Track My Shipment on WhatsApp with ShipStation
Yes. AeroChat works directly with ShipStation. When a customer asks to track their shipment, AeroChat finds the label for their order in ShipStation, reads its tracking status and events, and explains in plain words where the shipment is and when it should arrive.
This recipe answers “where is my shipment?” with the tracking ShipStation holds for the label, on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, web chat or email. Part of connecting ShipStation to WhatsApp and AI chat.
What happens today
A tracking link only helps if the customer can read the carrier’s page. Many message you instead, especially when the status has not changed for a few days or shows a delivery exception. Your team looks up the label, reads the events and explains them, one customer at a time.
The flow that works
- The customer asks where their shipment is.
- AeroChat verifies the order in Shopify by the email or phone number on it.
- It finds the label for the order in ShipStation and reads the tracking status and events.
- It replies with the status in plain words, the latest event with place and time, and the estimated delivery date if the carrier gives one.
- If the shipment has had no update for several days, or shows an exception, it hands the conversation to your team.
What it looks like on WhatsApp
Customer: Where is my shipment? Order #3330. (example)
AeroChat: It is in transit with UPS. It left the Chicago hub last night at 11:40pm and is due to arrive on Thursday (example). Tracking number 1Z5615280351136446 (example).
In ShipStation: nothing changes. AeroChat read the tracking status and events for the label on order #3330.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks to track a shipment or asks where their order is, follow these steps.
- Ask for the order number and the email or phone number on the order, and verify the order in Shopify.
- Find the label for that order in ShipStation and read its tracking status and events.
- Reply with the status in plain words, such as in transit, delivered or delivered to a pickup point, the latest event with place and time, and the estimated delivery date if there is one.
- If the status shows it is not yet in the carrier’s system, say the label is ready and the carrier has not scanned the parcel yet.
- If there has been no update for 3 days (example), or the status shows an exception, apologize and hand the conversation to our team with the order and the tracking events.
- If it shows delivered but they have not received it, hand over to our team.
Never invent a delivery date. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the number of days and the handover rules to fit your team before you paste it.
What to connect
- Your Shopify store. Built in. Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store and connect your store in the dashboard, so AeroChat can verify the order.
- ShipStation. Open the API Settings page in your ShipStation account, check that your plan includes API access, and generate your API key. It is shown only once, so copy it straight away. Paste it in when AeroChat asks.
ShipStation can also send tracking events to a webhook. Where you set that up, AeroChat can pass a tracking event on to the customer in the conversation they started.
After you paste the recipe, AeroChat builds the workflow as a draft and shows a checklist: connect ShipStation, then switch it on. If it built the connection from ShipStation’s public documentation at docs.shipstation.com, the checklist asks you to check it once against the current docs.
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.
What you still decide
- How long without an update counts as a problem for your store.
- Which tracking problems go to your team.
- What AeroChat may offer for a late shipment, if anything.
The result to expect
Customers understand where their shipment is without opening a carrier page or waiting for your team. Your team only sees the shipments that are stuck or lost.
Measure it with your own numbers: tracking questions answered in chat without your team, for a month before and after.
Next: see the shorter parcel status recipe and every ShipStation workflow. For orders shipped outside ShipStation, see order status on Shopify.
Works on every chat channel
This workflow runs the same way on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, the chat on your store and email, with the same ShipStation connection behind it. See what each channel does on the ShipStation integration page.
Track your first shipment in chat
Install AeroChat, paste the recipe, add your ShipStation key, and ask your own chat where your last order is.
7-day free trial.