How to Set Up AI Customer Support for Shopify on WhatsApp

A customer asks where their order is on WhatsApp. Your team opens Shopify, finds the order, and switches back to reply. The next customer asks the same question, and someone repeats the lookup.

With Shopify connected to an AI agent on WhatsApp, customers can get order details after verification, ask about products, and get answers from your store policies. Your team handles requests that need approval or investigation.

Chatbase connects the agent to Shopify and gives your team a help desk for conversations that need a person. You choose which store actions it can use and write Procedures for requests that need a specific sequence of steps.

Can AI handle Shopify customer support on WhatsApp?

Yes. A Shopify-connected AI agent can answer store-policy questions, retrieve product information, and look up orders on WhatsApp. The requests it can complete depend on the actions supported on that channel and enabled for your store.

Order questions: Guest customers can check order status and tracking with their order number and matching checkout email or phone number.

Product questions: Shopify actions let the agent retrieve product details during the conversation. Native WhatsApp product cards require additional Meta catalog setup. The Update cart, Get cart, and Create order actions also work on WhatsApp, so shoppers can manage a cart and place an order in the conversation. Enable those separately if you want to add shopping assistance alongside support.

We’d start with product questions, verified order lookup, and human handoff. These let you answer common questions without giving the agent permission to change an order. Add exchanges once you’ve decided who approves them and what makes a customer eligible.

If cart recovery is also a priority, compare WhatsApp chatbots for ecommerce by whether they can trigger a message from an abandoned checkout. Answering an order question and starting a recovery conversation require different workflows.

What do you need to set up Shopify AI support on WhatsApp?

Before connecting the accounts, check that you can install the Shopify app, register the WhatsApp number, and provide current support policies. Choose who will receive requests the agent can’t complete.

Shopify access and support policies

Use a Shopify account with permission to authorize the Chatbase Shopify app. Check that the policies match what your support team actually tells customers.

Add your shipping, return, and exchange policies as knowledge sources. Include return deadlines, excluded items, shipping regions, and how your team handles damaged deliveries. Retrieve private order details through the verified lookup rather than adding customer order records to general policy sources.

Jumia’s J Force sales agents ask about commissions, ordering, and eligibility through Chatbase on WhatsApp, using answers drawn from existing training materials. Jumia reports that half of inbound inquiries now never reach its support team. The example shows how documented answers can reduce repeat inquiries on WhatsApp; Jumia’s example shows how existing documentation can answer repeat questions on WhatsApp.

An eligible WhatsApp number

You need a Meta business account, an eligible phone number, and an approved WhatsApp display name. Chatbase’s WhatsApp connection requirements say the display name must be approved before you integrate the number. Check its approval status before starting setup.

For this connection, the number can’t remain registered in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app. If your team already uses that number for customer support, plan the move before changing its registration. Confirm who controls the number and can receive its verification code.

Staff responsible for escalated requests

Choose who reviews exchanges, failed order lookups, and delivery complaints. Set their working hours and decide whether each request needs live takeover or a ticket for later review. If your ecommerce support also involves a separate helpdesk or fulfillment system, decide which team receives the request and where they’ll resolve it.

Connect Shopify and WhatsApp to the same agent

Connect your Shopify store and WhatsApp number to the same AI agent, then enable the Shopify actions it will use in WhatsApp conversations.

Connect your Shopify store

Select the agent you want to connect to Shopify. Chatbase’s Shopify setup requires that agent to be set to public. Follow the Shopify connection steps:

1. Open Integrations and click Connect on the Shopify card.

2. Enter your store’s myshopify.com subdomain. For mystore.myshopify.com, enter mystore.

3. Click Submit to open Shopify’s authorization screen.

4. Review the requested permissions and click Install.

After authorization, Shopify redirects you to Chatbase with a confirmation. Only one Chatbase agent can connect to a given Shopify store.

Connect WhatsApp to the same agent

In that agent, open Channels and click Setup on the WhatsApp card.

Sign in with the Facebook account that has access to your Meta business. Select or create the business and WhatsApp business profiles, add your eligible phone number, and complete the verification prompts. Click Finish to complete the connection.

Send a message from another phone to confirm the agent replies through your connected number.

Enable the actions your support workflow needs

Open Build > Actions, click Create action, and select the relevant template on the Shopify card.

Start with Retrieve and display orders for order-status questions. Add Retrieve and display products if customers also ask about your catalog.

If you also want the agent on your storefront, the Shopify AI agent setup covers how product discovery, carts, and support fit into the website experience.

Configure each action, enable it for WhatsApp in its Channels settings, then save and enable it. Check channel compatibility before adding an action to your workflow.

How to automate Shopify order questions on WhatsApp

Set up order support in this sequence: verify the customer, retrieve the order, explain the status, and escalate if the information doesn’t answer the question.

In Procedures, write these steps and reference the order-lookup action at the point where the agent should retrieve the order.

Verify the customer before retrieving an order

For a guest order lookup, request:

• The order number.
• The checkout email address or phone number associated with the order.

Use those details with Retrieve and display orders. If verification fails, ask the customer to check what they entered. Don’t reveal order details or try another customer’s order to get around a failed check.

Answer from the returned Shopify information

Once the lookup succeeds, explain the order status and share any tracking information Shopify returns.

If Shopify hasn’t returned a tracking link or delivery estimate, the agent should say so. Your shipping policy might say three to five days, but that isn’t a promise about this order.

When a customer says tracking shows “delivered” but the parcel is missing, add a review step to your order-tracking workflow. The customer already knows what tracking says. Your team needs to investigate where the parcel went.

For an order marked fulfilled with a tracking link, a reply could be:

Your order is marked as fulfilled. You can check its progress here: [tracking URL].

Send failed lookups and delivery complaints to staff

Send the conversation to your support team if the customer can’t verify the order, the lookup fails, or they report a missing or damaged delivery.

Include what the customer asked, the details they supplied, and what the lookup returned. Give a response time only if it matches your team’s support commitment.

Check every action you reference in a Procedure, including those inside conditional branches. As the documentation on how Procedures run explains, one unavailable action causes the entire Procedure to be skipped on that channel.

If your team is repeatedly checking orders by hand, create a Chatbase agent and set up order lookup with escalation to the staff who handle delivery questions.

Set up exchanges and human support

On WhatsApp, Chatbase can collect a return request and submit a supported exchange for staff approval. The native action that processes a return on the existing order is available on the web chat bubble and Help page, so don’t add it to a WhatsApp Procedure.

Configure exchanges with human approval

Chatbase’s Create exchange (new order) action supports WhatsApp. It identifies the original order, collects the requested replacement, and creates a Helpdesk ticket for approval before creating the exchange order in Shopify.

Before enabling it, set the eligibility rules, the details the agent must collect, and who approves the exchange. Native Shopify actions don’t issue refunds, cancel orders, or change shipping addresses on WhatsApp. Route those requests to staff. If you build a custom action for them, verify its permissions and approval steps separately before enabling it.

Choose live takeover or a follow-up ticket

Chatbase’s built-in Helpdesk gives staff the conversation and a place to respond. Choose between joining the customer now and creating a ticket for later review.

Live takeover: A support associate uses Takeover to join the WhatsApp conversation, and the AI stops replying. This lets staff discuss a delivery complaint or policy exception directly with the customer.

Follow-up ticket: The agent creates a ticket for staff to review. As the Escalations documentation confirms, the AI keeps replying on WhatsApp after it creates a ticket. Tell the agent to confirm submission and explain the next step, without saying staff has already approved the request.

Explain what happens outside support hours

When staff is offline, collect the request and create a ticket. If your team works Monday to Friday, tell the customer when someone will review it. Don’t offer a live handoff when nobody’s there to answer.

How do WhatsApp follow-up messages and support costs work?

WhatsApp allows free-form replies within 24 hours of the customer’s latest message. If your team follows up after that window closes, it must use an approved message template.

Prepare templates for delayed support follow-up

A customer messages on Friday evening, and your team reviews the request on Monday. By then, the reply window may have closed. Prepare a template staff can use to follow up on the request.

Chatbase’s WhatsApp templates documentation explains how to create templates and send approved ones from Helpdesk. Choose the category that matches the message’s purpose and wait for Meta approval before using it.

Order notifications and promotional campaigns need their own triggers and consent checks. Plan those separately from support replies using the WhatsApp automation workflow.

Separate platform costs from WhatsApp charges

Budget for two parts:

• Chatbase: Your plan, AI message credits, and any required add-ons. Check that the plan includes Helpdesk if staff will manage takeover and follow-up there.
• Meta: Applicable WhatsApp message charges, which depend on the recipient’s market and message category.

Under Meta’s WhatsApp pricing rules, service messages are free, and utility templates sent within an open customer-service window are also free. Other template messages may incur charges.

Count expected customer conversations, AI replies per conversation and template follow-ups. Each AI reply consumes credits based on the selected model. Compare that estimate with the allowances on Chatbase’s pricing page.

Test the customer experience before launch

Send these requests from another phone to the connected WhatsApp number. Check the replies the customer receives and the conversation available to your staff.

• Order verification: Matching checkout details retrieve the correct order. Incorrect details reveal no order information.
• Missing delivery information: The agent says when tracking or an arrival estimate is unavailable.
• Action failure: A failed Shopify lookup reaches the support team with the customer’s request attached.
• Human takeover: A support associate can continue the conversation while AI replies stop.
• After-hours requests: The agent explains when staff will next review the ticket.
• Delayed follow-up: Staff can send an approved template when the 24-hour reply window has closed.
• Exchange approval: If enabled, the exchange waits for staff approval before the new order is created.

Review the conversations after launch

Review failed lookups and tickets that leave staff asking the customer for information again. If the agent keeps missing a return condition, update the policy source. If staff keep asking for the replacement size or a photo of the damaged item, add that collection step to the Procedure.

FAQs

Can I use my existing WhatsApp Business number with Chatbase?

You can connect an existing number if it meets Chatbase’s setup requirements, but it can’t remain active in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app. Plan the change before moving a number your team currently uses for support.

Can customers check Shopify orders on WhatsApp without signing in?

Yes. Guest customers can retrieve an order by providing the order number with the checkout email address or phone number associated with it. The lookup must verify those details before returning order information.

Can Chatbase issue Shopify refunds or cancel orders on WhatsApp?

Chatbase’s native Shopify actions don’t provide refund or cancellation operations on WhatsApp. The agent can collect the request and route it to staff. New-order exchanges are supported on WhatsApp and require human approval.

Does creating a support ticket stop AI replies on WhatsApp?

No. Creating an escalation ticket alone doesn’t stop AI replies on WhatsApp. Live takeover stops the AI so a support associate can continue the conversation.