Choose an ecommerce chatbot by the work it must do and the store systems it must connect to—not by an “AI” label or a universal ranking. Start with your commerce platform, identify whether you need product guidance, routine support, order-status help, return workflows, or agent assistance, then verify data access, channels, human handoff, usage limits, and total cost.
What an ecommerce AI chatbot can—and cannot—do
“AI chatbot” describes several kinds of software. One tool may answer open-ended questions using store content; another may be configured as a virtual agent that performs a specific task. Answering “Where is my order?” is different from retrieving order data and returning a status. Completing a task depends on the connected data, permissions, and actions the merchant has enabled.
Common ecommerce jobs include answering product and policy questions, helping shoppers find items, supporting sales conversations, handling order-status requests, and assisting support agents. Decide which job matters most before comparing vendors. A chatbot designed for product discovery may not offer the ticketing or cross-channel workflow a support team needs.
Start with your ecommerce platform and data permissions
Confirm that a candidate has a working integration for your actual store platform. Shopify’s ecommerce guidance recommends checking platform and technology-stack compatibility before evaluating other features. A Shopify app should not be assumed to work with WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Wix, WordPress, or a custom storefront.
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Then inspect what the integration can access and change. Depending on the workflow, the chatbot might need product-catalog details, store policies, customer records, orders, or support tickets. Read the permissions carefully: access to read order information is not the same as permission to modify an order or initiate a return. Shopify says merchants control access for third-party AI connections, but the available controls and permissions depend on the specific tool and setup.
Shopify Help Center cautions that “AI outputs can contain errors, so review anything a tool creates or changes.” That matters for customer-facing answers as well as administrative actions: inaccurate product details, policy explanations, or order responses can create avoidable support problems.
Compare chatbot options by job, fit, and evidence
The options below are starting points, not a tested ranking of performance. Shopify Inbox and Sidekick are Shopify products for different purposes; the other named examples are drawn from Shopify’s July 2026 customer-service guide. That guide’s product descriptions, ratings, pricing, and usage details are snapshots, not independent head-to-head test results.
| Option | Best-fit use | Platform and workflow context | Price or plan detail established here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Inbox | Shopify merchants starting with live chat and AI-assisted replies | Shopify-specific; customer conversations, cart and order context, and chat-to-email continuity are described in Shopify guides | Shopify describes it as free; confirm feature availability in your account |
| Shopify Sidekick | Shopify store administration, guidance, and content tasks | Shopify admin assistant, not a shopper-facing support chatbot | Not stated in the cited guides |
| Gladly | Third-party customer-service option listed for Shopify merchants | Shopify guide example; confirm current integrations and channel coverage | Not stated here |
| Moose | Third-party Shopify chatbot option | Shopify guide example; confirm the current app’s exact capabilities | Not stated here |
| Re:amaze | Third-party customer-service option listed for Shopify merchants | Shopify guide example; confirm current integrations and channels | Not stated here |
| Rep AI | Third-party Shopify chatbot option | Shopify guide example; confirm current integration, limits, and escalation | Not stated here |
| Gorgias | Third-party customer-service option listed for Shopify merchants | Shopify guide example; confirm current integrations and channels | Not stated here |
| Boost.ai | Enterprise conversational AI consideration | Listed in Shopify’s ecommerce AI guide as an enterprise option; suitability for a particular retailer is not established | Custom pricing, according to Shopify’s guide |
1. Shopify Inbox: a native starting point for Shopify merchants
Shopify describes Inbox as a free live-chat tool. Its guides describe AI-suggested instant answers and replies based on store content, cart and order context, order-status updates, and the ability to continue conversations through email. Those are Shopify-specific descriptions, not claims about what a chatbot on another platform can do.
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Inbox is a reasonable baseline when a Shopify store needs customer conversations and AI assistance without beginning with a broader third-party service platform. Confirm which features are available in the merchant’s account and whether the workflow covers the store’s actual support needs. Shopify’s guides do not establish that Inbox provides every advanced automation, channel, or CRM workflow another business might require.
2. Shopify Sidekick: for store administration, not shopper support
Sidekick is an assistant for operating a Shopify store. Shopify describes it as helping with content, guidance, and administrative tasks. Its purpose differs from a storefront chatbot that answers shoppers, retrieves customer order information, or routes support conversations.
Consider Sidekick for eligible Shopify admin work, but do not treat it as a replacement for customer-facing support without verifying the specific feature and use case. Shopify’s cited material does not establish Sidekick as a general shopper-support chatbot.
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3. Gladly: a third-party Shopify guide example
Gladly appears among the third-party app examples in Shopify’s July 2026 customer-service guide. That makes it a candidate to investigate for a Shopify merchant considering a service platform beyond the native starting point. The guide’s inclusion does not establish independent performance, a particular feature set for every plan, or fit for a specific store.
The cited material does not state a price, free plan, or detailed channel and automation limits for Gladly. Compare its current integration, data permissions, available channels, task coverage, escalation workflow, and usage charges against the store’s needs before selecting it.
4. Moose: a third-party Shopify guide example
Moose is another third-party option listed in Shopify’s July 2026 guide. Treat it as a Shopify-related shortlist candidate rather than assuming every feature, usage allowance, or integration detail applies to your store’s configuration.
The cited guide material does not establish a price, free plan, or detailed limits for Moose. Verify the current app’s supported tasks, platform connection, channels, human handoff, and usage terms in the context of the store’s support volume.
5. Re:amaze: a third-party customer-service option
Shopify’s July 2026 guide includes Re:amaze among customer-service apps for Shopify merchants. It may merit consideration when comparing a third-party service workflow with Shopify Inbox, but the listing alone does not prove that its coverage or automation suits a particular team.
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6. Rep AI: a third-party Shopify chatbot option
Rep AI is listed as a third-party Shopify chatbot option in Shopify’s July 2026 customer-service guide. Use that listing as a pointer for comparison, not as an independently verified assessment of answer quality, conversion impact, or suitability.
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The cited material does not establish its price, free plan, or detailed usage limits. Confirm what it supports today, including the store integration, data access, shopper-facing tasks, channels, and route to a human agent.
7. Gorgias: a third-party customer-service option
Gorgias appears in Shopify’s July 2026 list of third-party customer-service apps. It belongs on a Shopify merchant’s comparison list when considering options beyond Inbox, while the precise fit depends on current product capabilities and the merchant’s workflow.
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The cited material does not state a price, free plan, or complete channel and automation limits for Gorgias. Confirm the current integration and plan terms, then compare the service workflows and usage allowances with expected support volume.
8. Boost.ai: an enterprise conversational AI consideration
Shopify’s ecommerce AI guide lists Boost.ai as an enterprise conversational AI option and says pricing is custom. This positions it as a possible consideration for larger organizations evaluating broader conversational automation; the cited guide does not establish that it will fit a particular retailer or platform setup.
Because pricing is custom and specific capabilities are not established in the cited material, a retailer should request the relevant integration, permission, channel, action, and handoff details for its intended workflow rather than inferring them from the enterprise label.
Decide whether you need AI, live chat, or both
Live chat connects shoppers to people. AI can suggest replies, answer common questions, or—when appropriately connected and configured—complete a task. These functions can coexist: Shopify describes Inbox as live chat with AI assistance and conversation continuity through email.
If shoppers need nuanced help, exceptions, or reassurance, a clear path to an agent is essential. Configure when the bot should hand off, what context should travel with the conversation, and what customers should expect about availability or waiting. Shopify’s customer-service guide recommends configuring handoff rules. Do not assume a human route exists simply because a product offers chat.
Rank #4
Test the actual store tasks before choosing
Evaluate candidates using representative questions and tasks drawn from your own catalog, policies, and support cases. Shopify’s guides do not provide controlled head-to-head performance results, store-specific resolution rates, or independently verified conversion lift. A vendor description cannot establish how well a system will answer your customers’ questions.
- Prepare realistic cases. Include product questions that require catalog details, common policy questions, an order-status request, and any return or other action the store expects the bot to support.
- Check answer accuracy. Compare responses with the live product information and current store policies. Include questions with missing, ambiguous, or conflicting details to see whether the bot acknowledges uncertainty or returns an unsupported answer.
- Check task completion separately from explanation. For an order or return workflow, determine whether the tool only describes the process or actually retrieves the relevant data or performs an enabled action.
- Test the handoff. Trigger the cases that should reach a person. Confirm that the customer can reach an agent and that useful conversation context carries over.
- Review permissions and maintenance. Identify the sources the tool reads, the actions it can take, and who updates the knowledge when products, inventory details, or policies change.
- Estimate real usage cost. Compare plan allowances with the store’s expected interaction or resolution volume, including any added usage charges. Recheck current prices and limits; a mid-2026 guide is not a guarantee of current terms.
Compare channels, automation, and total cost
List the channels customers actually use—such as website chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram, or Messenger—and confirm the specific product and plan support each one. The Shopify guide’s named app examples do not, by themselves, establish channel availability. Also check whether conversations stay in one service workflow or require separate tools.
For automation, distinguish answering from acting. Ask whether the system can use the right catalog, policy, order, and ticket data; whether it can take the intended action; and what safeguards or approvals apply. For cost, compare the recurring plan price and included interaction or resolution allowance with expected use, plus any overage or add-on charges. The cited Shopify guide is a July 2026 snapshot, so its prices, ratings, trials, and allowances should not be treated as live terms.
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How to choose by store situation
If you run a Shopify store and need a starting point
Begin with Shopify Inbox if live chat, AI-assisted replies, and basic customer conversations match the need. Shopify presents it as free; confirm the exact functions in the account. Move to a third-party app comparison when the store needs deeper automation, wider channel coverage, or CRM integration.
If order status is the main support burden
Choose only a configuration that can access the required order information and return an accurate status to the right customer. Verify identity and permissions, and test whether the system merely provides instructions or retrieves data. Establish an agent route for orders it cannot safely resolve.
If product discovery or sales assistance is the priority
Test answers against the real catalog, including product attributes and policy constraints. Do not infer improved sales from a chatbot’s marketing or from general AI-adoption figures; the cited sources do not establish a sales lift for an individual store.
If the store is not on Shopify
Shortlist tools with an explicit integration for the actual commerce platform and verify the access it grants. Shopify app listings are not evidence of compatibility with WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Wix, WordPress, or custom ecommerce systems.
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Consider whether the need is a broader service platform or enterprise conversational AI rather than a standalone website bot. Define the required integrations, channels, action permissions, and escalation workflow before comparing vendors. Boost.ai is one enterprise option named in Shopify’s guide, but the cited information does not establish its fit for a particular retailer.
What Shopify’s AI statistics do—and do not—tell you
Shopify reported that, in its 2025 survey of 500 established merchants with at least two years on the platform across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States, 75% used AI tools, 55% said AI tools saved time on repetitive tasks, and 69% used AI for content generation. These figures concern AI tools generally, not ecommerce chatbot adoption or chatbot results for a given store.
Shopify’s July 2026 customer-service guide attributes to a 2025 SurveyMonkey study the finding that 89% of consumers believe companies should always offer the option to speak to a human if required. That figure is reported by Shopify; it is a reason to make handoff part of the evaluation, not evidence that a specific chatbot will satisfy customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which chatbot works with Shopify?
Shopify Inbox is Shopify’s native live-chat starting point. Shopify’s July 2026 guide also lists third-party examples including Gladly, Moose, Re:amaze, Rep AI, and Gorgias. Confirm current integrations and feature availability for the specific store and plan.
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It can if the connected system has the necessary order data and the enabled workflow supports retrieving it. Shopify’s guides describe order-status updates in the Shopify Inbox context. For another product or platform, verify the specific integration and test the workflow rather than assuming the capability.
How should a chatbot hand a conversation to a person?
Set explicit handoff rules for requests the bot cannot answer or safely complete, make the agent route visible to shoppers, and test that conversation context carries over. Set customer expectations for agent availability or wait time.
Is Shopify Sidekick a customer-facing chatbot?
No. Shopify describes Sidekick as an assistant for store administration, guidance, and content tasks. It is distinct from a chatbot intended to answer shoppers on a storefront.
Does an AI chatbot guarantee higher sales or lower support costs?
No such result is established by the cited Shopify guides. They do not provide independently verified store-level conversion lift, resolution rates, or guaranteed cost savings.
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