Yes: Zipchat can answer "where is my order?" from your order data
If order-status questions fill your inbox, Zipchat's order tracking is worth a free trial. Its documentation describes a lookup that takes the customer's email address and order number, pulls the order from Shopify, and lets the AI answer from that record. That is the classic WISMO ("where is my order?") request, handled without a person opening the admin.
An order-status bot still needs decisions behind it: what to say before an order ships, what happens when the order isn't found, and who picks up the conversation. This guide covers the lookup, the note for unfulfilled orders, non-Shopify setups, a short look at handoff, and what to prepare before you turn it on.
Handoff is kept brief on purpose. The wider topic of switching from AI to a human is in the Zipchat human handoff guide, and the install walkthrough is in how to use Zipchat.
Details here were checked against the order tracking documentation, the pricing page and the Shopify App Store listing on October 11, 2026. Your next step: start the Zipchat free trial and run a batch of your own past order questions through it.
How the lookup works: email plus order number
Zipchat matches the email address and order number a shopper types in to an order in Shopify, then answers from that order. Requiring both is a sensible check: an order number alone is easy to guess, while the email address ties the question to the person who bought.
From the shopper's side, they ask where their package is, the chat asks for an email and order number, and the answer reflects that order's status. From your side, nobody copies a number into the admin, finds the carrier status and pastes it back.
The answer comes from a specific order record, not from a general FAQ page. That is the difference between a bot that says "orders usually arrive in a few days" and one that reports on this customer's order.
Think about shoppers who cannot supply the details: the confirmation email is buried, or they checked out as a guest with a different address. They may stall at the lookup, which is where your handoff path matters.
Unfulfilled orders: the metafield note
Before an order ships there is no tracking number, so Zipchat can return a note you store in an order metafield. The documentation names the field custom.additional_shipping_information. A metafield is a custom value you attach to a Shopify order.
"Where is my order?" is often asked before shipping, and these are the awkward ones. If you sell preorders, made-to-order items or backordered stock, this note is where the honest answer lives.
A simple scheme:
- Standard items: leave it empty and rely on your normal shipping message
- Preorders: a line explaining that the item ships when stock arrives
- Made-to-order: a line with the expected production window
Write the note as something a customer can read directly in chat. "Waiting on ops" would show up exactly as written. The official page on custom shipping notes walks through the setup.
Decide who writes the note. If someone has to type it into every order, it will be skipped during your busiest week. See whether a flow or app can fill it by product type or expected ship date.
Not on Shopify? Use the custom order tracking API
Stores that keep orders outside Shopify can connect their own system through Zipchat's custom order tracking API integration. Per the integration documentation, Zipchat calls your API for the order data, and if your API does not respond within 5 seconds, the shopper is told the information could not be checked.
That 5-second limit is an operational detail. If your order system slows down under load, shoppers will see more "couldn't check" replies exactly when order questions peak. Test your endpoint's response time before you commit.
This is developer work. If you have no engineer, line up a contractor or agency before you rely on it. And if order data sits in more than one system, say orders in one tool and shipments in a warehouse system, decide which source answers "when will it arrive?" so the API returns one clear answer.
When the bot can't answer: a short note on handoff
Set up a human fallback for lookups that fail and for requests that go beyond status. Zipchat documents escalating a conversation to the app, an email address or a Zendesk ticket, plus Take Over and Enable AI Replies for pausing the AI and resuming it later. See the official pages on forwarding requests and taking over chats.
In order-status chats, handoff typically comes up when:
- the order cannot be found from the details given
- the package is late or damaged and the customer needs more than a status line
- the shopper wants to cancel or change an address
Route each to wherever your team already works: email if that is your inbox, a Zendesk ticket if that is your queue. The human handoff guide covers live takeover, notifications and out-of-hours coverage in more depth.
Before you turn it on: four things to prepare
Get the order details, the unfulfilled message, the handoff route and a test list ready, and your trial will tell you much more.
- Make the lookup details easy to find. Put the order number prominently in confirmation and shipping emails so shoppers do not struggle at the first step.
- Write the unfulfilled messages. One short line for each reason an order might not have shipped: preorder, made-to-order, backorder. Keep them clear and not over-promising.
- Choose the handoff owner and hours. Decide who sees conversations the AI could not finish, and what an overnight message gets in the morning.
- Build a test list. Pull ten real order-status questions from the last month or two. Mix shipped, unfulfilled, late and wrong-order-number cases.
The test list is the useful part. Judge whether the right status comes from your own orders, not just whether the reply reads smoothly. The same list also shows whether your unfulfilled notes come back as written.
What it costs and what to count
Zipchat is priced by AI replies per month, so the trial is where you learn your real volume. On October 11, 2026, the pricing page and Shopify listing showed:
- A 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Starter at USD 80 per month (USD 64 per month shown for annual billing), including 750 replies
- Pro at USD 300 and Scale at USD 600 per month, as listed on Shopify
- Order Status listed on every plan in the Shopify App Store listing
A single order question can take several back-and-forth messages. During the trial, note how many replies a typical order conversation uses, then project from your monthly volume. The Zipchat pricing guide covers the plan comparison in more detail, including how the free plan appears on Shopify. The trial shows how many replies your own order conversations actually use.
| Plan | Monthly (USD) | AI replies/month |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $80 | 750 |
| Pro | $300 | 3,000 |
| Scale | $600 | 6,000 |
Pricing source · 2026-10-03
FAQ
Does it work with just an order number? The documentation describes email plus order number. The documentation does not describe a number-only lookup.
Can I use it if I'm not on Shopify? Yes, through the custom API integration, provided your endpoint answers within 5 seconds.
What if the AI gives a wrong answer? A team member can take over the conversation, and you can turn AI replies back on afterwards. Accurate order data and carefully written unfulfilled notes reduce wrong answers in the first place.
Next step
Start the free trial and run ten of your real order questions through it. Include shipped, unfulfilled and wrong-number cases, and see how the answers and handoffs behave.
