Set up instant answers for Shopify Inbox

When a customer clicks the chat button on your online store, a chat window opens in their browser that displays your greeting message and a list of questions or suggestions. The content and behavior of these suggestions depend on whether your Inbox agent is active.

When your Inbox agent isn't active, the suggestions come from your custom instant answers. If a customer clicks a question, the predefined answer is displayed. For example, if you create an instant answer that explains your return policy, then customers can click the question What is your return policy? to view the answer. Your staff respond to any follow-up messages.

When your Inbox agent is active, the AI provides conversation starters and handles the responses. The Track my order option (order number and email) is available regardless of whether your Inbox agent is active. When a customer asks the Inbox agent to review an order in a chat, the customer is prompted to sign in first.

AI-generated instant answer suggestions

AI-generated instant answer suggestions are based on your store policies. If there's not enough information in your store policies, then the suggested instant answers are based on common questions that merchants receive. You can select those questions and then add an appropriate answer for your store.

Automatically generated instant answer suggestions are available only in English. By default, American English is the dialect used for English suggestions. The language data that AI uses is largely from North American sources, so generated content might contain vocabulary and expressions that are local to that region. You can change any part of the suggested instant answer content to suit your needs.

Create an instant answer from a suggestion

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Sales channels > Inbox.

2. Click Chat settings.

3. In the Instant answers section, click a suggested instant answer.

4. Optional: Edit the automatically generated question and answer, and then click Save.

5. Optional: To add the suggested instant answer to your online store chat, click Turn on, and then click Save.

Create an instant answer

You can create as many instant answers as you want, and display up to 100 instant answers to customers. When you create an instant answer, you need to enter both the question that is displayed to customers, and the answer to that question.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Sales channels > Inbox.

2. Click Chat settings.

3. In the Instant answers section, click Create instant answer.

4. In the Question text box, enter the question that you want to display to customers.

5. In the Answer text box, enter the answer that you want to display to customers when they click the question.

6. Optional: By default, your new instant answer is visible to customers. If you don't want it to be visible, then in the Visibility section, click Turn off.

7. Click Save.

Change the display order of instant answers

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Sales channels > Inbox.

2. Click Chat settings.

3. In the Instant answers section, click ⋮⋮ and drag the instant answer to rearrange the display list.

4. Click Save.

Turn off an instant answer

If you want to keep an instant answer, but hide it from displaying on your online store, then you can turn the instant answer off.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Sales channels > Inbox.

2. Click Chat settings.

3. In the Instant answers section, for the instant answer that you want to hide, click Turn off.

4. Click Save.

To turn an instant answer back on, repeat the previous steps, and then click Turn on.

Delete an instant answer

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Sales channels > Inbox.

2. Click Chat settings.

3. Click the instant answer that you want to delete.

4. Click Delete instant answer.

5. Click Delete instant answer to confirm.