SellBot Documentation

Install, configure, and get the most out of your AI sales assistant.

1 Installation

One-click install from the Shopify App Store

Open the SellBot listing on the Shopify App Store.
Click "Add app" and approve the minimal scopes SellBot requests.
Choose a plan — start on Free, or pick a paid tier (Starter, Growth, or Scale). Every paid plan starts with a 14-day free trial.
You'll land in the SellBot onboarding checklist — take two minutes to finish it.

Tip: SellBot only requests read_themes, read_locales, read_products, and the paid-order webhook. No customer data, no order history.

2 First-run setup

The first time you open SellBot the onboarding checklist walks you through four quick steps:

1. Enable the widget

Turn the chat widget on or off. You can pick a position (bottom-right or bottom-left) and a colour scheme that matches your theme.
2. Sync your catalog

SellBot pulls products, variants, and inventory via Shopify's API. This happens automatically — watch the progress bar, no action needed.
3. Add store policies (optional)

Paste your shipping, returns, and FAQ text so the AI answers policy questions correctly. You can also drop in a link to an external FAQ page.
4. Pick a plan

Free includes 50 chats/month. Paid tiers use SellBot-managed AI keys with a higher monthly cap — 500 (Starter), 3,000 (Growth), or 10,000 (Scale). Need more? Turn on Bring-Your-Own-Key in the Advanced tab to use your own Claude / GPT / Gemini keys for unlimited chats.

3 Configuring features

SellBot's admin is organised into six tabs inside your Shopify admin — no external dashboard, no extra login.

Setup

Enable the widget, pick the AI model, and set your handoff channels.

Design

Customise colours, widget position, avatar, and welcome message.

Messages

Configure welcome, fallback, and out-of-hours messages. Supports 15 languages.

System

Add store policies, enable Smart Triggers, set handoff rules.

Inbox

Review every conversation, correct bad answers, and flag them so SellBot learns.

Insights

Conversation counts, satisfaction ratings, estimated revenue attributed to chat.

4 Using your own API keys

On any paid tier you can bring your own API keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google from the Advanced tab. You pay the provider directly for usage, your chats become unlimited, and your SellBot subscription stays flat.

Where to get keys:

Anthropic (Claude): console.anthropic.com
OpenAI (GPT): platform.openai.com
Google (Gemini): aistudio.google.com

How to add them:

Go to SellBot admin → Setup → API Keys.
Paste each key into the matching field and click Save.
Pick a default provider. You can switch providers per-conversation later from the Inbox.

Security: Keys are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM before being written to the database. The decryption key lives on the application server and never touches persistent storage. You can rotate or delete keys at any time.

5 Live Agent handoff

Live Agent handoff bridges the gap when the AI can't answer. Here's how the flow works:

1. Shopper asks for a human

A "Talk to a human" button appears after any low-confidence AI response. The shopper can also type "agent" at any time.
2. Timeout fallback

If no agent responds within your configured window (default 5 minutes) SellBot asks for the shopper's email and promises a follow-up — the shopper never gets stuck.
3. Merchant notification

You receive an email with the conversation context so you can respond without logging into Shopify if you want.
4. Respond from the Inbox

Reply directly from SellBot's Inbox. The shopper sees your message in the live chat; once you're done, the AI takes back over.

6 Smart Triggers

SellBot offers seven Smart Trigger types. How many you can enable depends on your plan — from 1 on Free up to unlimited on Scale. Each can be toggled on or off and fine-tuned from the System tab.

Cart Idle

Fires when a shopper has items in cart but hasn't moved for 60 seconds. Offers help or a discount code.

Page Dwell

Fires when a shopper has been reading a product page for 45+ seconds. Proactive "Questions about this product?" nudge.

Exit Intent

Desktop-only. Fires when the cursor heads for the close/back button. Last-chance chat prompt.

Returning Visitor

Fires on a repeat visit within 7 days. Greets the shopper and offers to pick up where they left off.

Deep Scroll

Fires at 75% page depth. Perfect for long PDPs or collection pages — catches engaged shoppers.

PDP View

Fires on the third product page a shopper opens in a single session. Suggests Smart Match to help them choose.

Checkout Drop

Fires if a shopper visits checkout then returns to the store without buying. Offers to answer last-minute questions.

7 Troubleshooting

The chat widget doesn't show on my storefront

Make sure the widget is enabled in the Design tab and that your theme is Online Store 2.0. If you use a custom theme, check that app embeds aren't disabled at the theme level.

The AI keeps saying "I don't know"

Usually means the catalog hasn't finished syncing, or the product description is sparse. Wait for the sync progress bar to complete, then add policies and FAQ text in the System tab so the AI has context to answer.

Prices show in the wrong currency

SellBot uses Currency.Wiki under the hood. Install the Currency.Wiki Shopify app alongside SellBot and the AI will automatically quote prices in the shopper's currency.

AI replies feel slow

Switch to a faster model in Setup → AI Model (Gemini Flash is often fastest). With Bring-Your-Own-Key, make sure your API keys have enough monthly quota — throttled requests get queued.

The AI recommends the wrong products

Open the Inbox, find the conversation, and click "Correct this answer". Write the right answer once and SellBot won't repeat the mistake.

8 Uninstalling & data deletion

You can uninstall SellBot any time from your Shopify admin. Here's what happens:

Billing stops immediately — you won't be charged again.
Shopify sends our shop/redact webhook. We delete all merchant and shopper data within 30 days.
If you re-install later you start fresh — there's no hidden retention of old conversations.

Note: Want your data first? Email support before uninstalling and we'll send you a JSON export of your conversations and settings.

Still stuck?

Our support team responds to every email within one business day.

[email protected] Back to SellBot