This guide explains how to set up Refina in Shopify, how the product intelligence build works, where Refina can appear on your storefront, and how each shopper-facing surface helps customers find the right products.
The short version: Refina learns your catalogue, helps shoppers ask better product questions, and recommends the most relevant products you sell — with clear reasons why.
Refina setup has a few moving parts, but the path is simple: choose a plan, build product intelligence, enable the storefront surface you want, and test with real shopper questions.
Select a Refina plan from Billing so the catalogue intelligence build can begin.
Start the catalogue intelligence build so Refina can scan, index, and enrich your products.
Add Refina to your Shopify theme as a launcher, menu link, product-page block, or popup.
Tell Refina what kind of products you sell so it can use the right product language.
Ask real shopper-style questions and confirm Refina recommends relevant products from your store.
The Refina Get Started page walks you through the core setup steps. Use this section if you want more detail about what each step means and why it matters.
Refina needs an active plan before it can build catalogue intelligence. Open the Billing page, choose the plan that suits your store, and return to Get Started once the plan is active.
Click Start building intelligence from Get Started. Refina begins reading your Shopify catalogue, organising your product data, and using Google Gemini to enrich product understanding with broader product knowledge — including ingredients, materials, features, benefits, specifications, use cases, and category context.
Refina appears on your storefront through Shopify theme settings and app blocks. You can enable the app embed, add a product-page block, create a menu link, or use the optional Welcome Popup.
Set your store category in Settings. This helps Refina use the right terminology for your catalogue — for example, ingredients for skincare, materials for apparel, components for bikes, or specifications for technical gear.
Catalogue intelligence is Refina’s understanding of your products. It is built from your Shopify catalogue, then improved with indexing and AI enrichment so Refina can recommend products by meaning, use case, and context.
Sync is how Refina gets an up-to-date copy of your product catalogue. Refina uses product information such as titles, descriptions, product types, tags, categories, images, prices, variants, handles, and availability.
Indexing helps Refina organise your products so they can be found by meaning, not just by exact keyword matches. This is what helps Refina connect shopper questions to relevant products in your catalogue.
Enrichment is where Refina uses Google Gemini to add expert product understanding around your catalogue. Gemini helps interpret product features, ingredients, materials, specifications, benefits, use cases, category context, and comparison language so the assistant can explain why one product may suit a shopper better than another.
Think of the product knowledge layer as Refina learning what you sell, what each product is for, and how your products differ from each other. It is store-specific, not a generic shopping database.
Refina can work with existing catalogue data, but richer product information gives it more context. For best results, products should include:
Refina has two main recommendation modes: the full AI assistant for open-ended shopper questions, and the product-page assistant for fast, structured suggestions while a shopper is viewing a product.
The full assistant is for open-ended product advice. A shopper can ask a question in their own words, and Refina searches your product knowledge layer, narrows the catalogue to likely matches, ranks relevant products, and explains the best options.
The product-page assistant is for shoppers who are already viewing a product but still deciding. It uses the current product as context and can surface fast, grounded alternatives such as similar products, cheaper options, better-value choices, or upgrade-style alternatives.
Refina does not pick products at random. It compares the shopper’s intent with product information in your catalogue, then favours products that are more relevant to the question.
Shoppers can continue the conversation. Follow-ups are useful for narrowing a choice, comparing two products, asking for cheaper options, or checking suitability.
Some answers appear quickly. Fresh AI recommendations can take longer because Refina is checking your product knowledge before explaining the best match.
Refina can appear in multiple places on your storefront. You can use one surface or combine several, depending on how you want shoppers to discover the assistant.
You can add Refina to your store navigation by creating a menu item that links to /#refina. When shoppers click it, the full Refina assistant opens.
The launcher is a floating button that opens the full assistant. The Welcome Popup is an optional prompt that invites shoppers to ask for help choosing.
Refina works out of the box, but most stores should spend a few minutes adjusting the visible wording, placement, and styling. These settings help Refina feel native to your store instead of bolted on.
These settings are managed inside the Refina Admin. They help Refina understand your store and respond in the right product language.
Store-level settings that shape Refina’s catalogue understanding and response style.
These settings are managed in Shopify’s Theme Editor through the Refina app embed. They control how the full assistant is introduced, how the launcher appears, and how shoppers open Refina from your storefront.
Controls the visible wording shoppers see before opening or using Refina.
Controls the visual feel of the launcher and product display.
Controls where the launcher appears and how shoppers open Refina.
Controls where Refina appears across key page types.
/#refina. This opens the full Refina assistant
from your store menu.
The Welcome Popup is optional. It invites shoppers to get help choosing, then opens the full Refina assistant when they accept. In some theme settings, this may appear as Smart Popup.
Controls the optional prompt that invites shoppers to open Refina.
The Product Page Assistant has its own app block settings. These control the product-page card, preset prompt chips, drawer text, and visual style.
Controls the visible card shown on product pages.
Controls the drawer opened from the Product Page Assistant.
Controls product-page styling.
Different stores use Refina differently. These starting points can help you choose the cleanest setup for your storefront.
Refina has several storefront surfaces. They are not separate apps — they are different ways shoppers can access Refina at different points in their shopping journey.
| Surface | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Full assistant modal | Opens the full AI advisor where shoppers can type natural product questions. | Open-ended advice, explanations, comparisons, and follow-ups. |
| Launcher button | Floating storefront button that opens the full assistant. | Storewide assistant access. |
| Menu link | Navigation link using /#refina that opens the full assistant. | Clean navigation-based access without relying only on a floating button. |
| Product-page assistant | Product-page block with quick prompts and product-context suggestions. | Similar products, alternatives, cheaper options, and product-page decision support. |
| Welcome Popup | Optional prompt that invites shoppers to get help choosing. | Increasing assistant discovery and shopper engagement. |
The full assistant is Refina’s main AI product advisor. It is designed for shoppers who want to ask in their own words and receive product recommendations with reasons why.
The product-page assistant is designed for the moment when a shopper is interested in a product, but not quite decided. It helps them compare, explore alternatives, and move into the full assistant if they need deeper advice.
Help shoppers find products that are close to the one they are already viewing.
Help shoppers who like the current product but want a lower-price alternative.
Help shoppers compare nearby options that may offer stronger value or a more premium fit.
These surfaces help shoppers discover Refina. You can use one, combine several, or keep the experience focused on product pages only.
The launcher is a floating button that opens the full Refina assistant. It is a strong default for stores that want Refina available across the shopping journey.
The menu link gives shoppers a clean navigation-based way to open Refina. Add a menu item that points to /#refina.
The Welcome Popup invites shoppers to ask for help choosing. You can control the message, timing, and how often it appears.
Start with the launcher or menu link first. Add the Welcome Popup once you are happy with how Refina answers shopper questions.
Refina is best tested with real products and real shopper-style questions. Testing with placeholder products or vague sample data will not show the assistant at its best.
After setup, use Refina’s Dashboard and Analytics pages to monitor activity, check knowledge status, and understand where shoppers need help choosing.
Your Refina plan controls your usage allowance and which merchant tools are available. Choose a plan before starting the catalogue intelligence build.
Refina is designed to recommend products using your catalogue and shopper questions. It does not need customer names, payment details, or order history to provide product recommendations.
Common setup and testing issues, with practical fixes.
Make sure you are editing a product page template, not the Home page. In Shopify Theme Editor, use the page selector and choose Products → Default product, then open Add block or Add section → Apps.
Check that the app embed is enabled, the theme was saved, the launcher is not hidden on that page type, and mobile visibility is not switched off. If you added the product-page assistant, confirm it was added to the correct product template.
Choose a plan first, then return to Get Started. Refina needs an active plan before it can build catalogue intelligence.
Check product data quality, product descriptions, product types, tags, images, category setting, and whether the knowledge build has completed. Placeholder products and missing descriptions will produce weaker results.
Fresh AI recommendations can take longer because Refina is checking your product knowledge before explaining the best match. Large catalogues and complex comparison questions may also take longer than simple product-page suggestions.
Adjust the Welcome Popup frequency in theme settings. Use once per session or once per day if you want a lighter-touch experience.
Check that the menu link points to /#refina, the Refina app embed is enabled, and your theme has been saved.
Quick answers to common merchant questions.
No. Refina is designed to recommend from your own Shopify catalogue. If a shopper mentions an outside product, Refina uses it as context and looks for the closest relevant products in your store.
Yes. Google Gemini helps Refina enrich your catalogue with broader product understanding — including features, ingredients, materials, specifications, benefits, and use cases. Your catalogue determines what Refina recommends.
Catalogue intelligence is Refina’s product understanding layer. It is built from your Shopify product data, indexing, and AI enrichment.
The full assistant answers open-ended shopper questions with AI explanations. The product-page assistant gives fast product-page suggestions and can hand shoppers into the full assistant when they need deeper advice.
No. You can use the launcher, a menu link, the product-page assistant, the Welcome Popup, or a combination of surfaces.
Yes. Add a navigation link using /#refina. When shoppers click it, the full assistant opens.
Refina uses your product data to understand what each product is, who it suits, and how it differs from nearby products. Better product data gives Refina better context.
Refresh product knowledge after adding or significantly changing products so Refina can include the latest catalogue information in recommendations.
Yes. The full assistant is designed for product conversations, including follow-up questions, comparisons, and narrowing choices.
If you contact support, include your store URL, theme name, where you enabled Refina, an example shopper question, and whether catalogue intelligence has completed.