Storefront chat

The storefront chat widget puts Janine directly on your website. Buyers click a chat button, ask about a product, and Janine helps them from there. She can add items to their cart without the buyer leaving the page.

This works differently from the outbound channels (email, SMS, etc.). Here, the buyer starts the conversation.

What buyers can do

When a buyer opens the chat, they can ask Janine about product details, availability, or pricing. If they describe what they’re looking for, she’ll search your catalog. She also pulls from your knowledge base for policy questions and can drop products straight into the buyer’s cart.

Turning it on

There are two switches, and the chat only works when both are on:

1. Enable the channel in your dashboard

1. Go to Settings → Channels.
2. Find Storefront Chat and turn it on.

If you’re not on Enterprise, this toggle is locked with an upgrade prompt. This switch controls whether Janine actually responds — if it’s off, the widget can still appear but messages won’t get a reply.

2. Add the widget to your theme

1. Open your Shopify theme editor (Online Store → Themes → Customize).
2. In App embeds (or as an app block), find Freway Storefront Chat.
3. Toggle it on.
4. Save.

The button will appear in the corner of your storefront. From the theme editor you can adjust a few widget settings:

• Greeting — the first message buyers see when they open the chat.
• Accent color — matches the widget to your brand.
• Position — bottom-right (default) or bottom-left.
• Enable — a per-theme on/off for the button itself.

Branding the chat agent

The chat agent’s name and avatar come from Settings → Janine AI (the Chat Branding card). Set a display name — say, “Emma” instead of “Janine” — and upload an avatar image (PNG, JPEG, or WebP). Buyers see the name and avatar in the chat header. If you leave them blank, the widget uses the default name and no avatar.

How it works technically

The widget loads as a lightweight script through your platform’s app proxy system. Buyer messages go through the proxy to Freway’s backend, where Janine processes them and responds. All traffic routes through your domain, so buyers never see a third-party URL.

The chat widget works on desktop and mobile. It’s a single bundled file, so it won’t noticeably affect your page load speed.

Chat and checkout

If a buyer chats during checkout, Janine already knows what’s in their cart. She can answer questions about those specific products and help them finish.

If they’re just browsing, Janine works as a shopping assistant. She helps them find products and add them to their cart, which often turns a browse into a sale.

Seeing what buyers asked

Once chat traffic has started flowing, the Insights tab on the Analytics page summarizes it: questions Janine couldn’t answer, what topics buyers cluster around, and which messages look like complaints.