Initial Catalog Synchronization
When you first set up Rep AI, the system begins synchronizing with your product catalog. During this process:
You'll see a "Launch in progress" message in your dashboard
A progress indicator will show how many products have been synced (e.g., "27 of 515 products")
For larger catalogs, this initial synchronization may take some time to complete
The Rep widget will become live on your website once the synchronization is finished if you launched it so don’t worry
This initial sync ensures that your AI Assistant has accurate information about all your products before interacting with customers.
What Are Product Groups?
Product groups are collections of products in your Rep AI catalog that reflect your Shopify collections and tags. These groups are automatically synchronized with your Shopify store and help your AI Sales Assistant understand how your products are organized.
Product groups enable your AI to recommend related products and provide an intuitive shopping experience for your customers. They're maintained automatically by Rep AI, requiring minimal management from you.
How Product Groups Work
Product groups are:
Automatically Synchronized: Your Shopify collections and tags are automatically imported and kept up-to-date
AI-Integrated: Your AI Assistant uses these groups to understand product relationships
Self-Maintaining: The system intelligently manages which groups are active based on customer behavior
The Product Groups page in your Rep AI dashboard provides visibility into how your catalog is organized, but you typically won't need to make changes here.
When to Use the Product Groups Page
In most cases, you don't need to interact with the Product Groups page. The system handles synchronization and management automatically. However, you might need to check this page if:
Your AI isn't recommending products from a specific collection that exists in Shopify
You notice outdated collections being suggested to customers
You need to temporarily disable a specific collection from being recommended
Viewing Your Product Groups
If you need to check your product groups:
Navigate to the AI Training section in your Rep AI dashboard
Select the Catalog tab
The Product Groups view is displayed by default
Understanding the Product Groups Table
The Product Groups table shows how your catalog is organized:
Column | Description |
|---|---|
Image | Thumbnail preview of the product group |
Name | Name of the product group that matches your Shopify collection or tag |
Products | Shows how many products are browsable in the group |
Filter | Indicates if this group is part of a filtering question |
Origin | Shows the data source (typically "Shopify collection" or "Shopify tag") |
Browsable | Indicates whether your AI can suggest this group during conversations |
Automatic Browsable Feature
Rep AI intelligently manages which product groups your AI can recommend based on customer activity:
Groups that customers actively visit on your store automatically become browsable
Groups that aren't visited by customers within a certain timeframe automatically become unbrowsable
This automation keeps your AI's recommendations current with customer shopping behavior without requiring your intervention.
Ongoing Synchronization
After the initial setup:
Rep AI continues to listen for changes in your Shopify catalog
Updates to your collections and products are automatically synchronized
You may notice a brief delay as changes propagate through the system
No manual action is required for routine catalog updates
Troubleshooting Issues
If you notice any issues with how your AI is recommending products:
Problem: AI isn't recommending products from a specific collection that exists in Shopify
Solution: Check if the collection appears on the Product Groups page and verify it's marked as browsable (green toggle). Allow some time for synchronization if you've recently created the collection.
Problem: AI is recommending products from outdated collections
Solution: These collections should automatically become unbrowsable after a period of inactivity. If they persist, you can manually toggle them off.
Problem: Need to temporarily hide a collection from recommendations
Solution: Find the collection in the Product Groups table and toggle its browsable status off (gray).
When to Contact Support
If you experience any of these issues with your product groups:
Product groups are not synchronizing with your Shopify collections
Manually toggling browsable status isn't affecting AI recommendations
Important collections are consistently missing from your Product Groups
Initial sync does not finish
Contact Rep AI support for assistance with resolving these technical issues.