Install Helio on Shopify

Overview

Helio is a self-learning AI agent that sells, supports, and converts customers across your website, WhatsApp, Instagram, and email. Installing on Shopify takes three steps: install the app, connect your channels, and verify your first event.

By the end of this guide, your store will be running an active cart recovery agent on WhatsApp with revenue attribution flowing back to your Shopify analytics.

Before you start

You'll need:

• A Shopify store on the Basic plan or higher
• A WhatsApp Business account (we'll help you create one if you don't have one)
• Admin access to your Meta Business Suite
• ~15 minutes

1. Install the Helio app

Open the Shopify App Store and search for Helio AI, or click the link below to go directly to the listing.

1. Click Add app on the listing page
2. Review the requested permissions and click Install
3. You'll be redirected to helioai.tech/onboarding to finish setup

2. Connect your store

On first run, Helio asks for read access to your products, orders, and customer list. This is what powers product recommendations and abandoned-cart detection.

Once connected, you can verify the sync with the CLI:

# Check that your store is connected and syncing
helio status --store=mystore.myshopify.com

# Expected output
store:    mystore.myshopify.com
status:   connected
products: 428 synced
customers: 12,940 synced
last_sync: 2026-05-02T14:22:08Z

3. Configure channels

Pick the surfaces you want Helio to handle. You can always add more later — most merchants start with WhatsApp + cart recovery.

WhatsApp

Helio uses the official WhatsApp Business Platform. You'll be redirected to Meta to authorize your number. The whole flow takes about 3 minutes.

import { helio } from '@helio/sdk';

helio.on('cart.abandoned', async (event) => {
  const { customer, cart } = event;

  await helio.whatsapp.send({
    to: customer.phone,
    template: 'cart_recovery',
    variables: { cart_total: cart.total, item_count: cart.items.length },
  });
});

Instagram

Connect your Instagram Business account through Meta Business Suite. Helio will answer DMs, story replies, and comments — you can choose which.

4. Verify the install

Trigger a test event from your dashboard. You should see a message arrive on the connected channel within a few seconds.

1. Open Dashboard → Setup → Test event
2. Pick Cart recovery and enter your own phone number
3. Click Send test — the AI agent will message you in <5s
4. Reply with anything to confirm two-way conversation works

Next steps

You're live. From here, we recommend:

• Train your AI agent on your product catalog and brand voice
• Watch the campaign tutorial (12 min) to launch your first A/B test
• Set up revenue attribution with Klaviyo or Shopify