5 Best Virtual Assistant Tools: Convert With Every Chat
Discover the top 5 virtual assistant tools for eCommerce and how they help stores increase engagement, recover carts, and personalize experiences.
Published December 17, 2025
Virtual assistants are transforming the way eCommerce stores interact with customers, making it easier to provide support, guidance, and personalized recommendations at every step of the shopping journey. These AI tools can help stores increase engagement, recover carts, and deliver more personalized experiences without overwhelming staff.
They are becoming an essential part of modern online retail, providing value for both businesses and shoppers. With so many options available, choosing the right virtual assistant can feel overwhelming. In this blog, we will look at the 5 best virtual assistant tools for eCommerce and what sets them apart.
» Start driving sales and satisfaction with our conversational commerce AI bot
Meet the Expert
The Evolution of Virtual Assistants in eCommerce Engagement
These days, virtual assistants are no longer just FAQ bots. The best ones act like sales reps that customers assume are real people on the other end. They can search your catalog, ask clarifying questions, recommend products, and even recover abandoned carts.
Having a virtual assistant bot helps reduce friction and lift conversions.
» Here are the benefits of using AI in eCommerce personalization
A Quick Look at the Best Virtual Assistant Tools
- Best multilingual AI for SMBs: Lyro (Tidio)
- Best AI automation for support and cart recovery: Zowie
- Best integrated chat for Shopify stores: Shopify Inbox
- Best AI for multi-brand or multi-store setups: Re:amaze
Fast Simon
Personalized product recommendations and styling tips
Instant support for delivery queries and FAQs
Tidio
Multilingual FAQ coverage for PDP and checkout
Quick escalation to human agents when needed
Zowie
Handles repetitive questions automatically
Recovers abandoned carts with personalized prompts
Show more
Core Capabilities That Drive Real Sales Impact
- Guided product discovery: Your assistant should parse natural language, map synonyms, and ask follow-ups to narrow choices. This mirrors a strong in-store associate and reduces dead-end searches. Personalization done right typically delivers 5–15% revenue lift, so surfacing the right item fast matters .
- Cart recovery and promo nudges: With cart abandonment averaging ~70%, assistants that nudge shoppers with sizing info, delivery dates, or limited-time incentives can win back lost sales. Time-boxed offers and shipping cutoffs inside chat work especially well for fashion and jewelry.
- Post-purchase support that prevents returns: Order status, exchanges, and care tips inside chat keep customers calm and reduce support backlogs. AI can auto-resolve common questions and pass full context to agents, shortening handling times and improving satisfaction.
» Explore the uses for eCommerce chatbots to see how they can enhance your online store
Evaluation Criteria for Virtual Assistant Software
Choosing the right virtual assistant software determines whether it scales with your store or becomes another operational bottleneck.
- Deep integrations and data access: Prioritize tools with native Shopify and WooCommerce integrations, including access to product attributes, inventory, orders, and discounts. Without clean data, personalization breaks down and expected revenue lift never materializes.
- Reliability and mobile performance: Fast response times, uptime SLAs, and lightweight widgets matter. Mobile dominates peak shopping periods, especially last-minute purchases. If chat performance lags on mobile, conversions suffer.
- Privacy, consent, and trust controls: Customers expect transparency and control over AI usage. In 2025, 61% of Americans said they want more control over how AI is used in their lives .
» Learn more about the power of AI chatbots when implemented in eCommerce
Red Flags That Undermine Trust and Conversions
- Hallucinations or incorrect answers: If an assistant guesses on pricing, policies, or specs, trust erodes quickly — and stores may be held accountable for false promises. Public caution around AI makes guardrails non-negotiable .
- No clean human handoff: When issues get complex, customers want a person. Bots that trap users cause frustration. A hybrid approach, combining AI with smooth human handoff, speeds resolution and keeps customers satisfied.
- “Set and forget” personalization: Static rules that ignore stock levels, sizing, or demand waste clicks. Revenue lift from personalization depends on real-time adaptability — without it, money is left on the table.
- Heavy, slow mobile widgets: If chat slows initial page load, bounce rates rise. With mobile driving a large share of peak purchases, bloated widgets directly impact revenue.
» Here's everything you need to know about AI search and AI assistants
5 Best Virtual Assistant Tools for eCommerce
1
Fast Simon
Turn product discovery into a natural, engaging conversation
Read ReviewsIntegrations
Integrates seamlessly with all major eCommerce platforms including Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce
Ease of use
Potential learning curve but offers comprehensive support and resources to assist new users
Brief overview
Fast Simon acts like a sales assistant across search, collections, and product pages. You get AI-powered search, filters, smart collections, visual discovery, and merchandising rules that balance conversion with inventory. It is a certified Shopify Plus partner and plugs in cleanly, so setup is fast. Fast Simon's AI shopping optimization increases merchants' conversion rate and AOV, while delivering the ultimate digital experience.
Designed from the ground up for automation & self-service, Fast Simon delivers:
- AI Search
- Collections Filters
- Merchandising
- Personalization
- Audiences
It learns from shopper behavior to re-rank results, promote in-stock winners, and recommend the next best item. This reduces zero-results, speeds product discovery, and lifts AOV with bundles or similar items.
Brands use it to make search and recommendations align with real buying signals.
Best fit
Fast Simon is ideal for Shopify brands, from scaling SMBs to Plus merchants that need guided discovery without heavy engineering.
Fashion, beauty, and accessories see quick wins since attributes like size, shade, and style matter most to shoppers.
Core capabilities
- Guided discovery: AI-powered search, filters, and collections help shoppers find the right SKU quickly.
- High-intent retargeting: Use Search Audiences and integrations to re-engage visitors whose searches didn’t convert.
- Personalized recommendations: Learns from customer behavior to tailor product suggestions and improve relevance.
- Mobile checkout help: Mobile-optimized search and filters make it faster and easier for shoppers to reach the product.
Success stories
An awesome app for search and collection management! The tools and information this app provides has helped our conversions and merchandising tremendously. The support team has been very helpful along every step of the process. If we ever need anything, we can always count on them to help us out!
- 707 Strees (U.S.)
This app gives our customers a better search experience and gives us analytics that we can use. I really appreciate the quick response to any questions I have and help with setting things up. Great support from your team!
- Bergo (Canada)
2
Tidio
Modern AI agent automation without the enterprise price tag
Read ReviewsIntegrations
Multichannel integrations with Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, WooCommerce, WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, and BigCommerce
Ease of use
The setup is simple and low-code, with a native Shopify app that reads product data and collections automatically.
Brief overview
Tidio bundles live chat, helpdesk, and Lyro (an AI agent) that answers FAQs, checks orders, and recommends products. Setup is fast with the Shopify app. You get a unified inbox for email, chat, and socials. Lyro handles dozens of languages and can automate a big share of routine questions so your team focuses on sales conversations.
Lyro pulls real-time store data to tailor replies, from availability to discounts, then escalates with full context when needed. It uses machine learning to improve answers after each interaction and supports proactive prompts on high-intent pages. The result is faster resolutions, fewer bounces, and more add-to-carts, especially on mobile where speed matters most.
Best fit
Great for small to mid-size Shopify and WooCommerce stores that want one tool for chat, helpdesk, and automation.
Ideal if you get many repetitive pre-purchase questions and need multilingual coverage without hiring a 24/7 team.
Core capabilities
- Product guidance: Answers product questions and asks clarifying questions to help shoppers find the right items.
- Smart recommendations: Uses catalog and stock data to suggest right-fit products based on availability and relevance.
- Support & escalation: Handles WISMO and policy questions automatically and escalates complex issues cleanly to a human agent.
3
Zowie
Build, orchestrate, and coach customer-facing AI agents across any channel
Read ReviewsIntegrations
Zowie connects to your helpdesk, CRM, ecommerce, and internal tools—right out of the box or via API.
Ease of use
Zowie AI assistants are easy to use, with a simple setup and intuitive controls that don’t require technical expertise.
Brief overview
Zowie is an eCommerce-focused AI platform that automates complex workflows across chat, email, and social. It ships with many retail use cases out of the box and integrates with major commerce stacks, so you can resolve order status, returns, and shipping questions quickly.
Teams can keep their existing helpdesk and layer Zowie to accelerate automation instead of migrating tools mid-season.
Zowie learns from past chats, your catalog, and help content to tailor replies and next actions. It can deflect repetitive questions and route higher-value shoppers to agents with context, which keeps response times low while preserving conversion on tricky cases.
Best fit
Good for growth-stage brands that need deeper AI than a simple FAQ bot, including omnichannel coverage and fast setup. Especially helpful for international stores juggling multiple languages
Core capabilities
- Customer guidance: Answers questions and directs shoppers to products or relevant help content.
- Personalized responses: Learns from past chats and catalog data to tailor replies to each user.
- Proactive support: Sends prompts to address objections or guide customers toward additional help or support.
4
Shopify Inbox
Chat, connect, and convert customers seamlessly from one simple dashboard
Read ReviewsIntegrations
Shopify Inbox integrates directly with your Shopify store with just a quick install from the App Store and immediately lets you chat with customers.
Ease of use
Shopify Inbox is widely regarded as simple and intuitive to use, with a clean interface, fast setup, and mobile access.
Brief overview
Shopify Inbox is the native chat app that lives in your admin, so setup is basically instant. You can add chat to your storefront, see shopper carts in the sidebar, and send product cards, photos, or discounts without leaving the convo. It also includes AI-generated reply suggestions (Shopify Magic) and simple automations for greetings and FAQs. For lean teams, it’s a low-lift way to turn questions into orders without another vendor or complex integration.
Because Inbox pulls in customer profile and cart details, you can personalize answers, confirm sizes or variants, and drop the exact product link to reduce friction.
AI-suggested replies speed up response time, which matters on mobile when buyers are ready to check out. Pair automated greetings with a quick “Can I help with sizing or shipping?” to capture intent and guide shoppers to the right SKU fast.
Best fit
Good for Shopify brands that want chat, basic automations, and product sends without a new tool.
Ideal for teams that answer common pre-purchase questions (fit, stock, delivery dates) and want a free, reliable starting point they can scale later with apps or workflows
Core capabilities
- Personalized suggestions: Use cart and profile context to recommend the right size, color, or bundle.
- Proactive guidance: Send greetings and instant answers to reduce hesitation at PDP or checkout.
- Policy & status support: Handle basic questions via automation and escalate complex cases to a human agent.
- Product assistance: Send product cards in chat and link to collections to help shoppers make choices quickly.
5
Re:amaze Chatbots
Smarter conversations that turn questions into loyal customers
Read ReviewsIntegrations
Integrates smoothly with Shopify, WooCommerce, email, and social channels, centralizing customer communication in one platform.
Ease of use
Re:amaze is user-friendly, with a clean dashboard and simple workflows that let teams manage customer messages without a steep learning curve.
Brief overview
Re:amaze is a multichannel helpdesk with live chat, chatbots, and even video calls in chat. Shopify integration pulls order data into the inbox and a built-in “Shopping Assistant Bot” can be enabled per brand.
The automation toolkit covers proactive messages, keyword rules, and FAQ widgets so small teams can look big without losing the human touch. Multi-store teams can centralize email, SMS, social, VoIP, and push in one inbox.
Because agents see order history and browsing context, replies are specific and timely.
Best fit
Useful for SMBs running Shopify who want a reliable helpdesk plus practical automation.
It’s especially nice for boutiques that book video consults or need quick product demos inside chat without spinning up a separate tool. Multi-brand setups benefit from shared views and fast routing during peak seasons.
Core capabilities
- Smart routing: Shopper Bot directs customers to relevant products and collections.
- Contextual nudges: Agents use context to guide shoppers toward popular SKUs.
- Proactive outreach: Sends messages via lightweight chat and SMS to engage customers.
» Read more about the importance of AI chatbots in addressing eCommerce challenges
Auditing and Refining Virtual Assistant Performance
To keep virtual assistants performing optimally, implement a structured process that reviews performance, updates knowledge, and tracks key metrics.
- Each week, review transcripts, “I don’t know” rates, bad handoffs, and the top five intents to identify areas for improvement.
- Each month, refresh prompts, expand the knowledge base, and A/B test replies to ensure the assistant stays relevant and effective.
- Each quarter, clean product data, fix taxonomy drift, and recheck privacy rules to maintain accuracy and compliance.
- Track a small set of KPIs, including time to first response, conversion from chat, cart recovery, and deflection, to ensure performance remains measurable and aligned with business goals.
- Run new assistants in the background for a week and compare their performance to human outcomes before fully deploying them to avoid errors or gaps.
» Find out why chat AI is the next step in eCommerce
Why Fast Simon Is the Best Option
Fast Simon's AI Assistant stands out for its combination of advanced features, ease of use, and reliable performance across multiple store platforms. It delivers personalized recommendations, cart recovery, and search capabilities that help stores drive conversions effectively. The platform is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing systems while giving merchants control over branding and customer experience.
Its intelligent routing and analytics ensure every interaction is optimized for results. Overall, Fast Simon provides the tools and insights that make it the most powerful choice for eCommerce stores looking to elevate customer engagement.
» Ready to get started? Book a demo with Fast Simon
FAQs
How can a virtual assistant improve sales?
It improves sales by making product discovery easier, sending timely cart recovery prompts, recommending relevant items, and providing support after purchase. All of this keeps customers engaged and more likely to complete purchases.
Can virtual assistants maintain brand consistency?
Absolutely. By using a unified tone guide, approved phrases, and shared prompts, all assistants present the same voice. This ensures customers experience a consistent brand across chat, recommendations, and support.
How do I measure the performance of a virtual assistant?
Performance is measured through KPIs like customer satisfaction, first-contact resolution, response times, chat-to-conversion rates, cart recovery, and deflection. Tracking these metrics shows how well the assistant supports customers and drives results.
Is Fast Simon suitable for small stores?
Yes. Fast Simon works for both small and large stores. It integrates easily, provides powerful search and recommendation tools, and helps optimize conversions without requiring technical expertise.
