Worker support inbox

Exploring AI answers for frontline workers, over text

Hourly workers ask a lot of questions by text, and many of them land on a recruiter or a manager. In late 2024, Fountain Labs explored a two-way support inbox where AI answers routine questions and routes everything else to the right person. We went from customer interviews to a working prototype in about a month, tested it with users, then partnered with a Fountain product team on a beta that we reviewed with customer design partners in spring 2025.

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The problem

Frontline workers rarely use email, help desks or logins. When they need help with a shift, pay or where their application stands, they text their manager or the number they applied from. Recruiting, HR and operations teams end up answering the same questions over and over across scattered channels, with little automation and limited language support.

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What we built

Discovery interviews with customer HR, talent acquisition and operations teams about how hourly workers get help today and where it breaks down.
A prototype of a shared inbox: two-way texting with workers in one place, plus an AI layer that suggests replies, applies simple automation rules and routes requests to the right person.
A worker-side chat concept in the worker portal, for workers who prefer it to SMS.
Remote usability tests of a clickable prototype on core tasks, like assigning a request to a teammate and creating an automation rule.
A beta build, made with a Fountain product and engineering team, that answered questions from a company knowledge base.

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How it works

A worker sent a question by text, or asked it in the worker portal.
AI looked for the answer in the company's own knowledge base and replied to routine questions.
Rules and assignments sent everything else to the right person or team.
Admins saw conversations in one inbox, could see which replies AI wrote, and could step in at any time.

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Where it landed

Went from first customer interviews to a working prototype in about a month.
Ran remote usability tests and used what we saw to refine the inbox design.
Reached a beta build in 2025 with a Fountain product team, reviewed with customer design partners.

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What we learned

Text is the channel. Frontline workers rarely use email or log in to portals, so support has to meet them in SMS.
Suggested automation rules and automatic responses got the most positive reactions in interviews.
Language support matters. Several customers told us translation was a major need.
Not everyone wants AI replies yet, so human review and an easy handoff need to be built in.
A new tool has to fit how teams already work. Extra logins add friction for admins and workers alike.