- Home
- AI Shopping Assistant
An AI shopping assistant that answers before shoppers leave
Shoppers ask “will it fit” and “when will it arrive” at all hours. A good AI assistant answers from your own pages, in your voice, and hands tricky chats to you. Here’s how to set one up the right way.
Hi, my dog is 22 lbs and his chest is 19 inches. Small or medium?
For this harness, chest size is the one that matters, so thanks for measuring. A 19 inch chest sits right in our Medium, which fits 17 to 22 inches. The straps also adjust if he fills out a bit. Want the size chart with photos of where to measure?
No that's ok. If I order today when would I get it? I'm in Ohio.
Our shipping page says US orders arrive in 3 to 7 business days. You'll get a tracking link by email once it ships. I can't promise an exact day, but if it hasn't turned up within 7 business days, reply to that email and someone on the team will look into it.
The questions that cost you sales when nobody answers
Most chats on a small store are the same handful of questions. These are the ones an assistant can take off your plate.
Sizing and fit
Matches a shopper’s measurements to your size chart and says which size, with the reason.
Shipping and delivery
Quotes your shipping policy word for word, without inventing dates you can’t keep.
Returns and exchanges
Explains your returns window and the quickest way to swap a size.
Product questions
Materials, care, what’s in the box. Only facts that are already on your product page.
Same question, two very different answers
The first assistant reads the size chart and the shipping page. The second makes things up to sound helpful, and that turns into refunds and angry emails.
- Gives the size and the reason for it
- Quotes real policies, never invents dates
- Offers a person when it isn’t sure
Hi, my dog is 22 lbs and his chest is 19 inches. Small or medium?
For this harness, chest size is the one that matters, so thanks for measuring. A 19 inch chest sits right in our Medium, which fits 17 to 22 inches. The straps also adjust if he fills out a bit. Want the size chart with photos of where to measure?
Hi, my dog is 22 lbs and his chest is 19 inches. Small or medium?
Great choice. Our premium harness is perfect for dogs of all sizes and loved by thousands of happy customers. Medium should work great for your pup.
An assistant is only as good as the pages behind it
It can only answer from what your store already says. That’s why stores built by storebuilder.ai start with a head start: the FAQ, policies and product descriptions are already written.
- Product descriptionsMaterials, sizes and what each product is for.
- Size chartsIn inches and centimeters, with how to measure.
- Shipping policyReal delivery windows from your suppliers.
- Returns policyHow long, what condition, who pays postage.
- FAQ pageThe questions people already email you about.
- A contact routeAn email or form for anything it can’t answer.
Add one in an afternoon
You don’t need a developer. Shopify has built-in chat, and the Shopify App Store has AI chat apps that read your store content.
Fill the gaps first
Make sure every question in the list above has an answer on your site. That’s the real work.
Add chat and give it rules
Turn on a chat tool, point it at your pages and tell it what it must never promise.
Try to break it
Ask it awkward questions before your shoppers do. Fix the pages it gets wrong.
Give your assistant instructions like this
Copy this into your chat tool’s instructions box, then change the store name and email.
You are the store assistant for Paws and Co, an online store selling dog walking gear. Answer only from the product pages, size charts, shipping policy, returns policy and FAQ you have been given. Keep every reply under 60 words, friendly and plain, with no hype. If the answer is not in those sources, say you are not sure and share this contact email: [your support email]. Never promise delivery dates, discounts or refunds beyond what the policies say. Never give medical or veterinary advice. If a shopper is upset or asks for a person, offer to pass them to the team straight away. If anyone asks, say clearly that you are an automated assistant.
AI shopping assistant questions
Do I need a chatbot on my Shopify store?
Not at the start. If you only get a few questions a week, answering them yourself is quicker and shows you what your pages are missing. Add chat once the same questions keep coming back.
What's the difference between a chatbot and an AI shopping assistant?
An old-style chatbot follows fixed scripts and buttons. An AI assistant writes its own replies from your store content, which feels more natural but needs testing, because it can also get things wrong.
Can an AI assistant give customers wrong answers?
Yes. It can sound certain and still be wrong, especially about delivery dates and product details. Limit it to your own pages, test it with tricky questions and always offer a way to reach a person.
Should I tell customers they're chatting with AI?
Yes. Label the chat clearly as automated. Shoppers will forgive a helpful tool, but they don't forgive one that pretends to be a person.
Does storebuilder.ai come with a shopping assistant?
No. It builds the store, including the FAQ and policy pages an assistant would rely on. You can add a chat app from the Shopify App Store whenever you're ready.
What should an AI shopping assistant be allowed to answer?
Product details, sizing, shipping times and return rules, all taken from your own pages. Keep it away from refunds, order changes and anything to do with money. Those should come to you.
How do I set up a Shopify chatbot without coding?
Install a chat app from the Shopify App Store. Many add the chat bubble to your theme for you. Then give it your FAQ, shipping and returns pages, and test it with ten questions a real customer would ask. Wherever it gets confused, fix the page, not just the bot.
What should I check before paying for an AI chatbot for ecommerce?
Whether it answers only from your store content, whether it hands over to a person cleanly, and whether you can read every conversation afterwards. Test it on your hardest questions first, like "will this arrive before Friday".
Do I need Shopify live chat if I reply to emails fast?
Not necessarily. Quick email replies are plenty for most new stores. Live chat earns its place when people hesitate on the product page, say asking about sizing right before they buy. Shopify Inbox is an easy way to try it.
Start with the answers already written.
Your free store comes with an FAQ, policies and product descriptions, the exact pages an AI assistant needs to read.
Build my FREE store