Your Shopify store holds product details in metafields — materials, care instructions, sizing specs, coverage per box, price per square foot — that your product descriptions may not cover. With Product Metafields, you choose which of those fields Rep AI reads, so it can answer shoppers with your exact data instead of a general description.
Rep can read two kinds of metafields:
- Product fields hold one value for the whole product. Use them for details every option shares, like material, care instructions, or specs.
- Variant fields hold a separate value for each option — each colour, size, or finish. Use them when the answer depends on which option the shopper means, like price per square foot, coverage per box, pieces per box, or a restock date for one size.
When You'd Use This
- Shoppers ask about details (materials, specs, compatibility) that live in your Shopify metafields, not your descriptions
- You sell by the box, roll, or pack but shoppers think in square feet, metres, or pieces — and that per-unit figure lives in a variant metafield
- Different options of the same product have different specs, and you want Rep to give the right number for the option the shopper picked
- You've invested in filling out Shopify metafields and want your AI to use that data
How to Turn On Metafields
- In your Rep AI Console, go to AI Sales › Catalog and open the Product Metafields tab.
- You'll see two sections: Product fields and Variant fields. Each lists the metafield definitions from your Shopify store, with the field's name, key, and type.
- Switch on Activated for each field you want Rep to use.
- Click Save.
You can turn on up to 10 product fields and up to 5 variant fields. The two limits are separate — turning on a variant field never uses up a product field slot, and the other way round. Each section shows its own counter (for example, "3 / 5 used").
Variant fields have a lower limit because Rep receives their values for every option of a product, so each one carries more information.
When you save a newly activated field, a catalog sync starts in the background to fill in its values across your products. This usually takes a few minutes.
Check What Rep Knows About Each Option
You can see exactly which variant values Rep has for any product:
- Go to AI Sales › Catalog › Products and open a product.
- On the Details tab, scroll to Variant metafields.
The table shows one row per option and one column per variant field you've turned on. An empty cell means Rep has no value for that option — usually because the field is blank for that option in Shopify.
This is the quickest way to check a value before you test Rep with a question.
Which Metafields Should I Turn On?
Start with the questions your shoppers ask most. If the answer lives in a metafield, that's the one to turn on.
Good product fields:
- Materials and composition
- Care instructions
- Product specifications (dimensions, weight, capacity)
- Compatibility details
- Shipping or pre-order dates that apply to the whole product
Good variant fields:
- Price per square foot, per metre, or per piece
- Coverage per box or roll
- Pieces or units per pack
- Dimensions or weight that change by size
- Pre-order or restock dates for a specific option
Field types Rep can read in variant fields
For variant fields, Rep can read these Shopify metafield types:
- Single-line text, multi-line text, and lists of single-line text
- Whole and decimal numbers
- True or false
- Dates and date-times
- Colours
- URLs
- Ratings
- Measurements — weight, dimension, volume, and area. Rep receives the unit along with the number (for example, "24 millimeters").
Some types appear in the Variant fields list but don't give Rep a value it can use: rich text, money, JSON, files, and product or other references. You can switch these on, but Rep won't receive their values — so save your slots for fields it can read.
For product fields, skip metafields meant for visual display only — image references, colour swatches, or layout data won't help Rep answer questions.
Tip: if you store a per-unit price in a variant field, use a number or single-line text field (for example, "3.78 per sq ft") rather than a money field.
Tip: keep variant values short and factual. On products with many options and long values, Rep may receive a shortened list.
How Rep Uses Your Metafields
- Answers about a specific option. When a shopper asks "How much per square foot is the charcoal one?", Rep answers from the charcoal option's own value — not another option's.
- Keeps behind-the-scenes values in the background. Values like unit of measure or pieces per box help Rep work out the right answer. Rep uses them as context rather than listing them to shoppers as product features.
- Stays up to date with Shopify. When you change a variant field's value in Shopify, Rep picks up the new value automatically, usually within a few minutes. You don't need to re-save the product or change anything else.
Good to Know
- Variant fields are for Shopify stores. If your catalog is connected through another platform, the Variant fields section explains this and only product fields are available.
- Metafields help Rep answer questions, not find products. Rep uses metafield values to answer questions about products. Which products appear when a shopper searches is based on your product titles, descriptions, and option names. For example, "show me tiles under $4 per square foot" won't filter by a variant field.
- Product cards show your Shopify price. The price on product cards in the chat comes from your Shopify product price, not from a metafield.
- Only fields with a Shopify definition appear. Metafields must be set up as definitions in Shopify to show in the list.
Troubleshooting
I don't see any metafields listed, or a new field is missing
Rep only lists metafields that have a definition in Shopify. Create them in Shopify Admin under Settings › Custom data — choose Products for product fields or Variants for variant fields. New definitions appear after your next catalog sync. To run one now, click Sync Now at the top of the Catalog page.
I can't turn on any more fields
You've reached the limit for that section — 10 product fields or 5 variant fields. Switched-off toggles are locked until you make room. Turn off a field you no longer need, turn on the new one, and click Save.
The counter is red and says I have more fields turned on than the limit
Some stores already had more fields turned on than the current limit. Nothing is switched off automatically, and all your fields keep working. To turn on a new field, first turn off enough fields to get below the limit.
Rep isn't using a value I turned on
- Open the product and check the Variant metafields table (or the product's metafields). If the cell is empty, the value is missing for that option in Shopify.
- Check the field type. In variant fields, rich text, money, JSON, file, and reference fields don't give Rep a value — see "Field types Rep can read in variant fields" above.
- If you just turned the field on, give the background catalog sync a few minutes to finish.