Automatic App Detection: How ShopGuide Finds the Shopify Apps You Already Run

Look. Merchants are not hunting for another dashboard.

They are hunting for the moment a shopper hesitates, and they want the tools they already pay for to show up there.

That is the whole complaint on Reddit and in founder Slack groups. The stack is paid for. Reviews live in Judge.me or Rivyo. Email lives in Klaviyo. Points live in Smile.io. The on-page agent still talks like none of that exists.

Automatic app detection is ShopGuide's answer to that complaint. One feature. Not a new operating system.

The feature: automatic app detection

Open ShopGuide → Settings → Integrations.

ShopGuide scans the published theme and storefront assets. It looks for active theme embeds. Klaviyo onsite scripts. Judge.me review widgets. Smile.io loyalty launchers. The apps it recognizes land at the top under "Looks like you use these," with an On your store badge.

That badge is the product.

You still paste a token for Smile.io, Judge.me, or Rivyo. Slack still wants an incoming webhook. Detection does not invent credentials. It stops you from hunting through a wall of logos for tools you already installed.

The public list lives on the integrations page. Six partners: Rivyo, Judge.me, Klaviyo, Smile.io, Alia, Slack. Each card leads with what the pairing does for the merchant. The how-to sits on the partner page behind "Learn more."

Team collaborating around laptops in an office

How ShopGuide itself is wired into Shopify

Three connections. That is the product around the scan.

1. Theme block. ShopGuide is an on-page agent. You add the ShopGuide Chat section in the theme editor. Launch messages, visibility, and styling live in the app admin. It is one storefront surface. It is not a new script farm for every partner.

2. Shopify Admin. The dashboard sits in the Shopify admin sidebar. Home, Dashboard, Test your Guide, Chat History, Integrations, Settings. Analytics live next to the rest of the store. There is no second login to babysit.

3. Catalog API at talk time. The agent reads the live Shopify Catalog API during the conversation. Stock, variants, metafields. Partner context attaches to that same turn. Reviews, points, list capture, a Slack ping. The shopper does not open a new tab to get any of it.

That wiring is why automatic app detection matters. The scan finds what is already on the theme. The conversation is the place those facts get used.

What each partner actually does

Keep the ones you run. Leave the rest alone.

Judge.me and Rivyo. Verified reviews and photo proof inside the answer. A shopper asks which moisturizer works for sensitive skin. The agent can quote a real review instead of inventing confidence. You paste a public API token. No token, no review text.

Klaviyo. The conversation does not die when the visitor leaves. Newsletter capture on the storefront. Profile tags from what they asked. Events the docs actually name: ShopGuide Chat Engaged, ShopGuide Order Attributed, ShopGuide NPS Submitted. Klaviyo still owns the flow. ShopGuide hands it the moment.

Smile.io. Points balance, VIP tier, what Gold actually gets them. The shopper can ask "how many points do I have?" and get a number. You generate an API token in Smile.io and paste it on the Smile.io card. No token, the agent cannot see the balance.

Alia. Openings and picks that match the incentive you already decided to show that visitor. Alia stays the personalization engine. ShopGuide reads the context so the first line is not generic.

Slack. Stuck thread, high cart, "I want a human." Slack gets the alert with customer, cart, and a transcript link. Your team does not reply inside Slack. Resolution stays in Shopify or the ShopGuide admin so the history lives in one place.

Docs also mention WhatsApp handoff and nine Sidekick tools inside Shopify Admin. Those are real. They are not on the public partner page. The page is the six logos above. Sidekick is native Shopify, not a third-party tile.

Designer reviewing product work on a laptop

What merchants actually say they want to read

r/shopify is not subtle.

"Anyone else getting annoyed with how many apps Shopify needs for basic stuff?"

Another thread: a store running 37 apps, and someone else cutting that pile and saving almost a thousand a month. B2B operators talking about a hard cap of 10 to 12 apps and a quarterly purge.

The useful sentence under all of that is not "install more." It is "make the ones I already pay for talk."

Automatic app detection is built for that sentence. It does not uninstall your stack. It does not add a seventh review app. It finds Klaviyo and Judge.me on the theme you already published, then lets those facts ride the same conversation as the catalog.

Limits, said plainly.

Detection only sees what is in the published theme and storefront assets. An app sitting installed but unpublished will not badge itself.

Dirty product data still produces thin answers. The Catalog API keeps stock honest. It does not write your descriptions.

Slack is one-way. Smile.io and review apps need tokens. A partial stack still works. You do not need every logo.

That is the deal. Native wiring. Partner context when it exists. Not a new operating system.

Agents will become a common way people shop. Commerce just plugs in and feels seamless in conversations.
Tobi Lütke, CEO of Shopify
|X
[Agent_Verified_Source]

The point of automatic app detection is the same sentence. Plug the facts you already paid for into the conversation.

That line is the climax, and it is not a ShopGuide slogan. It is how Shopify is describing the channel.

ShopGuide's job on your store is smaller than that vision. Put the agent on the page. Read the catalog. Detect the partners already live. Bring those facts into the same turn. Hand off to a human with the transcript when the agent is stuck.

Connect the ones you run. Leave the rest alone.

Install ShopGuide and connect your stack

Frequently Asked Questions

What is automatic app detection?

A scan inside ShopGuide → Settings → Integrations. It reads the published theme and storefront assets, then badges partners it recognizes under "Looks like you use these."

What Shopify app integrations does ShopGuide support?

Klaviyo, Judge.me, Rivyo, Smile.io, Alia, and Slack, plus the native Catalog API. The public list is on the integrations page.

How is ShopGuide integrated into Shopify?

Three places. A theme block on the storefront. A native app in the Shopify admin for analytics and settings. Direct reads from the Shopify Catalog API during chat. Partner apps attach to that same conversation.

Do I have to replace my current apps?

No. Keep the apps that already work. ShopGuide reads them. It does not ask you to rip Klaviyo or Judge.me out.

Will this add more scripts and slow the storefront?

ShopGuide is one theme block. Partners are not copied onto the page as extra pixels. The agent reads those systems during the conversation.

How do I turn a partner on?

Install both apps. Detection badges what it finds. Smile.io, Judge.me, and Rivyo still need an API token. Slack needs an incoming webhook URL pasted into ShopGuide settings.

What if I only use some of the partners?

Use the ones you run. A partial stack still works. You do not need every logo on the page.

Does Slack let my team reply inside Slack?

No. Slack gets an alert with customer, cart, and a transcript link. Resolution stays in Shopify or the ShopGuide admin so the history lives in one place.

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