Title: Ernest – AI Chatbot & Live Chat Widget for WooCommerce Support Author: heyernest Published: August 16, 2026 Last modified: August 16, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/ernest-ai-support/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=3650027) ![](https://ps.w.org/ernest-ai-support/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3650027) # Ernest – AI Chatbot & Live Chat Widget for WooCommerce Support By [heyernest](https://profiles.wordpress.org/heyernest/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/ernest-ai-support.1.0.0.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/ernest-ai-support/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/ernest-ai-support/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/ernest-ai-support/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/ernest-ai-support/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ernest-ai-support/) ## Description Ernest is an AI chatbot for WordPress and WooCommerce. It answers your customers’ support questions around the clock, in their own language, using your real store content. This plugin adds the Ernest live chat widget to your site — paste your workspace slug from the Ernest dashboard and the chat widget appears on your storefront. Unlike a scripted chatbot, Ernest learns from your own website: your FAQ pages, shipping and returns policies, and product catalogue. On WooCommerce stores, connecting your store from the Ernest dashboard also lets the chatbot look up live order status and help customers manage their orders — so it works as a lightweight AI helpdesk, not just a chat box. Common questions it handles without a human: where is my order, what is your return policy, do you ship to my country, is this in stock, how do I care for this product. Features: * 24/7 AI chatbot that answers customer support questions instantly * Live chat widget for any WordPress site — no coding required * Trained on your own website content, FAQ pages and policies * WooCommerce order status lookup, cancellations and returns (via the Ernest dashboard connection) * Replies in the customer’s own language * Hands off to your team by email when a question needs a human — a small helpdesk without the ticket queue * Customizable appearance — color, position, greeting, and suggested questions are configured in the Ernest dashboard, no re-embed needed * Lightweight: one deferred script, isolated from your theme’s CSS #### Who it’s for Small and mid-size WordPress and WooCommerce stores that want AI customer service without per-seat helpdesk pricing. If you currently answer the same shipping, returns and order status questions by hand, the chatbot handles them and escalates the rest. #### What it does not do Ernest is a chat and email agent. It has no phone, SMS, WhatsApp or Instagram channel, and it does not issue refunds on its own — refunds always wait for your approval in the dashboard. #### External Services This plugin relies on Ernest, a third-party service operated at [heyernest.ai](https://heyernest.ai). It is required for the plugin to function — the plugin is a thin integration and does not work without it. * The chat widget script is loaded from heyernest.ai on your site’s public pages whenever a workspace slug is configured. On each such page load, the visitor’s browser contacts heyernest.ai to fetch the widget and its configuration; like any web request, this sends standard request data such as the visitor’s IP address and user agent. * When a visitor uses the chat widget, their messages (and the workspace slug identifying your account) are sent to Ernest’s service to generate support replies. * No data is sent to Ernest while no workspace slug is configured. Ernest’s terms of service: [https://heyernest.ai/terms](https://heyernest.ai/terms) Ernest’s privacy policy: [https://heyernest.ai/privacy](https://heyernest.ai/privacy) ## Screenshots [⌊Settings → Ernest: paste your workspace slug and the widget goes live.⌉⌊Settings → Ernest: paste your workspace slug and the widget goes live.⌉[ Settings Ernest: paste your workspace slug and the widget goes live. [⌊The Ernest chat widget answering a customer on a storefront.⌉⌊The Ernest chat widget answering a customer on a storefront.⌉[ The Ernest chat widget answering a customer on a storefront. ## Installation 1. Sign up for a free Ernest account at [heyernest.ai](https://heyernest.ai) and copy your workspace slug from Settings. 2. Install and activate this plugin. 3. Go to Settings Ernest in your WordPress admin and paste your workspace slug. 4. The chat widget now appears on your storefront. 5. (WooCommerce stores) To enable order lookup and management, connect your store from the Ernest dashboard settings page. ## FAQ ### Is this a live chat plugin or a chatbot? Both. The widget is a live chat window on your site, and the AI chatbot answers first. When it can’t answer, the conversation is handed to your team by email with the full context attached, so nothing is dropped. ### Does it work as a helpdesk? For small teams, largely yes — it deflects the repetitive questions and escalates the rest by email. It is not a ticketing system: there are no agent seats, queues or SLA rules. ### Do I need an Ernest account? Yes. The plugin only embeds the Ernest widget — the AI itself runs on Ernest’s service. A free tier is available at [heyernest.ai](https://heyernest.ai). ### Does this work without WooCommerce? Yes. The chat widget works on any WordPress site. WooCommerce enables order features( order status lookup and order management), which are set up via the separate connection in the Ernest dashboard. ### Where do I configure the widget’s appearance? In the Ernest dashboard at heyernest.ai. Color, position, greeting, and suggested questions update live — no changes needed on your WordPress site. ### The widget appears, but sending a message shows an error Check the Allowed Domains list in your Ernest dashboard under Settings Widget. If that list is empty, the widget works on any site and this isn’t the cause. If you have added domains — for example when you also run the widget on a Shopify store— your WordPress site’s domain must be in the list too, or visitors can open the chat but their messages are rejected. Add the domain exactly as it appears in your browser’s address bar, without `https://`, and add both `example.com` and `www.example.com` if your site answers on both. ### What data does the plugin send to Ernest? Nothing until a workspace slug is configured. After that, each page load fetches the widget and its configuration from heyernest.ai (sending standard request data such as the visitor’s IP address), and visitor chat messages are sent to Ernest’s service to generate replies. See the External Services section above and Ernest’s [privacy policy](https://heyernest.ai/privacy). ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Ernest – AI Chatbot & Live Chat Widget for WooCommerce Support” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ heyernest ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/heyernest/) [Translate “Ernest – AI Chatbot & Live Chat Widget for WooCommerce Support” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/ernest-ai-support) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ernest-ai-support/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/ernest-ai-support/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/ernest-ai-support/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/ernest-ai-support/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 1.0.0 * Initial release: settings page for the workspace slug, widget embed on the storefront, clean uninstall. ## Meta * Version **1.0.0** * Last updated **8 hours ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 6.3 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.0.4** * PHP version ** 7.4 or higher ** * Tags * [chatbot](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/chatbot/)[helpdesk](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/helpdesk/) [live chat](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/live-chat/)[support](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/support/) [woocommerce](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/woocommerce/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/ernest-ai-support/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ernest-ai-support/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ernest-ai-support/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ heyernest ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/heyernest/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ernest-ai-support/)