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.
Setting it up
The chat widget is a theme app extension. To enable it:
- Go to your theme editor.
- Look for App embeds or App blocks.
- Find Freway Storefront Chat and toggle it on.
- Save.
That’s it. The widget will appear on your storefront as a chat button in the corner of the screen.
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.
