Shopify · AI chatbot FAQ
Every question Shopify merchants ask about AI chatbots.
35 questions, 8 categories, answered straight. Pricing, customization, security, edge cases. Where we have an opinion, we give it; where vendors differ, we say so.
If your question isn’t here, email hello@clearly.sh.
Getting started
- What is a Shopify AI chatbot?
- A chatbot installed on your Shopify storefront that talks to shoppers automatically — answering questions about products, sizing, shipping, returns, and tracking orders. The good ones (like Clearly Agent) read your catalog directly and recommend products with inline product cards.
- How do I install a Shopify AI chatbot?
- Search the Shopify App Store for the chatbot you want, click "Add app", and approve the requested permissions. Most modern chatbots install in 2-5 minutes with no theme code changes. Clearly Agent installs as a Theme App Extension — fully sandboxed, works with every theme.
- Is Clearly Agent free?
- Yes. The free tier is forever-free with full customization, live takeover, multilingual support, catalog awareness, and order tracking. The only limit is monthly conversation volume (~50/mo). Most stores stay on free until they scale past that volume.
- How long does setup take?
- About 2 minutes for Clearly Agent. Install from the App Store → name your agent → pick a personality → catalog auto-syncs → widget activates on your storefront. No engineer required.
- Do I need to know how to code?
- No. Clearly Agent installs as a Theme App Extension — no theme code edits, no JavaScript, no Liquid changes. Everything is configured through the merchant admin UI.
Pricing
- How much does a Shopify AI chatbot cost?
- Wildly different across vendors. Clearly Agent: $0 free or $299/mo Pro. Intercom: $39+/mo seat + $0.99/resolution (~$534/mo for 500 conversations). Tidio: free with badge or $39/mo Lyro AI. Gorgias: $10+/mo helpdesk + AI add-on. Shopify Inbox: free but no AI.
- Is a $299/mo chatbot worth it?
- For stores doing >$5K/mo GMV with >500 conversations/mo — usually yes. The break-even math: $299/mo recovered by ~4 incremental orders at $80 AOV. Pre-purchase chat typically lifts conversion 3-8%, so the ROI usually clears 10x at that scale.
- Why are Shopify AI chatbots so expensive?
- Most aren't. Per-resolution pricing (Intercom Fin, Gorgias AI) scales with volume and feels expensive at scale. Flat-priced options like Clearly ($299/mo) are cheaper than people assume — especially compared to hiring a part-time support associate ($1,500-3,000/mo).
- Are there hidden fees?
- Clearly Agent: no overages, no setup fees, no transaction fees. Pricing is the listed tier price, billed through Shopify's App Subscriptions API on your normal Shopify bill. Always double-check competitor pricing — some bill AI separately as a "Fin" or "Auto-respond" add-on.
Customization
- Can I customize the Shopify chatbot?
- Yes — extensively on Clearly Agent. Set name, avatar, accent color, tone (4 presets + custom voice), greeting, knowledge base, business hours, language. All on the free tier. Most competitors paywall at least branding.
- Can I match my brand colors?
- Yes. Use the hex color picker in Settings → Appearance. Any brand color works for the chat bubble, send button, product cards, and CTA accents.
- Can I use a custom avatar?
- Yes. Upload any image (PNG, JPG, WebP) and crop in-browser. Choose circular or square. Many merchants generate brand-consistent avatars via the Clearly main app.
- Will customers see a "Powered by" badge?
- Not in Clearly Agent. The widget is fully white-labeled on every tier including free. Many competitors require a vendor badge on free plans.
Capabilities
- Does the chatbot know about my products?
- Clearly Agent reads your Shopify catalog directly via the API — products, variants, inventory, prices, descriptions, tags, collections. First sync runs in ~30 seconds on install. Updates are real-time via Shopify webhooks.
- Can the chatbot add items to cart?
- Yes. When the customer commits ("I'll take the medium in blue"), Clearly Agent adds the variant to their cart inline in the conversation.
- Can the chatbot track orders?
- Yes. Customer provides email or order number; agent returns status, fulfillment stage, and tracking link inline.
- Can the chatbot apply discount codes?
- Yes — when contextually appropriate (e.g., customer asks "do you have a promo?"). You can disable this if you don't want automatic discount application.
- Does it work in multiple languages?
- Yes — auto-detects 15+ languages from the visitor's browser locale: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Chinese (simplified + traditional), Japanese, Korean, plus more. Replies in the visitor's language by default.
- Can I take over from the AI manually?
- Yes. Live takeover: AI escalates → you get a push notification → you join the conversation and type live → customer sees a typing indicator. Real-time, in the same widget.
Integration
- Does Clearly Agent work with Shopify Plus?
- Yes. Same install flow. Shopify Plus features (B2B, wholesale, multi-store) work normally; the agent reads from the same Admin API endpoints.
- Does it work with headless Shopify (Hydrogen, custom storefront)?
- Partially. The Theme App Extension only renders on standard Shopify themes. For headless storefronts, you'd embed the widget via our JS SDK (in beta — email hello@clearly.sh for early access).
- Does it work with my theme (Dawn, Crave, Studio, custom)?
- Yes — all themes. Theme App Extensions are sandboxed and theme-agnostic. We test on Dawn, Crave, Studio, Refresh, Sense, Origin, Spotlight, plus custom themes from major dev shops.
- Can it integrate with Klaviyo, Gorgias, or Recharge?
- Klaviyo: customer email capture passes through (configurable). Gorgias: there's a bridge that creates a Gorgias ticket on escalation. Recharge: subscription-aware product Q&A is on the roadmap. Email hello@clearly.sh for specific integrations.
- Does it work with Shopify POS or in-person sales?
- No — Clearly Agent is a storefront-only product. The widget appears on your online store, not in POS.
Security & data
- Is the chatbot GDPR compliant?
- Yes. Customer conversation data is stored encrypted at rest, accessible only by you (the merchant). Customer-initiated deletion requests (GDPR Article 17 / CCPA right to delete) are honored within 30 days via the standard Shopify Customer Privacy API.
- Where is conversation data stored?
- Cloudflare Durable Objects (per-store DO instance) in the region closest to your visitors. Data is encrypted at rest. We never train models on your store's conversation data.
- What permissions does the app request?
- Read: products, variants, inventory, orders (for tracking), customers (for personalization), fulfillments. Write: cart attributes (for adding items), draft orders (for cart actions), discount codes (for applying promos). Full list visible on the App Store install page.
- Do you train on my data?
- No. Your store's conversation data is not used to train or improve the underlying LLM. We use commercial APIs (Vertex AI Gemini) that have data-retention guarantees aligned with the Shopify App Store Data Protection requirements.
- Can I delete my conversation history?
- Yes — bulk delete from Settings → Privacy. Individual conversation deletion available per-conversation in the merchant inbox.
Operations
- What happens if the chatbot makes a mistake?
- The merchant inbox shows every conversation. If you spot a wrong answer, you can edit the knowledge base, retroactively reach out to the customer, or escalate. The AI does make mistakes — that's why live takeover and a reviewable inbox exist.
- How often should I review the inbox?
- Daily for stores doing >100 conversations/week. Weekly for stores under that volume. The dashboard surfaces conversations that escalated or got low-confidence replies for fast review.
- Will the chatbot replace my support team?
- No. It handles the repeatable ~80% so your team can focus on the high-value ~20% (refunds, custom orders, complaints, B2B inquiries). Stores using Clearly Agent typically don't cut staff — they handle more volume with the same team.
- Can I export my conversation data?
- Yes — CSV export of all conversations from Settings → Data Export. Useful for analytics, compliance audits, or migration.
Edge cases
- Does it handle out-of-stock products correctly?
- Yes. The agent sees inventory in real-time and won't suggest sold-out variants. It can recommend alternatives ("the medium is out — would the small or large work?") or offer to notify the customer when it's back in stock.
- What about products with custom options (engraving, monogramming)?
- The agent surfaces the custom options to the customer but escalates to you for complex personalization decisions ("which font should we engrave?") — you take over via live takeover.
- How does it handle returns and refunds?
- By default, it explains your return policy and routes the customer to the official Shopify return portal. It does NOT process refunds autonomously (we deliberately don't give the AI that authority). Sensitive financial actions escalate to a human.
- Can it handle wholesale / B2B inquiries?
- Yes — flag B2B-pattern conversations to escalate immediately. The agent will say "let me connect you with our wholesale team" and push to you live.