Most e-commerce stores tend to select the most impressive-looking chatbot by judging its features and presentation. But then, six months later, they start experiencing problems with hallucinations, dissatisfied customers, and an inability to give the support team a rest.

There are lots of vendors promising similar chatbots on the market, and there is little difference in the descriptions they use to sell their products. Instead of doing the same, this guide takes a look at the most relevant tools for e-commerce businesses, explains what each one does well, and advises when to avoid certain solutions.

Why is making the right decision critical?

AI chatbots in the e-commerce sector can no longer be considered a luxury; according to a Smartsupp study of nearly 5 billion website visits, shops using chatbots respond to 89.2% of consumer questions versus 71.2% of those without them, and process six times as many inquiries overall. This disparity widens over time, generating a snowball effect: the more resolved inquiries, the fewer abandoned shopping carts and higher expenses on support services.

According to Rep AI's 2025 Ecommerce Shopper Behavior Report, customers who interact with AI chat during their session spend 25% more than those who don't, and complete purchases 47% faster. These are not just figures but represent a paradigm shift in customer expectations concerning online transactions.

The chatbot market is growing rapidly, with industry analysts (Master of Code) projecting a CAGR of around 26% over the coming years, and retail and e-commerce among the fastest-growing segments.

But here lies the problem: not all AI chatbots can perform in an e-commerce environment. Most are just general-purpose customer service chatbots, and while they may work on an e-commerce site, the distinction matters. Customers on e-commerce sites tend to send short, fragmented messages – usually asking about delivery first, then product details, and finally a discount code, all in one conversation.

The difference between a great e-commerce chatbot and an average one

Before choosing a tool, let’s identify what matters. These are the factors to consider:

• ‍The precision when answering product and order-related questions: General-purpose chatbots are prone to hallucination, while for e-commerce, it is crucial for the bot to get factual data about order status, inventory, and return windows. This is the main criterion.‍
• Integration capability: Does it integrate seamlessly with your e-commerce platform and your current customer support system? Otherwise, the chatbot won’t help – it will only add to your workload.‍
• Support of multiple languages: Unless your business operates across different European countries, a single language would definitely be a drawback.‍
• Quality escalation: According to Cisco, 89% of consumers believe the ideal service experience is a mix of human empathy and artificial intelligence efficiency. A chatbot that cannot assist humans in this manner will hurt your brand's reputation.‍
• Transparency and limitations: The best chatbots know their limits. The worst ones make things up.

The Best AI Chatbots for E-Commerce: 4 Options Worth Evaluating

1. Octocom – Best for Shopify stores with fast set-up requirements

Octocom is a Lithuanian-built AI chatbot designed for e-commerce, with particular strength in Shopify integration and fast installation.

Differentiating factor: Octocom treats product recommendations as a core feature, not just an add-on – it acts as both a support tool and a sales assistant. For example, if a user asks, "Which laptop should I purchase for video editing at around 800 euros?" Octocom will respond to that query using your store's product catalogue.

Integrations: Good Shopify integration. Limited to Shopify.

Multilingual: Multi-language capability available, but with different depths per language.

Best suited for: Shopify store owners who want a chatbot that handles support and product discovery without much configuration.

Important note: Octocom's tight Shopify integration is both its greatest strength and its biggest limitation – stores running custom-built platforms or other systems won't get the same experience.

Additional fact: As a relatively new company, they may still be improving certain aspects, such as reporting and analytics features.

2. Askly – Best for multilingual European e-commerce

Askly is an Estonian company that was founded specifically to address multilingual customer service issues, targeting mainly European markets. Their key selling point is that the customers can chat in their language without the need for multilingual support staff.

Differentiating factor: The Askly language translator technology is highly advanced compared to many similar systems. It doesn't merely run text through a translation API – it accounts for the linguistic subtleties of customer service dialogue, including tone and formality shifts.

Integrations: Cross-platform capability on popular e-commerce platforms. Compatible with common helpdesk systems.

Multilingual: Askly shines here – its entire system was designed with multilingual applications in mind.

Best for: E-commerce businesses serving predominantly non-English speaking customers, especially those in the Baltic, Nordic, and Central European regions.

Other information: Askly is a strong performer in language-related aspects of AI customer support software. However, the reasoning ability of the AI engine is not on par with other systems. Therefore, Askly is ideal for online stores that primarily need a language solution but is less suited for those facing complex product or order inquiries.

3. Certainly – Best for larger e-commerce organizations with dedicated resources

Certainly is an enterprise-oriented Danish platform for building chatbots. It has been used by several reputable e-commerce companies and markets itself as a conversational AI platform rather than a customer service tool.

Why it stands out: As opposed to the other platforms we reviewed, the platform offers greater customization capabilities, such as additional flows, integrations, and options to adjust its functionality to your needs.

Integration: Extensive library of integrations, particularly with enterprise support solutions like Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, etc.

Multilingual: Good multilingual support.

Best for: E-commerce businesses of mid-market to enterprise level with in-house CX professionals.

What’s important to know: The depth of Certainly makes it harder for businesses to get started. It demands more time in setup and administration compared to other solutions. Without a dedicated CX team, small companies may find it too complex. It is also important to keep in mind that a poorly configured Certainly bot performs worse than a well-configured, simpler alternative.

4. Parnidia – Perfect for those involved in e-commerce who require accurate information above all

Parnidia is an AI chatbot designed especially for customer support in e-commerce. Unlike generic tools adapted for online retail, Parnidia is purpose-built for e-commerce and answers questions accurately without fabricating information.

Difference: While most applications are trained to provide an answer no matter what, Parnidia is trained to offer the correct answer and escalate to a human expert when it doesn’t know how to reply. Accuracy is essential in e-commerce because giving incorrect information about a return date or product availability can directly cost you a sale.

The application handles the 6 most typical e-commerce situations:

Order status: retrieves live order details and updates the customer about their order pickup or delivery without any human intervention

Stock check: informs the customer about the availability of a particular product in-store in real time.

Product comparison: if the customer enquires, "which one is better, product X or Y," Parnidia offers a comparative analysis of the two products based on your actual product line.

Product recommendations: asks relevant questions related to size, usage, and preferences, and provides the top matches with their pictures and links.

Multi-language support: automatically detects the preferred language of the customer and responds accordingly without requiring any prior configuration

Promotional code sharing: can provide promotional discount codes when requested by the customer during a customer support session.

Integration: native integration with leading e-commerce platforms and customer support tools. The platform requires no development effort and is easy for non-technical teams to set up.

The statistics: Based on Parnidia's e-commerce clients' deployments, the AI resolves 60% of conversations autonomously, with another 10% partially resolved, totaling 70% of customer support queries. The customer satisfaction rate (CSAT) is 89%.

Beyond support, Parnidia also drives revenue. As seen in an instance involving a fashion e-commerce business, the chatbot suggested products after a customer’s query and generated €269.53 worth of income from 5 transactions. Parnidia also fills in the area that most companies tend to miss: customer inquiries spike on Mondays as weekend messages pile up – Parnidia handles Sunday volume automatically so nothing falls through the cracks.

Most suited to: E-commerce firms seeking a solution that covers customer service and product research capabilities without compromising the efficiency of either process.

Something to note: Parnidia is designed specifically for e-commerce. It’s not a customer service system tweaked for use by brick-and-mortar retailers.

What comparison guides won't tell you

Comparing vendors' solutions usually means comparing the features they offer. However, what prevents chatbots from succeeding in the e-commerce domain has nothing to do with features; it's their maintenance process after deployment.

If your chatbot was trained with outdated product data, it will provide the wrong price to the customer. If it was not updated to reflect a change in the company's return policy, it will keep providing wrong answers for months. According to a Five9 survey, although 59% of consumers are willing to use an AI chatbot for quicker responses, 86% still prioritize empathy and emotional connection over quick communication. An ineffective yet fully operational chatbot is worse than not having a chatbot at all.

The only way to choose the best AI chatbot for e-commerce is to select a vendor whose software works well within your workflow and doesn’t require a programmer every time you want to make changes.

How to Choose the Right AI Chatbot: Three Questions to Ask Yourself

1. What’s the Biggest Challenge Your Support Team Is Facing?

• High volume of repetitive queries (status of order, return policy, shipping) → All of the above solutions work well. Accuracy and depth of integration matter most.
• Customer base in multiple languages → Askly or Parnidia.
• Questions related to product discovery → Octocom or Parnidia.
• Large enterprise operation with CX team → Certainly.

2. Which E-Commerce Platform Are You Using?

• Shopify → All four are great, Octocom stands out if your store is on Shopify.
• Custom-built or non-Shopify → Parnidia and Certainly provide the best flexibility.

3. How Much Hands-On Setup and Ongoing Maintenance Can Your Team Handle?

• Limited team size, lack of technical expertise → Parnidia and Askly.
• Larger team with CX responsibility → Certainly and Parnidia.

The bottom line

Not all chatbots will be "the best" for your particular online business. But some will undoubtedly be inappropriate for you, and making that determination before committing is crucial.

For example, if you value accuracy above anything else – and you should – Parnidia's constrained AI model stands out as the only rational option. If you're concerned about multilingual support, Askly is the platform to consider. If you're deeply entrenched in the Shopify ecosystem and need the extra functionality of a product discovery chatbot, Octocom merits testing. And if you're willing and able to put in the work to get more out of your chatbot, Certainly will offer maximum flexibility.

Worst-case scenario? You'll choose a tool, implement it incorrectly, assume it's working when it isn't, and watch as your customers simply walk away.

Parnidia is an AI chatbot tailored for e-commerce customer service. Would you like to see it handle your particular support queries? Request a demo here.