Best Shopify AI chatbots in 2026: 17 compared for one store

Every AI chatbot for Shopify promises to answer your shoppers. What they don’t put side by side is what you pay when they do, what they count as an answer, and whether they can refund an order without asking you.

So we priced 17 of them for the same store, read how each one bills, and checked what each one can do with an order. Every price links to the vendor’s own page and was checked on 20 October 2026.

We make Rinhelp, one of the tools below. We put it first and say where it falls short. Check any number against the link next to it before you decide.

The store we priced

Prices only compare when the store is the same. Ours:

• A Shopify store with a team of 3.
• About 1,000 conversations a month, by chat and email.
• AI answers first in all 1,000 and resolves 500. Your team finishes the other 500.
• List prices in US dollars, on monthly billing, for the cheapest plan that fits. Annual prices are noted where the vendor prints them.

Gorgias’s own data puts stores at about 20 to 46 tickets per 100 orders, depending on what they sell, so this is roughly a store taking a few thousand orders a month (Gorgias Research).

Shopify’s own AI, explained

Many roundups still say Shopify has no chatbot of its own. That changed with the Spring ’26 Edition, when Shopify added an AI sales associate to Shopify Inbox. Shopify’s help center calls it the Inbox agent.

What the Inbox agent does:

• Answers questions about products, shipping, returns, sizing and store policies, from your catalog, policies, Knowledge Base and published pages.
• Recommends products and adds them to the cart.
• Checks the status of an order. The shopper is prompted to sign in before it shares anything.
• Hands complex questions to your staff. If nobody is available, it gives the shopper your store’s email address.

What it doesn’t do:

• It works only in your storefront’s chat widget. There’s no email inbox.
• It doesn’t work with legacy customer accounts.
• Shopify documents no refunds, cancellations or address changes by the agent.

Two other Shopify AI names come up often. Shopify Magic suggests replies for your staff to edit, in English only. It doesn’t send anything to shoppers. Sidekick is an assistant for you inside your Shopify admin. Shoppers never talk to it.

Merchants have noticed the changes. We collected 1,990 of the newest Shopify Inbox reviews on 20 October 2026. The average was 4.70 stars from January to June 2026 and 4.00 from 1 July to 19 October, with 61 one- and two-star reviews. Our post on Shopify Inbox alternatives has the month-by-month table.

What each one costs for the same store

Here is the whole table. The arithmetic for each one is under its name further down.

Ratings are from each app’s Shopify App Store listing on 20 October 2026, with the number of reviews in brackets.

Three things stand out. The billing unit matters more than the plan price. Seat-based tools grow with your team. And the tools without a help desk need a second subscription for the 500 conversations your team finishes.

What “resolved” means to each vendor

Most AI chatbots bill you per resolution, but they don’t agree on what one is. This decides the bill more than any plan price.

The details, from each vendor’s own pages:

• Gorgias says each automated interaction also counts as one helpdesk ticket. A conversation the AI fully resolves is billed twice. If a teammate replies within 72 hours, it counts as a ticket only.
• Intercom counts a resolution as “assumed” when the customer leaves without asking for more help, and bills a handoff at $0.99 when Fin runs a Procedure you set up to end with a person. A Procedure is a step-by-step task you write for Fin.
• Zendesk has counted only verified resolutions since 18 May 2026. An AI model checks each one.
• Tidio bills any conversation with at least one reply from Lyro, whether Lyro solved it or not.
• Alhena uses one credit when its AI “resolves or assists” a conversation.
• Chatbase charges credits per AI reply. Premium models use more credits per reply, and actions can add model calls.

Rinhelp counts each message too, so long conversations use more of your 5,000 AI replies. Our estimate for this store is 2,500, worked out below.

Which bots can refund or cancel, and who approves

Answering “where is my order?” is the easy part. The harder question is what the AI can change, and whether anyone on your team says yes first.

A shopper confirming isn’t the same as your team approving. Gorgias’s docs say customer confirmation turns on for actions that can’t be undone, and describe no step where your team approves. That suits a store that wants cancellations handled at 3am. It doesn’t suit one that wants a person to see every refund.

Checking who is asking matters too. Shopify Inbox asks the shopper to sign in before it shares an order. Rinhelp asks for the order number and the email on it, and both must match. Many chatbots don’t say how they check.

Claimed resolution rates and real ones

Vendors publish high numbers. Intercom says Fin resolves 76% of conversations on average. Tidio says Lyro resolves 75%. Neither page says how a resolution is counted, and Intercom’s count includes assumed resolutions.

The most useful number comes from Gorgias’s own research across its stores, from October 2025 to April 2026:

• The median store’s AI resolved 45% of the tickets it touched. The top quarter resolved 65%.
• 55% of AI-touched tickets ended in a handoff to a person.
• The median wait after a handoff was 10 hours.
• 33% of handed-off tickets never got a reply from a person.

That last number is the one to plan for. Half your conversations will still reach your team. A chatbot is only as good as what happens after it hands off: whether a person sees it, and whether they can see what the AI already tried.

Shoppers notice the difference. In Zendesk’s CX Trends 2026, 74% of consumers said they now expect service around the clock because of AI, and 95% said they expect an explanation for decisions an AI makes.

AI that comes with a help desk

These ten come with an inbox your team works in for the conversations the AI hands over, so our store’s 500 handoffs need no second subscription. Shopify Inbox’s is for chat only, so your email stays in your mail app.

Rinhelp

Rinhelp is a help desk for small teams and their AI agents. Rin, its built-in AI, answers every new chat and email first, from your website and help center, and links the page each answer came from.

• Best for: small Shopify stores that want AI on every conversation at one flat price, with a person approving every refund.
• How it bills: Free for up to 3 teammates, with a one-time trial of 50 AI replies. Pro is $49 a month per workspace with 5,000 AI replies. Every message Rin sends counts, a handoff included. A top-up is $49 for 5,000 more and never expires.
• Our store: about 3 AI replies per resolved conversation and 2 per handed-off one: 500 × 3 + 500 × 2 = 2,500 AI replies, inside 5,000. $49 a month.
• Orders: your team sees the customer’s Shopify orders in the conversation. Rin shares or acts on an order only after a purchase check: the customer gives the order number and the email on it, and both must match. Rin can ask for a refund or a cancellation, and it waits for a teammate’s approval. Cancellations work on unfulfilled orders, with a full refund and a restock.
• Handoffs: when the customer asks for a person, your help center and website have no answer, or the customer is upset, Rin hands off with a summary, tags and a priority.
• Your own AI: connect Claude, ChatGPT, Hermes or your own AI. Each works as the teammate who connected it.
• App Store rating: not listed. You connect Shopify with a small app you make in your own Shopify account, so there’s no listing or rating to compare.
• The catch: live chat and email only, with no phone, WhatsApp, SMS or social inbox. Rin can’t refund or cancel by itself. And because every message counts, a store with long conversations uses its 5,000 AI replies faster.

Shopify Inbox

Shopify’s free chat app, now with the opt-in Inbox agent described above.

• Best for: stores that only need chat answers and order status, and want to spend nothing.
• How it bills: free on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus.
• Our store: $0. It covers the chat side only. Email stays in your mail app.
• Orders: status after sign-in. No refunds or cancellations.
• App Store rating: 4.6 from 5,811 reviews.
• The catch: no email inbox, no help center and no order changes. Statuses are only open and closed.

Gorgias

A help desk built for online stores, with Shopify orders inside every ticket.

• Best for: stores that also answer on Instagram, Facebook, SMS, WhatsApp and phone, and want AI that cancels orders at any hour.
• How it bills: by tickets, with AI Agent now in every plan (pricing). Pro is $550 a month: $360 for 2,000 tickets and $190 for 190 automated interactions. Above that, each interaction is $1.50, per the page’s pricing data. The same page also lists $1.00 per interaction on monthly plans.
• Our store: all 1,000 conversations count as tickets, so Pro’s 2,000 covers them. AI: $190 for the first 190, then 310 × $1.50 = $465. $1,015 a month ($936 on annual billing). At $1.50, Basic would cost more, $1,075, because its 700 extra tickets cost $0.40 each. If extra interactions cost $1.00, Basic becomes the cheapest: $60 + $30 + 700 × $0.40 + 470 × $1.00 = $840.
• Orders: cancels unfulfilled orders, edits addresses, removes or replaces items, reships. The shopper confirms. No teammate approval is described.
• App Store rating: 4.3 from 706 reviews.
• The catch: each AI resolution counts as a ticket too, and the rate above the bundle is hard to pin down from public pages. Ask Gorgias before you sign.

Tidio

Live chat and a help desk with Lyro, its AI agent, billed as an add-on.

• Best for: stores that want chat, email, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp in one inbox, on monthly plans.
• How it bills: two meters (pricing). Conversations a person replies in: Growth 600 is $129. Conversations Lyro replies in: 1,000 is $700, the most you can buy without calling sales.
• Our store: 500 human conversations need Growth 600, $129. Lyro replies first in all 1,000: $700. $829 a month (about $691 on annual billing). If Lyro only touched the 500 it resolves, it would be $479. The page’s data holds a second, lower set of prices we couldn’t match to any visible plan, so we used the displayed one.
• Orders: the listing says Lyro handles order status, refunds, cancellations and edits “within your rules”. We couldn’t find whether a teammate approves refunds.
• App Store rating: 4.8 from 1,356 reviews.
• The catch: you pay for every conversation Lyro replies in, solved or not, and Lyro pauses when you reach your limit.

Intercom with Fin

A customer service platform with Fin, its AI agent. The company renamed itself Fin in May 2026.

• Best for: teams that need phone, WhatsApp and SMS as well as chat and email, and can budget per seat.
• How it bills: Essential is $39 a seat a month, or $29 on annual billing (listing). Fin costs $0.99 per outcome.
• Our store: 3 × $39 + 500 × $0.99 = $117 + $495 = $612 a month ($582 with annual seats). If your 500 handoffs run through a Procedure, each costs $0.99 too: up to $1,107.
• Orders: Fin sees order status and addresses. Refund templates exist as set-up actions. No per-refund teammate approval is documented.
• App Store rating: 3.7 from 18 reviews.
• The catch: assumed resolutions are billed, so you can pay when a shopper simply gave up.

Zendesk

A customer service suite with AI agents billed per resolution.

• Best for: larger teams that need voice, 1,800+ apps and enterprise plans.
• How it bills: Suite Team is $69 an agent a month, or $55 on annual billing (pricing). It includes 5 resolutions per agent. Extra ones are $2.00 pay as you go, or $1.50 committed.
• Our store: 3 × $69 + (500 − 15) × $2.00 = $207 + $970 = $1,177 a month. Annual and committed: 3 × $55 + 485 × $1.50 = $892.50. Copilot, which suggests refunds, adds $50 an agent.
• Orders: for the AI agent to tell shoppers their order status, Zendesk says you need a custom API step or an add-on with no published price. Copilot can suggest a cancel or refund, and a teammate accepts it.
• App Store rating: 3.2 from 94 reviews, the lowest here.
• The catch: it isn’t built for Shopify, and its $2.00 per resolution is the highest price in this list.

Re:amaze

A help desk from GoDaddy with an AI agent, still labelled beta.

• Best for: teams that want AI to answer questions and leave order changes to people.
• How it bills: Basic is $29 a user a month (pricing), with 5 AI resolutions per user. Extra ones are $0.85.
• Our store: 3 × $29 + (500 − 15) × $0.85 = $87 + $412.25 = $499.25 a month ($490.55 on annual billing). A resolution is a conversation the AI handles without a person.
• Orders: teammates can change and create Shopify orders. No AI refunds or cancellations are documented.
• App Store rating: 4.4 from 181 reviews.
• The catch: you pay per user and per resolution, and the AI answers but doesn’t act.

Richpanel

A help desk with AI agents that you can set approval rules for.

• Best for: stores that want AI to refund and cancel, with limits on what needs a person.
• How it bills: the pricing page says $119 a seat a month, or $99 on annual billing, and about $0.20 per AI conversation with a $200 monthly minimum. The listing says $89 a user.
• Our store: 3 × $119 + 1,000 × $0.20 = $357 + $200 = $557 a month ($497 on annual billing). At the listing’s $89, it’s $467.
• Orders: the listing says its agents handle refunds and cancellations, and that you set “refund limits, what needs approval, when to escalate”.
• App Store rating: 4.9 from 137 reviews.
• The catch: the price differs between Richpanel’s own pages, and the AI cost per conversation changes with the AI model you pick.

Chatty

A chat app with AI order tracking and a light inbox.

• Best for: stores that mostly need product answers and order tracking at a low price.
• How it bills: by AI conversations (listing). Plus is $199 for 1,000. Pro is $68.99 for 500, then $0.40 each.
• Our store: Plus covers all 1,000: $199 a month. Pro would be $68.99 + 500 × $0.40 = $268.99.
• Orders: tracking only. No refunds or cancellations.
• App Store rating: 4.9 from 1,882 reviews.
• The catch: it’s a chat tool more than a help desk, and it can’t change an order.

Willdesk

A light help desk from Channelwill with a metered AI agent.

• Best for: stores on a tight budget that want chat, email and social in one place.
• How it bills: Pro is $89.90 a month for 1,000 conversations (listing). Extra AI conversations are $200 per 1,000. The listing doesn’t say how many AI conversations a plan includes, and other versions of it show other prices.
• Our store: $89.90 + 1,000 × $0.20 = $289.90 a month, if no AI conversations are included. Another version of the listing shows Pro at $149.90, which makes it $349.90.
• Orders: the listing says it handles tracking, returns, cancellations and address changes. Approval isn’t mentioned.
• App Store rating: 4.7 from 380 reviews.
• The catch: the weakest pricing data in this list. Some reviewers say the AI fees surprised them.

AI that needs a help desk beside it

These answer shoppers but hand the rest to a help desk you pay for separately. For our store, that’s a second bill for the 500 conversations your team finishes.

Siena

An AI agent for large brands that changes orders on its own.

• How it bills: $750 a month plus $0.90 per ticket automated (pricing), with setup priced separately.
• Our store: $750 + 500 × $0.90 = $1,200 a month, plus your help desk.
• Orders: cancels, refunds, replaces and edits orders without an agent involved.
• App Store rating: not listed. We found no Shopify App Store listing.

Yuma

An AI agent that works on top of Gorgias, Zendesk, Kustomer or Re:amaze.

• How it bills: from $850 a month for a package of automated tickets of unstated size (listing). The overage rate isn’t published.
• Our store: from $850 a month, plus your help desk.
• Orders: the listing says it refunds, cancels and changes subscriptions to close tickets on its own.
• App Store rating: 5.0 from 9 reviews.

Alhena

An AI shopping assistant that answers before and after a purchase.

• How it bills: credits, one each time the AI resolves or assists (pricing). Growth is $599 for 550, Scale $1,199 for 1,200.
• Our store: answering first in all 1,000 uses 1,000 credits: $1,199 a month ($999 on annual billing), plus your help desk. If it only touched the 500 it resolves, Growth at $599 would fit.
• Orders: answers order questions and routes shoppers to your team. No order changes are documented.
• App Store rating: 5.0 from 6 reviews.

Rep AI

A sales-first AI assistant that also answers support questions.

• How it bills: by store visitors, not conversations (listing). Starter is $104 a month for up to 10,000 visitors, Standard $368 for 50,000.
• Our store: $104 to $368 or more, depending on your traffic, plus your help desk.
• Orders: the listing mentions order status, returns and cancellations, then a handoff to live chat. Approval isn’t mentioned.
• App Store rating: 4.6 from 119 reviews.

Zipchat

An AI chat app that bills per AI reply.

• How it bills: Pro is $300 a month for 3,000 AI replies, about 1,250 conversations by Zipchat’s own estimate (listing). Starter’s 750 replies is too small for our store.
• Our store: $300 a month ($240 on annual billing). It works alongside Gorgias, Zendesk or Re:amaze for your team.
• Orders: the listing claims tracking, returns and refunds. Approval isn’t mentioned.
• App Store rating: 4.9 from 209 reviews.

Chatbase

A general AI chatbot platform with a Shopify app since January 2026.

• How it bills: Standard is $150 a month for 4,000 credits (pricing). Each AI reply uses 1 to 6 credits, depending on the AI model. Extra credits are $40 per 1,000.
• Our store: at about 3 replies per conversation and 1 credit each, 3,000 credits: $150 a month. At 2 credits a reply, 6,000 credits: $230. Standard includes a basic inbox for 3 members, so a small team may manage without a separate help desk.
• Orders: tracking, and exchanges drafted for your team to approve.
• App Store rating: 4.9 from 39 reviews.

Manifest AI

An AI shopping assistant that hands what it can’t answer to your help desk, email or chat.

• How it bills: not published. The pricing page asks you to book a demo.
• Our store: we couldn’t price it.
• App Store rating: 4.4 from 61 reviews.

Octane AI shows up in some lists too. It’s a product quiz builder, not a support chatbot.

How to choose

• You only need chat answers and order status: start with Shopify Inbox. It’s free, and it’s Shopify’s own.
• You want email and chat in one inbox, AI on every conversation and one flat price: Rinhelp, at $49 a month for this store. You give up phone, WhatsApp, SMS and social.
• You answer shoppers on Instagram, Facebook, SMS or WhatsApp: Gorgias or Tidio. Price your real volume first, because both grow with it.
• You want AI to refund and cancel, with rules for when a person must approve: Richpanel. If you want a person to approve every one, Rinhelp.
• You need voice, hundreds of apps or enterprise plans: Zendesk or Intercom, and budget per seat and per resolution.
• You run a large brand and already have a help desk: Siena or Yuma automate the most, at $850 a month and up.
• You mostly want product recommendations, not support: Rep AI, Zipchat or Alhena. Check whether they bill by visitor, reply or credit.

How we checked

We picked the tools that appear most often in the ten articles ranking for “best Shopify AI chatbots”, plus Shopify’s own. Every one of those articles is written by a chatbot vendor, as is this one.

On 20 October 2026 we read each vendor’s pricing page, help docs and Shopify App Store listing. We priced one store: a team of 3, 1,000 conversations a month, AI answering first in all of them and resolving 500. We used list prices in US dollars on monthly billing and the cheapest plan that fits, and noted annual prices where they’re printed. Where a vendor’s pages disagree, we show both figures. Ratings and review counts are from each Shopify App Store listing on the same day.

We didn’t test the chatbots on a live store. Resolution rates are the vendors’ own, except Gorgias’s research, which measures its customers. Prices change often, so check each link before you buy. Rinhelp is our product, and we wrote this page.

Sources:

• Shopify: Spring ’26 Edition, Inbox agent, assigning the agent, Shopify Magic replies, Sidekick, Shopify Inbox listing
• Gorgias: pricing, AI order actions, AI handoff research, ticket benchmarks, listing
• Tidio: pricing, listing
• Intercom: pricing, Fin outcomes, Shopify refund templates, resolution rate, listing
• Zendesk: pricing, resolution tiers, Copilot auto assist, order status for AI agents, CX Trends 2026, listing
• Re:amaze: pricing, how resolutions are counted, listing
• Richpanel: pricing, listing
• Chatty: listing
• Willdesk: listing
• Siena: pricing, Shopify actions
• Yuma: listing, pricing
• Alhena: pricing, listing
• Rep AI: listing
• Zipchat: listing
• Chatbase: pricing, credits, listing
• Manifest AI: pricing, listing
• Octane AI: listing
• Rinhelp: pricing, Rin, approvals, Shopify

Questions