Customer conversations

When you respond to messages in Shopify Inbox, the responses send through the original messaging service, so that your customers receive replies to their original message.

If a customer adds or removes a product from their cart, then the event is shown to you, the merchant, in the conversation. If the product name is fewer than 41 characters long, then the name of the product is included in the event description. You're also shown the customer's cart subtotal, and the quantities of the products in the cart, at a per-item level, within the conversation header when there is an active cart.

Responding to a message from a customer

If the customer is actively on your store, then an "Online" indicator is displayed under the customer's name in the conversation list. In the conversation view, the "Online" indicator is also displayed next to the customer's name in a conversation header.

When the customer leaves your store, the "Online" indicator disappears and a message indicating that your reply will be sent to the email address that the customer supplied at the start of the chat session is displayed instead.

Desktop

1. In Shopify Inbox, click a conversation to open it.
2. Type your message and select Send.

iPhone

1. From the Shopify Inbox app, tap the conversation that you want to open.
2. Type your message and tap the Send icon.

Android

1. From the Shopify Inbox app, tap a conversation to open it.
2. Type your message and tap the Send icon.

Message classification

To help you manage and prioritize your customer messages, Shopify Inbox automatically labels the conversation with a topic. Each message initiated by a customer is analyzed by a machine learning classification system. If there is high confidence that it matches a topic, the appropriate label is applied. The conversation list shows up to two topics per conversation, with the most recent topic appearing first.

The ten possible topics for customer conversations are:

Possible message classification topics for Shopify Inbox

Topic	Messages related to
Checkout	Payments or placing a new order.
Edit orders	Cancelling or changing an order.
Order status	Order confirmation, order status, and payment balance.
Pricing/Discounts	Discounts, applying discounts, or promo codes.
Product details	Color, size, quantity, weight, volume, stock and inventory, customization requests, or requests for product photos or videos.
Product interest	General product inquiries or interest.
Returns/Delivered orders	Issues with orders received, refunds, and returns for orders received.
Shipping	Local pickup or shipping costs.
Store info	Contact info such as phone number, location, store hours, general return policy, and marketing requests.
Wholesale	Wholesale inquires.

The classification system doesn't label messages with a confidence rating below 90%.

Note

Currently, Inbox message classification is only available in English.

To have message classification applied to your online store conversations in the mobile app, ensure your Shopify Inbox app is version 5.12.1 or later.

Send a link to a product in a conversation

You can share products that are available in your online store in Shopify Inbox. Learn more about sales channel availability for products.

Steps:

Desktop

1. In Shopify Inbox for desktop, click a conversation to open it.
2. Click the price tag icon to open a list of your store's products.
3. Click a product to select it, or enter a search term to locate a specific product and then click to select it.
4. Type any additional information you want to send with the product, and click Send.

iPhone

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap a conversation to open it.
2. If you don't see any options next to the text field where you write a message, then tap the + icon to expand the conversation options.
3. Tap the price tag icon to open a list of your store's products.
4. Tap a product to select it, or enter a search term to locate a specific product and then tap to select it. You can select up to three products at a time.
5. Tap Share product to send the product information to the customer, or type any additional information you want to send with the product before tapping Share product.

Android

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap a conversation to open it.
2. If you don't see any options next to the message box, then tap the + icon to expand the conversation options.
3. Tap the price tag icon to open a list of your store's products.
4. Tap a product to select it, or enter a search term to locate a specific product and then tap to select it. You can select up to three products at a time.
5. Tap Share product to send the product information to the customer, or type any additional information you want to send with the product before tapping Share product.

Send a discount code in a conversation

You can share discount codes in Shopify Inbox. When a customer clicks the discount code, the discount code is automatically applied to their cart. You need to create discount codes before you can share them.

Steps:

Desktop

1. In Shopify Inbox for desktop, click a conversation to open it.
2. Click the discount icon to open a list of your store's discount codes.
3. Click a discount code to select it, or enter a search term to locate a specific discount and then click to select it. If the discount code is inactive, then an error message appears asking you to update the discount code in the Shopify app.
4. Click Share discount to send the discount code to the customer.

The discount code is stored in the online chat session and is applied to the customer's cart at checkout.

iPhone

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap a conversation to open it.
2. If you don't see any options next to the message box, then tap the + icon to expand the conversation options.
3. Tap the discount to open a list of your store's discount codes.
4. Tap a discount to select it, or enter a search term to locate a specific discount and then tap to select it. If the discount is invalid, then an error message appears asking you to update the code in the Shopify app.
5. Tap Share discount to send the discount code to the customer.

The discount code is stored in the online chat session and is applied to the customer's cart at checkout.

Android

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap a conversation to open it.
2. If you don't see any options next to the message box, then tap the + icon to expand the conversation options.
3. Tap the discount to open a list of your store's discount codes.
4. Tap a discount to select it, or enter a search term to locate a specific discount and then tap to select it. If the discount is invalid, then an error message appears asking you to update the code in the Shopify app.
5. Tap Share discount to send the discount code to the customer.

The discount code is stored in the online chat session and is applied to the customer's cart at checkout.

Send an image in a conversation

You can send images to customers in Shopify Inbox. Customers can't send images to you.

Steps:

Desktop

1. In Shopify Inbox, click a conversation to open it.
2. Click the image icon in the message bar, and then select an image from your computer to send.

iPhone

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap a conversation to open it.
2. If you don't see any options next to the text field where you write a message, then tap the + icon to expand the conversation options and select the image icon.
3. You can send a picture from your device's photo library, or take a new photo. If it's the first time you're sending an image in the Inbox app, then you'll be prompted to give Shopify Inbox access to your photo library before you're able to select any images.
4. Tap the image that you want to send to the customer.

Android

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap a conversation to open it.
2. If you don't see any options next to the text field where you write a message, then tap the + icon to expand the conversation options and select the image icon.
3. You can send a picture from your device's photo library, or take a new photo. If it's the first time you're sending an image in the Inbox app, then you'll be prompted to give Shopify Inbox access to your photo library before you're able to select any images.
4. Tap the image that you want to send to the customer.

Conversation details

Open a conversation in the Shopify Inbox desktop or mobile app. All conversation details are visible in the customer profile.

Manage conversation status

Conversations can't be deleted, but they can be set to Closed.

You can change the status of a conversation from Closed to Open, or from Open to Closed. You can also mark a conversation as Unread. Changing a conversation's status to Open or Closed moves it to the relevant list.

Steps:

Desktop

1. In Shopify Inbox, click a conversation to open it.
2. Within the conversation window, you can change a conversation's status to Closed or Open. Setting a conversation to Closed moves it from the Open conversation list to the Closed conversation list.
   • To mark a conversation as Closed, click the check.
   • To mark a conversation as Open, click the circle.

iPhone

1. In the Shopify Inbox mobile app, tap a conversation to open it.
2. Tap the ... menu in the upper right corner of the app, and then tap Close conversation or Reopen conversation to set a new status.

You can also swipe right on a conversation to change the status from Closed to Open or Open to Closed.

Android

1. In the Shopify Inbox mobile app, tap a conversation to open it.
2. Tap the ... menu in the upper right corner of the app, and then tap Close conversation or Reopen conversation to set a new status.

You can also swipe right on a conversation to change the status from Closed to Open or Open to Closed.

Manage conversation assignment

You can assign a chat conversation to a staff member with online store chat permissions from the conversation list or the conversation window.

Steps:

Desktop

1. In Shopify Inbox, click a conversation to open it.
2. Click the Assign button in the conversation header.
3. In the Manage staff assignment window, enter a search term or click on a staff member to assign the conversation to. The staff member sees a badge on each conversation that has been assigned to them in the Shopify Inbox conversation sidebar.

To unassign a conversation, follow either of the steps above, and then click Unassign.

iPhone

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap a conversation to open it.
2. Tap the ... button.
3. Tap Assign. In the Assign Staff window, enter a search term or tap on a staff member to assign the conversation to. The staff member sees a badge on each conversation that is assigned to them in the Shopify Inbox conversation sidebar.

To unassign a conversation, tap the Assigned to <staff member> link in the conversation window, and then tap Unassign.

You can also swipe right on a conversation to Assign or Unassign staff from a conversation.

Android

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap a conversation to open it.
2. Tap the ... button.
3. Tap Assign. In the Assign Staff window, enter a search term or tap on a staff member to assign the conversation to. The staff member sees a badge on each conversation that is assigned to them in the Shopify Inbox conversation sidebar.
4. To unassign a conversation, tap the Assigned to <staff member> link in the conversation window, and then tap Unassign.

You can also swipe right on a conversation to Assign or Unassign staff from a conversation.

If you don't see the appropriate staff member's name on the Assign Staff screen, then the staff member may not have the required permissions for online store chat. For more details, refer to online store chat permissions.

Context

You can view a customer's profile in your Inbox conversations. The customer's profile shows details like the customer's status (a new or returning customer), the customer's location and time zone, and order context (if available). You can also leave notes about the customer that are visible to your staff.

Customer profile

View a customer's profile from any open or closed conversation in the Shopify Inbox web or mobile app.

Steps:

Desktop

1. In Shopify Inbox, click a conversation to open it.
2. Click the Customer name in the conversation header.

A panel with the customer's information appears to the right of the conversation. The details shown in the customer profile are based on the customer and the number of interactions that they've had with your online store.

You can view and interact with the following customer information in the profile panel:

Customer profiles for Shopify Inbox

Section	Description
Customer details	The customer's name and status (returning or new) is shown at the top of the customer profile panel along with a **Manage** link to edit the customer. The following customer information is also displayed: how long they've been a customer, the customer's lifetime spend amount, and their email address, phone number, location, and local time. Additionally, when the customer has subscribed to email or SMS marketing, a subscribed label is displayed.
Note	Add a Note to a customer's profile. Customer notes are internal, and not visible to the customer. Notes are saved to the customer profile in your Shopify admin.
Cart	When the customer has products in their cart, information about the products is displayed including the product name, quantity, variant option, price, and inventory available. If there are more than three products in the cart, then you can click the link to view them all. You can also view the time when the customer last interacted with their cart.
Last order placed	Shows the last order a customer placed or has open within the last 60 days. Click on the order number to open the order. The time, date, amount, and status of the customer's most recent order is displayed under the order number. If the customer has more than one order, you can click the **view all** link to see a list of all orders. If the customer has no orders, then the order block will be empty.
Conversation details	The Conversation details block shows the most recent [conversation topic](manual/inbox/conversations#message-classification), status, the platform the customer used to send the message, and when the conversation began.

Mobile

1. Open the Shopify Inbox app and then tap a conversation to open it.
2. Tap the customer's name in the conversation header to open their profile. You can also tap the avatar image in the conversation, or use the ... menu and select View customer profile.

A page with the customer's details opens. The details shown in the customer profile are based on where the customer is located.

You can view and interact with the following customer information in the profile panel:

Customer profiles for Shopify Inbox

Section	Description
Customer details	The customer's name and status (returning or new) is shown at the top of the customer profile panel along with a **Manage** link to edit the customer. Below the customer name shows the customer's personal information. This includes how long they've been a customer, their lifetime spend amount, email address, phone number, location, and local time. Additionally, if the customer has subscribed to email or sms marketing, a **subscribed** label is shown below.
Note	Add a Note to a customer's profile. Customer notes are internal, and not visible to the customer. Notes are saved to the customer profile in your Shopify admin.
Cart	When the customer has products in their cart, information about the products is displayed including the product name, quantity, variant option, price, and inventory available. If there are more than three products in the cart, then you can click the link to view them all. You can also view the time when the customer last interacted with their cart.
Last order placed	Shows the last order a customer placed or has open within the last 60 days. Click on the order number to open the order. The time, date, amount, and status of the customer's most recent order is displayed under the order number. If the customer has more than one order, you can click the **view all** link to see a list of all orders. If the customer has no orders, then the order block will be empty.
Conversation details	The Conversation details block shows the most recent [conversation topic](manual/inbox/conversations#message-classification), status, the platform the customer used to send the message, and when the conversation began.