Reviews (5,787)
The latest Shopify Inbox update is a huge downgrade. The new interface is worse, forcing customers to enter their details before chatting adds unnecessary friction, and the AI is far less reliable than before. The old version was much simpler and worked much better. Please bring back the previous experience or at least give merchants the option to choose.
Thank you, especially for asking for the option to choose. That is what we shipped: a new Inbox setting lets customers start a chat by sharing just their name and email, like the previous Inbox, instead of signing in. It is rolling out to all stores now under Sales channels > Inbox > Chat settings > Collect customer details. Choose Require name and email there (the other options are Require customers to sign-in and Allow anonymous chats). One note: this applies to chats with your team. The AI agent still answers anonymous visitors instantly, by design, so customers get help in seconds even while you are offline. We default to sign-in because it confirms the customer owns the email they leave, but the choice is now yours. The AI agent is also fully optional and can be turned off in the same settings.
