Always Awake
Merchant help centre

Answers that keep you selling.

Set up, train, style and optimise your Always Awake sales guide with practical answers from the team that built it.

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44 practical answers Updated for the latest release Built for Shopify merchants
Start here

Go live in four steps.

  1. 01
    InstallApprove the requested read-only store scopes.
  2. 02
    EnableTurn on the app embed in your theme editor.
  3. 03
    TrainAdd instructions, rules and private knowledge.
  4. 04
    PublishStyle, test and switch the experience live.
All help articles

Everything you need to run Always Awake.

44 answers

Getting started What is Always Awake? A commerce-focused AI guide for Shopify storefronts.

Always Awake is an AI sales guide built for Shopify. It uses your published catalogue, inventory, pages, policies and merchant-supplied knowledge to answer buying questions, recommend suitable products and move shoppers towards the cart.

It is designed for guided selling rather than generic customer support: narrowing choices, comparing products, explaining fit and presenting complete product cards with quantity and add-to-cart controls.

Getting started How do I install Always Awake? Install through Shopify and approve the requested scopes.
  1. Choose Install from the Shopify App Store listing.
  2. Review and approve the requested store permissions.
  3. Open Always Awake from Shopify Admin.
  4. Follow the launch checklist on Home.

No separate Always Awake account or password is required. Authentication stays inside Shopify.

Getting started Which permissions does the app request? Read-only commerce knowledge plus signed storefront calls.

The app requests read access for the store information needed to answer shopper questions, including products, inventory, pages, articles, policies, navigation, markets and delivery-related configuration. It also requests write_app_proxy so the storefront widget can make signed requests to the app.

Always Awake does not request customer, order, payment, theme-write, product-write or content-write access.

Getting started How do I enable the storefront widget? Turn on the app embed, then publish from Design Studio.
  1. From Always Awake Home, choose Open theme editor.
  2. Open App embeds and enable Always Awake.
  3. Save the theme.
  4. Return to Design Studio → Targeting.
  5. Enable the storefront experience and choose Publish experience.

The app embed and the in-app master switch must both be on.

Getting started What should I configure before going live? Use this short pre-launch checklist.
  • Check assistant name, opening copy, launcher and brand colours.
  • Add merchant instructions and any essential private knowledge.
  • Confirm product, policy and delivery information is accurate in Shopify.
  • Test common buying questions on desktop and mobile.
  • Review excluded paths and proactive journey rules.
  • Choose a retention period and confirm support contact details.
Storefront What store information can the assistant use? Live published Shopify data and private AI Brain knowledge.

Always Awake can ground answers in published product details, variants, pricing, availability, collections, pages, blog articles, policies, menus, markets and delivery configuration available through the approved Shopify scopes.

You can supplement that material with private instructions, rules and documents in AI Brain. Private knowledge is used for answers but is not published as a Shopify page.

Storefront How do product recommendations work? The assistant matches shopper needs to verified products.

The shopper describes what they need. Always Awake searches relevant store information, narrows the available choices and explains why each suggested product fits. Recommendations are based on verified catalogue context rather than invented product claims.

Where supported, cards include the image, title, description, current price, availability, product link, quantity controls and add-to-cart action.

Storefront Are conversations restored after refresh? Recent anonymous sessions can continue across page loads.

Yes. The storefront stores a recent anonymous conversation identifier so a shopper can refresh or move between eligible storefront pages and continue the same buying journey.

The restoration window is intentionally limited. Clearing browser storage, using another browser or device, or deleting conversation data starts a new session.

Storefront Does Always Awake run inside checkout? No. It runs on the online store and cart or pre-checkout pages.

Always Awake does not inject into Shopify checkout. Checkout paths are excluded by default. You can use cart or pre-checkout journeys on eligible online-store pages before the shopper enters checkout.

This keeps the experience inside the app's declared online-store surface and avoids interfering with Shopify's checkout.

AI Brain What are custom instructions? Persistent guidance for tone, priorities and selling behaviour.

Custom instructions tell the assistant how to behave across conversations. Use them for brand voice, the questions it should ask, preferred decision criteria, how concise answers should be and which information should be prioritised.

Write instructions as clear, specific directions. For example: Ask about budget and intended use before recommending more than two products.

AI Brain What are merchant rules and guardrails? Hard boundaries the assistant should follow.

Rules define what the assistant must or must not do. Good rules cover restricted claims, warranty wording, regulated products, discount policy, unavailable items, escalation and topics that require a human answer.

Keep each rule atomic and test it with a realistic shopper question after saving.

AI Brain Which document types can I upload? PDF, DOCX, TXT, Markdown and CSV knowledge files.

AI Brain accepts PDF, DOCX, plain text, Markdown and CSV files within the upload limits shown in the app. Useful examples include buying guides, size and compatibility notes, product comparison tables, care instructions and internal FAQs.

Use selectable text rather than scanned images where possible, and remove material that shoppers should not receive.

AI Brain How should I structure training documents? Clear headings and explicit facts produce better retrieval.
  • Give every document one clear purpose.
  • Use descriptive headings and short sections.
  • State exact conditions, exclusions and dates.
  • Keep product names consistent with Shopify.
  • Remove duplicate or conflicting versions.

Smaller focused documents are usually easier to maintain than one large mixed file.

AI Brain How do I update or remove private knowledge? Manage sources directly in the AI Brain library.

Open AI Brain, find the knowledge source and use its available replace or delete action. Upload the corrected source after removing an outdated version so the assistant is not given conflicting information.

Enterprise workflows can also create, replace and delete supported knowledge through the Operations API.

Design Studio What can I customise in Design Studio? Brand, launcher, conversation, interface, behaviour and targeting.

Design Studio controls the assistant identity, launcher label and icon, uploaded logo, welcome copy, colour system, typography, panel treatment, message styles, product cards, prompts, motion, desktop and mobile layout, trust copy, proactive behaviour and page targeting.

The live preview updates as you work so you can check the complete experience before publishing.

Design Studio Can I use my own logo or widget icon? Choose a built-in mark or upload a brand asset.

Yes. In the Brand or Launcher controls, choose a built-in mark or upload your own avatar, logo or icon. A square image with transparent padding usually works best.

Check the launcher, header and mobile preview after uploading. Your custom asset overrides the selected built-in mark while it is supplied.

Design Studio How do I change the launcher text? Edit the closed-widget label and supporting prompt.

Open Design Studio → Launcher and edit the launcher label or prompt. Keep it short, specific and useful: Help me choose is clearer than a generic Chat.

Preview at narrow mobile widths to make sure the label does not cover important storefront controls.

Design Studio How do I match the widget to my brand? Start with brand tokens, then refine individual surfaces.

Set the accent, surface, primary text and muted text colours first. Then choose typeface, panel treatment, border radius, launcher shape and message styles. Check contrast in both the preview and the live theme.

Use the storefront font option when you want the guide to inherit the surrounding brand. Use a dedicated interface font when legibility and consistency matter more.

Design Studio Can I show the guide only on selected pages or devices? Use targeting controls and excluded paths.

Yes. Design Studio targeting can control desktop and mobile visibility and exclude selected URL paths. Use exclusions for pages where a floating sales guide would be inappropriate or could conflict with another experience.

After changing targeting, publish the experience and test an included and excluded URL in a private browser window.

Journeys What are proactive journeys? Contextual first messages triggered by shopper behaviour.

Proactive journeys let Always Awake offer timely help before the shopper opens the guide. A journey combines page targeting, a behaviour trigger, a message and frequency limits.

Examples include offering product help after dwell time, prompting comparison on a collection page, or surfacing a merchant-created offer on the cart page.

Journeys Which journey triggers are available? Page, dwell, scroll, exit and cart or pre-checkout signals.

Available presets cover product, collection and cart or pre-checkout contexts, along with signals such as time on page, scroll depth and exit intent. Exact controls are shown in Design Studio under Behaviour.

Use the lightest trigger that matches the decision moment, then set session and daily caps to avoid repetition.

Journeys Can a journey offer a discount or free shipping? Yes, using an offer that already exists in Shopify.

A journey can present an approved discount or free-shipping message when its rules are met. Create and validate the code in Shopify first, then enter the exact code and eligibility wording in Always Awake.

The app does not create the underlying Shopify discount. Avoid implying that every shopper qualifies when Shopify conditions may differ.

Journeys How do frequency limits work? Prevent the same proactive prompt from becoming intrusive.

Journey frequency caps limit how often a prompt can appear in a shopper session or day. If a journey has already reached its cap, it will not display again even when the trigger is met.

For most stores, begin conservatively, review impressions and interactions, and increase reach only when the prompt is genuinely useful.

Conversations What can I review in Conversations? Searchable transcripts and shopper buying signals.

The Conversations inbox records eligible anonymous shopper questions, assistant answers and related commerce events. Use it to understand common decision criteria, objections, missed information and which recommendations lead to cart actions.

Search and filters help you locate a journey without reading every transcript.

Conversations How do I export conversation data? Use the CSV export from the Conversations area.

Open Conversations and choose the CSV export action. The download contains the interaction data available to your store at that time.

Treat exports as merchant data: store them securely, limit internal access and delete local copies when they are no longer needed.

Conversations What do assisted revenue and cart actions mean? Directional signals based on recorded assistant events.

Cart actions show recorded add-to-cart interactions made through the assistant. Assisted revenue is an attribution signal derived from the events available to the app; it is not a guarantee that the assistant caused every purchase.

Use these metrics alongside Shopify reporting and transcript quality when evaluating the experience.

Plans & billing What are the current plans and conversation limits? Launch 100, Growth 500, Scale 1,500 and Enterprise 10,000.
  • Launch: 100 shopper conversations per month.
  • Growth: 500 per month.
  • Scale: 1,500 per month.
  • Enterprise: 10,000 per month plus the command centre, Operations API and direct developer line.

Current prices, trials and included features are always shown on Shopify's hosted app-pricing page.

Plans & billing Is Always Awake free on development stores? Development stores receive 50 total test conversations.

Yes. Eligible Shopify development stores can configure and test the app without selecting a paid Always Awake plan. Development access includes 50 total shopper conversations.

When the allowance is reached, new AI conversations pause until an app plan is selected. If the store moves to a paid Shopify plan, choose an Always Awake plan to continue.

Plans & billing What happens when I reach my conversation limit? New AI conversations pause until the allowance renews or the plan changes.

Always Awake stops starting new AI conversations after the active allowance is reached. Existing app configuration and merchant data remain available.

On a paid plan, wait for the next billing-period allowance or select a plan with more conversations through Shopify App Pricing. Development access does not automatically renew after its 50 total conversations.

Plans & billing How do I change or cancel my plan? Plan selection and approval stay in Shopify.

Open Always Awake → Plans and follow the link to Shopify's hosted app-pricing page. Shopify presents the available plans and asks you to approve a change.

To remove the app entirely, use Shopify Admin → Settings → Apps and sales channels. Shopify controls subscription cancellation associated with uninstalling.

Enterprise API What is the Operations API? A secure control plane for external AI and automation.

The Enterprise Operations API lets an authorised external AI, workflow or data system inspect and operate Always Awake without receiving broad Shopify Admin access.

It supports validated app configuration, knowledge management, proactive journeys, conversations, events and analytics. Billing and Shopify user administration remain outside the API.

Enterprise API Where do I generate an API key? API credentials live in the gated Enterprise tab.

Open Always Awake → Enterprise and scroll to External AI control plane. Choose Generate API key, then copy the secret immediately. The full key is shown once.

Only Enterprise, eligible development and Shopify reviewer access can open this area.

Enterprise API How should an external AI discover the API? Start with the OpenAPI 3.1 document and field schema.

Give the external system the app base URL and use GET /api/v1/openapi for the machine-readable operation contract. Use GET /api/v1/schema for editable field definitions and constraints.

Authenticate requests with Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY. Never include the key in browser code, prompts shared with third parties or public repositories.

Enterprise API What can an external AI edit? Safe Studio settings, AI Brain, knowledge and journeys.

The API exposes validated controls for 74 safe, supported app settings across the storefront experience and AI Brain. It can also create, replace or delete supported knowledge sources and replace proactive journey configuration.

It cannot change billing, grant itself additional Shopify permissions, create Admin users or modify arbitrary theme code.

Enterprise API How do I rotate or revoke a compromised key? Use the credential controls in Enterprise immediately.

Open the Enterprise API workbench and choose Rotate key to issue a new secret and invalidate the old one, or Revoke to disable API access completely.

Keys are stored as one-way hashes. Always update connected systems after rotation and never send a live key to support by email.

Privacy & data What shopper data does Always Awake collect? Anonymous interaction data needed to run and improve the guide.

The app records eligible anonymous conversation text, related storefront context and assistant interaction events needed to restore sessions, review performance and operate merchant-selected features.

Always Awake does not request Shopify customer, order or payment scopes. Merchants should avoid instructing shoppers to enter sensitive personal information into the guide.

Privacy & data Is store or shopper data used to train a general AI model? No. Data is used to answer the store's requests, not train our own general model.

Always Awake does not use merchant or shopper data to train its own general-purpose model. Relevant shopper text and selected store context are sent to the configured AI provider to generate the requested answer under the app's service configuration.

See the linked privacy policy for current subprocessors and complete handling details.

Privacy & data How do retention and deletion controls work? Choose 30 to 365 days or delete interaction data immediately.

In Settings, choose an available retention window between 30 and 365 days. You can also permanently delete the store's saved conversation and journey interaction data immediately.

Deletion is destructive. Export anything the business must retain before confirming the action.

Privacy & data Which Shopify privacy webhooks are supported? Customer data request, customer redaction and shop redaction.

The app registers Shopify's required compliance webhooks for customer data requests, customer redaction and shop redaction. Because the app does not request customer scopes, customer-specific records may not exist. Shop redaction removes shop-owned app records after the required delay.

Troubleshooting The widget is not visible on my storefront Check the app embed, master switch, targeting and theme.
  1. Confirm the Always Awake app embed is enabled on the theme you are viewing.
  2. In Design Studio, confirm the storefront experience is live and published.
  3. Check desktop or mobile visibility and excluded paths.
  4. Open a private browser window to avoid stale theme or session state.
  5. Confirm you are testing the correct published or preview theme.
Troubleshooting The assistant cannot answer a store question Confirm the source exists, is published and does not conflict.

Check that the relevant product, page, policy or article is published and accurate in Shopify. If the fact is private, add it to AI Brain. Remove outdated documents or rules that contradict the correct answer.

Then ask a focused test question. The assistant deliberately avoids inventing details that are not present in its available sources.

Troubleshooting A proactive journey is not appearing Validate every trigger condition and its frequency cap.

Confirm the journey is enabled, the page matches its targeting, the required dwell, scroll, exit or cart condition has been met and its session or daily cap has not already been reached.

Test in a fresh private window. For discount journeys, verify the code already exists in Shopify and matches exactly.

Troubleshooting Text or buttons are hard to read in the widget Reset contrast-sensitive colours and check theme overrides.

In Design Studio, check surface, primary text, muted text, accent and input colours in the live preview. Use a high-contrast preset as a baseline if needed.

If the theme applies global input, button, cursor or hover styles, test with those theme effects disabled. Send support the affected URL and a screenshot if a conflict remains.

Troubleshooting What should I include in a support request? The right evidence helps us reproduce the issue quickly.
  • Your permanent myshopify.com domain.
  • The exact storefront or Admin page where it happened.
  • What you expected and what happened instead.
  • Browser, device and approximate time.
  • A screenshot or short screen recording.
  • Whether every shopper is affected.

Email hello@neat.digital. Enterprise merchants can use the private developer line shown inside the Enterprise tab.