BigCommerce stores field the same pre-purchase questions Shopify stores do: shipping zones, return windows, stock status, bundle pricing. Every one of them is a moment a shopper can abandon the page instead of buying. A BigCommerce chatbot trained on your storefront answers those instantly. This guide covers training the bot and adding the snippet through BigCommerce's Script Manager.
No BigCommerce App Marketplace listing required
Askvo isn't a BigCommerce app you install and configure through the App Marketplace. The bot runs on Askvo's servers; your storefront loads one script and a custom element through the built-in Script Manager, with no app review and no separate subscription stacked on your Askvo plan. Same snippet used on Shopify, WordPress, or any other platform. If you're weighing this against staffing live chat yourself, see AI chatbot vs live chat.
Step 1: Train the bot on your storefront
- Create a free Askvo account. The Free plan includes one chatbot, no card required.
- Paste your storefront's URL. The crawler reads your product pages, category pages, shipping and returns policies, and FAQ, building the bot's knowledge base from them. Re-crawl after catalog or policy changes.
- Fill in what the crawler can't see. Wholesale terms, size guides buried in images, restock timing. Upload documents or add Q&A pairs directly; see how to train a chatbot on your own data.
- Test it in the dashboard before going live. In strict mode it only answers from your content, and admits it when it doesn't know something instead of guessing at stock or pricing.
Step 2: Get your embed snippet
Copy the snippet from your bot's install page in the Askvo dashboard: a custom element plus two script tags. Match the widget color to your storefront, and on Business or Agency, decide whether to enable lead capture for shoppers who chat but don't buy yet.
Step 3: Add it through Script Manager
- In your BigCommerce admin, go to Storefront, then Script Manager.
- Click Create a Script.
- Give it a name like "Askvo Chat Widget."
- Set Location on page to Footer.
- Set Select pages where script will be added to All Pages.
- Set Script type to Script, then paste the Askvo snippet into the script contents field.
- Click Save.
This covers your storefront end to end: home, category, product, cart. BigCommerce's checkout runs as a separate, locked-down flow on most setups, so the widget won't appear there. That matches how most chatbot support works, since nearly all pre-purchase questions happen before checkout anyway.
Step 4: Verify before you call it done
- Check the widget on your homepage, a category page, and a product page in a private/incognito window.
- Ask a real product question and confirm the reply streams in and cites the source page.
- Test "talk to a human" and confirm the conversation reaches your Askvo dashboard.
- Ask something it can't know, like an exact restock date, and confirm it declines gracefully instead of guessing.
Keeping answers accurate as your catalog changes
Re-crawl after adding products, changing prices, or updating policies. Check the Unanswered Questions report weekly, since it's often the fastest way to spot a policy page you forgot to write. If lead capture matters, read the chatbot lead generation guide. Compare plans and message-credit limits on pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a BigCommerce app for this?
No. Script Manager is a built-in BigCommerce feature. You paste one snippet, with no app install or marketplace review involved.
Header or Footer, and which pages?
Footer, and All Pages. That gets the widget onto every storefront page with one script entry.
Does the chatbot appear during checkout?
Usually not. BigCommerce checkout runs as a separate flow on most store setups. This isn't a gap in practice, since almost all shopping questions happen before checkout.
What happens if the bot doesn't know the answer?
It says so using a fallback message you control, and logs the question in your Unanswered Questions report so you know what to add next.