AI Chatbot for Shopify: 10 Best Options

An AI chatbot is software that “converses” with someone using natural language processing to mimic a human via text or voice. In ecommerce, this can look like a shopper asking for product details or checking an order status. 

The AI chatbot responds with available data, but is programmed to escalate the chat to a human customer service agent for more complex queries or those outside its AI knowledge base.

Nearly half of US adults (49%) report using AI chatbots, up from 33% just two years ago. Chatbots are helpful for customer service, and the 2025 Shopify survey* found that 75% of business owners report using AI tools to help run their online stores.

Keep reading to learn more about what an AI chatbot is and how it works, the best chatbot tools for ecommerce businesses, the benefits they bring to customer service and internal workflows, and how to choose the right AI tool in your business.

What is an AI chatbot?

An artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot is a software application that simulates human conversations with users through text or voice. Instead of shoppers reading through a product page or logging into their account to access order details, they communicate with an AI ecommerce chatbot on the website or app to ask questions about your products or other assistance.

There are a few different types of chatbots:

• Chatbot. The umbrella term for any automated conversational tool, including older menu-based bots that only respond to preset buttons.
• AI chatbot. A chatbot that uses artificial intelligence, usually a large language model (LLM), to understand open-ended questions and generate a response.
• Conversational AI. Software that understands natural language and holds a conversation, deployable as a chatbot, a voice assistant, or an in-app agent; tools like ChatGPT are built on conversational AI.
• Virtual agent. An AI chatbot built to complete a task end-to-end, like processing a return or updating a shipping address, instead of answering questions.

Three-quarters of all Shopify store owners report using AI in some way, shape, or form. AI chatbots used to answer customer questions are just one example.

How do AI chatbots work?

AI chatbots follow a similar sequence regardless of the platform:

1. User prompt. A shopper types (or even speaks) their question, like “Where’s my order?” or “Do you have this in a medium?”
2. Intent detection. Natural language processing (NLP) analyzes the prompt to identify what the shopper wants, even if they don’t use exact keywords.
3. Context retrieval. The chatbot pulls relevant information, e.g., order history, product data, or help center articles, to build an educated response.
4. Response generation. An LLM generates a natural-language reply based on the prompt and the retrieved context.
5. Learning or handoff. Some chatbots are able to retain information from conversations to “learn” how to better handle future responses. Some also understand when requests are outside of their scope (for example, interactions with a refund dispute or a frustrated shopper) and route the conversation to a human agent.

AI chatbots differ from older rule-based or menu-based bots that could only match a prompt to a preset script, struggling with questions phrased in an unfamiliar way.

Best AI chatbot tools for ecommerce businesses

The tools below focus on chatbots and conversational AI specifically, organized by how each one fits into a Shopify store’s retail customer service, content, and internal workflows.

Each entry reflects publicly listed pricing and features as of mid-2026. AI pricing changes often, so confirm current plans directly with each vendor before buying.

Shopify Sidekick

Sidekick is Shopify’s AI commerce assistant, built into the admin and included with every Shopify plan. Unlike a general-purpose chatbot, Sidekick has direct access to store data. 

This means it can generate accurate product descriptions, edit your Shopify theme design, build custom apps, and surface helpful recommendations through Sidekick Pulse, all based on product details and store performance.

Best for: Shopify store owners looking for AI help with building and running their stores.

Use cases: Content generation, store design edits, workflow automation with Shopify Flow, custom app creation, data analysis and reporting.

Pricing: Included with all Shopify plans.

Shopify Inbox

Shopify Inbox is Shopify’s free live chat tool, built into the admin and mobile app. It lets a store owner or team chat with shoppers in real time while they browse, while giving them visibility into what’s in a shopper’s cart and their past orders.

Seventy percent of Shopify Inbox conversations happen with shoppers actively making a purchasing decision. Inbox’s AI features suggest instant answers and replies based on a store’s product catalog and FAQ content, which a team member can review, edit, or send as written. Automated messages handle order status updates, and conversations can transition from chat to email if a shopper leaves the site.

Best for: Shopify store owners looking for live chat to help with customer service.

Use cases: Live chat, order status updates, conversion assistance during browsing.

Pricing: Free for all Shopify store owners.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT, built by OpenAI, is a general-purpose AI assistant that generates text, answers questions, and even generates images through plain-language prompts. Store owners tend to use it for content rather than customer-facing chat, such as drafting product descriptions, marketing copy, or market research reports.

In a 2025 Shopify survey,* ChatGPT led AI tool usage among store owners, at 67%, four times more than any other individual tool. 

However, the tool’s popularity seems to be waning. While one analysis of the top 10 AI chatbots found ChatGPT accounted for 86% of their combined traffic between April 2024 and March 2025, 2026 data shows its lead is dropping. By mid-2026, ChatGPT’s share of global AI assistant users had fallen below 50% for the first time as Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude gained ground. 

Keep in mind that just because ChatGPT is one of the more popular AI tools for marketing applications, it’s not an ecommerce fit for every task. For example, ChatGPT has no native access to a store’s order, inventory, or customer data unless it’s connected through an app. Shopify store owners can use the Shopify app for ChatGPT to connect an existing store or create a new online store by describing their business.

From there, you can set up and manage your store via chat, executing tasks like adding products, creating discount codes, looking at orders, or analytics of the store’s performance.

Best for: Store owners looking for basic content generation help.

Use cases: Content generation, research, translations, coding.

Pricing: Free plan available; premium plans start at $8 per month for individuals or $20 per user per month for businesses.

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft Copilot combines OpenAI’s models with Microsoft’s own data and is built primarily for teams working inside Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. A free web version is available to anyone with a Microsoft account.

Microsoft 365 Copilot, the paid tier for brands, adds AI assistance across Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams, plus data protection that keeps prompts and responses inside a company’s own Microsoft 365 account. Copilot connects to help desk platforms including Zendesk through Microsoft’s connector library, but it doesn’t connect to Shopify directly.

Best for: Ecommerce businesses that already use Microsoft Office.

Use cases: Content creation, research, virtual assistant.

Pricing: Free plan available; premium plans start at $9.99 per month for individuals or $25.20 per user per month for businesses.

Google Gemini

Google’s Gemini, which is included in Google Workspace, competes directly with ChatGPT. For store owners already using Gmail, Docs, or Sheets, Gemini helps you stay in the environment you’re already working in.

Gemini’s free plan includes access to its standard model with usage limits. Google AI Plus adds expanded model access, Deep Research, and higher usage limits. Like ChatGPT, Gemini has no direct connection or integration with a Shopify store’s data.

Best for: Retail brands using Google Workspace.

Use cases: Content summarization, translation, coding, research.

Pricing: Free plan available; premium plans start at $4.99/month.

Zendesk

Zendesk is a dedicated customer service platform, and its AI agents are built to hold full conversations with shoppers by answering questions and providing assistance. Zendesk connects to a Shopify store through the Shopify App Store to pull billing, shipping, and order information into a conversation. 

As of May 2026, autonomous AI agents come included in every Zendesk Suite and Support plan, though only a limited number of automated resolutions are free per agent each month before usage-based billing applies.

Best for: Store owners who want AI assistance answering customer questions.

Use cases: Customer service and experience.

Pricing: Starting at $55 per agent per month.

Chatfuel

Chatfuel is a chatbot builder that brings AI to small businesses who need a simple, non-technical, and affordable way to assemble and deploy chatbots for conversational commerce. It helps businesses create conversational chatbots for Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, and their own websites.

Chatfuel’s no-code bot builder is easy to use and includes pre-built templates to get the bot up and running quickly. It also integrates with popular business tools, including Shopify, so you can automate workflows such as automatically posting new product photos to social media or updating inventory after a sale. 

Best for: Brands who want to offer AI automated help across their social media DMs.

Use cases: Customer service and experience.

Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $69 per month.

Botsify

Botsify comes with two options: Get a custom agency account to build your own bots and agents, or subscribe to the tool’s done-for-you option and have the Botsify team build out an AI customer service agent or other AI chatbot tool before hosting it on your website.

Best for: Brands who don’t want to learn new tools, but instead have the chatbot built for them.

Use cases: Customer service and experience, marketing, and sales.

Pricing: Agency pricing for DIY chatbot building comes in custom options; done-for-you agent plans start at $149 per month.

Jasper Chat

Jasper Chat is the conversational interface inside Jasper, an AI content platform, not a customer-facing chatbot. It generates product descriptions, ads, and marketing copy in a brand’s specific voice, learned from existing content.

Best for: Store owners who need consistent tone across a large catalog.

Use cases: Content writing, translation, plagiarism checker. 

Pricing: Starting at $69 per month.

Copy.AI Chat

Copy.AI is an AI-powered copywriting platform that helps businesses and individuals generate content. Copy.AI’s chatbot can assist with research, generate website content tailored to match brand voice, conduct grammar and spell checks, and revise content for SEO in over 95 languages.

Best for: Brands who need to generate product descriptions and website copy across multiple languages at scale.

Use cases: Content writing.

Pricing: Free, paid plans starting at $29 per month.

ChatSpot

ChatSpot is HubSpot’s conversational AI tool, built to do internal HubSpot tasks like pulling reports, drafting emails, and adding contacts or tasks by chat instead of clicking through the CRM. Its capabilities have been folded into HubSpot’s broader Breeze AI tools.

ChatSpot has no connection to Shopify’s store, order, or customer data, working only based on what it can see in HubSpot. It fits a store that already manages sales and customer relationships there.

Best for: Brands using HubSpot as their CRM.

Use cases: Marketing and sales.

Pricing: Free with a HubSpot account.

Benefits of using AI chatbots for ecommerce

As AI continues to advance, it offers more ways for businesses to take advantage of it. Here are a few of the current benefits AI chatbots can bring to your business.

Enhanced customer service and experience

AI use in customer support and customer service rose from 46% of companies in 2023 to 61% in 2025, with chatbots cited by 34% of companies as their most-used customer service AI tool. In addition, retail customer service teams report 65% AI usage, with positive impacts including a quicker resolution time and boosted customer satisfaction.

By making chatbots your retail brand’s first line of defense, customers can often get the answers they need faster. 

One survey found that while 60% of consumers would prefer to speak to a human, 79% still say they’d rather wait three minutes for an email from a robot over having to wait three days to speak to a human, and 53% would rather get an answer from a robot in three seconds over having to wait even three minutes for a human response.

Try to implement a chatbot that can instantaneously answer basic customer questions or direct them to the correct resources, rerouting more complex situations to a human agent.

Increased conversions and sales

AI chatbots can engage website visitors in real time, answering product or service questions on-demand as they browse. They can access historical customer data, such as purchase history or previous interactions, to provide personalized product recommendations, which can translate into more conversions.

Shopify Inbox sees 70% of conversations happening while shoppers are actively making a purchasing decision. However, according to Deloitte’s data, only 40% of brands are seeing a positive impact on their sales due to AI chatbots with 52% reporting no impact. 

In addition, 38% of businesses also call upselling and cross-selling through digital channels challenging. Try pairing a chatbot with next-best-action (NBA) or next-best-offer (NBO) tactics, which the same report found can help AI agents deliver more personalized offers.

Reduced operational costs and increased efficiency

AI chatbots can automate many repetitive tasks. Deloitte also found that 61% of businesses report that AI use in customer service positively impacts their business costs, with just 9% reporting a negative impact. The same report also states that 27% of brands put AI as the number one way to improve cost efficiency within customer service. 

Expanded market reach and accessibility

AI chatbots can communicate in multiple languages, making products and services accessible to a global audience. For example, ChatGPT creates and translates content across more than 40 languages, and most large-language-model-based chatbots can hold a full conversation in a shopper’s own language without a separate bot or translation service for each market.

They can also operate round the clock, helping customers in different time zones. This means a shipping question can be instantly answered while someone is late-night shopping without you needing to staff an overnight shift.

How to choose an AI chatbot for your online store

Incorporating AI chatbots into your ecommerce business’s customer service strategy helps your brand stay ahead of the curve. Deloitte Digital’s 2026 Global Contact Center report found that contact centers falling behind on AI cite integration of technology, systems, and tools as their top challenge (72%), followed by legacy systems (58%) and data security and compliance (53%).

Use these tips so you don’t fall behind as you choose the right AI chatbot for your business and its needs.

Identify your needs and goals

Before starting your search, define what you want to achieve with your AI chatbot. Are you aiming to improve customer service, lead generation, or internal processes? Having clear goals can help you narrow down your options and select chatbot software that addresses your needs.

This is also where you’ll need to decide if an AI chatbot exists that you can simply buy or subscribe to as is, or if you need to build a custom option to fit your business model and customer needs.

Building a custom chatbot on an LLM’s API gives you full control over its tone and behavior, but it also means your team is in charge of programming prompts, training the bot on new products, and monitoring for errors.

Buying an existing tool, like Shopify Inbox, Gorgias, or Zendesk, gives you a working setup out of the box, along with vendor help and pre-existing integrations. If you don’t have a massive volume of incoming customer requests, this is often the better starting point before jumping into a custom build.

It’s OK if you’re not sure where to start. In a 2025 Shopify survey, 29% of store owners who don’t use AI said they aren’t sure what AI tools can do. Starting with one clear use case, like answering shipping questions, gives you a jumping off point for your first AI chatbot.

Find out if it’s ready to use out of the box

Some chatbots need custom coding, training, and configuration, while others can be configured without coding knowledge.

If you need an out-of-the-box solution, look for chatbots that have been trained on industry-specific data, offer machine-learning capabilities for iterative improvement in responses, and provide no-code solutions for easy implementation and maintenance without the need of a developer.

Consider cost, time, and resources needed

AI chatbot solutions can be costly to acquire, set up, and maintain over time. This is what’s known as the total cost of ownership (TCO). More than 70% of firms now have generative or predictive AI in production, but few are measuring financial impact or investing for long-term transformation.

You’ve got the subscription cost to consider as well as the initial setup (getting it programmed with all of your brand’s help-center content and product data) and maintenance (ensuring all of that data remains up-to-date so its answers are always accurate).

Consider the time and resources you have available for such an investment, alongside potential returns and the value it might generate.

Understand data privacy and ownership concerns

Data privacy, security, and ownership are significant concerns when using AI chatbots, as these conversational AI systems collect and process large amounts of user data. The Federal Trade Commission has warned AI companies that they need clear, conspicuous notice and affirmative express consent before using or sharing consumer data in ways that go beyond what a company originally promised.

Consumer trust in generative AI is also mixed. Twenty-four percent of surveyed generative AI users have run into a data privacy issue, and 53% mostly or always verify AI-generated output independently over trusting it outright. Concern about data privacy and security also rose over the past year, from 60% to 70% of surveyed users.

Keep this in mind as you search for a customer-facing chatbot. Your customer’s data and privacy should be important to your business, so read a vendor’s data policy and understand what it does and doesn’t access and store before bringing it on board.

Tip: When was the last time you revised your website privacy policy? It’s good practice to review it regularly and to update it based on new applications or legislation. Consider linking it from your website’s footer if you haven’t already.

Check integrations

Integrations enable direct communication and data transfer between the chatbot and other business systems to ensure a consistent customer experience, improve workflows, and enhance overall efficiency. Not every chatbot connects to every platform, so confirm the specific integration your store needs before buying.

If you run a Shopify store, check: 

• Whether a chatbot pulls order status, shipping information, and inventory directly from Shopify rather than a static file that goes stale
• If it installs through the Shopify App Store rather than a custom developer build
• What data the app requests access to during setup 

Shopify’s guide to connecting AI tools covers how to review those permissions before you grant access.

Ensure that it works for your channels

Your shoppers bounce around between your website, mobile app, and messaging platforms across devices, and not every chatbot works across all of them. An omnichannel customer service chatbot recognizes a shopper everywhere they interact with you, so select an AI chatbot deployment aligned with your channel strategy.

Understand current limitations

As you’ll see plastered on every AI website, AI chatbots can still make mistakes, like factual inaccuracies, unconscious biases, and answers misrepresenting your store’s actual policies or product data. This means human involvement remains necessary for any chatbot you deploy before it reaches a shopper.

You also need to set up processes for escalation. Your chatbot should recognize when a conversation needs a real person, like instances of refund disputes, damaged or lost orders, billing errors, or a customer who appears frustrated. The bot needs to route that conversation to a human agent instead of attempting to resolve it themselves.

Understanding that chatbots are not the end all, be all, is important for keeping your brand’s customer service ratings up. When customers can’t reach a real human or are fed incorrect information, they’re going to lose trust in your brand and business.

*Based on a 2025 survey of 500 Shopify merchants conducted in English across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. Respondents were established merchants with two or more years on the platform. Results reflect the experiences of this specific sample and may not be representative of all merchants.