Merchant AI: Chatbots & Agents vs The Responder
Two Shopify apps, side by side: detected stores, momentum, reviews, plans, listed features and who runs each. Store counts as of Oct 13, 2026 for Merchant AI, Oct 14, 2026 for The Responder.
The short answer
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $25/month for Merchant AI and $39/month for The Responder.
- Merchant AI lists 6 features The Responder’s listing doesn’t mention, including Agent avatar, Cart recovery, Chat buttons.
Head to head
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
Free
- · 30 conversations / month
- · Add to cart & product comparison
- · FAQ & store policies
- · Product search & recommendations
Starter
- · 300 conversations / month
- · Catalog intelligence & cross-sell
- · Live stock & delivery info
- · Your own logo & colors
Growth
- · 900 conversations / month
- · Personalization for returning customers
- · Proactive selling & cart recovery
- · Smart coupons & one-click apply
- · Store analytics dashboard
Coverage counts what each App Store listing names. Every feature, checked off app by app, is in Shoplist.
See every featureMerchant 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.
The Responder adds an AI chat agent to your storefront that works from your real store data. It recommends products with interactive cards, suggests complementary items, and knows the page a shopper is on. It can add items to the cart, issue coupons within rules you set, and make cart-threshold and free-shipping offers. It tracks orders after verification, answers from your FAQs and policies, and summarizes reviews.
- 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
- Recommends products as interactive cards and adds them to the cart
- Answers about the exact product page the shopper is on
- Suggests complementary products to grow the order
- Creates rule-based coupons and cart-threshold offers you control
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 |  The Responder |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | The Responder |
|---|---|---|
| App Store rating | 5.0 ★ | Not published |
| App Store reviews | 1 | Not published |
| 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 | The Responder |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $25/month(ahead) | $39/month |
| Longest free trial | 14 days | Not listed |
| Plans listed | 4 | 3 |
Listing
| Measure | Merchant AI | The Responder |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify category rank | #674 | #650(ahead) |
| Shopify App Charts | Not on this week’s charts | Not on this week’s charts |
| Built for Shopify | No | No |
| Launched | May 21, 2026 | May 19, 2026 |
| Languages | 1 | 2 |
| Developer | Cross Digital Ltd | THE BLUE RED DİJİTAL DÖNÜŞÜM VE DİJİTAL PAZ. ÇÖZÜMLERİ SAN.TİC.A.Ş. |
FAQ
Merchant AI and The Responder: common questions
- Is Merchant AI or The Responder cheaper?
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $25/month for Merchant AI and $39/month for The Responder. 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?
- Merchant AI lists 6 the others don’t mention, such as Agent avatar, Cart recovery, Chat buttons, Chat flows. The Responder lists 3 the others don’t mention, such as Color and font, Discounts, Multi-language. 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 13, 2026 for Merchant AI, Oct 14, 2026 for The Responder; 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 13, 2026 for Merchant AI, Oct 14, 2026 for The Responder. 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.