Chat block & app embed setup
Here's how to add the ShopGuide Chat block to your store through the theme editor.
Before you start
You'll need ShopGuide installed with an active subscription or trial, and access to your Shopify theme editor.
It doesn't matter where you put it
The chat block always renders as a fixed-position floating bubble in a bottom corner of the viewport — it doesn't flow inline with the rest of the page. So the section you add it to (footer, homepage, a custom template) has no bearing on where the bubble ends up on screen. What matters is which pages the block is attached to, since a block only shows the chat on the page or template it's actually placed on.
Most stores add it once, to a section that renders everywhere — the footer, typically — so the chat shows up on every page. If you want a different launch message or primary color on a specific page, you can add the block there too and turn on "Use custom settings" (and, for a different launch message, "Use custom launch message"); see Custom launch messages.
If the block ends up on the same page twice (for example in the footer and in a homepage section), ShopGuide shows only the copy that sits highest up on the page and hides the other. That makes a page-specific placement near the top win over the footer copy. In the theme editor the hidden copy shows the note "ShopGuide Chat is already placed higher up on this page, so this copy is hidden." To change which one is used, remove or move one of them.
Setting it up
Open your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes, click Customize on your active theme, and pick the page or template where you want the chat to render. In the left sidebar, click Add Section, open the Apps category, click ShopGuide Chat, and save.
If ShopGuide already created an "AI Guide" page for you during onboarding — check Store Setup in the admin app — the block may already be embedded there, and this manual step won't be necessary.
What's configurable on the block itself
These live in the theme editor and only affect the page the block sits on:
Custom Launch Message — the custom message only applies when "Use custom launch message" is ticked. It replaces the automatic flow for this page. The message field is richtext and supports merge tags: [[product.title]], [[product.vendor]], [[product.type]], [[collection.title]], [[page.title]], [[shop.name]]. Up to six quick-action buttons, same tags supported in each.
Widget Settings — Chat Heading, Primary Color and Product Discussed only apply when "Use custom settings" is ticked. Chat Heading and Primary Color override the app's settings just for this page; other pages keep using the app's settings (Customize > General Settings). Product Discussed auto-fills with the current product on product pages; leave it blank for general assistance.
Product Comparison — turn on to show a comparison table, with up to three default product handles to pre-populate it.
Side Panel — turn on to show the side panel automatically when the chat loads, with up to three default items, each either a product handle (renders a product card) or plain text (renders a clickable button).
Before you publish
Confirm the basics: the bubble appears in preview and on the live page, clicking it opens the chat, a test message gets a response, and colors/heading match what you set. Then check both mobile and desktop previews, and make sure the bubble doesn't overlap your theme's own sticky elements — mobile nav, sticky add-to-cart, cookie banner.
If setup doesn't go as expected
Block missing from the editor entirely? Confirm ShopGuide is installed with an active subscription, refresh the editor, and confirm your theme supports app blocks (Online Store 2.0). Chat appears but doesn't respond? Check your subscription status in the admin app, check the browser console for errors, and confirm the storefront isn't switched off with the Global Kill Switch in Settings (its button reads "Disable Chat & A/B Test Loading"; while the chat is disabled, the button reads "Enable Chat & A/B Test Loading").
Other ShopGuide blocks
ShopGuide also offers a Recommendations for You block; see Recommendations for You block.