Shopify Inbox: OurRecommendation forLive Chat

In short

Shopify Inbox is our default for live chat. The app is free, comes from Shopify, and every conversation lands where the customer and the order already are. You can see which product the customer is looking at and whether something is already in the cart. For most stores, that's all they need. If questions should be answered automatically by AI, we recommend Lyro.

Our verdict: Recommended

Many merchants use WhatsApp as their support channel because it's familiar and arrives straight on the phone. The catch: the conversation is then separate from the store. Who is writing, what have they bought before, what's in their cart? Someone has to piece that together first.

Shopify Inbox keeps everything in one place: chat history, customer data and orders. That's why we prefer Inbox to WhatsApp as the main channel. For a store that mainly wants to answer quick questions before a purchase, there's no simpler solution.

What Shopify Inbox does better

• Shopping context. You see which product is being viewed and whether it's already in the cart. That way you answer the question that's really meant, not just the one that was typed.
• Everything in Shopify. Customer history and orders sit right next to the chat. No second tool, no copying between windows.
• Free. Inbox has no monthly fee.
• Automatic answers. If you want, Inbox answers frequent questions by itself. According to Shopify, the chat now also draws on the store's catalog, inventory and policies for this. We mainly use Inbox for personal chat.

What to watch out for

• Someone has to reply. A chat where nobody responds for hours does more harm than no chat at all. Set the hours you're available and show them in the chat window.
• Turn on notifications. With push notifications you catch new messages on the go.
• Not a ticketing system. Inbox isn't built for returns, many team members with responsibilities, or requests across several channels. That's what helpdesks like Gorgias are for.

When you don't need Shopify Inbox

If you want recurring questions answered automatically around the clock, Lyro is the better choice. If your team works with tickets and returns, the chat belongs in the helpdesk. And if you hardly get any questions, a good FAQ page and a contact form are enough. How many apps a store really needs is covered in our App Diet.

FAQ

Does Shopify Inbox cost anything? No, the app is free.

Why not just use WhatsApp? Because the conversation then sits apart from customer, order and cart. In Inbox you have everything in one place.

Can Shopify Inbox answer automatically? Yes, for frequent questions. If you want an AI agent trained on your own support content, Lyro is the better fit.

Will you set up Shopify Inbox for us? Yes, usually as part of a project, including a chat window in your brand's design and response times. If you first want to know which apps your store really needs, our Audit is the fastest route.