The new chat widget: glass that fits every store

Since October 26, 2026, the chat Reponse puts on your Shopify store has a new look: a glass bar, centered at the bottom of the page, that takes your brand color and fits your theme, whether it is light, dark, colorful or photographic. There is nothing to set up: the widget reads your page and adapts. Here is what changes, for your shoppers and for you.

Why glass

Until now, the widget asked you for six colors for your light theme and as many for your dark one, and it could still clash on some stores. Glass solves this differently: the page stays visible, blurred, behind the bar and the panel. The widget belongs to the page instead of sitting on top of it.

It comes in two materials. Smoked glass, dark with white text, goes on light and colorful pages. Light glass, with ink text, goes on very dark pages. By default the widget picks on its own: smoked, unless the page behind it is very dark.

Tested on 861 stores before launch

Before building it, we tested the new design on 861 real Shopify stores in the US, Canada and France, on desktop and mobile. Four findings changed the product:

• Contrast holds everywhere. Every text in the widget clears 4.5:1 on every store, with both glasses.
• The bottom of the page is often taken. On 51% of home pages, something is docked at the bottom of the screen on load, cookie banners first (36%), most often Shopify's own. On mobile, 58% of product pages have something at the bottom, sticky add-to-cart bars included.
• Many brands are black. 45% of stores have no vivid brand color in their buttons or theme, and 67% in fashion.
• The chat is rarely alone. 64% of stores already run another chat, Gorgias first (41%).

What your shoppers see

• A centered bar that is both the button and the text field.
• Your brand color on the avatar, the light under the bar and the links. If your color is black or gray, the widget uses your Shopify Brand secondary color, or a neutral light if there is none, so it stays visible.
• A bar that steps aside. Until the shopper answers the cookie banner, the closed widget is a 60 px avatar above the banner. It rises above a sticky add-to-cart bar, and on mobile it gets shorter so it never covers another chat's bubble.
• The cart in the bar, with the item count. A shopper with a waiting cart sees a reminder when they open it.
• The whole journey in the conversation: product cards, add to cart, order tracking, a full-screen help center, a handover to your team, and loyalty in a tab.
• AI said once, in the header, and "Talk to a human" always on offer.
• On mobile, the open chat takes the whole screen.

What changes for you

• No more colors per theme. The widget settings come down to the brand color, read from your store and editable, the glass (Auto, Smoked or Light) and a custom CSS field for the storefront.
• An honest preview. The settings show the widget over a light, dark or photo page.
• Another chat? Reponse tells you and offers to keep Reponse alone or keep both.
• Your old settings stay saved, but are no longer read.

The new widget is already live: there is nothing to update on your side. If you don't use Reponse yet, search "Reponse" on the Shopify App Store, or see Reponse live chat.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to set colors for the new Reponse widget?

No. The widget reads your brand color from your store and picks smoked or light glass on its own, based on how bright the page is. You can override the brand color and force the glass (Auto, Smoked or Light) in the widget settings.

Does the widget cover my cookie banner?

No. Until the shopper accepts or declines cookies, the closed widget shrinks to a 60 px avatar above the banner. The bar also rises above a sticky add-to-cart bar at the bottom of the page.

What happens if another chat is already on my store?

Reponse shows you a card and offers to keep Reponse alone, by turning off the other chat's app embed in the theme editor, or to keep both. If you keep both, the Reponse bar gets shorter on mobile so it never covers the other bubble.

Are my old color settings lost?

No. They stay saved, but the new widget no longer reads them: it starts from your brand color.