Customer AI vs Employee AI

Customer AI and Employee AI are the two audience modes of an AI Workspace Platform. Both can use the same underlying workspace technology (knowledge, tools, conversations), but they differ in who is talking, where the UI lives, and what identity and permissions apply.

Short definition (citation-ready)

Customer AI assists external users (visitors, shoppers, ticket askers) on public channels. Employee AI assists authenticated organization members on an internal portal with role- and workspace-scoped access.

Side-by-side

Dimension	Customer AI	Employee AI
Audience	External customers / visitors	Organization members
Primary surfaces	Website widget, WhatsApp	Internal Portal (*.qefro.com or custom domain)
Auth	Widget token; optional identify() for end users	Email/password session JWT; Teams + workspace grants
Knowledge	Usually public or customer-safe docs	Often internal policies, runbooks, HR/IT
Tools	Order status, ticket create — careful scopes	Internal systems with stricter RBAC
Risk if mixed	Leaking internal docs to the public	Exposing customer tools without need

Architecture

Customer AI in Qefro

• Product page: Customer AI
• Channels: Website Widget (cdn.qefro.com/widget.js), WhatsApp
• Optional identity: Identity Forwarding via identify() so Business Tools receive a verified end-user token

Employee AI in Qefro

• Product page: Employee AI
• Surface: Internal Portal
• Access: RBAC — Owner / Admin / Member; Members only see granted workspaces
• Branding & domains: Branding, Custom Domains

Should they share a workspace?

Approach	Use when
Separate workspaces (recommended)	Knowledge sensitivity differs (public FAQ vs internal HR)
Shared workspace	Rare — only when the corpus is intentionally identical and tools are safe for both audiences

Default recommendation

Use a Customer Support workspace for widget/WhatsApp and separate HR/IT workspaces for the Internal Portal. Shared indexes are a common source of accidental disclosure.

Workflow

Ship both without mixing risk

1. Map audiences — List what customers vs employees are allowed to know.
2. Create two workspace sets — Customer Support vs internal teams.
3. Bind channels — Widget/WhatsApp → customer workspaces; Portal → employee workspaces.
4. Grant RBAC — Invite Members; attach Teams to workspaces.
5. Add tools last — Customer tools with identify(); employee tools with least privilege.

FAQ

Is Employee AI just Customer AI behind a login?

No. Employee AI adds organization membership, Teams, workspace grants, and a branded portal — not only authentication.

Can one organization run both?

Yes. That is the default Qefro model: configure once in the Admin Console, deploy Customer AI and Employee AI from workspaces.

Does WhatsApp count as Customer AI?

Yes. WhatsApp is a Customer AI channel bound to a workspace, typically the same Support knowledge as the website widget.

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