Chatbot or Live Agent? Splitting Questions on Shopify
For chatbot versus live agent on a Shopify store, split by question type: let the bot answer questions with one correct answer that your store data already holds, such as shipping times, order status, sizing and return rules, and send people the questions that need judgment, money or a sale. Shopify Inbox lets you build exactly that split with its agent modes, your availability hours and staff handoff.
Which questions go where
| Question type | Example | Who answers | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order status | “Where is my order?” | Bot, through order tracking | The answer is in the order; Inbox’s Track my order option works with an order number and email |
| Shipping and delivery | “Do you ship to Norway? How long?” | Bot | Your shipping policy holds the answer |
| Sizing and product facts | “Does the M fit a 40-inch chest?” | Bot, if the size chart is on the product page | The agent answers from your catalog and pages |
| Return rules | “Can I return sale items?” | Bot | One policy, one answer |
| Damaged or wrong item | “It arrived broken” | Person | Needs a decision on refund or replacement |
| Complaint or angry customer | “This is the third time…” | Person | Needs judgment and tone; see angry customers |
| Refund or chargeback question | “Where is my refund?” | Person, or bot for the status only | Money and disputes |
| High-value pre-sale | “Which of these two sofas for a small room?” | Person during hours | A sale worth a conversation |
| B2B or bulk order | “Price for 200 units?” | Person | Quotes and terms |
A bot is safe where your store already has the answer written down. If the answer depends on what you decide today, a person answers it.
Build the split in Shopify Inbox
Shopify’s Help Center page on availability and first replies, read on October 23, 2026, describes how the Inbox agent’s mode and your hours work together.
- Choose the agent mode. The Inbox agent can handle All conversations, work Only when your staff is unavailable, or be set to Never. “Only when your staff is unavailable” is the natural split for a small team: people answer during your hours, the agent covers the rest.
- Set your hours under Sales channels > Inbox > Chat settings > Availability. Hours decide when staff handoff is available. In “only when unavailable” mode, the agent takes new conversations that start outside these hours, and staff take the ones inside.
- Know what happens when a customer asks for a person. With the agent on all conversations, a request for a person during your hours goes to your staff; outside your hours, the customer gets your store’s sender email address and can write to you. When the agent reaches a limit, it hands off to staff if handoff is available, and the conversation moves to the Unassigned folder with its earlier context.
- Write the first replies for staff-handled chats, one for inside your hours and one for outside, so the customer knows when to expect an answer. They are sent only for conversations your staff handle.
- Feed the bot facts through your policies, pages, product data and the Knowledge Base, not through the persona; Shopify says the persona sets tone and service style and cannot override Inbox settings or the agent’s built-in safety behavior.
If the Inbox agent is not active, instant answers fill the bot’s role for the most common questions: shoppers click a suggested question and get your fixed answer. Setting up the agent itself is covered in set up the Inbox agent, and the choice between Shopify’s agent and third-party bots in Shopify customer service chatbot.
Review and adjust monthly
Once a month, read twenty bot conversations and twenty staff conversations. Move a question type from people to the bot when staff keep giving the same answer and the answer can be written into a policy or page. Move it from the bot to people when the bot’s answers to it get rated poorly or customers ask for a person after it. The Inbox Overview page shows the agent’s Satisfaction rate, the share of rated responses with positive feedback, and Assisted orders; a falling satisfaction rate is the signal to look at which questions caused it. More support guides are in the running a store hub.
Frequently asked questions
Do customers prefer chatbots or people? It depends on the question. A shopper who wants a tracking link wants it fast, and a shopper with a broken item wants a person. Design the split by question type, and give every customer a visible way to reach a person.
Can the Inbox agent hand off to staff? The Inbox agent hands a conversation to your staff when a customer asks for a person during your availability hours or when it reaches a limit, if handoff is available. Outside your hours, the customer gets your store’s sender email address instead.
Should a bot answer complaints? A bot can acknowledge a complaint and collect the order number and photos, but the decision on a refund or replacement belongs to a person. Route complaints to staff and let the bot handle only the first step.