Connect Recharge to WhatsApp and AI Chat for Shopify
Yes. AeroChat works directly with Recharge. It reads your subscribers’ subscriptions and upcoming charges from Recharge and makes the changes they ask for, such as skipping a delivery, swapping a product, moving a date, updating an address or canceling, through Recharge’s API, on WhatsApp, Instagram, web chat and every other channel.
If your Shopify store sells subscriptions with Recharge, most subscriber messages are requests to change something: skip this month, swap the flavor, send it to my new address, push it back two weeks. AeroChat makes those changes in the conversation on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, web chat or email, and confirms what changed. Your Shopify store is built into AeroChat, and Recharge connects through its public API. You describe the workflow in your own words, AeroChat builds it, and Recharge stays the place your subscriptions and billing run.
What you can do with Recharge and AeroChat
- Skip the next delivery. AeroChat finds the subscriber’s next queued charge in Recharge and skips it for the item they choose, then tells them when the following delivery is.
- Move the next delivery date. AeroChat changes the subscription’s next charge date in Recharge to the date the subscriber asks for.
- Swap a product. AeroChat changes the subscription to another variant or product the subscriber picks, such as a new flavor, scent or size.
- Change the delivery address. AeroChat updates the shipping address in Recharge, so upcoming deliveries go to the new place.
- Pause or cancel a subscription. AeroChat offers to push the next delivery back as a pause, and cancels the subscription in Recharge with the subscriber’s reason if they still want to stop.
- Answer “when is my next order?”. AeroChat reads the subscriber’s upcoming charges in Recharge and tells them the date and what is in it.
What it looks like on WhatsApp
Customer: Can I skip next month’s coffee? Still have plenty. (example)
AeroChat: Sure. Your next delivery of Morning Ridge beans is on 1 December. Shall I skip that one? Your following delivery would then be on 1 January.
Customer: Yes please.
AeroChat: Done. The 1 December delivery is skipped and you will not be charged for it. Your next delivery is on 1 January.
In Recharge: the 1 December charge shows as skipped for the Morning Ridge beans subscription.
Customer: Can I switch to decaf from now on? (example)
AeroChat: Yes. You get Morning Ridge beans, 500 g, every month. The decaf option is Night Owl decaf, 500 g, at the same price. Switch to that from your 1 January delivery?
Customer: Yes.
In Recharge: the subscription’s product changes to Night Owl decaf, 500 g, from the next charge.
Works on every chat channel
Your subscribers message you wherever they already are. The same Recharge connection and the same workflows run on each of these channels, and Recharge stays the record whichever one they use.
| Channel | What your subscribers can do |
|---|---|
| Message your WhatsApp Business number to skip, swap, move, pause or cancel a delivery, change their address or check their next order. Voice notes are transcribed, so a spoken request works too. | |
| Send the same requests by direct message. A comment on your post can get an automatic reply that moves the conversation to a DM. | |
| Facebook Messenger | Send the same requests to your Facebook Page. Comments on your Page posts can get an automatic reply too. |
| Telegram | Send the same requests to your business on Telegram. |
| Web chat | Ask the same questions in the chat on your Shopify store. |
| Write to your Gmail or Office 365 address and get the same answer the chat gives. |
How the connection works
There are two parts. Your Shopify store is built into AeroChat: you install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store and connect the store in the dashboard, and it syncs your products and looks up orders. Recharge connects through its public API, documented at developer.rechargepayments.com. Recharge stores Shopify product and variant IDs on each subscription, so the two parts line up.
- What AeroChat reads from Recharge: customers found by email, their subscriptions with product, variant, quantity, frequency, status and next charge date, their addresses, and upcoming queued charges with the items in each.
- What AeroChat writes to Recharge: skipped charges, new next charge dates, product and variant swaps on a subscription, updated shipping addresses and cancellations with the reason given.
To connect, sign in to the Recharge merchant portal, open Tools and apps, then API tokens, and click Create an API Token. Give it a name and contact email and choose Read and Write access for subscriptions, charges and customers. By default only the store owner can create tokens. Recharge’s API documentation does not name a plan for these endpoints. It names a Pro or Custom license only for features AeroChat does not use, such as its Checkouts endpoints.
You describe the workflow in your own words, for example “when a subscriber asks to skip a delivery, find their next charge in Recharge and skip it”. AeroChat builds the workflow as a draft and asks for the Recharge API token by name. You enter it in the AeroChat dashboard. It never passes through the conversation.
Workflows to copy
Six ready-made workflows for Recharge. Copy one into AeroChat, add your Recharge token, and it runs on every channel.
1. Skip the next delivery
Copy this into AeroChat
When a subscriber asks to skip a delivery, check their identity first: match the email or phone number on their Shopify orders. Find them in Recharge by email and read their next queued charge. Tell them the date and what is in it, and ask them to confirm the skip. Skip the charge for the items they chose, then tell them the date of their following delivery. Reply in the customer’s language.
2. Move the next delivery date
Copy this into AeroChat
When a subscriber asks to get their next delivery earlier or later, check their identity first and find their subscription in Recharge. Ask for the date they want, and only accept dates within 60 days (example). Confirm the new date, change the next charge date in Recharge, and tell them when they will be charged and when to expect the delivery.
3. Swap a product
Copy this into AeroChat
When a subscriber asks to change flavor, scent, size or product, check their identity first and find their subscription in Recharge. Offer only the products and variants in our subscription collection that are in stock in Shopify, with their price. Confirm the swap and the date it starts, then change the subscription’s variant in Recharge. If the new price is different, say so before you change anything.
4. Change the delivery address
Copy this into AeroChat
When a subscriber asks to send deliveries to a new address, check their identity first and find their address in Recharge. Ask for the full new address: street, city, postal code and country. Read it back and ask them to confirm. Update the address in Recharge and tell them which upcoming delivery will be the first to go there. If the new country is one we do not ship to, say so and hand the conversation to our team.
5. Pause or cancel a subscription
Copy this into AeroChat
When a subscriber asks to pause or cancel, check their identity first and find their subscription in Recharge. Ask why in one short question. If they want a break, offer to move the next delivery back by up to 3 months (example) and change the next charge date if they agree. If they still want to cancel, confirm, then cancel the subscription in Recharge with their reason. Tell them it is canceled and that no further charges will be made. Never argue or ask twice.
6. Answer “when is my next order?”
Copy this into AeroChat
When a subscriber asks when their next order is, or what is in it, check their identity first and find them in Recharge. Read their upcoming queued charges and tell them the date, the products and quantities, and the delivery address. Offer to skip, swap or move it if they want a change.
Who uses it
Shopify stores that sell things customers run out of, such as coffee, skincare, supplements and pet food, use Recharge to sell them on subscription. These recipes fit a store that runs on Shopify and Recharge:
- Beauty stores: restock and subscription questions and order tracking.
What stays in Recharge
Recharge stays your record of subscriptions and billing. Plans, pricing, discounts, payment methods, charge processing, dunning and your customer portal all live there. Every change AeroChat makes shows in Recharge like one made by the subscriber in your portal.
AeroChat handles the conversation. It reads subscriptions and upcoming charges, makes the changes subscribers ask for within the limits you set, and passes anything else to your team.
WhatsApp workflows that use Recharge
These end-to-end WhatsApp workflows run with Recharge and your Shopify store behind them. See them all in the WhatsApp workflows library.
- WhatsApp Membership and Subscription Renewals
- WhatsApp Order Changes and Cancellations Within Your Rules
- WhatsApp Win-Back Messages for Lapsed Customers
Questions
Does AeroChat work with Recharge?
Yes. It connects through Recharge’s public API with an API token from your own Recharge merchant portal. It is not a Recharge product, and AeroChat has no partnership with Recharge.
Can subscribers pause in chat?
Recharge’s API does not document a separate pause action. AeroChat moves the next charge date back by the time the subscriber asks, which works as a pause, or cancels if they want to stop.
Can AeroChat change payment details?
No. Card details stay in Recharge and your payment provider. AeroChat never sees card numbers. For payment changes, it points the subscriber to your customer portal or hands them to your team.
Which plan do I need?
On the Recharge side, you need an API token with Read and Write access, created under Tools and apps, API tokens. On the AeroChat side, workflows via Skills are on every plan, with a 7-day free trial. Choose by message volume: Starter covers 500 AI responses a month, Growth 2,000 and Advanced 5,000.
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.
Let subscribers change deliveries in chat
Install AeroChat, paste the skip recipe, add your Recharge token, and skip a delivery on a test subscription from your own WhatsApp.
7-day free trial.