Chablyy's storefront chat reads your Shopify catalog: products, variants, inventory, store policies and pages. Product changes you make in Shopify reach the assistant through Shopify webhooks, normally within a minute or two. Only active products published to a sales channel are used, so drafts and archived products are skipped.
Key takeaways
- Your storefront chat reads products, variants, inventory, store policies and pages from Shopify.
- Product changes reach the assistant through Shopify webhooks, normally within a minute or two.
- Only active products published to a sales channel are used. Drafts and archived products are skipped.
- Extra product information matters only where your default catalog leaves gaps in answers.
What Shopify product data does a storefront chat assistant use?
Your storefront chat assistant starts with what Shopify already knows about your store: products, variants, inventory, store policies and pages. It answers from that live catalog, so you do not need to retype it.
The assistant starts with what Shopify already knows. For each product, that means the title, description, vendor, type, price and image. Variants, inventory, store policies and pages are included too.
This is your live storefront catalog. Products sync automatically: when you create, update or delete a product in Shopify, the change reaches the assistant within a minute or two. Only active products published to a sales channel are used, so draft and archived products are skipped.
This starting point lives in the Knowledge Base. You can add files (PDF, Word, TXT or CSV), up to 20 URLs at a time, and your own questions and answers on top of it. By default the assistant does not read product metafields, so you choose whether to add them. See the Knowledge Base page for details.
How do product updates reach the assistant?
Product changes you make in Shopify reach the Chablyy storefront chat assistant through Shopify webhooks, normally within a minute or two. For routine edits you do not need to re-sync by hand.
Chablyy keeps its product data current without a manual step. When you create, update or delete a product in Shopify, the change flows into the assistant through Shopify webhooks. Here is the normal sequence:
- You save a change in Shopify: a new product, an edit, or a deletion.
- Shopify sends a webhook to Chablyy with that change.
- The storefront chat assistant uses the updated product when it answers shoppers.
For routine edits, such as a new title or a changed description, you do not need to re-sync by hand. The Knowledge Base draws on the same Shopify data, so it stays current the same way.
The one to two minute timing describes the normal flow only. It is not a guarantee, so if a change matters right now, check how the assistant answers after you save it.
Why must products be active and published to a sales channel?
Chablyy only uses products that are active and published to a sales channel. Draft and archived products are skipped, so a product has to be active and published before the storefront chat can answer questions about it.
Chablyy only answers from products that are active and published to a sales channel. Only active products are indexed for AI answers, so draft and archived products are skipped entirely. An active product that is not published to the channel is not used either.
When a shopper asks about a product and the assistant does not mention it, check these two things before anything else:
- Status: open the product in Shopify and confirm it is active, not draft or archived.
- Sales channel: confirm the product is published to the sales channel your storefront chat uses.
The assistant only knows what your store already shows shoppers. If a product is hidden from the storefront, it will not appear in answers. Product changes are kept current through Shopify webhooks, so once the status and channel are right, you do not need to do anything else. For the full list of what the assistant reads, see Knowledge Base.
When does extra product information matter, and when does it not?
Extra product information matters only when your default Shopify catalog leaves gaps in answers. If your products are active, published to a sales channel and well described, the catalog may already cover most product questions.
If your products are active, published to a sales channel and well described, the default catalog data may be enough for most product questions. Only active products published to a sales channel are used, so check that first.
Product metafields are a different case. The assistant does not use them by default, so you must choose to include them.
Gaps in shipping, returns or other answers are where extra material helps. You can fill them in the Knowledge Base with:
- Files in PDF, Word, TXT or CSV format
- Up to 20 URLs at a time
- Your own questions and answers
Not sure where the gaps are? The checklist in the Knowledge Base shows where a shopper might get a weak answer. You can also test any question first, with the source shown behind the answer. See the Knowledge Base feature for details.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to turn anything on for my products to appear in chat answers?
Chablyy reads your live Shopify catalog, so routine product setup does not need manual steps. It only uses products that are active and published to a sales channel. Draft and archived products are skipped, so a product must be active and published before the storefront chat can answer questions about it.
What happens to a product I delete or archive in Shopify?
When you delete a product in Shopify, the change reaches the assistant through Shopify webhooks, normally within a minute or two. Archived and draft products are skipped, so the assistant stops using them to answer questions about your store.
Can the assistant answer questions about an order?
Yes, shoppers can ask about an order through order lookup. Order lookup is read-only: it lets a shopper check on an order, and it does not change that order in any way. Your store's own policies still answer questions about returns and shipping.
Does the assistant use product photos and variant options?
Yes. Your live catalog includes each product's title, description, vendor, type, price and image, and the assistant also uses variants. By default the AI sees no product metafields, so extra product fields are used only when you choose to add them.
How do I find out where my store's answers are thin?
The Knowledge Base includes a checklist that shows where shoppers might get a weak answer. You can also test any question before shoppers see it, and the source is shown behind every answer, so you can see what the assistant relied on.
Sources
Learn more about Knowledge Base, storefront chat, 8 essentials for your AI assistant and Help.
- explainers
- shopify product data
- storefront chat
Written by
Founder of Chablyy
