7 Must-Have Order Status Chatbots for Online Retailers

Intercom offers a comprehensive customer messaging platform that blends live chat, chatbots, and automated messaging into a single interface. Founded in 2011, Intercom has become a staple for SaaS companies and e‑commerce brands looking to streamline customer support and engagement. The platform’s chatbots are powered by a visual flow builder that lets users create complex, multi‑step conversations, schedule follow‑ups, and route inquiries to human agents when needed. Intercom’s order‑status bot can pull shipping updates from integrated e‑commerce platforms, provide real‑time tracking, and even offer upsell suggestions. Additionally, Intercom’s product tours and messaging campaigns help guide customers through onboarding and feature discovery. Intercom’s pricing structure is tiered by contact volume. The Essentials plan starts at $39/month for up to 2,000 contacts, while the Pro and Premium plans scale with contact count, offering advanced automation, custom branding, and priority support. Intercom also offers a dedicated e‑commerce plan that integrates with Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento. Strengths include its robust automation builder, high‑quality live chat integration, and strong analytics dashboard. The platform also supports multi‑channel messaging, including email, in‑app, and mobile push notifications, providing a unified view of customer interactions. However, Intercom’s interface can be resource‑intensive, and the cost escalates quickly with larger contact lists. It also lacks a native knowledge‑base system, relying instead on a help center and FAQ pages for self‑service.

Drift is a conversational marketing platform that specializes in real‑time chat and video messaging for B2B and high‑ticket e‑commerce sites. Its chatbot capabilities allow marketers to qualify leads, book meetings, and provide instant answers to common questions, including order status and shipping queries. Drift’s chatbots are built using a visual editor and can be embedded on any website. The platform offers a robust set of integrations, including Salesforce, HubSpot, and Shopify, to pull order data and deliver accurate status updates. Pricing for Drift starts at $1,000/month for the Starter plan, which includes 2,000 conversations per month and basic chatbot functionality. The Growth and Enterprise plans add advanced features such as AI‑driven chat, priority support, and expanded conversation limits. Drift’s strengths lie in its B2B focus, high‑quality lead qualification workflows, and video chat capabilities. It also offers detailed analytics to track conversation performance and conversion rates. On the downside, Drift can be expensive for smaller retailers, and the platform’s emphasis on lead generation may feel overkill for pure order‑status bots. It also lacks a dedicated knowledge‑base system and relies on external integrations for data retrieval.

Tidio combines live chat and AI chatbots into a single, lightweight solution that is popular among small to medium‑sized online stores. The platform’s chatbot builder is intuitive, offering a drag‑and‑drop interface that lets users create quick order‑status flows without coding. Tidio integrates directly with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce, pulling real‑time shipping and order information into chatbot responses. The bot can also send personalized upsell suggestions based on cart contents. Tidio offers a free tier that includes 500 chat transcripts per month, a paid plan at $18/month for unlimited transcripts, and a Pro plan at $35/month for advanced features such as email marketing, multiple bots, and integrations with Zapier. Strengths include its easy setup, affordability, and active community. The platform also supports multilingual chat and has a built‑in help center for FAQ answers. Limitations include a lack of advanced automation beyond basic flows, no long‑term memory for authenticated users, and no native CRM integration aside from Zapier.

ManyChat is a chatbot platform that originally focused on Facebook Messenger bots but has since expanded to web chat, SMS, and email. For e‑commerce retailers, ManyChat offers a visual builder that lets creators design order‑status flows, send shipping updates, and trigger cart‑abandonment messages. The platform integrates with Shopify and WooCommerce to pull order data and automatically populate chatbot responses. ManyChat’s pricing includes a free tier with basic features, a Pro plan at $10/month for unlimited subscribers, and an Enterprise tier for larger brands. The Pro plan unlocks advanced automation, custom branding, and API access. ManyChat’s main strength is its marketing automation capabilities, allowing users to segment customers, send follow‑up sequences, and promote products through the chatbot. It also supports multiple messaging channels, which can be useful for cross‑channel engagement. However, ManyChat’s web chat experience can feel less polished compared to dedicated web‑chat platforms, and it lacks a built‑in knowledge‑base or long‑term memory for anonymous visitors.

Zendesk Chat (formerly Zopim) is part of the Zendesk customer service suite, offering real‑time chat, bot automation, and ticketing integration. Retailers can create chatbot flows that answer common questions, including order status and shipping queries, and automatically create Zendesk tickets for complex issues. The platform’s visual builder is straightforward, and it integrates seamlessly with Shopify and other e‑commerce platforms via Zapier. Zendesk Chat’s pricing starts at $15/month for the Starter plan, which includes unlimited chat sessions and basic bot features. The Growth and Enterprise plans add advanced automation, custom branding, and priority support. Key strengths are its tight integration with Zendesk’s ticketing system, robust analytics, and support for multiple channels, including email and phone. Limitations include a lack of a dedicated knowledge‑base system, no long‑term memory for anonymous visitors, and a more limited set of e‑commerce integrations compared to specialized platforms.

Ada is an AI‑powered customer support chatbot platform that focuses on automating complex support workflows while scaling customer interactions. For e‑commerce retailers, Ada can be configured to answer order‑status queries, shipping details, and return policies. The platform allows users to build conversational flows using a visual editor, and it can pull real‑time data from e‑commerce platforms through custom API calls. Ada’s pricing is custom‑quoted, typically starting around $1,200 per year for the basic plan. The cost increases with the number of conversations, integration depth, and advanced AI capabilities. Ada also offers a dedicated support team and training services. Strengths include its AI‑driven natural language understanding, high‑quality conversation flow, and strong analytics dashboard. Ada also supports multi‑channel deployment, including web, mobile, and social media. Drawbacks are its higher price point, the need for technical setup to connect APIs, and the lack of a visual drag‑and‑drop editor for non‑technical users.