How Shopping Assistant uses discountsUpdated 3 days ago
Who can use this feature?
When a shopper is considering a purchase, the right discount — offered at the right moment — can be the difference between a sale and an abandoned cart. Shopping Assistant can use discounts in conversations in 2 ways: by generating unique discount codes, and by detecting automatic discounts already active in your Shopify store.
In this article, you'll learn:
- How Shopping Assistant generates discount codes
- How Shopping Assistant uses automatic discounts
- How automatic discounts and discount codes work together
Generate discount codes for shoppers
Shopping Assistant can create unique, single-use discount codes to nudge shoppers toward completing a purchase. It decides if and when to generate a code based on what it knows about the shopper — their browsing activity, what's in their cart, and how ready they are to buy.
Buying signals that Shopping Assistant looks for include:
- Whether the shopper has items in their cart
- Whether the shopper has shown strong purchase intent (for example, saying "I want to buy this" or asking about shipping)
- Whether the shopper hesitated after showing clear interest
- Whether the shopper is on the checkout page
Control how often Shopping Assistant generates discount codes
Your discount strategy sets how aggressively Shopping Assistant offers discounts to shoppers — from never offering them to using discounts often to encourage sales. Shopping Assistant uses judgment to decide when a shopper's behavior warrants a discount. You choose the discount amount Shopping Assistant can offer as a fixed percentage.
To change your discount strategy, go to AI Agent > Shopping Assistant > Strategy.
You can choose from 4 options:
| Strategy | When discount codes are offered |
|---|---|
| No discount | Never |
| Conservative | Only in rare cases, like when a high-intent shopper hesitates at checkout |
| Strategic | Selectively, based on shopper behavior and likelihood to convert — for example, at key moments of hesitation or price comparison |
| Generous | Often, to maximize conversions. Any hesitation may trigger a discount. |
How discount codes are created
When Shopping Assistant decides to generate a discount code, it creates a new unique discount code in your Shopify admin:
- Each code is valid for 3 days and limited to a single use
- The discount amount is the fixed percentage you've set in your strategy settings
- Shopping Assistant shares the code with the shopper directly in the conversation — for example: "If you're ready to check out, here's a 10% discount to help you out: SAVE10-TGQ9"
You can review all discount codes Shopping Assistant has shared with shoppers, and whether they were used, in your Shopping Assistant analytics.
Tell shoppers about automatic discounts
Shopping Assistant is also aware of automatic discounts active in your Shopify store. Automatic discounts apply at checkout without a shopper needing to enter a code — for example, "free shipping on orders over $50" or "20% off sitewide this weekend."
When Shopping Assistant detects an active automatic discount, it can mention it in conversation to help a shopper complete their purchase. This feature requires no setup — Shopping Assistant detects your active automatic discounts automatically.
To see which automatic discounts are currently active, go to Discounts in your Shopify admin.
Types of automatic discounts Shopping Assistant recognizes
Shopping Assistant can detect and mention all 4 types of Shopify automatic discount:
- Amount off order — a discount applied to the total cart value (for example, "20% off everything this weekend" or "$10 off orders over $75")
- Free shipping — shipping costs removed or reduced when conditions are met (for example, "free shipping on orders over $50")
- Amount off products — a discount on specific products or collections (for example, "30% off the Winter Collection")
- Buy X get Y — a promotion triggered by purchasing specific items (for example, "buy 2 t-shirts, get 20% off")
For amount off products and buy x get y discounts, Shopping Assistant only mentions them when they're relevant to the shopper's current context — for example, when they're viewing a product in the discounted collection, or when items in their cart qualify for the deal.
When Shopping Assistant mentions automatic discounts
Shopping Assistant doesn't mention automatic discounts in every conversation. Like all of its sales behavior, when and how it mentions a discount depends on 2 factors: your selling style setting and the shopper's buying intent — from casual browsing to high purchase intent.
The following table shows when Shopping Assistant will mention an automatic discount:
| Selling style | Discovery | Ready to buy |
|---|---|---|
| Educational | Only when the shopper directly asks (for example, "Do you have any sales?") | Mentions available discounts to reinforce the shopper's decision |
| Moderate | Lightly references available discounts without pressure | Reminds the shopper of available discounts to encourage completion |
| Promotional | Surfaces discounts early to spark engagement (for example, free shipping thresholds or sitewide promotions) | Uses discounts assertively to close the sale |
When a shopper is close to meeting the requirements for a discount, Shopping Assistant can also mention how far they are from unlocking it — for example: "You're $5 away from free shipping — adding one more item would unlock it."
When multiple automatic discounts are active
If multiple automatic discounts are active at the same time:
- If the discounts can be combined, Shopping Assistant may mention up to 2 of them
- If the discounts can't be combined, Shopify automatically applies whichever one gives the shopper the highest savings. Shopping Assistant will explain this if the shopper asks.
Limitations
- Automatic discount detection is only supported on standard Shopify storefronts. Headless storefronts aren't supported.
How automatic discounts and discount codes work together
When both types of discounts are available — an active automatic discount and a potential Gorgias-generated code — Shopping Assistant prioritizes the automatic discount first.
Shopping Assistant will only generate a code if all 3 of the following conditions are met:
- The active automatic discount has already been mentioned (if applicable based on selling style)
- The shopper has shown enough hesitation to trigger a discount based on your discount strategy
- The Gorgias-generated discount would give the shopper a higher saving than the automatic discount
