Why Does Shopify Inbox AI Send Checkout Links That Skip My Delivery Slot Step?
Shopify says shoppers can start checkout from the Inbox chat, and its help center pages we checked don’t describe a setting to turn that off. A link that goes straight to checkout passes the cart page, which is where many delivery date apps ask for the slot. With AeroChat, you choose in your own words which link it sends: a product page, the cart, or a payment link after it has agreed the slot in the chat.
Shopify Inbox behavior from Shopify’s Fall ’26 Edition and help center: Assigning your Inbox agent to conversations and Inbox agent persona, checked 11 November 2026.
Why merchants ask
A merchant on the Shopify Community asked Shopify for an option to turn off automatic checkout links in the Inbox agent. Their store needs every customer to choose a delivery date or slot on the cart page before paying. They report that the agent sends a checkout link as soon as a shopper shows interest, the link skips the cart page, and orders arrive without a slot. They asked for the agent to link to the cart or product page instead, or to respect required cart fields. Florists, bakeries and grocery stores with local delivery run into the same problem.
What Shopify Inbox does today
Per Shopify, checked 11 November 2026:
- Shopify’s Fall ’26 Edition says shoppers can start checkout from the chat with Shopify Inbox.
- The help center says the Inbox agent can add recommended products directly to the customer’s cart.
- The persona can’t override Inbox settings, and conflicting instructions might not be followed, so a persona instruction is not a reliable way to change this.
- The help center pages we checked don’t describe a setting to turn checkout links off or to send cart links instead. We could not confirm from Shopify’s own pages whether checkout from the chat skips the cart page in every case.
The usual fixes and their limits
- Ask for the slot at checkout instead of the cart. Some delivery date apps can collect the date in checkout. Whether that is possible depends on your app and your Shopify plan.
- Catch missing slots after the order. Contact each customer who ordered without a slot. It works, and it is a manual step on every affected order.
- Change the Inbox agent’s assignment. Set it to answer only outside your hours, or never. Fewer chats get the link, and fewer get any answer.
- Use a chat app where you choose the link. Then the AI sends whatever fits your store’s flow.
How to handle it in chat with AeroChat
AeroChat recommends from your synced Shopify catalog and follows the rule you write for links. If your delivery slot lives on the cart page, tell it to send the product page link and remind the shopper to choose their slot in the cart. If you’d rather agree the slot in the chat, AeroChat checks your lead times and daily limits, records the slot, and sends an Airwallex payment link once the slot is set. Either way, the chat doesn’t send shoppers past your slot step.
Customer: I’d like the spring bouquet for my mom. (example)
AeroChat: Lovely choice. The spring bouquet is US$65 (example). Here’s the product page: [link]. Add it to your cart and pick your delivery day and time slot there. Same-day delivery closes at 11am.
Customer: Can it arrive tomorrow afternoon?
AeroChat: Yes, tomorrow afternoon still has space. Choose the 2pm to 5pm slot in the cart.
In AeroChat: the reply follows your rule to send product pages, not checkout links, so the shopper goes through the cart and its slot picker.
Copy this into AeroChat
When a shopper wants to buy, send the product page link, never a checkout link. Tell them to add it to the cart and choose their delivery day and slot on the cart page. Same-day delivery closes at 11am and we don’t deliver on Sundays (example). Give all times in our store’s time zone. If they ask whether a day is available, check the Slots tab of our Google Sheet and only say yes if it has space. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the cutoff, closed days and sheet name to match your delivery rules before you paste it. To take the slot in chat instead, see letting customers choose a delivery date or pickup slot.
What to connect
- Your Shopify store. Built in. Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store and connect your store, so AeroChat recommends from your products, prices and stock.
- A Google Sheet with your slots, if AeroChat should check availability. Google Sheets connects through its API.
- Airwallex, if you take orders in chat. Airwallex is built into AeroChat. No Airwallex account yet? Open one here.
Questions
Can I turn off checkout links in the Shopify Inbox agent?
Shopify’s help center, checked 11 November 2026, doesn’t describe a setting for it. Shopify’s Fall ’26 Edition describes starting checkout from the chat as a feature.
Can I tell the Inbox agent’s persona not to send checkout links?
Shopify’s help center says the persona can’t override Inbox settings and conflicting instructions might not be followed, so it isn’t a dependable fix.
Which links can AeroChat send?
Whatever your recipe says: product pages, collections, or an Airwallex payment link for orders agreed in the chat.
Does AeroChat work with my delivery date app?
Yes. AeroChat sends shoppers to the cart, where your app asks for the slot. Your app keeps working as it does today.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
Send the link your store needs
Install AeroChat, paste the link recipe, and ask your own store chat to buy a product that needs a delivery slot.
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