Flows 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 Nov 7, 2026 for Flows, Oct 13, 2026 for Merchant AI.
The short answer
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $29/month for Flows and $25/month for Merchant AI.
- Flows lists 8 features Merchant AI’s listing doesn’t mention, including Business hours, Chat assignment, Color and font.
Head to head
Pay as you go
- · About 150 chat messages a month
- · Add funds from $10 any time
- · Answers from your products and policies
- · Order tracking and virtual try-on
- · Product cards, cart and checkout
- · Your colours, fonts and look
Lite
- · AI chat on every page of your store
- · About 500 chat messages a month
- · Add funds from $10 any time
- · Answers from your products and policies
- · Order tracking and virtual try-on
- · Product cards, cart and checkout
Pro
- · AI chat on every page of your store
- · About 1,800 chat messages a month
- · Add funds from $10 any time
- · Answers from your products and policies
- · Order tracking and virtual try-on
- · Product cards, cart and checkout
Scale
- · AI chat on every page of your store
- · About 5,800 chat messages a month
- · Add funds from $10 any time
- · Answers from your products and policies
- · Order tracking and virtual try-on
- · Product cards, cart and checkout
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 featureShoppers leave when they can't find the right product or a quick answer. Flows adds an AI chat to every page of your store that answers from your products, sizes, stock and policies. The chat shows matching products as cards with prices and sizes, adds them to the cart and sends shoppers to your Shopify checkout. After they buy, shoppers ask the same chat where their order is.
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.
- An AI chat that answers from your products, sizes, stock and policies
- Product cards with prices and sizes, added to the cart in one tap
- Shoppers buy through your own Shopify checkout
- Order tracking in the chat, with the carrier and tracking link
- 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 |  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 | 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 | Merchant AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $29/month | $25/month(ahead) |
| Longest free trial | Not listed | 14 days |
| Plans listed | 4 | 4 |
Listing
| Measure | 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 | Nov 6, 2026 | May 21, 2026 |
| Languages | 1 | 1 |
| Developer | Flows | Cross Digital Ltd |
FAQ
Flows and Merchant AI: common questions
- Is Flows or Merchant AI cheaper?
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $29/month for Flows 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?
- Flows lists 8 the others don’t mention, such as Business hours, Chat assignment, Color and font, Email chat. Merchant AI lists 2 the others don’t mention, such as 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 Nov 7, 2026 for Flows, 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 Nov 7, 2026 for Flows, 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.