Swap Discovery includes an agent you can chat with inside the app. This article explains how to open it, what you can ask it, and how a conversation turns into a change in your store.
The in-app agent is included on every Swap Discovery plan. Swap Discovery works with Shopify stores only and runs inside your Shopify admin.
What the in-app agent is for
You do not need to know about generative engine optimisation (GEO) — the work of making your store easier for AI assistants to understand and recommend — or learn every screen in the app before you get started. Ask the agent in your own words.
The agent helps with three questions:
What should I work on? It points you to a manageable next step from the work available in your store.
Why does it matter? It explains what a result or recommendation means for your store.
How do I do it? It walks you through the step and opens the relevant work for you to review.
The agent works from your store's Swap Discovery information and the work already prepared in the app, such as Action Plan drafts and Product Audit recommendations. It responds when you ask it something.
How to open the agent
There are two ways to open the agent, both inside your Shopify admin.
From the Chat page
In your Shopify admin, open Apps → Swap Discovery.
Click Chat.
Type your question in the message box and click the send button (↑).
The Chat page is the best place for a longer, focused conversation.
While you work on another page
On a Swap Discovery page such as Dashboard or Action Plan, click Ask Discovery at the bottom right.
The Discovery agent chat window opens over the page. Type your question, or continue the conversation already shown.
Click × to close the window and return to the page underneath.
This is useful when you are looking at a result and want it explained, or want help with the next step.
Managing your conversations
To start a new conversation, click + New chat.
To return to an earlier conversation, click the current chat title at the top, then choose from Previous chats or use Search chats.
If you are not sure what to ask, use one of the suggested starting points on the welcome screen. The Chat page also lists Things you can ask, including Find my way around. The suggestions depend on your store.
The Swap Discovery agent is labelled Chat and Ask Discovery. Shopify's Sidekick and the customer support messenger are separate tools.
What you can ask
Start wherever you are unsure. You do not need to use feature names or technical terms.
What you want to do | Example question |
Understand GEO | "I keep hearing about GEO. What does it mean for my store?" |
Get started | "I've just installed Swap Discovery. What should I do first?" |
Choose what to work on | "I have 20 minutes. What's one useful thing I can work on here?" |
Pick up where you left off | "I'm back. What should I look at today?" |
Find prepared content | "Do you have any blog posts ready for me to look at?" |
Refine a draft | "Can you make the title shorter and less salesy?" |
Shorten an FAQ answer | "Can you make this answer shorter? Show me before saving." |
Review product recommendations | "Show me the recommendations for this product." |
Check your AI visibility | "What questions are we tracking?" |
Improve without changing your design | "How can I improve this without changing how my website looks?" |
For example, asking "I've just installed Swap Discovery. What should I do first?" returns a suggested first task and the reason for it. Follow up with "Can you walk me through the first step?" and the agent turns that suggestion into an ordered setup checklist.
A few things to keep in mind:
Visibility answers. The questions Swap Discovery tracks are test questions put to AI models, not a log of what real shoppers searched for. When the agent tells you about a result, check the question, model and date on the AI Visibility page. See Understanding AI Visibility in Swap Discovery.
Design-preserving changes. The agent can point you to work that does not change how your storefront looks, such as structured data and your AGENTS.md file, covered in Understanding one-time fixes in Swap Discovery. Changes to visible content, such as product descriptions, do appear on your store, so check what each proposed change affects before you apply it.
From conversation to change
A proposed edit, a saved draft and a published change are separate stages. Nothing goes live just because you asked for it in the chat.
Choose the item. Name it in plain language, for example "Show me the one about wide-leg trousers."
Ask for a change. The agent shows a before-and-after preview of the proposed edit. Your saved content does not change at this stage.
Review the item. Click Explore this → on the item's card to open it in a side panel next to the conversation. Check every field in the panel, not only the one you asked about: a title change can also update the slug and SEO title.
Save the draft. Click Save draft to keep the change. A saved draft is not published.
Publish according to your settings. Whether a saved item is published automatically or waits for your approval depends on the Review or Auto-approve setting on its Action Plan card. See Understanding the Action Plan in Swap Discovery.
For example, asking the agent to make a blog title shorter and less salesy might turn The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Wide-Leg Tailored Trousers for the Perfect Sneaker Pairing into How to Style Wide-Leg Tailored Trousers with Sneakers, leaving the article body unchanged.
Check before you approve
Like all generative AI, the agent can make mistakes. Before you approve or publish anything it drafts, check product facts, policies, care instructions and links against your own sources. If an answer does not match what you see in the app, check the relevant page directly, and contact our support team if it is still unclear.
Custom plans: the Slack agent
The in-app agent answers when you ask. Custom plans add a dedicated Slack channel with a proactive AI strategy agent, available 24/7. It brings together context from your connected data channels and brings opportunities and fixes to you, already drafted, rather than waiting for you to ask. A person from Swap also remains in the channel as a safety net when you need additional support. See Understanding Swap Discovery for how the plans differ.