How I automated customer support for my side project and saved 15+ hours a week

I run a small SaaS side project while working full-time as a developer.

Over the past few months, things have started picking up — more signups, more usage, and, of course... more support emails.

At first, replying to emails wasn’t a big deal. I’d answer 2-3 questions per day, things like:

"How do I reset my password?"
"Where can I view my messages?"
"Do you have a mobile app?"

But as traffic grew, I started getting 20+ messages a day, and I realized I was spending nearly 2–3 hours daily just answering repetitive questions.

This obviously wasn’t scalable, especially since I still had my day job.

So I decided to build an automated support flow — not a full-blown call center, but something lean and practical.

🧩 The solution: Combine FAQ + Live Chat

I explored a few options like Intercom, Crisp, etc., but most were expensive or overkill.

Then I came across Meiqia, a customer messaging tool that lets you:

Create a smart FAQ knowledge base
Embed a live chat widget (with multilingual support)
Route messages based on availability
Integrate email + bot fallback flows

Setup was surprisingly simple — just dropped a JS snippet into my <head> and it was live in minutes.

⚙️ What I actually implemented

Here’s what my final stack looked like:

Wrote a simple FAQ page (based on top 30 support queries I’d received in Notion)
Installed Meiqia widget to answer common questions right away
Integrated email fallback for messages sent after hours
Connected CRM using Webhook to tag and log users automatically
Set up Slack notifications to respond fast when something escalates

Within a week, I saw ~60% of queries handled without me doing anything.

🚀 The results

Here’s what changed after automating support:

Time spent dropped from ~3 hours/day to <20 mins
User satisfaction actually improved because replies were instant
I could focus on shipping features again (instead of inbox cleanup)
Didn’t have to hire anyone

I’m still running support myself, but now it’s async + batched. And since all the “how do I…” questions are handled by the bot, I only step in for edge cases.

🧪 Lessons learned

If you’re running a side project, time is your most limited resource — automating customer support is an easy win
Don’t wait until it’s unbearable. Set up FAQ + fallback logic early
Tools like Meiqia make it extremely easy without bloated CRM setups

If you’re curious about my exact implementation or have a similar problem, feel free to reach out.

Would love to hear how other devs are handling this too!

TL;DR:

You don’t need a big team to deliver decent support — just a well-crafted FAQ and smart automation can go a long way.