Best AI chatbot for Shopify: apps compared

The best AI chatbot for Shopify answers from your product catalogue, looks up order status without revealing a customer's data to someone else, and hands the customer over to a person when it cannot help. On 20 October 2026 we compared nine apps from the Shopify App Store: Chaterimo, Shopify Inbox, Tidio, Gorgias, Chatty, Zipchat, Rep AI, Intercom and Re:amaze. They differ most in whether the AI comes with live chat for your team, how they check who asks about an order, and how they charge. Chaterimo is our product; we describe the others from their own pages.

Which AI chatbot apps for Shopify did we compare?

The table lists AI chatbot apps that answer shoppers on a Shopify store and are installed from the Shopify App Store. Prices are from each vendor's own pricing page on 20 October 2026, in USD per month with monthly billing unless the cell says otherwise. Rep AI publishes no prices on its website, so its prices come from its Shopify App Store listing.

Sources for each app are in the sections below. The apps count usage differently (conversations, replies, tickets, resolutions, visitors), so compare the price for your own monthly volume rather than the headline number.

What should an AI chatbot for Shopify do?

Most chats on an online store ask the same few things: where is my order, how do I return this, what does shipping cost, and which product should I buy. An AI chatbot is worth installing when it answers these correctly. Check these points:

Answers from the product catalogue

The chatbot knows your products, variants, prices and stock, and recommends a specific product. It must update them regularly, or it advises from old prices.

Order status ("Where is my order?")

The chatbot reads the order from Shopify and tells the customer its status and tracking. Because an order holds a name and an address, it should first check that the person asking placed the order.

Your policies

Shipping, payment, returns and exchanges come from your texts, not from the products. Good apps let you add them as text, files or pages.

Hand-over to a person

When the AI cannot help, a person takes over: in a live chat in the same chat window, or later through a ticket or e-mail.

Installation

On Shopify, an app adds its chat window through an app embed in the theme editor, so you paste no code.

Pricing model

A monthly plan with a limit, a price per AI resolution, or a plan plus your own API key. Calculate the price for your number of conversations per month.

How do the apps differ?

Chaterimo

Chaterimo is our product, so we describe it in more detail, but by the same criteria as the others. It is an AI agent for customer support of online stores, installed from the Shopify App Store as “Chaterimo: GenAI‑powered chat”¹.

• Product catalogue: after install, the app imports your active products through the Shopify API and trains the chatbot on them. During the trial and on paid plans it downloads them again every day.
• Knowledge base: you add shipping, returns and payment rules as text, files or pages of your store.
• Order status: the customer gives the order number and the e-mail or phone number used on the order. When the contact matches, the chatbot gives the payment and fulfilment status, the ordered items and, when Shopify has it, the tracking number; without a matching contact it shows nothing about the order.
• Hand-over to a person: when the customer asks for a person or the problem stays unresolved and the customer leaves a contact, Chaterimo creates a ticket with a summary of the conversation. The e-mail about the new ticket goes to the ticket notification address you set in Chaterimo. Tickets are part of the trial and of the Evolve plan and higher. Chaterimo has no live chat in which your team would answer in the chat window.
• Channels: the chat window on your store and Facebook Messenger.
• Proactive messages: the Sales Assistant opens the chat with an AI message on pages you choose, after a delay you set, and can take the cart into account (paid plans and the trial).
• Models: GPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok. With your own API key (BYOK) you pay the model provider directly, and Chaterimo sets no monthly message limit; plans with Chaterimo's keys include a monthly number of messages.
• Installation and price: an app embed in the theme editor, no code. A new store starts with a 7-day trial with all features; Shopify then bills the plan you choose. Plans are on the pricing page for Shopify.

It fits stores with a larger catalogue, where customers choose by parameters and need advice on which product to buy, and stores that want to choose the language model. If you want your team to answer customers live in the chat window, choose one of the apps with live chat below, or see our comparison of live chat apps for Shopify. Installation step by step is in the guide to Chaterimo for Shopify.

Shopify Inbox

Shopify Inbox is Shopify's own free chat app, and its listing now calls it an AI sales associate². The AI part is the Inbox agent, an opt-in feature. It answers from your product catalogue, store policies, knowledge base facts and files and published pages and blog posts; for a product in your catalogue it can also use web search with sources³.

You choose whether the Inbox agent takes all conversations, only those outside your team's availability, or none. It looks up order status after the customer signs in, hands the chat to your team with its context, and gives the customer your store's e-mail address when no one is available. Customers always see a notice that they are chatting with AI. Shopify Inbox needs the Basic, Grow, Advanced or Plus plan, and the Inbox agent needs new customer accounts⁴. Shopify does not say which language model it uses.

Shopify Inbox fits stores that want to start for free, inside the Shopify admin, with their team answering on desktop or in the mobile app.

Tidio

Tidio combines live chat, automated flows and the AI agent Lyro⁵. Lyro scrapes your support content and answers from it, and on product pages it compares products and adds them to the cart. Tidio says it powers Lyro with Claude from Anthropic and its own models⁶. Its Shopify action for order status always asks for the e-mail and order ID and can also ask for the ZIP code or phone number; it is available on all plans, including the free one⁷. When a customer needs a person, Lyro alerts your team in the live chat, or creates a ticket⁶.

Tidio has a free plan with live chat. With monthly billing, Starter costs $29 a month for 100 billable conversations and the Lyro AI Agent starts at $39 a month for 50 Lyro conversations ($24.17 and $32.50 a month with annual billing); paid plans have a 7-day trial⁸. Tidio fits stores that want live chat and an AI agent from one vendor; our comparison of Chaterimo and Tidio goes into more detail.

Gorgias

Gorgias is a helpdesk for online stores: e-mail, chat and social messages in one place, with Shopify orders next to each ticket⁹. Its AI Agent handles order, shipping and return questions, and the Shopping Assistant answers product questions and recommends products. The AI Agent answers from guidance you write, your help center, your synced store website, public pages and uploaded documents¹¹. The listing does not describe how the AI verifies the customer before it shows an order.

Plans are priced by tickets: Starter costs $10 a month for 50 tickets (monthly billing only). The AI Agent costs $1.00 per automated interaction with monthly billing ($0.90 with annual billing), and each one also counts as a ticket. The trial lasts 7 days¹⁰. Gorgias fits teams that already work in a helpdesk and want AI to take part of the tickets. Other helpdesks are compared in Gorgias alternatives for Shopify.

Chatty

Chatty is an AI chatbot with live chat, a shared inbox and a mobile app¹². The AI learns your products and FAQ, recommends products and helps with order tracking; the listing does not say how it verifies the customer. The free plan has 50 AI conversations a month, unlimited conversations with your team and AI trained on up to 200 products; handing a chat from the AI to a person starts with the paid plans. With monthly billing, Basic costs $19.99 a month for 100 AI conversations ($16.99 with annual billing), and each additional AI conversation costs $0.40¹³. Chatty fits small and mid-sized stores that want AI and live chat at a low entry price.

Zipchat

Zipchat is an AI agent with live chat and a shared inbox for chat, e-mail, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger¹⁴. According to its website, it reads your catalogue, policies and orders, answers in the customer's language and, when a person is needed, creates a ticket in Zendesk, Gorgias, Intercom, Freshdesk or Salesforce with the transcript¹⁶. Zipchat's pricing page lists Starter at $80 a month with monthly billing ($64 with annual billing) for 750 AI replies, a 7-day trial on every plan and a 30-day money-back guarantee¹⁵. Its Shopify App Store listing also shows a free plan with 120 AI replies a month, which the pricing page does not list¹⁴. Zipchat fits stores that keep their team in another helpdesk and want the AI in front of it.

Rep AI

Rep AI is an AI agent with live chat. It learns your catalogue, policies and brand voice, recommends products, handles order tracking and returns, and hands the conversation to your live chat operators with a summary¹⁷. The listing describes it as GPT-powered and answering in each shopper's language. Rep AI's own pricing page shows no prices, only a 14-day trial¹⁸. Its Shopify App Store listing prices it by store visitors: free for 100 visitors and 100 products a month, then from $104 a month for 10,000 visitors, plus $12 for each additional 1,000 visitors¹⁷. Rep AI fits stores that want the AI to act as a sales associate and can estimate their traffic.

Intercom

Intercom is a customer service platform whose AI agent Fin works with Intercom or with your current helpdesk¹⁹. On the listing, Fin answers product and order questions with real-time data and can edit shipping details, refund and create orders. Intercom seats cost from $29 a month with annual billing (Essential; Advanced $85, Expert $132), Fin costs $0.99 per outcome, and the trial lasts 14 days²⁰. Intercom fits larger teams with a support process across several channels.

Re:amaze

Re:amaze is a helpdesk with live chat, chatbots and an AI agent; your team can manage, change and create Shopify orders in the chat²¹. The listing does not say what the AI agent answers from or whether it looks up orders for shoppers. Plans start at $29 per team member a month with monthly billing ($26 with annual billing), including 5 AI resolutions per user a month; each additional resolution costs $0.85, and the trial lasts 14 days²². Re:amaze fits teams that want a classic helpdesk with some AI help.

How does an AI chatbot check order status safely?

An app connected to Shopify can read orders. The customer types an order number and the chatbot tells them the status, the shipping method and the tracking number. The difference is how the chatbot checks that the person asking placed the order:

• Shopify Inbox asks the customer to sign in to their customer account first⁴.
• Tidio's order status action asks for the e-mail and order ID, optionally the ZIP code or phone number⁷.
• Chaterimo asks for the order number and the e-mail or phone number on the order, and shows nothing about the order when the contact does not match.
• Gorgias, Chatty, Zipchat, Rep AI and Intercom track orders according to their pages but do not describe the check publicly.

Before you choose, ask the vendor what the chatbot shows when someone types another customer's order number. An order holds a name, an address and a phone number, so the chatbot should not show them to anyone else.

What is BYOK and why does it change the price?

BYOK (bring your own key)

You create an API key at the model provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or xAI), paste it into the chatbot and pay the provider directly for what the chatbot uses.

Most AI chatbot apps sell AI usage inside their plans: a number of AI conversations or replies per month, or a price for each AI resolution. With BYOK you pay the app a monthly fee and the provider for the tokens (the units of text providers bill by) your chatbot really uses, so a busy month costs more with the provider, not with the app. You also choose the model and can switch it when a provider releases a new version. Chaterimo offers both: plans with your own API key and plans with Chaterimo's keys; the OpenAI API key guide shows how to get a key. The guide on how to choose an LLM for customer support explains how to compare models, and our blind benchmark of AI models compares them on real questions from online stores.

What does an AI chatbot for Shopify cost?

All the apps in the table install for free from the Shopify App Store; what you pay depends on the pricing model:

• Free: Shopify Inbox, including its Inbox agent; free plans with low limits from Tidio, Chatty and Chaterimo, and on the Shopify listings of Zipchat and Rep AI.
• Monthly plan with a limit on AI usage: Tidio (Lyro conversations), Chatty (AI conversations), Zipchat (AI replies), Rep AI (visitors), Chaterimo plans with Chaterimo's keys (messages).
• Price per AI resolution: Gorgias ($1.00 per automated interaction with monthly billing), Intercom ($0.99 per outcome), Re:amaze ($0.85 per extra resolution), on top of the plan or seats.
• Plan plus your own API key: Chaterimo plans with your own key, plus what you pay the model provider.

Shopify adds app charges to your Shopify bill. Take the number of conversations from last month and calculate the price with two or three candidates.

Which apps from older lists are no longer a fit?

Lists of Shopify chatbots often name apps that changed. We checked them on 20 October 2026:

• Gobot still has a listing in the Shopify App Store, but its website now presents a first-party data platform with a visitor identity pixel and guided product recommendations, and does not mention Shopify²³.
• Siena AI has no app in the Shopify App Store; its pricing page names neither an app nor Shopify²⁴.
• Other AI chatbots with a Shopify listing that we did not compare in detail include Moose AI Chatbot & Live Chat, SmartBot, Willdesk and Manifest AI. They can be worth a look; check the same points as above.

How do you choose an AI chatbot for your store?

1. Write down 20–30 real questions your customers ask: product choice, sizes, shipping, returns, order status.
2. Choose two or three apps by what you need most: an AI agent alone, or AI with live chat for your team.
3. In the trial, ask each app the same questions and check the facts in the answers: prices, stock, delivery times.
4. Try the order status with someone else's order number and check that the chatbot reveals nothing.
5. Calculate the price for your monthly number of conversations and choose the app with the most correct answers within your budget.

Summary

On 20 October 2026 you choose from at least nine AI chatbot apps for Shopify. Shopify Inbox is free and now has its own AI agent; Tidio, Gorgias, Intercom and Re:amaze add AI to live chat or a helpdesk; Chatty, Zipchat and Rep AI start from the AI agent and add live chat; Chaterimo is an AI agent with your choice of model and BYOK, which hands over through tickets. Decide by whether your team will answer live, how the app checks orders and which pricing model suits your volume, and test two or three apps on your real questions. Chaterimo has a 7-day trial; the setup is in the guide to Chaterimo for Shopify.

TopicsShopifyAI customer service