- AI shopping assistants at a glance
- Ten AI shopping assistants to try
- Match the assistant to your store
- The FTC's warning applies to your assistant too
- Six things to set up before you switch it on
- Chat agent or search and discovery?
- Signs your shopping assistant is hurting sales
- My plain advice on AI shopping assistants
- Frequently asked questions
An AI shopping assistant sits on your online store and helps shoppers find, compare and buy products, often answering support questions too. Some are chat agents for Shopify stores, some are search and discovery platforms for large catalogues and some sit inside a support helpdesk. Choose by store size and where shoppers ask questions. Ten options follow, in no particular order.
Shoppers ask the same questions a sales assistant hears in a shop. Will this fit, does it come in blue, will it arrive by Friday? When nobody answers, they leave.
The ten tools below cover Shopify chat agents, product discovery platforms and support tools that also sell. They're listed alphabetically and in no particular order, and every description comes from the vendor's own website, read this week. If you're also choosing a live chat tool, my guide on choosing live chat support software for ecommerce covers that decision.
AI shopping assistants at a glance
I checked the free plan column on each tool's own website, as of Oct 2026. Yes means the site says the tool, or a plan or version of it, is free. Trial only means a time-limited trial. Not stated means the pages I read named neither, even where there's a button inviting you to start, so check the vendor's page before you sign up.
| Tool | Type | Good for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alhena | AI shopping and support agents | Shopping help on chat, social and voice | Not stated |
| Bloomreach Loomi | AI shopping agent in a personalisation platform | Large retailers already personalising email and search | Not stated |
| Constructor | AI search and product discovery | Natural language search in big catalogues | Not stated |
| Envive | Agentic commerce for Shopify | Brand-safe AI on the storefront | Not stated |
| Gorgias | Conversational AI for ecommerce | Sales help inside the support inbox | Not stated |
| Ochatbot | AI shopping assistant and chatbot | Stores on Shopify, WordPress or Wix | Yes |
| Rep AI | Agentic commerce platform | Turning browsers into buyers | Trial only |
| Tidio Lyro | AI customer service agent | Small shops answering shopper questions | Trial only |
| Yuma AI | Ecommerce AI for support and sales | Support-heavy stores that also want sales | Trial only |
| Zipchat | AI agent and chatbot for ecommerce | Product page answers and DM replies | Trial only |
Ten AI shopping assistants to try
Alhena
Best for: Online stores that want AI agents built to avoid made-up answers, helping shoppers on chat, social channels and voice.
Bloomreach Loomi
Best for: Larger retailers who want an AI shopping agent tied into an agentic personalisation platform for email and site search.
Constructor
Best for: Retailers with big catalogues who want a shopping agent that helps shoppers find products using natural language.
Envive
Best for: Shopify brands that want brand-safe AI connecting shopper intent to the storefront in real time.
Gorgias
Best for: Shopify brands that want product education, proactive engagement and recommendations from the same platform as their support inbox.
Ochatbot
Best for: Store owners on Shopify, WordPress or Wix who want an AI shopping assistant that sells and supports in one chat.
Rep AI
Best for: DTC brands that want an AI agent that turns browsers into buyers and shows where shoppers drop off.
Tidio Lyro
Best for: Small online shops that want an AI customer service agent answering shopper questions, starting with a free trial.
Yuma AI
Best for: Support-heavy ecommerce teams who want AI agents to resolve tickets such as order tracking while helping with sales.
Zipchat
Best for: Ecommerce stores that want instant answers on product pages, product recommendations and replies to Instagram and Facebook DMs.
Match the assistant to your store
- Shopping help on chat, social and voice: Alhena.
- Large retailers with personalised email: Bloomreach Loomi.
- Big catalogues and natural language search: Constructor.
- Brand-safe AI for Shopify brands: Envive.
- Sales help inside a support inbox: Gorgias or Yuma AI.
- Stores on Shopify, WordPress or Wix: Ochatbot.
- Turning browsers into buyers: Rep AI.
- Small shops answering questions: Tidio Lyro.
- Product page answers and DM replies: Zipchat.
The FTC's warning applies to your assistant too
The Federal Trade Commission's Operation AI Comply announcement quotes FTC Chair Lina M. Khan saying that using AI tools to trick, mislead or defraud people is illegal. She adds that there is no AI exemption from the laws on the books.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
For a store, that means anything your AI assistant tells a shopper about sizing, materials, delivery or results counts as your claim. Feed it accurate product data, block it from making promises you can't keep and read a sample of conversations every week.
Six things to set up before you switch it on
- Connect your full product catalogue with sizes, materials and stock.
- Add your delivery, returns and warranty policies word for word.
- Decide which questions always go to a person.
- Write a greeting that says the shopper is talking to AI.
- Test it with your ten most common customer questions.
- Set up a weekly review of real conversations.
Chat agent or search and discovery?
Chat agents answer questions in a conversation and suit stores where shoppers need reassurance before they buy, such as fashion, beauty and gifts.
Search and discovery tools change how shoppers find products in the first place. They suit large catalogues where the problem is choice, not trust.
Stores without their own stock have different needs, and my dropshipping tools guide covers product research and order tools for them.
Signs your shopping assistant is hurting sales
- It recommends products that are out of stock. Sync stock.
- Shoppers ask for a person straight away. Improve the answers.
- It makes delivery promises. Lock the policy wording.
- Nobody reads the chats. Review them weekly.
Do you make an AI shopping assistant? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on AI shopping assistants
Start with the questions your inbox already answers. Pull the last hundred customer emails, group them and make sure the assistant answers the top ten perfectly. That one exercise will do more for sales than any feature on a vendor's demo page.
Once it's working, my notes on AI for upselling and retention in ecommerce show where to take it next.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI shopping assistant?
It's an AI tool on an online store that helps shoppers find, compare and buy products, and often answers support questions.
Will an AI shopping assistant work on Shopify?
Many do. Several tools on this list are built for Shopify brands, and some also work with other platforms.
Can an AI assistant give wrong product information?
Yes, if its data is incomplete. Connect accurate product details and review conversations regularly.
Should the assistant say it's AI?
Yes. Telling shoppers they're talking to AI builds trust and helps with transparency rules in several countries.
Can I try an AI shopping assistant for free?
Several tools offer a free trial or plan. Check the free plan column above and each vendor's site.
Does an AI assistant replace customer service staff?
It handles common questions. People are still needed for complaints, exceptions and anything sensitive.
