Convi's widgets reach your store through your Shopify theme. This article shows you how to turn on Convi's app embed, add app blocks, and check that shoppers can see each widget. It is for store owners who are setting up Convi or adding a widget.
Plans: every plan and the free trial · Where: Convi admin › Widgets, and the Shopify theme editor · Who: the store owner, and team members whose role allows it · Time: about 5 minutes
What is the difference between the app embed and an app block?
Convi uses two things in your theme, and they do different jobs. The table below compares them.
What it does | Where you turn it on | |
The app embed, named Convi | Loads Convi on your store. Without it, no widget shows, even a block you placed | Theme editor, under App embeds |
An app block, for example Convi FAQ | Puts one widget in a spot you choose on a page | Theme editor, with Add block |
Every store needs the app embed. You need an app block only for the widgets listed in "Which widgets need an app block?" below.
Turn on Convi's app embed
The app embed must be on in your published theme before any widget can show. To turn it on:
In the Convi admin, go to Widgets.
If the banner at the top says Shopify app embed is off, select Activate in theme editor. The Shopify theme editor opens in a new tab.
Under App embeds, check that Convi is on. The button turns it on for you; if it is off, turn it on.
Select Save in the theme editor.
Go back to the Convi admin and reload the page.
The banner now says Live on your storefront, or Live on your storefront during your trial.
While the app embed is off, the banner at the top of Widgets opens the theme editor for you.
While Home still shows its setup steps, you can also use Turn it on for me there. It switches the app embed on without the theme editor, but it can't do this on a theme you have never customized.
Note: Convi checks your published theme. If you edit another theme, turn the Convi app embed on in that theme too before you publish it.
What does the banner on Widgets mean?
The banner at the top of Widgets shows whether your widgets can reach shoppers. The table below lists what it can say.
Banner | What it means | What to do |
Your widgets are hidden from shoppers | Your store has no plan and no active trial. Your settings stay saved. A placed Inline chat block can still show | Select Pick a plan |
Shopify app embed is off | The app embed is off in your published theme | Select Activate in theme editor |
Live on your storefront during your trial | The app embed is on and your free trial is running | Select Choose a plan to keep Convi after the trial |
Live on your storefront | The app embed is on and you have a plan | Nothing. View in theme editor opens the app embed |
A plan that has paused, for example because its spending limit is used up, still shows Live on your storefront. See Why isn't Convi answering shoppers?.
Which widgets need an app block?
Some widgets place themselves, and some show only where you add their block. The table below lists every widget and its block.
Widget | App block | Do you need it? |
Bubble widget chatbot | None | No |
Ask AI Button | None | No |
Find similars | None | No |
WhatsApp Widget | None | No |
AI FAQ Widget | Convi FAQ, on product pages | Only to choose another spot. Otherwise it shows below Add to cart |
AI Review Summary | Convi Review Summary, on product pages | Only to choose another spot. Otherwise it shows below Add to cart |
Inline chat | Convi Inline Chat, on any page | Yes |
AI Search Bar | Convi AI Search Bar, on any page | Yes |
"You might also like" | Convi You might also like, on product pages | Yes. It has no card on Widgets |
Add an app block
You add blocks yourself in the theme editor, because Convi can't place them for you. To add one:
In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store › Themes and select Customize on your published theme. The theme editor opens.
Go to the page, and choose the section where you want the widget. It must be a section that accepts app blocks.
Select Add block, then choose the Convi block, for example Convi Inline Chat.
Select Save. The widget now shows in that spot on your live store.
You can also start from a card on Widgets. Add to product page and the AI Search Bar's Open theme editor open the theme editor with the block ready to add.
If no section on the page offers the block, your theme may not accept app blocks there. Email [email protected] with your theme's name and the widget you want to add.
Check that shoppers can see a widget
The cards of the AI FAQ Widget, the Ask AI Button and Inline chat show a status while they are turned on. The AI Search Bar has its own steps on its card. The other cards show no status.
The AI FAQ Widget found no spot on product pages and offers a fix. The other two cards are Live.
Convi checks these widgets in two ways:
Inline chat and the AI Search Bar: Convi reads your published theme. Live means it found the block.
AI FAQ Widget and Ask AI Button: Convi goes by what your live store reports. Live means the widget loaded on a product page in the last 7 days. The AI FAQ Widget can say Live before a product has questions.
The table below lists each status.
Status | What it means | What to do |
Live | Convi found the block, or a report from your store in the last 7 days | Nothing. The card shows how many conversations started there in the last 7 days. The AI Search Bar shows its searches instead |
Checking | The AI FAQ Widget or Ask AI Button is waiting for a shopper to open a product page | Open a product page on your live store, then reload Widgets. A visit from the theme editor doesn't count |
Not live yet | Shoppers can't see the widget, or it doesn't work. The card says why | Use the fix on the card (see below) |
Status unknown | Convi couldn't check your store just now | Select Check again |
Not live yet comes with one reason and one fix:
The app embed is off: turn it on from the banner, as in "Turn on Convi's app embed" above.
The Bubble widget is off (AI FAQ Widget, Ask AI Button): select Turn on Bubble widget. Without the bubble, shoppers have no chat bubble to come back to.
No spot on product pages: a product page opened, but the widget didn't show there. Your theme has no spot Convi recognizes below Add to cart. On the AI FAQ Widget, select Add to product page. On the Ask AI Button, this happens only with Inline button only: select Show floating tab.
The block is missing (Inline chat): select Add to product page, or add the block to another page. Then select Check again.
The theme can't take the block (Inline chat): the theme has no section that accepts app blocks. Select Contact us.
The block is missing (AI Search Bar): the card lists three steps. Select Open theme editor, save the block, then select Check again.
What the app embed and blocks don't do
Some things stay in your hands in the theme editor:
Convi can't add or remove an app block for you. To take a block off a page, remove it in the theme editor.
A block alone doesn't turn most widgets on. Turn on the widget's switch on Widgets too. There are two exceptions: a placed Inline chat block shows even with its switch off, and "You might also like" has no switch, so the block is all it needs.
Turning the app embed on in one theme doesn't turn it on in another.
Related
Convi's widgets don't appear on my store — what to check when a widget is missing.
Go live with the setup steps on Home — the four steps that put Convi on your store.
Customize how the Bubble widget chatbot looks — make the chat fit your brand.