These days more merchants are running their businesses on their own, trying to balance work demands and personal commitments. Getting stuff done on the go, like responding to customer inquiries while at a soccer game or setting up a Facebook ad while sitting on the couch enjoying some down time, can really help.

Almost half of our merchants run their business on their mobile phones, so we’re constantly developing better ways for them to work on the go. In person, most work happens through conversations, with customers, employees, suppliers, agencies, and more. Increasingly, online work happens through conversations, too – via messaging, chat and social applications. That’s why today we’re introducing Shopify Ping.

The app brings in messages from tools our merchants already use to interact with their customers, including Facebook Messenger, Rep.ai and Chatkit at launch, into one single interface, making it easier to respond in real-time. Shopify Ping also comes with Shopify’s free virtual assistant, Kit, built-in. Kit helps merchants plan, create and manage marketing activities through a conversational interface, and Ping is the natural place to have these conversations with Kit. With these integrations, Shopify Ping allows merchants to easily run Facebook and Instagram ads, email campaigns, retargeting campaigns and more as well as respond easily and quickly to customer inquiries.

With more customer messaging integrations and new Kit skills coming later in the year, Shopify Ping is more than just a chat app. It’s a new, centralized way for Shopify merchants to work on the go and grow their business in ways that come naturally.

Shopify Ping is now available to download for free (iOS only) globally in English, and you can sign up to be the first to know when it launches on Android.