How-to · Multilingual Shopify chat

How to set up multilingual Shopify chat.

Auto-detection works out of the box — visitors get replies in their browser language without any configuration. The 10 steps below cover the optional tuning that takes the experience from "good enough" to "native-quality" for your top non-English markets.

For most stores expanding internationally via Shopify Markets, steps 1-4 take ~10 minutes total. Translating the knowledge base (step 5) is the longer investment but the biggest quality lift.

10-step setup

1. 01

   Confirm auto-detect is enabled (it is, by default)

   Open Shopify Admin → Apps → Clearly Agent → Settings → Languages. The "Auto-detect from visitor locale" toggle is ON by default. Visitors get replies in their browser language without any configuration. For most stores, this is all you need.

2. 02

   Test the auto-detection

   Visit your storefront via VPN or use browser dev tools to spoof Accept-Language. Set it to "es-ES" (Spain Spanish) and open the chat. Agent greets in Spanish. Try "fr-FR", "de-DE", "ja-JP" — same result, no setup needed.

3. 03

   Configure Shopify Markets integration (if set up)

   If you use Shopify Markets to serve different countries: Clearly Agent reads the Markets locale automatically. A visitor on /es/ sees the Spanish version of your store AND gets Spanish chat replies. No separate config needed.

4. 04

   Add per-language brand voice notes (recommended)

   Settings → Voice → Per-language tuning. Add specific instructions per language: "In Spanish, use tú not usted — we're a casual brand." "In German, formal Sie always — we're premium." "In Japanese, polite form (です/ます)." Agent applies these rules per visitor language.

5. 05

   Translate your knowledge base for top non-English markets

   For your top 1-3 non-English markets (typically Spanish + French for US/EU brands), translate your knowledge base (return policy, size chart, FAQs) and paste into the per-language KB. The agent prefers your translated content over its on-the-fly translation — more accurate for your specific terminology.

6. 06

   Verify regional sizing + currency rendering

   For sizing-sensitive products (apparel, footwear): add regional sizing conversion notes to the KB. Example: "US Women's 6 = UK 10 = EU 38 = JP 22." Agent applies the conversion based on visitor locale.

7. 07

   Configure manual override (optional)

   Customers can always say "speak English" or "Habla español" mid-conversation. The agent recognizes the override and switches. The override persists for the rest of the conversation. Memory keeps the preference for future visits (cookie-based).

8. 08

   For RTL languages (Arabic, Hebrew) — verify widget direction

   Arabic is in the auto-tuned 15+ languages list. When detected, the widget UI auto-flips to RTL. Hebrew uses LLM fallback. Test on your storefront with locale "ar-SA" or "he-IL" to verify the layout renders correctly with your accent color.

9. 09

   Set lockout if you only ship to specific regions

   If you only ship to US/Canada (for example), configure agent to politely decline international orders: "We currently ship to US and Canada only — for international customers, follow @brand on Instagram for global launch updates." Set this in the "Always mention" config for non-North-American visitors.

10. 10

    Monitor language distribution in analytics (Pro plan)

    Dashboard → Languages tab shows the language breakdown of your conversations. Use this to prioritize KB translation investment — if you're seeing 30% Spanish conversations, the Spanish KB is high-leverage.

FAQ

Which languages auto-detect natively?

English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Chinese (simplified + traditional), Japanese, Korean, plus Nordic languages. Other languages (Hindi, Hebrew, Vietnamese, Thai, etc.) work via LLM fallback — generally good quality but not specifically tuned.

Will the agent translate my product pages too?

No — that's Shopify Translate & Adapt's job. Clearly Agent reads whatever Shopify Markets provides. If you've translated your products into Spanish via Markets, agent surfaces the Spanish names + descriptions to Spanish visitors. If not, agent translates on-the-fly (slower than pre-translated content).

How does it handle dialects? (Mexico vs Spain Spanish, Brazil vs Portugal Portuguese)

Agent picks up regional cues from Shopify Markets locale (es-MX vs es-ES, pt-BR vs pt-PT) and adjusts vocabulary. For specific dialect tuning, use per-language brand voice notes: "Mexican Spanish — use celular not móvil." "Brazilian Portuguese — vocês not vós."

Can I disable auto-detect and force one language?

Yes. Settings → Languages → toggle "Force language" + pick a single language. Useful if you operate in one market exclusively and want zero language confusion.

How fast is the LLM fallback for non-tuned languages?

Same latency as tuned languages — gemini-2.5-flash-lite responds in 1-3 seconds either way. Quality is the variable: tuned languages get native-style responses, fallback languages get LLM-translated responses (slightly stiffer but still understandable).

What about chat with customers who use Latin alphabet but non-tuned languages (Vietnamese, Indonesian, etc.)?

These work via LLM fallback. Vietnamese, Indonesian, Filipino, Swahili, etc. — all get reasonable responses. For your top fallback markets, the same per-language brand voice notes work to refine quality.

What if a customer mixes languages mid-conversation?

Agent handles it gracefully — replies in whichever language the customer's most recent message used. Mixed-language conversations (e.g., Spanglish, Singlish, Portuñol) are common in some markets; the agent adapts.

Does multilingual cost extra?

No. All 15+ tuned languages and fallback languages are included on every tier including free. No per-language fees, no translation budget separate from the AI credit pool.