Order status, shipping questions, and product FAQs account for 60–70% of all Shopify support volume. Tidio’s Lyro AI resolves them automatically — without a human agent, without a complex helpdesk subscription, and without a monthly fee on the free plan.
This guide covers the complete setup: installation, widget configuration, Lyro AI training, chatbot flows, Shopify order sync, and the tuning routine that separates stores achieving 70% resolution from those stuck at 30%.
Why Tidio Works for Shopify Stores
Most Shopify merchants overpay for customer support infrastructure. Platforms like Gorgias or Zendesk cost anywhere from £60–£300/month and assume a human agent is in the loop for every conversation.
Tidio’s Lyro AI reads and responds to queries using a generative language model trained directly on your FAQ content and Shopify product catalogue — resolving approximately 70% of inbound queries without human intervention, and escalating the remainder automatically.
The free tier covers 50 Lyro AI conversations per month. For stores under £30,000/month GMV, this typically handles the full support volume. Above that threshold, paid plans extend the conversation limit cleanly.
Installation — 10 Minutes
Step 1: Install from the Shopify App Store
Search for “Tidio” in the Shopify App Store and install the free app. Tidio automatically creates a live chat widget on your storefront.
Step 2: Connect Your Shopify Store Data
In the Tidio admin panel, navigate to:
Settings → Integrations → Shopify
Tidio connects automatically on installation, but verify the integration is active — you should see your store name accompanied by a green connected status.
Once connected, Tidio pulls live order data, customer purchase history, and product catalogues into the agent sidebar. Test this by looking up a recent order through the Tidio chat interface.
Step 3: Configure the Chat Widget
Navigate to Settings → Widget and configure the following:
- Position: Bottom-right is standard (or bottom-left if you have competing floating CTAs).
- Color: Match your brand hex code (avoid the default blue, as it looks generic).
- Welcome Message: Use a specific message rather than a vague greeting. Try: "Questions about your order? We usually reply in under 2 minutes."
- Operator Hours: Set your actual human response hours. Outside those hours, route all traffic to automated responses.
Step 4: Set Up the Shopify Data Sidebar
In Tidio’s agent view, the right sidebar pulls Shopify order data for the current customer. Test this with a known customer email. Human agents should be able to view order status, tracking numbers, and purchase history without ever leaving Tidio.
Lyro AI Configuration — 20 Minutes
Lyro AI’s performance depends almost entirely on the quality of your FAQ content. Default resolution rates hover around 25–35%. Reaching 70% requires deliberate knowledge base construction.
Step 1: Access the Lyro Configuration Panel
In the Tidio admin panel, go to:
Lyro AI → Knowledge Base
This is where you upload the exact content Lyro uses to answer incoming customer queries.
Step 2: Write FAQs for Actual Support Volume
Write at least 20 Q&A pairs covering these critical areas:
- Order Status: "Where is my order?" — Answer with your typical processing and shipping timelines.
- Returns: "How do I return an item?" — Answer with your exact return process step-by-step, not just a bare link to a policy page.
- Shipping: "How long does delivery take?" — Provide specific timelines broken down by region.
- Product Specifications: Provide explicit answers for the 5–10 most common product questions on your top sellers.
- Out of Stock: "When will X be back in stock?" — Outline your restock communication or pre-order process.
- Discount Codes: "My discount code isn’t working" — Cover common causes (exclusions, order minimums) and resolution steps.
Note: The more specific your FAQs, the higher Lyro’s resolution rate. Vague answers produce unnecessary agent escalations.
Step 3: Upload Your FAQ Content
Tidio supports plain text Q&A pairs, website URL crawling, and PDF uploads. The Q&A pair format gives the most reliable results — URL crawling often imports extraneous page elements that can confuse Lyro’s responses.
Step 4: Configure Escalation Rules
In Lyro AI → Escalation, set the following parameters:
- Unresolved Handling: Route to a human agent during operating hours, or collect customer contact details outside operating hours.
- Escalation Triggers: Include explicit phrases like "connect me to a person", "speak to someone", or "not helpful".
- Priority Escalation: Configure complaints about damaged items or missing orders to immediately bypass AI and alert human agents.
Step 5: Enable Lyro on Your Widget
In Settings → Widget → Chat Behaviour, toggle Lyro AI to active and set Lyro as the first responder for all incoming conversations. Human agents can monitor all active conversations and take over at any point.
Chatbot Flows for Common Queries
Beyond Lyro AI, Tidio’s visual chatbot builder allows you to build structured menu flows for predictable interaction pathways:
Top comments (0)