Tidio is worth comparing for a four-agent Shopify team whose main workspace is website chat and who need human order actions inside the conversation. Its self-serve subscriptions allow ten agents, so four staff do not create four copies of the base subscription. The important budget boundary is usage: human conversations, Lyro AI conversations and Flows visitors have separate allowances.
Human Shopify actions
The order manager displays Shopify orders beside chats. On Growth, agents can cancel an unfulfilled order and choose refund, restocking, reason and customer notification options. Growth also supports refunds by item and shipping cost, using payment methods and amounts supported by the original purchase.
Agents can edit the shipping address from the conversation panel and save it. The documentation explicitly gates refunds and cancellations to Growth. Evaluate address editing and existing-order item editing in the selected plan. Assess human order controls separately from Lyro permissions and approval gates.
Workspace and separate allowances
Starter costs $29 monthly for 100 human billable conversations. Growth starts at $59 monthly for 250 and includes automatic assignment, replies, macros and permissions. Both fit four agents within the ten-agent limit. Live chat and tickets share the human workspace, with notes, tags and assignment supporting staff follow-up.
The first 50 Lyro conversations are a one-off allowance. Recurring Lyro quota is separate: official monthly pricing data lists 100 at $75 and 300 at $210. Flows has another visitor-based meter. Plus begins at $300 monthly plus usage, and custom pricing applies beyond the public calculator limits. Review the four-agent normal/peak example before using an entry price as your budget.
Handoff and reopening
The Lyro quota guide counts the first AI answer in a new thread; immediately handing off without answering consumes no AI quota. Once Lyro answers, later human handling can consume both meters. There is a material source conflict: the pricing FAQ says a returning visitor stays one conversation, while detailed help says 15 minutes of inactivity closes the thread and another answer counts again. Use the applicable rule for your subscription.
Automatic upgrades can raise eligible monthly packages at 95% quota and default on for applicable new projects. Disabling them controls package increases but can cause service limits; it does not preserve unlimited support. Choose Tidio when its chat workspace and documented human order actions suit your queue. Compare alternatives and the AI support shortlist when autonomous actions or a different AI meter decide the purchase.
In a trial, use a routine answer, an immediate request for a person and an AI answer followed by a human refund. Then return after an idle interval and inspect both usage counters. That sequence tests the exact billing distinctions documented here and shows whether staff retain the order context they need when automation stops or hands over.
WooCommerce catalog assistance
Tidio’s WooCommerce integration shares catalog cards in chat on all plans.
Lyro source and handoff controls
Lyro provides a chat/email Playground and editable knowledge sources. Audience rules can scope knowledge or trigger immediate human handoff; online and offline handling are configured separately. A ticket created from handoff can carry the conversation transcript. These are practical reasons to compare Lyro beyond its AI allowance. See the official Lyro guide and the AI support comparison.