Brand Bard vs Merchant AI: Chatbots & Agents
Two Shopify apps, side by side: detected stores, momentum, reviews, plans, listed features and who runs each. Store counts as of Oct 14, 2026 for Brand Bard, Oct 13, 2026 for Merchant AI.
The short answer
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $35/month for Brand Bard and $25/month for Merchant AI.
- Merchant AI lists 9 features Brand Bard’s listing doesn’t mention, including Agent analytics, Behavior tracking, Cart recovery.
Head to head
Free
- · 25 AI requests per month
- · AI Chat, Voice Chat
- · Product badges and shop sections
- · Up to 500 products
Starter
- · 4,000 AI requests per month
- · AI chat, voice, and visual search
- · AI site crawler and analyzer
- · Analytics dashboard
- · Customer quizzes and profiling
- · Desktop large screen experience
Pro
- · 10,000 AI requests per month
- · AI-powered free gift offerings
- · AI-powered upsells
- · Everything in Starter
- · Up to 5,000 products
Max
- · 25 AI site analyses per month
- · 30,000 AI requests per month
- · Built for high-traffic stores
- · Everything in Pro, plus more
- · Up to 15,000 products
Free Plan
- · 1 AI agent
- · 1 MB knowledge base
- · 1 team seat
- · 20 messages / month
- · Website & file sources
Starter Plan
- · 1 AI agent
- · 15 MB knowledge base
- · 2 team seats
- · 400 messages / month
- · Advanced analytics
- · All source types
Pro Plan
- · 2,500 messages / month
- · 3 AI agents
- · 30 MB knowledge base
- · 5 team seats
- · Advanced analytics
- · All source types
Business Plan
- · 10 team seats
- · 5 AI agents
- · 60 MB knowledge base
- · 9,000 messages / month
- · Advanced analytics
- · All source types
Coverage counts what each App Store listing names. Every feature, checked off app by app, is in Shoplist.
See every featureBrand Bard embeds an AI-powered shopping assistant directly into your Shopify store. Customers can ask questions, browse products, and add to cart through a conversational interface on mobile and desktop. The assistant uses your product catalog to recommend items, answer questions, and guide shoppers to checkout.
Merchant AI installs on your Shopify store and indexes your products, collections, policies, and content, refreshing whenever your catalog changes. Shoppers ask questions and get answers grounded in your store data. They can see product recommendations, add to cart, look up an order, or start a return inside the chat. You set the agent's tone, refund posture, and escalation rules in plain English.
- AI chat assistant that helps customers find and buy products on your store
- Voice and visual search let shoppers describe or photograph what they want
- Customizable widget colors, AI personality, product badges, and shop sections
- Auto-syncs your products, collections, policies, and blog posts on install
- Recommends products and adds to cart inside the conversation
- Looks up orders, tracking, and starts returns without leaving chat
- Set your tone, refund posture, and escalation rules in plain English
All the numbers
Every figure, side by side
A green dot marks the app ahead on a measured figure. Estimates, gaps and apps that leave no storefront trace never take the lead.
Adoption
| Measure |  Brand Bard |  Merchant AI |
|---|---|---|
| Detected stores | Not published | Not published |
| Net store change, 28 days | 0 | 0 |
| Stores added, 28 days | Not enough data | Not enough data |
| Big-brand share | Not enough data | Not enough data |
| Top store categories | Not published | Not published |
| Top store countries | Not published | Not published |
Reviews
| Measure | Brand Bard | Merchant AI |
|---|---|---|
| App Store rating | Not published | 5.0 ★ |
| App Store reviews | Not published | 1 |
| New reviews, 28 days | Not enough data | Not enough data |
| Reviewers a year or more in | Not enough data | Not enough data |
Pricing
| Measure | Brand Bard | Merchant AI |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $35/month | $25/month(ahead) |
| Longest free trial | Not listed | 14 days |
| Plans listed | 4 | 4 |
Listing
| Measure | Brand Bard | Merchant AI |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify category rank | Not enough data | #674 |
| Shopify App Charts | Not on this week’s charts | Not on this week’s charts |
| Built for Shopify | No | No |
| Launched | Jul 3, 2026 | May 21, 2026 |
| Languages | 1 | 1 |
| Developer | Brand Bard LLC | Cross Digital Ltd |
FAQ
Brand Bard and Merchant AI: common questions
- Is Brand Bard or Merchant AI cheaper?
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $35/month for Brand Bard and $25/month for Merchant AI. Shoplist compares base prices only between monthly plans in the same currency; usage charges and annual plans vary, so check each plan’s limits.
- What features does each app list that the other doesn’t?
- Brand Bard lists 6 the others don’t mention, such as Color and font, Discounts, Live chat, Surveys. Merchant AI lists 9 the others don’t mention, such as Agent analytics, Behavior tracking, Cart recovery, Cross-sell. A feature missing from a listing may still be supported; this compares what each App Store listing says.
- Where does this comparison’s data come from?
- Shoplist crawls Shopify storefronts to detect which apps each store runs, and reads each app’s Shopify App Store listing for reviews, pricing, features and integrations. Store counts are as of Oct 14, 2026 for Brand Bard, Oct 13, 2026 for Merchant AI; estimated figures are labeled.
How Shoplist compares apps
Store counts come from Shoplist’s crawl of Shopify storefronts, which detects the apps each store runs; they are as of Oct 14, 2026 for Brand Bard, Oct 13, 2026 for Merchant AI. Reviews, ratings, plans, features and integrations come from each app’s Shopify App Store listing. 28-day figures are labeled when estimated, and a figure that is missing or estimated never decides who leads. Read the methodology.