators, and the first credible reply wins. In a team of two, that's a structural problem you can't solve with hiring.

The team

WeShoot runs photography workshops across Europe and Iceland. Marco and one teammate handle every inbound inquiry that comes through the website, email, and WhatsApp.

A workshop sale takes weeks of back and forth: dates, gear, fitness level, weather, payment, refund policy. Every conversation requires fast, accurate, and personalized replies. With two people and a global audience across time zones, Marco was either glued to chat or losing sales.

The turning point

In October 2025, Marco activated Aura, Customerly's AI agent, as the first responder for every inbound conversation.

"In the first week, Aura closed 5 bookings on her own, including gift cards. I didn't have to do anything."

Marco Carotenuto Founder at WeShoot

What changed in 90 days

The numbers below reflect 84 days of activity (January 1 to March 25, 2026) from WeShoot's Customerly workspace.

What Marco does with the time

When asked what he does with the hours Aura gives him back, Marco's answer was one word.

"Build."

Marco Carotenuto Founder at WeShoot

Aura now handles the first contact on every inquiry, explaining itineraries, dates, gear lists, and prices. Aura only escalates when there's a real edge case. The two of them still own the most personal conversations: custom requests, returning customers, complex bookings. Aura clears the runway.

Why a generic chatbot wouldn't have worked

Most AI customer service tools were built for SaaS support: password resets, refund tickets, account questions. Travel is the opposite. It's the conversation before the sale. It's personal, and every detail matters. WeShoot needed an AI that could carry a real conversation about Iceland in February.

Aura knows the inventory, not just the FAQs. Connected to WeShoot's booking system and product catalog, Aura answers real questions about dates, availability, and pricing. Not vague brochure copy.

Aura doesn't pretend to be human. Every conversation opens with a clear disclosure: "Hi, I'm WeShoot's AI assistant." Conversation quality went up after this change. Customers ask better, more specific questions when they know they're talking to AI, and trust goes up, not down.

Aura picks up where the customer left off. Travel customers come back weeks or months later. Aura reads the full conversation history. "I remember you mentioned traveling with your dog." Every reply feels personal.

Aura messages back so the team doesn't have to. When a lead goes cold, Aura sends a proactive message at the right interval. No more "did I forget to reply to that person from last week?"

The verdict

"Aura is the reason we can stop worrying about who answers the first message. And first responses matter."

Marco Carotenuto Founder at WeShoot