Can the Shopify Inbox agent cancel or refund an order?

Shopify's Help Center, checked November 3, 2026, lists product questions, recommendations, order status lookups after sign-in, adding items to the cart and replying in the shopper's language. Order changes stay with your staff. Aide's AI cancels, refunds and edits the shipping address once a shopper is verified, and holds each refund for a teammate.

Does Shopify Inbox answer email?

The Inbox agent only works in your online store's chat widget and can't send email for you. When a shopper leaves the store, a reply from your staff goes to the email they signed in with or gave. Aide answers your support inbox itself, sending from your own address after you forward mail to it or connect Gmail.

When is Shopify Inbox the better fit?

When storefront chat is nearly all of your support and you want it free with no per-reply charge, when Shop sign-in personalization matters, since the agent can use a shopper's Shopify purchase history and saved sizes, or when you want an app made and supported by Shopify itself. It also carries thousands of reviews.

When is Aide not the right fit?

A store that mostly helps customers over the phone, since Aide answers chat and email, not calls. It also suits Shopify best; on WooCommerce, Aide can look orders up but not change them.

How does Aide fit into Shopify?

Add Aide through the Shopify App Store, then turn on Aide Chat in your theme editor without touching code. Logged-in shoppers are recognized automatically, customer accounts get a "Get help with this order" link, and the thank-you page offers order help. Aide conversations also appear on Shopify order and customer pages.

What does my team reply from?

Aide Helpdesk, a free inbox for chat and email with routing, SLAs, macros and Slack or email notifications. Replies from your team never count toward a plan. Teams already on Zendesk, Gorgias or Front can keep it and use Aide inside it.

Shopify Inbox alternative

When shoppers need the order changed, not explained.

Shopify Inbox is a strong free start for storefront chat. Aide, installed from the Shopify App Store, adds email replies, order changes for verified shoppers and a full helpdesk.Updated November 3, 2026 · By Ziyad Basheer

Start free See the comparison

Short answer

Aide is a Shopify Inbox alternative for stores whose AI needs to answer email as well as chat, and to cancel, refund or readdress orders, with refunds held for a teammate by default. It installs from the Shopify App Store; the free plan covers 150 AI replies a month.

Price: Inbox: free. Aide: $0 up to 150 AI replies, then from $39 a month.
Where AI answers: Inbox agent: your storefront chat widget. Aide: chat and support email.
Order help: Inbox agent: order status after sign-in. Aide: cancel, refund, change address.
Other helpdesks: Inbox stands alone. Aide can also sit inside Zendesk, Gorgias or Front.
App Store reviews: Shopify Inbox: 4.5 stars from 5,818. Aide: 5.0 stars from 3.
Checked: November 3, 2026, against Shopify's Help Center and the Inbox listing.

Where they differ

Wrong size, caught before it ships.

A guest shopper who gives an order number and the email used at checkout gets the order cancelled in the same chat, and the refund goes to your team for a yes.

Shopify's Help Center says the Inbox agent asks shoppers to sign in before it shares order details, and lists order status, not order changes, among its tasks.

Customer

I just ordered #1066 in the wrong size. Can you cancel it? I used maya@example.com.

Aide

All set. Order #1066 hadn't shipped, so it's cancelled in Shopify. Your $58.00 refund is waiting on a quick check from our team, and we'll email you once it's issued.

✓Order #1066 verified · Cancelled in Shopify · Refund awaiting approval

Side by side

	Aide	Shopify Inbox
Price	Free up to 150 AI replies a month; paid plans from $39	Free on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans
Where the AI answers	Storefront chat, thank-you page, support email	Your online store's chat widget
Order lookup	Logged in, or order number plus the checkout email	Agent: after sign-in. Track my order button: number plus email
Cancel, refund, change address	Yes; a teammate approves refunds first	Not listed; your staff make changes
Email	AI replies from your support address	Staff replies reach shoppers who left; the agent sends no email
Shopping help	Recommendations, add to cart, the page being viewed	Recommendations, add to cart, Shop personalization
Zendesk, Gorgias, Front	Connects to each	Not mentioned in its docs

Checked November 3, 2026 against Shopify's Help Center and the Inbox listing. Sources below.

What moving up costs

Inbox costs nothing, so the question is what the extra work is worth. Picture 300 chats and 150 support emails in a month, with two AI replies in every one.

That is 900 AI replies, which fits Aide Starter at $39 a month, or $31 a month billed yearly.
A smaller store under 150 AI replies a month pays $0 on Aide's Free plan, with 2 team members.
Your team's own messages are never billed, and every paid plan allows unlimited team members.

Sources

Shopify Inbox facts come from Shopify's Help Center articles Assigning your Inbox agent to conversations, Configuring your Inbox agent persona, Managing customer conversations and Set up instant answers, plus the Shopify Inbox listing, all as of November 3, 2026. Aide details reflect the current product, our pricing and Aide's listing. Aide wrote this page. Spot something about Inbox that has changed? Tell us at support@aide.app.

Frequently asked questions

: Shopify's Help Center, checked November 3, 2026, lists product questions, recommendations, order status lookups after sign-in, adding items to the cart and replying in the shopper's language. Order changes stay with your staff. Aide's AI cancels, refunds and edits the shipping address once a shopper is verified, and holds each refund for a teammate.
: The Inbox agent only works in your online store's chat widget and can't send email for you. When a shopper leaves the store, a reply from your staff goes to the email they signed in with or gave. Aide answers your support inbox itself, sending from your own address after you forward mail to it or connect Gmail.
: When storefront chat is nearly all of your support and you want it free with no per-reply charge, when Shop sign-in personalization matters, since the agent can use a shopper's Shopify purchase history and saved sizes, or when you want an app made and supported by Shopify itself. It also carries thousands of reviews.
: A store that mostly helps customers over the phone, since Aide answers chat and email, not calls. It also suits Shopify best; on WooCommerce, Aide can look orders up but not change them.
: Add Aide through the Shopify App Store, then turn on Aide Chat in your theme editor without touching code. Logged-in shoppers are recognized automatically, customer accounts get a "Get help with this order" link, and the thank-you page offers order help. Aide conversations also appear on Shopify order and customer pages.
: Aide Helpdesk, a free inbox for chat and email with routing, SLAs, macros and Slack or email notifications. Replies from your team never count toward a plan. Teams already on Zendesk, Gorgias or Front can keep it and use Aide inside it.

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150 AI replies a month on the Free plan, with every feature included. No card needed.

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