Install the free BotDesk app from the Shopify App Store, or paste one line into your theme. BotDesk then answers product, shipping and return questions on your store 24/7.
Setup in 4 steps
The easiest way is the free BotDesk app. Prefer to paste the code yourself? That method is below the steps.
Open the BotDesk AI Chat Assistant page on the Shopify App Store, click Install, and approve it in your Shopify admin. The app is free to install. BotDesk then reads your store's products and pages so it can answer shoppers.
Open the app from Apps in your Shopify admin. It shows Your BotDesk API key, which starts with bd_. Copy it.
In the app, click Enable the BotDesk widget. This opens your theme editor on the App embeds panel. Turn on BotDesk Widget, click the arrow next to it, paste your key into the BotDesk API key box, and click Save.
To get there yourself: go to Online Store, click Edit theme on your current theme, then click the App embeds icon in the sidebar.
Open your storefront. The chat bubble appears in the bottom corner of your store pages. Click Open my BotDesk dashboard in the app to see what the bot learned and change its settings.
Use this if you already set up a bot at botdesk.studio, or you'd rather not install an app.
<script async src="https://botdesk.studio/widget.js" data-api-key="YOUR_API_KEY" data-name="AI Assistant" data-color="#1F5AA8" data-greeting="Hi! 👋 How can I help you today?"></script>
Online Store. Next to your current theme, click the ⋯ button, then Edit code.layout/theme.liquid, find the closing </body> tag, paste your code just above it, and click Save.Copy yours from the dashboard instead of typing it: your copy has your own key where this one says YOUR_API_KEY. The code carries your key and a few display settings. Everything else, like what the bot knows, your hours and where leads go, loads from your BotDesk account.
Watch the paste-the-code method, 36 seconds
layout/theme.liquid.After you install
These settings live in your main BotDesk dashboard. On a store plan, open the account menu at the top of your store dashboard and choose Business dashboard.
Open your website and look for the chat bubble in the bottom corner, then ask it a question. You can also open the Install tab in your dashboard, type your website address and click Check if it's live.
When the bot takes a visitor's name and phone number, we email it to you and it also shows in the Leads tab. It goes to the email you signed up with unless you change it: open What your bot does, click Emails to you, and fill in Where should we send new leads?
The Free plan takes up to 3 leads a month. Starter and up take unlimited leads.
Change anything in your dashboard, like what the bot knows, how it looks, the pop-up message or the booking button, and save. Changes reach your site automatically within a few minutes. You don't need to paste the code again. Not seeing a change yet? Do a hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R, or Cmd+Shift+R on a Mac.
Your business hours (What your bot knows, then Business info, then Hours) are what the bot tells visitors when they ask if you're open. The team schedule in the Team tab (Growth plan and up) only decides when your staff show as available for live chat. They are separate, so changing one doesn't change the other.
Open What your bot knows, then Business info, and scroll to Hours. Under Closed days and holidays, tap a holiday, use Going on vacation? for a run of dates, or click + Add a closed day. Check that Your time zone is right, then click Save settings. The bot will tell visitors you're closed on those days.
Send us your website address and we'll help you get it live by email, free.
Someone else runs your website? Open Install on your site in your BotDesk dashboard and click Email steps to my web person. Or email hello@botdesk.studio. We'll reply by email within 24 hours.
FAQ
No, but it's the easiest way. The free BotDesk app adds the chat through a theme app embed, so you never touch code. You can also paste one line into your theme's theme.liquid file instead.
Use the paste method instead, with the install code from your dashboard. That way your store shows the bot you already built.
Adding one line just above the closing </body> tag is low-risk. For extra safety, duplicate your theme first as a backup: in Online Store, click the ⋯ button next to your theme, then Duplicate.
No. BotDesk loads on your storefront pages. Shopify's checkout is a separate, locked-down page and is not affected.
Yes. BotDesk reads your store's pages when it is set up. Add your shipping and return policy and common questions in your BotDesk dashboard and the chatbot will use them when answering customers.
Yes. Log into your BotDesk dashboard any time to update your business info, hours, services and FAQ answers. Changes reach your site automatically within a few minutes. You don't need to paste the code again.
Get Started
Start free, copy your install code, and your chatbot is live in minutes.
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