Live Chat
One inbox for your whole team on one business number, with the customer’s order history beside the thread so nobody has to open Shopify admin to answer a question.
Live Chat is a three-pane inbox: conversations on the left, the thread in the middle, customer context on the right. The composer accepts free text inside 24 hours of the customer’s last message and requires an approved template outside it. Taking control pauses the bot for that thread only.
The three panes
| Pane | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Conversation list | Threads newest first, unread at the top, with filters and search above. |
| Thread | The message history and the composer, including delivery and read state per message. |
| Customer context | Recent orders, COD status, lifetime value, cart history, tags and consent — plus a link into Audience. |
What the composer will let you send
| Situation | What you can send |
|---|---|
| Customer messaged within 24 hours | Anything — text, images, documents. |
| More than 24 hours since their last message | Approved templates only. |
| Contact has opted out of marketing | Utility templates still send; Marketing templates are blocked. |
| WhatsApp disconnected | Nothing. Reconnect in Settings first. |
Takeover and release
- Take control
- Pauses automation for this conversation so only your team replies. Other conversations are unaffected.
- Release to bot
- Resumes automation from the customer’s next inbound message.
- Resolve
- Closes the ticket for reporting. It does not release the bot — do both when you are finished.
- Assign
- Gives the thread an owner, so it leaves the unowned queue.
Filters and search
| Control | Options |
|---|---|
| Status | All, assigned to me, open, needs help, or a named agent. |
| Date | Today, last 7 days, last 30 days. |
| Search | Name, phone number, or a message snippet. Two characters minimum. |
- Inbox and handover guide — How to work the inbox day to day.
- Chat rules and routing — Assign and escalate automatically.
- Live Chat feature page — What it looks like in the product.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the send button greyed out in Live Chat?
Either the 24-hour service window has closed, so you need an approved template, or WhatsApp is disconnected. A third case is a Marketing template addressed to a contact who has opted out, which is blocked by design.
Does taking over a conversation stop the bot everywhere?
No, only on that conversation. Every other thread keeps running its flows and journeys normally. The paused thread stays paused until someone releases it, which is why a single thread can look permanently silent.
Updated 2026-10-04