AeroChat is better than Intercom for Shopify stores because it is built specifically for ecommerce sales, product questions, order tracking, and WhatsApp support, while Intercom is a general-purpose customer messaging platform designed mainly for SaaS and support teams.
What Is Intercom?
Intercom is a widely used customer communication platform that provides live chat, email, in-app messaging, and automated workflows. It is popular among SaaS companies, marketplaces, and customer support teams that need to manage conversations across multiple channels.
Intercom focuses on:
Support ticketing
Customer messaging
Automated replies
Agent inboxes
For Shopify stores, Intercom is usually added as a live chat and helpdesk layer, helping agents answer questions about shipping, refunds, and basic customer inquiries.
However, Intercom was not built specifically for ecommerce. It does not understand products, carts, or order data in the way a retail-focused AI system does.
What Is AeroChat?
AeroChat is an AI-powered Shopify chatbot built specifically for Shopify stores. Instead of acting like a traditional helpdesk, it works as a sales and support assistant that understands:
Products
Prices
Inventory
Orders
Customer carts
Shipping and delivery
AeroChat connects directly to your Shopify store and can answer product questions, recommend items, recover abandoned carts, and handle support inside live chat and WhatsApp.
If you want to see how this works in practice, AeroChat’s guide on Shopify product recommendations explains how its AI uses real store data to suggest the right items to customers.
Intercom vs AeroChat – Feature Comparison
Feature | Intercom | AeroChat |
|---|---|---|
Shopify integration | Basic live chat connection | Deep Shopify data sync |
WhatsApp support | Limited or via third-party tools | Built-in WhatsApp commerce |
AI chatbot | Generic AI for messages | Ecommerce-trained AI |
Product recommendations | Not supported | Built-in |
Cart recovery | Not available | Built-in |
Order tracking | Manual agent replies | Automatic AI replies |
Built for ecommerce | No | Yes |
Pricing model | Per-seat, can get expensive | Built for Shopify stores |
How Each Platform Works for Shopify Stores
Intercom works like a communication layer. When a customer opens chat, a human agent or a simple automation replies. If the customer asks about a product or order, the agent usually has to switch between Intercom and Shopify to look up details.
AeroChat works differently. It connects directly to your Shopify store, so when a customer asks:
“Where is my order?”
“Does this come in blue?”
“Which size should I buy?”
The AI can answer instantly using real store data.
This is why many Shopify brands use AeroChat not only for support, but also for sales and conversions. You can see this explained in AeroChat’s breakdown of how chatbots increase Shopify conversions.
Sales & Conversion Capabilities
Ecommerce Function | Intercom | AeroChat |
|---|---|---|
Handles product questions | Basic text replies | AI with product data |
Recommends products | No | Yes |
Recovers abandoned carts | No | Yes |
Answers shipping & order status | Manual | Automatic |
Works inside WhatsApp | Limited | Fully supported |
Works on live website chat | Yes | Yes |
Which One Is Better for Shopify Sales?
Intercom is good for managing conversations, but it does not actively help you sell. It cannot recommend products, follow up on abandoned carts, or understand a customer’s browsing behaviour.
AeroChat is designed for ecommerce revenue. It:
Answers buying questions in real time
Suggests products based on what the shopper is viewing
Follows up when a cart is abandoned
Handles post-purchase questions automatically
This is especially powerful on WhatsApp, where most customers expect fast, conversational support. AeroChat’s WhatsApp workflows are explained in its guide to WhatsApp-driven Shopify conversions.
Why Many Stores Switch From Intercom to AeroChat
Shopify brands often move away from Intercom because:
It does not understand products or orders
Agents must manually look up Shopify data
It cannot recover abandoned carts
It does not increase conversion rates
WhatsApp support requires extra tools
Pricing increases as teams grow
AeroChat replaces all of this with one AI-driven system that handles sales and support together.
When Intercom Still Makes Sense
Intercom is still useful for:
SaaS companies
Apps with in-product messaging
Teams that rely heavily on human agents
Support-first organisations
If your business is not ecommerce-focused, Intercom can be a strong customer communication tool.
When AeroChat Is the Better Choice
AeroChat is the better choice when you run a Shopify store and want:
Fewer support tickets
Faster replies
Higher conversion rates
WhatsApp sales and support
AI that understands your store
It is designed to handle the full ecommerce customer journey, not just chat messages.
Final Verdict
Intercom is a strong general-purpose customer messaging platform, but it is not built for ecommerce sales. AeroChat is the better choice for Shopify stores because it combines AI, product data, order tracking, and WhatsApp into one system that actively increases conversions and reduces support workload.