Troubleshooting & FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Answers to common SmartSort AI questions: sorting, themes, automated collections, schedules, sold-out and featured products, data and billing.
About SmartSort AI
What does SmartSort AI do?
SmartSort AI automatically sorts the products in your Shopify collections. It moves best sellers to the top, pushes sold-out products to the bottom, promotes new arrivals and featured products, and keeps each collection up to date on a schedule — using 22 sort orders, tag priorities and your own merchandising rules.
How does SmartSort AI change the order of a collection?
It sets the collection to Shopify’s manual sort order and moves products into position through the Shopify Admin API — the same as dragging products in your Shopify admin. It only moves the products whose position changes. See How sorting works.
Do I need to edit my theme?
No. Every theme shows collections in their sort order by default, which is the order SmartSort AI sets. Nothing is added to your theme code.
Does it work with automated (smart) collections?
Yes. Shopify decides which products belong to an automated collection; SmartSort AI decides the order they appear in.
What if a shopper chooses another option in the Sort by menu?
They see the order they chose. SmartSort AI sets the collection’s default order, which is what shoppers see when they don’t pick another one.
Sorting
How often are collections re-sorted?
On your schedule: daily at a time you choose, more often on plans that allow it, or only when you click Re-sort. On the Growth plan and up, collections can also re-sort in real time after stock-outs, restocks and new products. See Schedules and real-time sorting.
Can different collections use different sort orders?
Yes. Set store-wide sorting rules, then give any collection its own settings (Starter plan and up). See Collection settings.
What happens to products that sell out?
With out-of-stock handling on, they move to the bottom at the next sort and come back up when they’re restocked. See New arrivals and out-of-stock products.
Can I pin a product to the top?
Yes. Add it to the collection’s featured products, with optional start and end dates. See Featured products.
Can I move a product by hand?
You can drag products in Shopify, but SmartSort AI replaces that order at the next sort. To keep a product at the top, make it a featured product; to push it up or down, use a tag or a rule.
Can I see the result before it goes live?
Yes. Preview shows the current and new order side by side, and every sort can be undone. See Preview, undo and restore.
Scale, data and billing
Does SmartSort AI work with large catalogs?
Yes. It imports catalogs with Shopify’s bulk operations and is built for stores with 100,000+ products. Your plan sets the maximum catalog size.
Does SmartSort AI store customer data?
No. It keeps order line items only — product, quantity, revenue and order status — and the storefront pixel is anonymous. See Privacy and data.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. New stores start on the free plan, and paid plans have a free trial. See Plans and billing.
What happens if I uninstall?
Collections keep the last order SmartSort AI applied. Restore each collection’s original sort order first if you want Shopify’s own sorting back. Your subscription is cancelled and your store’s data is deleted when Shopify sends the data-removal request.