Gorgias runs your helpdesk well. Their new Shopping Assistant, launched in 2025, is their attempt to also run your storefront. This is why that matters, and what it still cannot do.
Ecommerce helpdesk built for Shopify. Strong ticket management, deep Shopify sidebar integration, and macros that let agents act on orders without switching tabs. In 2025, Gorgias added a Shopping Assistant for pre-purchase AI conversations — it lives inside the chat widget. Ticket-based pricing with separate per-resolution fees for AI.
Built for
EcommerceGorgias built a helpdesk and added a shopping layer on top. Manifest AI built the shopping layer first. That difference shows up in how the AI behaves on your storefront, what it costs when it succeeds, and what your agents see on escalation. Two paths: add Manifest AI to your existing Gorgias setup, or replace it entirely.
| Capability | Gorgias | Manifest AI | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storefront Reach | |||
| AI on the storefront | Basic triggers confined to the chat widget. | Advanced, multiple triggers across the entire buyer journey. | Reach shoppers at high-intent moments before they ever open a chat. |
| Product Page (PDP) Experience | Hidden inside the chat bubble ❌ | Built-in, visible embeds for sizing, reviews, and FAQs on the PDP. | Shoppers get instant answers while deciding to buy, without navigating a chat window. |
| Guided Discovery | Basic product discovery restricted to chat ❌ | Fully embeddable, context-aware AI storefront Quizzes. | On-page quizzes convert visitors who ignore floating widgets. |
| In-chat product discovery | Basic product recommendations based on browsing. | Deep AI-driven conversation starters that guide shoppers proactively. | Narrow down choices instead of waiting for the shopper to ask questions. |
| Out-of-stock lead collection | None ❌ | Built-in automated demand capture for out-of-stock products. | Demand does not disappear just because your inventory does. |
| AI Agents and Automation | |||
| Autonomous resolution rate | Basic ~60% self-reported resolution. | 90%+ automation rate across deployed stores. | A 30% gap in automation saves thousands of manual human support hours. |
| Pre-built AI agent library | Manual rule configuration required ❌ | 20+ advanced pre-built agents ready on day one. | Get complete automations instead of building them from scratch |
| AI pricing predictability | Expensive per-resolution billing that penalizes success. | Predictable flat pricing included in the platform fee. | Your bill should not skyrocket just because your AI is successfully doing its job. |
| Capability | Gorgias | BIK Helpdesk | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing and Scale | |||
| Pricing model | Capped ticket volume with expensive overages. | Predictable platform fee with unlimited tickets. | Your bill stays exactly the same during your busiest and most profitable months. |
| AI resolution billing | Extra fees for every ticket the AI resolves ❌ | Zero per-resolution fees to scale automation freely. | No penalization with higher invoices for successful AI deflections. |
| Unlimited agents | Fixed seats that cost more to scale ❌ | Unlimited agents included natively. | Scaling your human support team for Q4 shouldn't raise your software bill. |
| Cost during high-traffic periods | Bills automatically increase during busy months ❌ | Fixed pricing guarantees your biggest months cost the same. | Predictable overhead matters most when your ticket volume spikes unpredictably. |
| Helpdesk Capabilities | |||
| Shopify order context in inbox | Basic order history in the sidebar. | Deep order history plus built-in revenue attribution and checkout. | Turn support conversations into measurable sales moments. |
| Pre-built ecommerce automations | Manual setup required for basic macros ❌ | 50+ advanced pre-built automations ready immediately. | Deploy finished workflows instead of spending weeks writing rules. |
| In-chat Checkout Links generation | None ❌ | Built-in cart creation and checkout links inside conversations. | Agents close sales in the chat without losing the buyer to another tab. |
| Revenue attribution per agent | Basic tracking at the ticket level only ❌ | Deep revenue tracking per individual agent and team. | Know which agents are driving the most revenue for your store. |
| Shopper context from storefront | Agents start cold with zero storefront context ❌ | Full context transfers from Manifest to BIK agents on every escalation. | Agents resolve tickets faster when they know what the shopper was just looking at. |
| Ticket Management | Standard routing and macros. | Advanced smart routing, load balancing, and custom role views. | Distribute ticket volumes across your entire team automatically. |
| CSAT and NPS tracking | Standard tracking. | Deep sentiment breakdown natively built-in. | Understand customer sentiment without paying for third-party tools. |
| Omnichannel inbox | Basic reactive support channels. | Unified inbox with built-in outbound broadcast campaigns. | Manage incoming support and launch outbound revenue campaigns from one single place. |
| Free trial | 7 days | 30 days full access to prove real results. | Get four times as long to prove actual ROI on your store before paying. |
Where you start depends on where you are with Gorgias right now.
Keep Gorgias for your helpdesk. Replace Gorgias Shopping Assistant with Manifest AI for the storefront. The integration is native and the setup takes 14 days.
Replace Gorgias entirely. Manifest AI on the storefront, BIK Helpdesk in the inbox. Unlimited agents, no per-ticket billing, in-chat checkout, and revenue attribution your current stack cannot provide.
Gorgias launched their Shopping Assistant in July 2025 and it is capable inside the chat widget. The structural limitation is the same one Rep AI has: if a shopper never opens the chat, the AI never fires. Manifest AI fires at 7 moments across the storefront, most of which happen before any widget is opened.
Gorgias charges per ticket and per AI resolution. A brand with a successful Black Friday sees ticket volume spike and AI resolutions spike simultaneously. Both lines on the invoice go up. BIK's platform fee does not move during your biggest months.
When Manifest AI escalates a conversation to BIK, the agent opens with everything: what the shopper browsed, what they asked, what the AI already resolved. A Gorgias agent starts with the ticket. That gap in starting context shows up in every resolution time, every upsell missed, and every repeat question asked.
The direction of product development matters. Gorgias's Shopping Assistant was added to a ticketing system. Manifest AI was built as a storefront conversion tool from the start, with BIK Helpdesk developed as the natural complement. The architecture is different, and the results reflect that.
A Houston-based founder running a fast-scaling smart ring brand with over a million monthly visitors was evaluating AI tools for customer support. He came in on Gorgias for his helpdesk and wanted to keep it. What brought him to Manifest was the native Gorgias integration: Manifest AI handles the storefront and pre-purchase layer, Gorgias receives the escalations with full conversation context already attached.
The deciding factor was not a feature list. It was the architecture: AI that resolves before a ticket is created, and tickets that arrive in Gorgias with full context already in them. He committed to a paid setup in the same call.
Based on a real customer evaluation, March 2026