Shopify knowledge and shopping
Understand native store records, typed product cards, current cart checks, inactive sources and the limits of shopping outcomes.
7 min read
- Project
- Knowledge
- Select the Shopify source
Inspect retained store records and assignments, check whether the source can update or be used by assistants, and follow the indicated connection or billing recovery path.
Use Knowledge for source access and Website platforms for the connection and shopping preferences.
- Finish with
- Understand what your assistant can use and what a shopping result proves
These behaviors apply when native Shopify integration is enabled for the project. Native integration is being prepared; a documentation page does not establish provider approval or availability for every account.
One store, one Knowledge source
Public products, variants, pages and policies become typed records in the existing Knowledge system. Folders follow stable record structure, rather than creating a folder for every category or product. Product categories, published collections, material, capacity, color, size and other supported properties are fields. Relevant public custom attributes and their declared choices are included; operational tags, private references, unsupported and malformed values are omitted. Compatible measurements use consistent units for comparisons, and dates and times use validated values.
Shopify supplies the initial structure. This import does not require an LLM to invent a schema, and it is independent of Advanced processing. Before an assistant answers, its search can choose an authorized source and folder and apply supported typed field filters. Variant options must belong to the same actual variant when a question combines them.
Selecting the website assistant attaches the shared source; shared Knowledge assignments choose any additional assistants that may use it. Deliberate removal warns about its effect and survives ordinary connection saves. Reconnect explicitly when wanted. Update now, Pause updates, source removal and record inspection use the same source identity. Published information remains usable during an owner pause when access still permits it. Out-of-band edits and missed events are repaired through periodic reconciliation; a saved record is not a guarantee of instant freshness.
How store knowledge uses your word allowance
Store knowledge shares the project's indexed-word allowance with its other Knowledge sources. The allowance comes from the effective plan and active word add-ons. It measures published indexed text, including chunk overlap, rather than the number of products or a separate charge for each synchronization.
A product's description is indexed once. Linked variants keep their own identifying text, SKU and options; they do not each repeat the full description. Typed fields and schemas remain available for filtering and are not separately metered as indexed words. An unchanged synchronization does not add the same content to your usage again.
New or expanded content must fit the current allowance. A capacity warning uses the shared Knowledge and Billing recovery flow. If a plan or word add-on change reduces capacity below current use, a 30-day review lets you choose which content to retain. Shopify is one whole source in that review, rather than a list of individual products. Archiving it removes its indexed content and stops assistant use. Eligible restoration needs a fresh publication before the assistant can use it again; owner pauses and Shopify access restrictions still apply. See Manage capacity and indexed words.
Product cards follow the product’s properties
The assistant can choose relevant fields and compatible display types: text, number, boolean, list, date or selection. Labels, values, units and actual options come from verified store records. For example, a pack may show capacity and material, while clothing shows size and color. Missing details are omitted; false and zero remain meaningful values. There is no merchant card-builder setup.
A selection field represents real product or variant options. It does not turn an arbitrary category or descriptive enum into a shopping selector. Core identity, image, price, availability and actions have consistent positions in the shared card.
Price, availability, supported quantity and currency are checked in the current public storefront context when shopping controls are used. If context, stock, options or current details cannot be verified, the card offers a usable store link instead of inventing an amount or availability. Some descriptive fields may remain in the store’s default language.
A cart change needs a shopper’s confirmation
Showing a product card does not change the cart. A shopper chooses a real variant and quantity, reviews the current price and currency, then confirms the change. If price, stock, options, quantity rules or the cart changed, a new confirmation is required.
The assistant can also check the shopper's current store cart without changing it. A saved chat transcript is not a substitute for checking the current cart.
Supported theme carts use Shopify’s existing locale-aware cart. Chat4U does not create a separate Storefront cart. The native product or cart page handles unsupported bundles, required subscriptions and other purchase options.
If a request times out, its result is unconfirmed until the cart is checked. Chat4U does not automatically repeat the write. Shoppers can review the native cart and explicitly continue with a new request. Checkout is a button the shopper chooses. Saved chat history and owner transcripts show read-only product snapshots, without active stale cart controls.
Inactive sources and restoration
| State | Assistant use and updates | Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Effective plan no longer includes website integration, or account access is restricted | Saved information, assignments and connection stay in place. Source updates and assistant use stop, including schemas, old source-derived context, cards and shopping actions. | Review Billing & Usage. |
| Scheduled plan change | Current eligible access remains until the effective change. Trial cancellation can take effect immediately after billing confirmation. | Review the exact timing in the billing confirmation. |
| Access cannot be verified | Store information remains unavailable while checking. This does not assert that a downgrade occurred. | Check status again shortly. |
| Eligible access returns | Automatic catch-up begins before assistants may use the source again. | Wait for catch-up; resolve any independent blocker shown. |
| Capacity, owner pause or Shopify authorization also blocks catch-up | Restored plan access does not erase another blocker. | Make room or review capacity, resume updates, or reconnect Shopify as indicated. |
| Source was removed | The connection remains, but no source is recreated automatically. | Deliberately add store knowledge again. |
Changing one project’s plan or connection does not change sibling projects in the same workspace. A member who cannot change billing or connection settings should ask that workspace’s owner or admin to use the indicated recovery path.
Understand shopping outcomes
The report uses a rolling 30-day UTC period. Its conversion denominator includes eligible, consented conversations before they use product cards or cart help. It separates card displays, cart and checkout observations in the browser, and correlated paid orders confirmed by Shopify. A click, checkout handoff or browser receipt does not confirm a purchase. Test orders are excluded from production outcome totals. Refunds are applied and currencies are reported separately.
Paid-order reporting is optional and disabled until the applicable provider data access, checkout measurement and application configuration are enabled. It requires consent in both the widget and checkout, a verified connection between the interaction and completed checkout, and Shopify's confirmation of payment within the configured attribution window. Missing consent, missing correlation, blocked browser features or unavailable order access produce partial or unavailable coverage. The report shows when order evidence was last checked. These amounts describe associated orders, rather than proving that chat caused incremental revenue.
Withdrawing analytics consent stops new measurement and removes associated order and browser-observation evidence. Checkout observations are retained for up to 30 days. The checkout integration collects minimal event references, without forwarding customer identity, addresses or order amounts from the browser.
The core widget and cart remain usable when measurement is unavailable. Privacy requests use the existing audited privacy workflow. Shopify customer identity is not inferred from a chat visitor; verified order references and independently verified chat identities have distinct privacy scopes.
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