Shopify AI Chat Assistant Demo: What to Ask on the Call

What a Shopify AI chat assistant demo actually proves

You’ll run into three kinds of demo. Each one proves something different.

Most tools on page one of Google offer the first two types. Elfsight has a free plan from $0/month (source). Jotform lists order status checks, product questions, returns and policies, plus handoff to real agents, and you can start for free (source). They’re fine for a first look. But only a trial on your own data shows whether your inbox actually gets smaller.

Chat assistant or support agent: which demo do you need?

A chat assistant sits on your storefront and talks to shoppers before they buy. A support agent resolves requests after the sale: tracking, returns, cancellations, address changes. Relay handles support tickets. It understands the request, finds the order, applies your rules and acts. If most of your workload is email after the purchase, a storefront chat demo answers a different question. To compare budgets for both kinds of tool, see what an AI helpdesk costs for an ecommerce business.

How to run a Shopify AI chat assistant demo with one WISMO ticket

Don’t settle for a feature tour. Ask the vendor to take one WISMO ticket from start to finish, on screen, with a real order. If they can’t, you’ve learned what you needed to know.

Here’s how that walkthrough should go with a typical “where is my order” email.

1. The question. “Hi, I ordered last week and still have nothing. Where is my package?” The message has no order number.
2. The Shopify lookup. The assistant finds the order. Ask the vendor to show you which order it matched to this customer. If the tool can’t show this step, it’s answering blind.
3. The reply. It depends on the order’s status:
   • Shipped, in transit: the tracking link and the delivery estimate the carrier gives. Nothing invented.
   • Not shipped yet: your real processing time, taken from your shipping policy.
   • Delivered but not received: the steps your policy asks for, such as checking with neighbors or the building, and what happens next.
4. The action or the handoff. This is where a tool that only replies and a tool that resolves part ways. When your rules allow it, the assistant acts, for example by refunding or updating the order within the permissions you set. When the case falls outside your rules, it should know when to bring in your team instead of guessing.
5. The record. Ask where you would read this exchange afterwards. If you can’t read back what the assistant said to a customer, you can’t check it.

To write the replies your team sends while you compare tools, start from these Shopify helpdesk email templates.

A demo on a sample store can’t show step 2.

Run this WISMO ticket on your own orders, with your rules and your permissions.

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8 questions to ask during a Shopify AI assistant demo

The vendor controls the script of a demo. These questions take it back. Ask them live and write down the answers.

1. “Which Shopify data does it read for this ticket?” You want specific fields: order status, fulfillment, tracking, refunds. “It’s connected to Shopify” isn’t an answer.
2. “Where does it get my return policy from?” Ask to see the source. If it can’t point to your policy page or your written rules, it may be guessing.
3. “What can it do without asking me?” Get the list of actions, and ask how you switch each one on or off. You can’t trust a tool with refunds if you can’t limit it.
4. “What happens when it doesn’t know?” Ask for a live example. The right answer is a handoff to your team, not a confident guess.
5. “Can I read every conversation afterwards?” Ask where conversations are stored and who on your team can read them.
6. “What counts toward my limit?” Tickets, conversations, resolutions and characters are all different units. Ask for the definition in writing.
7. “What does it cost at my volume?” Give your real monthly ticket count and ask which plan you’d land on. Then check the number against our breakdown of AI customer service costs on Shopify.
8. “Can I try this on my own store before paying?” Relay’s plans are priced by monthly ticket volume, and there’s a 14-day trial.

Questions 3 and 4 matter most. Every tool can answer a simple tracking question. What sets them apart is what they’re allowed to do and when they stop.

Red flags during a demo

End the call early, or at least take notes, if you see any of these:

• The demo only runs on the vendor’s sample store, never on a ticket you bring.
• The bot answers your WISMO question with a generic shipping time instead of the order’s status.
• Nobody can show you where its permissions are set.
• You can only get conversations “on request”, not in the tool itself.
• The unit used for the limit isn’t the same on the pricing page and on the call.
• The handoff is a link to a contact form instead of a ticket your team can pick up.

What AI should not answer alone

Even after a great demo, some tickets still need a person:

• Refunds above an amount you set
• Chargebacks and payment disputes
• Safety issues or injury claims
• Suspected fraud and canceled orders
• VIP customers, or anyone writing for the third time about the same order

Good tools let you write these rules down. With Relay, Permissions let you choose what it can do, from replies to refunds, and it knows when to bring in your team. When an upset customer reaches a person, these replies to angry customer emails help your team pick up the thread.

After the demo: what to check next

A good demo only gets a tool onto your shortlist. Two checks come next:

• To find out whether the inbox is really shrinking, read how to measure an AI ticket resolution rate.
• To turn any vendor’s pricing into a yearly budget, see what Shopify support automation costs per year.

FAQ

Want to see your own tickets resolved, not a sample store’s?

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