Shopify customer service chat, live in minutes
The AI answers shoppers 24/7 and hands off to you when it matters. Install from the Shopify App Store, run the setup wizard, and it builds your assistant from your products, pages and blog posts.
The whole setup, step by step
From installing the app to answering your first live conversation.
Install from the Shopify App Store
One click from the Shopify App Store and Functional AI appears in your admin. No code, no developers, no configuration files. Shopify asks you to approve what the app can read, and the app picks up your store from there.
- One-click Shopify install
- Auto-detects your store
- Free to install
One click, and the wizard builds your assistant
Press Start Setup Wizard and watch the checklist fill in, usually for 2–5 minutes. It reads your pages, blog posts, products and collections, turns them into a knowledge store that keeps itself up to date, writes the assistant’s instructions from what it read, turns on the Shopify tools (product search, recommendations, discounts, order lookup) and points your store’s chat at the new assistant.
- Usually 2–5 minutes
- Order lookup included
- Knowledge re-syncs itself
Setup wizardone click, usually 2–5 minutesReads your store
- Pages
- Blog posts
- Products, and collections if you have them
Builds its knowledge
- Creates a knowledge store
- Adds what it read as files that keep themselves up to date
Creates your assistant
- Writes its instructions from your store and adds suggested questions
- Links the knowledge to it
- Turns on the Shopify tools: product search, recommendations, discounts, order lookup
- Makes it public, so the widget can use it
- Selects it in the app and sets the widget to visible
Switch the chat on in your theme
Your storefront does not change until you say so. Turn on the Functional AI app embed in your theme editor (the app’s Shopify settings page has a shortcut to it) and the chat appears for shoppers. You can pick which assistant it uses on the same settings page.
- Nothing changes until you switch it on
- Theme editor shortcut
- Choose the assistant
Add your own files and docs
The wizard’s synced files sit in your knowledge store beside anything you add yourself: drop in files, write a note, or add a page by URL. The assistant answers from all of it, so it quotes your actual policies and products instead of guessing.
- Drag-and-drop uploads
- Write text or add a URL
- Shopify files stay in sync
Tune the assistant’s instructions
The wizard writes a first draft of the instructions from your store. Change the tone, add the rules only your team knows, tell it what to never promise. The instructions are where your brand voice comes to life.
- Custom brand voice
- Behaviour guardrails
- Starts from a written draft
Make it look like your store
Pick a preset or any colour by hex value, choose a popup bubble or a side drawer, and watch the live preview change as you go. Your chat looks like it was built for your brand.
- Preset or custom colours
- Live preview
- Bubble or side drawer
See it answer on your storefront
Try it first from Test chat in the app. Once it is switched on, shoppers ask about shipping, returns or a gift and get answers from your own policies, any time of day.
- Test chat before launch
- Answers from your own policies
- Any time of day
Watch conversations as they happen
Every conversation lands in one inbox: what shoppers asked, what the assistant answered, which ones are paused and waiting for you. Filter by assistant, source or status when it gets busy.
- One inbox for every chat
- Paused threads flagged
- Filters by source and status
Step in when a shopper needs a person
When a conversation crosses one of your handoff rules (a shopper asking for a person, a delivery problem, whatever you set), the assistant pauses and the thread shows you why, with the scores. Reply yourself and the shopper stays in the same chat.
- Pauses on your rules
- Shows why it paused
- You reply in the same thread
Track usage and manage your plan
See how many messages you have used this month and how many are left, and change plan when you need to.
- Monthly message usage
- Messages left at a glance
- Change plan any time
A guided tour, the first time you open it
An interactive walkthrough highlights each section, so you always know what to do next.
Still comparing options? Read our roundup of Shopify customer service chat tools
Questions before you install
Shopify Inbox is free and has an AI agent now. Why pay for this?
If Inbox does what you need, you may not have to. Its AI agent answers product, policy and order questions, and it costs nothing. The difference is what happens when the AI stops. Here, a handoff pauses the AI on that conversation, marks it unread and tags it Paused, and you reply in the same chat. If you're away, a shopper we can't identify is asked for an email first (on by default), so you can follow up. Shopify's Help Center says that when no staff are available, Inbox's agent gives the shopper your store's email address instead (as of October 2026). You also write the conditions that trigger a handoff yourself. And there's no fee per resolved conversation: your plan includes a set number of messages, and on Medium and Pro any extra message is $0.10 from a balance you top up, so the bill never grows on its own. Here is how per-resolution AI pricing adds up.
Does it cost anything to install?
No. Installing the app is free and you start on the free plan. Paid plans go on your Shopify bill: Medium comes with a 5-day free trial there, Pro has none. See pricing for what each plan includes.
Your customers are already asking.
Put an assistant on your site that answers from what you know, and calls you in when a customer needs a person. 100 free messages to start, no card needed.
Free to install. Your storefront doesn’t change until you switch the chat on in your theme.
Install on Shopify