Nearly 90% of scaling brands are bleeding profit because their phone support can’t keep up with their growth.
You’ve built a real team, but now you’re watching them answer basic calls that take up their time.
It’s frustrating to see your best people stuck on repeat instead of closing high-value sales.
But there is a fix.
This guide will go over how to use ElevenLabs to automate 73% of your phone support with AI voice.
First, we'll look at how the integration works.
Then, we’ll show you a better way to handle live customer calls.
Editor’s note: Want to hear some sample calls made for your Shopify store?
- Just paste your store URL
- Get sample calls in under 20 seconds (no email required)
- Listen to demo calls for my store
What is an ElevenLabs Shopify integration?
An integration between ElevenLabs and Shopify is not a built-in feature. It is a custom connection that you build, often with automation tools. It is a custom connection you build yourself.
What is ElevenLabs?
ElevenLabs is a major player in AI voice technology. It's known for its realistic and expressive text-to-speech (TTS) abilities. You type in text, and it generates high-quality, natural-sounding audio in over 29 languages.
Its main job is to turn written words into spoken audio. It has different models, including one for low-latency situations, and a set of APIs for developers.
People use it for voiceovers, audiobooks, or building voice bots with its Agents Platform. It's a powerful tool for generating audio, not for managing live conversations.
What is Shopify?
If you sell products online, you've likely heard of Shopify. It’s the platform that lets you set up a store and sell your products without needing to be a web developer.
It handles everything from product pages and inventory to orders and payments.
Shopify is the command center for millions of businesses, from small operations to large brands.
Its strength lies in its ease of use and the large app store that lets you add new features. It's where your important business data, like orders and customer information, is stored.
How an ElevenLabs Shopify integration makes these platforms work together
Since there's no official, one-click integration, you need to use an intermediary. This is usually an automation platform like Zapier or Make.com.
The connection works on a "trigger and action" basis. An event in Shopify (the trigger), like a new order, is detected by the automation tool. The tool then instructs ElevenLabs to perform an action, like creating an audio file. As ElevenLabs notes, this connection is asynchronous.
This is a key technical detail that explains some of the integration's limitations for real-time tasks, as illustrated in the graphic below.
Common use cases for an ElevenLabs Shopify integration
While this setup is not designed for a complete conversational support agent, it has several practical uses. They're mostly one-way communication tasks where you're sending audio out, not having a real conversation.
Creating audio product descriptions
One application is to make your store more accessible. You can create a workflow that automatically triggers ElevenLabs to generate an audio version of a product's description whenever you add a new item to your store. You can then embed that audio file on the product page.
This can be a useful feature for customers who prefer listening over reading or for those with visual impairments. This use case is focused on content creation. The audio file can't answer any follow-up questions.
Personalized post-purchase audio messages
To add a personal touch after a purchase, you could set up an automation that generates a custom audio message when a new order is paid.
Using the customer's name and order details, ElevenLabs can create a friendly message like, "Thank you, Sarah! We've received your order for the blue sweater and we're getting it ready for you."
You could include this message in a post-purchase email or link to it on the order confirmation page. It's a memorable way to connect with customers.
This is another example of one-way communication where the customer can listen but not reply.
Voicemail responses for missed calls
This application is related to customer support, though it has limitations. You could have a missed call trigger ElevenLabs to generate a standard audio response, like, "Thanks for calling The Awesome Gadget Store. All our agents are busy, but we'll get back to you shortly."
This provides an acknowledgment to the customer. It confirms their call was received, but it doesn't solve their problem. A recording provides an update but does not resolve the query immediately.
Challenges and limitations of a DIY integration
Those use cases are creative, but they don't address the reason many e-commerce stores need help: live customer support calls.
When applying a DIY ElevenLabs and Shopify setup for this purpose, several challenges arise.
Reliance on third-party tools
Every workflow you build needs a subscription to a service like Zapier or Make.com.
This adds another subscription and an additional technical component to manage.
If your automation connection or workflow breaks after an API update, your system stops working.
You're stringing different services together and need to ensure they keep working, which requires maintenance.
Inability to handle real-time conversations
A primary challenge of this setup is its asynchronous nature, which means events don't happen instantly. There's a lag between the Shopify event and the ElevenLabs audio generation. This setup is not suitable for a live, two-way phone call.
For example, if a customer calls and asks, "Where's my order?" an automation can't pull that data, turn it into speech, and reply immediately.
Additionally, it cannot handle a follow-up question. If the customer says, "Okay, but can you change my shipping address?" the workflow cannot proceed.
Real customer support needs a stateful conversation, where the system tracks the back-and-forth. A simple API call between two services can't do that.
Even the Agents Platform from ElevenLabs is a toolkit for developers to build these systems from scratch, not a ready-made solution for a store owner.
Lack of deep e-commerce context
ElevenLabs is an excellent voice tool, but its core function is voice generation. It has no built-in knowledge of e-commerce.
It doesn't understand what an order number is, what a SKU is, or how to read your store's return policy.
To make it work for support, a developer would have to build all that logic.
They'd need to write code to grab data from Shopify's APIs, interpret the customer's intent, format an answer, and then send it to ElevenLabs to be spoken. That's a complex development project that could be affected by changes to Shopify's API.
Setup and maintenance complexity
Putting it all together, building these workflows is different from a 'plug-and-play' solution. It requires a technical grasp of APIs, webhooks, and the automation platform you're using.
This isn't something a store owner without a tech background can typically set up in an afternoon. It is a technical project that requires ongoing upkeep, unlike a simple app installation.
Ringly.io: An AI phone agent built for Shopify
For live support, an alternative approach is to use a purpose-built tool like Ringly.io. It was designed to solve these specific problems for Shopify stores. It is a specialized solution.
Conversational AI for inbound calls
Ringly’s AI agent, Seth, is made to handle real, back-and-forth phone conversations, 24/7. When a customer calls, Seth can determine what they're asking, look up live order info from your store, process returns, and answer questions based on your store's policies.
It’s not just playing a recording; it’s having a conversation.
On average, Seth handles and resolves about 73% of calls on its own, only passing the call to a human when the issue is too complex or the customer requests it.
Deep, native Shopify integration
Unlike the DIY method, Ringly.io connects directly and deeply with Shopify.
This means Seth already understands your products, orders, customers, and shipping statuses without any custom code.
The e-commerce context is already built in, so Seth can give accurate answers right away.
Effortless 3-minute setup
A key difference is the setup process. You can connect your Shopify store, get a phone number, and have Seth answering your customer calls in about three minutes.
The setup does not require coding or third-party automation tools.
This approach simplifies the setup and maintenance compared to a custom integration. It's designed as a 'plug-and-play' tool for store owners.
Transparent pricing and a performance guarantee
Instead of paying for multiple subscriptions, Ringly.io has clear pricing plans that scale with your business.
The popular Grow plan, for instance, is $349/month and includes 1,000 call minutes, which can automate a significant portion of phone support for a growing store.
Ringly.io also offers a performance-based guarantee. You don't pay anything until Seth proves it can resolve at least 60% of your calls during your trial.
This allows you to evaluate the solution's effectiveness before committing.
Choosing the right tool for the job
An ElevenLabs Shopify integration is a useful tool for specific, one-way audio tasks. If you want to generate audio for product descriptions or send personalized thank-you messages, it's a workable, though technical, option.
However, for real-time customer support, this type of integration has functional limitations.
The need for third-party tools, the inability to handle live conversations, and the lack of e-commerce knowledge make it a solution that requires technical setup and ongoing maintenance.
To see how a fully integrated AI voice agent can handle customer support calls in a real-world scenario, check out this detailed walkthrough.
It demonstrates how to build an agent capable of searching products, placing orders, and checking statuses, which highlights the complexities a purpose-built solution like Ringly.io solves out-of-the-box.
For Shopify stores looking to automate phone support, a specialized AI phone agent is an alternative to consider.
A purpose-built solution like Ringly.io offers a different approach to solving customer issues instantly, so you can focus on growing your business.
To see how an AI phone agent works, you can start a free trial with Ringly.io.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the main limitation of a direct ElevenLabs Shopify integration for customer support?
The primary limitation is that it's not real-time. The connection relies on trigger-based automation, which has delays and cannot handle a live, back-and-forth conversation with a customer.
Can I build a voicebot to answer live calls with an ElevenLabs Shopify integration?
Not out of the box. While ElevenLabs has developer tools, a simple ElevenLabs Shopify integration using automation platforms like Zapier can't manage the complexities of a live call, such as looking up order details instantly or handling follow-up questions.
What are some practical uses for an ElevenLabs Shopify integration?
It's well-suited for one-way audio tasks. You can use it to automatically create audio versions of your product descriptions, send personalized post-purchase thank-you messages, or generate standard voicemail greetings for missed calls.
Is an ElevenLabs Shopify integration a built-in feature?
No, it is not a native feature. You have to build it yourself using third-party automation tools like Zapier or Make.com to connect the two platforms. It's a DIY project.
What kind of technical skills do I need for an ElevenLabs Shopify integration?
You'll need a good understanding of how APIs and webhooks work, plus familiarity with the automation platform you choose. It is not a simple plug-and-play setup and requires some technical knowledge for both setup and maintenance.
How does a tool like Ringly.io differ from a DIY ElevenLabs Shopify integration for phone support?
Ringly.io is designed specifically for e-commerce phone support. It has a native integration with Shopify, allowing it to access order and return information to manage live, two-way conversations. This addresses the real-time and contextual limitations of a DIY integration.
