If you’re connecting to Shopify for the first time, you’ll see a quick onboarding flow to set up Fin for Ecommerce:

Connect to Shopify: Establish a live connection to power Fin and keep your catalogue up to date.
Install the Messenger: Enable customers to interact with Fin through the Messenger.
Deploy Fin: Preview and deploy Fin to your customers on Shopify.

Step 1: Connect your Shopify store

Get started by connecting your Shopify store to Intercom. Fin for Ecommerce is built for Shopify merchants, with automatic Shopify customer detection and a tailored onboarding experience to help you go live quickly.

Go to Fin AI Agent > Ecommerce > Train > Get started.
Click Set up Fin for Ecommerce.
Follow the one-click flow to connect your Shopify store.
Link one or more Shopify stores to Intercom.

Fin automatically detects Shopify customers and tailors the onboarding experience. When connected, all store content (products, pages, and articles) is imported into Intercom to power Fin. You can manage all content for Fin from the Train > Content section.

Step 2: Install the Messenger

To install:

Go to your Shopify admin dashboard.
Click Edit theme.
Navigate to App embeds.
Toggle on the Intercom app.
Click Save.

Once enabled, the Messenger appears on your storefront so customers can interact with Fin.

Step 3: Train Fin for Ecommerce

Fin for Ecommerce is powered by your Shopify catalogue, content, guidance, and Procedures.

Manage your store

Go to Fin AI Agent > Ecommerce > Train > Store to manage connected Shopify stores.

At least one store is required
All store content is automatically ingested when connected

Manage your content

Pricing, availability, and variant information are synced directly from your Shopify catalogue. Because this information is synced directly from Shopify, it stays up to date automatically as your catalogue changes.

From Fin AI Agent > Ecommerce > Train > Content you can configure which content Fin for Ecommerce can access. Make sure key ecommerce content, especially synced Shopify products is included, as Fin relies on this data to accurately search for and display products.

Filter your catalog

To refine what Fin recommends, select the three-dot menu next to your product catalog in Train > Content and select:

Configure product filters – Control which products are included.
Configure stock filter – Exclude out-of-stock items.

These filters ensure Fin only recommends relevant and available products.

Add guidance (optional)

For most stores, Fin for Ecommerce works well without additional guidance. You may want to add guidance if you have a complex catalogue, specific business rules, or strict tone requirements.

Go to Fin AI Agent > Ecommerce > Train > Guidance to create Fin for Ecommerce guidance for:

Communication style
Conversation strategy & flow
Situation handling & edge cases
Context and clarification rules

Examples include:

How to explain complex product combinations.
Important restrictions or exclusions.
Brand tone of voice.
Rules for edge cases or special scenarios.

Add attributes (optional)

Fin automatically detects and applies attributes to ecommerce conversations, such as:

Product recommended
Cart created
Checkout link clicked

These help with reporting and analysis. To add more custom attributes, go to Fin AI Agent > Ecommerce > Train > Attributes.

Add escalation guidance and rules (optional)

Fin for Ecommerce is designed to resolve customer questions autonomously while escalating to a human teammate at the right moment.

You can control when escalation happens, whether Fin offers escalation or escalates immediately, and what Fin says during the handover from Fin AI Agent > Ecommerce > Train > Escalation.

Fin escalation behavior is powered by:

Default escalation behavior
Escalation rules (data-driven)
Escalation guidance (natural language instructions)
Workflows (post-escalation routing and actions)

Best practice for escalation guidance and rules.

Manage Procedures

Fin for Ecommerce supports post-purchase workflows using Procedures and Shopify APIs.

Common use cases include:

Where is my order
Returns
Refunds
Exchanges
Order updates or cancellations

Go to Fin AI Agent > Ecommerce > Train > Procedures to review all Procedures. Some Procedures may be:

Automatically live if already configured.
Created in draft mode if new or incomplete.

Learn more about Fin Procedures.

Step 4: Test Fin for Ecommerce

To test Fin for Ecommerce, go to Fin AI Agent > Ecommerce > Deploy and use the Preview panel to validate Fin's logic and messaging before deployment.

You can:

Run sample shopping conversations.
Validate product recommendations and comparisons.
Test broad and vague discovery questions.
Check cart and checkout actions.
Review how Fin handles support requests.
Confirm how Fin handles shopping and support queries in the same conversation.

This is especially useful for businesses with complex catalogues, product rules, or post-purchase workflows.

Tip: Create a test Fin audience and apply it to specific ecommerce workflows and content so that you can set Fin live and test it in your live environment.

Step 5: Deploy Fin for Ecommerce

Go to Fin AI Agent > Ecommerce > Deploy to launch Fin for Ecommerce. Fin can be deployed via Workflows or Simple deploy.

When deploying via Workflows you can choose to use a pre-configured Workflow – or to configure from scratch.

Pre-configured deployment

Use a ready-made workflow to go live quickly.

This includes:

A Let Fin handle step configured for Ecommerce.
A greeting message.
Default trigger (when a customer opens a new Messenger conversation).
Default assignment if Fin cannot resolve.

Configure your deployment

Go to Fin AI Agent > Workflows.
Create or edit a workflow.
Choose a trigger, such as:
- When a customer opens a Messenger conversation
- When a customer visits a page
Select Messenger as the channel.
Set your audience.
Add a Let Fin handle step.
Set Fin’s role to Ecommerce.
Configure fallback actions (e.g., assign to inbox)

Note: Fin automatically determines whether to provide shopping assistance or support. There is no need to define routing or handover to Fin for Service.

Tips: Before deploying, we recommend reviewing the following: