Are Shopify AI chatbots worth it?

If you’d asked me about AI chatbots before few years ago, I would say ‘It only feels like a robot’.  But things are different now, and the world has changed. 

AI chatbots are more advanced than before, especially with the entry of ChatGPT. 

Don’t we use ChatGPT at least once a day to search for or learn something? People are getting used to conversational searches instead of conventional searching. 

This is because AI models can show results based on our detailed needs.

Similarly, a Shopify AI chatbot can help customers find products they are looking for by understanding their needs. 

If you’re still skeptical about Shopify AI chatbots, but what if I told you it’s 3 times more efficient and time-saving than human assistants? 

Let’s discuss deeper! 

What are Shopify AI chatbots?

Shopify AI chatbots are virtual store assistants that help shoppers with answering queries on products, orders, knowledge base, and other FAQs. Apart from looking after the customer support, AI chatbots also help in upselling through recommending products and bundles. 

Well, the best part of an AI chatbot is that customers get the feel of conversations and not just shopping. They can ask what they want in their own language and style. 

Even if a customer asks a question in a different language (other than English), an AI chatbot can answer it instantly. We’ll discuss more about it in the latter part of this blog.

Pros of using Shopify AI chatbots

Using an AI chatbot for your store is, of course, optional, but it can make your store more powerful. 

It can help you:

• Automate customer support

The known fact is that AI chatbots work 24/7, but you can feel the real automation when it instantly answers queries like “Where is my order?”, “How to cancel my order?’’, “Do you ship to New Jersey?” etc. 

You can also sync your store’s FAQs and knowledge base to help customers get instant answers. 

• Reduce manual labour and costs

If your customer support is taken care of by you or a human agent, an AI chatbot can replace you. It's good news to you, but not for the human agent. (Haha!)

An AI chatbot is much cheaper than having a human customer support agent. The efficiency of a chatbot is 2x human agents, and you can cut support costs by 70%. 

But you can amplify your customer support to the next level with a human + AI chatbot. 

• Increase store conversion rate

When customers ask for product suggestions, an AI chatbot can recommend products and even bundles. This can significantly increase your sales and conversion rate. 

You can also upload photos to find matching or similar products. 

• Increase customer engagement

AI chatbots can engage shoppers with nudges like, “Looking for something?” or “Would you like to check out the latest collections?”.  These nudges can trigger even silent shoppers to take action on your store. 

Cons of using Shopify AI chatbot

• AI chatbots can hallucinate

You might have seen chatbots giving incorrect and fabricated answers.  Well, it is called ‘AI Hallucination’. This is why many shoppers get bugged when they get irrelevant responses. The reasons for AI hallucination are not training the chatbot and not adding specific prompts.

Solution:

You can avoid this by syncing the chatbot with products regularly and adding prompts based on your needs. Also, make sure the AI chatbot you choose is powered by a trusted Large Language Model (LLM) like ChatGPT. 

• Rigid customizations

Many AI chatbots have fewer features to customize to suit their brands. For example, you might want to change the colour and logo on the chatbot to match your store. Without customizations, your AI chatbot can seem like an alien object in your store. 

Solution:

You can avoid this by choosing chatbots that offer the flexibility to personalize them based on the brand colour, tone, and logo. 

• Impersonal customer experience

There were times when talking to a chatbot felt like talking to robots. But now things have changed, and chatbots can answer just like a human. Still, some customers are really against using or talking with ‘chatbots’. The moment they see a chatbot, they hate it. 

Solution:

The good thing is, people are slowly getting adapted to chatbots after realizing how useful ChatGPT is in their lives. 

• Irrelevant product suggestions

Without proper training or prompts, AI chatbots can sometimes suggest irrelevant products. It’s not human, it’s AI, so things can happen. But there are ways to avoid this. 

Solution:

You can train the AI chatbot to ask follow-up questions to understand the customer query better and suggest products more accurately. 

Note: 
Do these cons mean you should never have an AI chatbot for your store? No, not all.
Of course, it’s optional, and it’s your choice. 
But without an AI chatbot, you might be missing out on a lot of opportunities to reduce manual support and increase conversions. 
The only thing you can do is to choose the right AI chatbot for your Shopify store. 

Automating customer support with Shopify AI chatbots

An AI chatbot answers support queries 24/7, which means it doesn’t go to sleep like you or your human agent. It never takes a day off or gets sick. It’s there forever! 

Even if you’re going on vacation, you don’t have to put your store on vacation mode; an AI chatbot can handle it. 

It can answer all the product and order-related queries like ‘Where is my order?’, ‘I want to cancel my order.' and 'Suggest a shirt to wear with my olive green pants. 

The chatbot can answer queries in seconds, which a human agent can do in minutes. 

But what’s in it for you?

One, faster customer support means faster customer decisions and better sales. 

Two, you can save a lot of time and money. Period!

Increase sales with Shopify AI chatbots

Of course, AI chatbots can help in customer support, but what about sales? Can it sell products for you like a salesperson does?

Well, not exactly, but it can help in sales differently. 

Shopify chatbots can suggest products based on shoppers' needs. It can also recommend bundles that can help increase average order value.  SALES!

It can show nudges that trigger customers to make shopping decisions. SALES!

You can upload a picture of the product to find matching or similar products. SALES!

Now, there are also features for voice chat to chat with the bots. 

This is why many Chatbots are called ‘AI sales assistants’ that take care of customer support and sales. 

How to add an AI Chatbot to Shopify?

Adding AI chatbots to your store is just ‘plug and play’ if you choose one from the Shopify store. Outside of Shopify, integrating a chatbot can become complex and time-consuming. 

To add an AI chatbot, visit the Shopify app store and search for ‘AI chatbot’. Now you can choose an AI chatbot app that suits your needs. 

Here’s a video to guide you through adding a Shopify AI chatbot.

But are you wondering how to choose an AI chatbot? 

Read on!

How to choose an AI Chatbot for Shopify? (Factors to consider)

There are more than 1500+ apps when you search for ‘AI chatbot’ on the Shopify app store. I know, it’s quite hard to find, filter, and finalize the best chatbot app. 

Don’t worry, I’ll help you with that. Here are a few steps to follow to find a good chatbot app:

Step 1: Find

• Enter the term ‘AI chatbot’

Once you search, you will see lots of apps. If your sole purpose is an AI chatbot, avoid apps that have added ‘Live chat’ features if that’s not your thing.

• Click on the ‘Built for Shopify’ filter

Though there are many apps, you can have ‘Built for Shopify’ (BFS) apps as the priority. BFS apps work better on your store since they comply with Shopify’s app policies. Choose ‘Built for Shopify’ apps to be on the safer side and have a good app experience.

Step 2: Filter

• Choose apps with a rating of 4.7 and above

Though you can choose apps with lesser ratings, 4.7 and above are better choices. These ratings are given based on reviews, number of merchants using, recency of feedback and technical performance. 

• Choose apps that have a larger number of reviews

But here's a catch! Smarter AI chatbots have grown after the advent of ChatGPT, which is just a few years old. Many Live chat apps (like Tidio) have added AI chatbot features to it. So, it might seem like the apps have more reviews. So, make a quick background check of the apps. Many Shopify AI chatbots are new but smarter. 

• Choose apps that fit your pricing (with a free trial period)

You should definitely have a pricing budget before you choose an app. Start filtering apps that don’t fit your budget. Make sure the apps have a free trial period of 14 or 30 days, so you can try them out before you pay for it.

• Compare the apps on the Shopify app store

Once you’ve shortlisted 3 or 4 apps, you can use the ‘Compare’ feature at the top. You can select up to 4 apps and compare all the features side by side. 

Tip: Once you’ve found 3 or 4 Shopify AI chatbot apps, you can also use ChatGPT to compare these apps. Here’s a prompt to help you:

I’ve shortlisted a few AI chatbot apps for my Shopify store, and I want to compare them before deciding. Here are the apps: [App 1], [App 2], [App 3], [App 4]

Please compare them based on:

 • How well they integrate with Shopify (do they sync products, FAQs, and policies automatically?)
  • Ability to automate customer support (shipping, returns, order tracking)
  • Features that help increase sales (upsells, product recommendations, discount nudges)
  • Ease of setup and customization (no coding, minimal setup)
  • Affordability and pricing transparency
  • Chat quality (does it sound human or robotic?)
  • Support for multiple languagesUnique or standout features
‍
In the end, recommend which one offers the best balance of support automation, sales performance, and pricing for small and mid-sized Shopify stores.

Step 3: Finalize

Once you’ve compared the shortlisted apps, it’s now time to finalize the apps. You can start by trying the apps on a trial period one by one and find the one that best suits you (or you can choose one based on the factors we discussed).

Conclusion

So, are Shopify AI chatbots worth it?

Absolutely, if you choose the right app. The thing is, today shoppers expect instant answers and personalized responses. If you don’t respond quickly to their support queries, chances are they’ll leave your store. 

That’s where AI chatbots can help your store by acting as a smart sales assistant. Like we discussed, AI chatbots aren’t just for support; they work great to increase conversions. 

And above all, AI + human agent can be a wonderful superpower you can have. 

The bottom line: Shopify AI chatbots can help you grow your business by taking care of customer support, sales, and engagement. 

One such app you can consider is AskTimmy. You can try the app on a trial period and decide for yourself!

FAQs

1. Can Shopify AI chatbots help in increasing conversions?

Yes, apart from customer support, AI chatbots can recommend products, show bundles, and nudge customers to complete their checkout. It can help in conversions and avoid abandoned carts.

2. Are AI chatbots hard to set up on Shopify?

No, most AI chatbots on Shopify are just ‘plug-and-play’ apps. Once you install the app, it automatically syncs your product pages, FAQs, and policies. No coding is required. 

3. Will AI chatbots sound too robotic?

It depends on how you train it. Modern AI chatbots usually sound more human and conversational. Also, it can be trained by adding relevant prompts.

4. What if the chatbots give wrong or irrelevant information?

That usually happens if you don’t train the AI chatbot well. You can fix this by syncing products, FAQs, the knowledge base, and the entire store.  

5. How much does a Shopify AI chatbot cost?

The pricing depends on the features and usage of the chatbot, but most apps fall in the range of $19 - $600 per month. But it is obviously cheaper than hiring a human customer support agent.