A Shopify returns and exchanges chatbot that knows the order.
A Shopify returns and exchanges chatbot should look up the order, check it against your return policy, and either start the return or find the new size, without sending the customer to a portal. Cloodot's AI agent does the lookup and policy check in WhatsApp, email or web chat, opens the return in AfterShip Returns if you use it, and hands judgment calls to your team in the same thread.
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These run small. Can I swap the 8.5s for a 9?
You're well inside the 30-day window, and the 9 is in stock. I've opened the return for the 8.5s and put a pair of 9s in a cart for you. Your RMA number is below.
Why returns and exchanges clog a Shopify support inbox
Return conversations repeat in a way that's hard to template. Every one starts with the same three questions, which order, which item and why, then turns on details: delivered inside the window or not, final sale or not, is the replacement size in stock, was it a gift.
Shopify supplies the machinery: return requests from customer accounts, returns created in admin with a reason and a shipping label, exchange items added to a return, refunds to the original payment. What it doesn't supply is someone to have the conversation at 10 p.m., when Megan Whitaker in Portland tries the boots on and finds they pinch.
So the team re-explains the policy, asks for the order number again, and checks exchange stock in another tab. Most of that is lookup, not judgment, and a chatbot connected to the store can do it.
How the Shopify returns and exchanges chatbot handles a request
With the Shopify skill set installed, the agent reads the order instead of asking about it. On WhatsApp and email the channel identifies the customer, so Check an Order returns their latest order without a number; on web chat it asks for the order number plus the checkout email or phone, and shows the order only when both match. It sees items, payment and fulfillment status, order date and tracking.
Your policy lives in the knowledge base and the steps live in a procedure: ask which item and why, check the order against the window, then branch. If you use AfterShip Returns, the AfterShip Tracking & Returns skill set's Start a Return skill opens the return and gives the customer an RMA number, and Check Return Status answers "where's my refund?" later. Without AfterShip, the agent gathers the item, the reason and any photos your policy asks for, and hands a complete case to whoever processes returns in Shopify admin.
Exchanges start with Check Stock & Options, which reads live inventory for the size or color wanted. If it's there, Add to Cart & Checkout builds a cart so the customer can buy the new pair now while the old one goes back for a refund. If it's sold out, the agent says so and offers the return.
When Shopify records the refund, the Shopify · Refund issued trigger can confirm the amount to the customer.
What Cloodot does here
Check an Order
Reads the order live from Shopify: items, payment and fulfillment status, order date and tracking. On WhatsApp and email no order number is needed.
Start a Return and Check Return Status
From the AfterShip Tracking & Returns skill set: open a return in AfterShip Returns, hand over the RMA number, and report its status later. If AfterShip refuses, the agent says so.
Check Stock & Options
Confirms the exchange size or color is in stock before anyone promises it, and passes the exact variant to Add to Cart & Checkout.
Shopify · Refund issued trigger
Sends the customer a confirmation with the refund amount as soon as Shopify records it.
Explore Skills & workflows
Where your team still decides
- Cloodot doesn't create returns, exchanges or refunds inside Shopify. The Shopify connection reads orders and can update a customer's contact details and saved address; it doesn't write to orders. If your returns run in Shopify admin, the agent gathers what your team needs and hands the conversation over, and a teammate creates or approves the return there.
- Automatic return creation needs AfterShip Returns. The skill set opens returns against your AfterShip account and follows the windows and rules you set up there; a return outside those rules is refused by AfterShip, and the agent passes it on.
- Judgment calls stay human: final-sale exceptions, damaged-on-arrival claims, gifts returned without the buyer's email. Add them as handover conditions so the agent routes them with the reason recorded.
How to set up returns and exchanges in chat
5 steps
Connect Shopify with order access
Use the custom app method with read_orders and read_customers. The App Store install alone syncs products and collections, not orders.
Install the skill sets
From Intelligence → Skill Sets → Explore, install Shopify and, if you use it, AfterShip Tracking & Returns with your API key. Enable the order, stock, cart and return skills on your persona.
Put the policy in the knowledge base
Window, condition rules, final-sale categories, who pays return shipping, refund timing. Short, specific entries beat one pasted policy page.
Write the returns procedure
Describe the situation, then the steps: ask which item and why, check the order, branch on the window, offer Start my return, Exchange for another size and Talk to someone.
Add handover conditions
Name the cases a person must see, such as damaged items, final sale or no matching order, and route them to your returns team inbox.
Teams this fits
US apparel, footwear and accessories brands on Shopify, where size exchanges are a large share of support volume and the return policy runs to a page of conditions.
Support leads with two or three agents who start each morning clearing overnight return requests. The chatbot does intake and lookups around the clock; the team approves and refunds from cases that arrive complete.
Brands already paying for AfterShip Returns that want returns started from a conversation as well as from the portal link in the shipping email.
Questions teams ask
Can a chatbot process Shopify returns automatically?
Partly. Cloodot's agent can verify the order, apply your policy and open the return automatically in AfterShip Returns, giving the customer an RMA number. It doesn't approve return requests or issue refunds inside Shopify; that stays with your team in Shopify admin, or with whatever your AfterShip setup does next. Its job is to make sure every request arrives complete and correct.
How does the chatbot handle an exchange for a different size?
It checks live stock for the size or color the customer wants with Check Stock & Options. If it's available, the agent creates a cart with that exact variant and sends a checkout link, so the customer can buy the replacement now while the original is returned for a refund. If it's sold out, the agent says so plainly and offers a return or a different option instead.
What if the request is outside our return window?
The agent explains the window as your knowledge base states it and doesn't start a return. If you allow exceptions, for VIP customers for example, write them into the procedure as a decision on the VIP label and the agent follows that branch. Anything else you want a person to judge goes through a handover condition.
Do we need AfterShip to use this?
No, but without it the agent can't create the return record itself. It still looks up the order, applies your policy, checks stock for the exchange, collects the reason and photos, and hands your team a complete case in the inbox. With AfterShip Returns connected, it also opens the return, gives out the RMA number and answers status questions later.
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