Instant AI tracks two kinds of Shopify events: Website Events, which come from the Instant pixel on your storefront, and Webhook Events, which come straight from Shopify’s servers. Together they show whether your shopper activity and store data are flowing into Instant, which is the first thing to check when something looks off.
Where to find your events
- Go to your Instant AI dashboard and open the Shopify integration
- Make sure the integration shows Connected
- You’ll see three charts: Website Events, Conversions, and Webhook Events
- Use the date selector (for example Last 14 days) in the top-right to change the range. It applies to all three charts at once
Hover over any point on a chart to see the exact event count for that day, broken down by event type.
The two types of events, and why Instant uses both
Instant listens to your store in two places at once. Each one answers a different question, so both work together.
Website Events (client-side) are collected by the Instant pixel running in your shopper’s browser. They capture what a shopper is doing on your site in real time, as it happens: the pages they view, the products they browse, the moment they add to cart. This is the behaviour that lets Instant identify shoppers and trigger flows based on what they do on your site.
Webhook Events (server-side) are sent directly from Shopify to Instant whenever something changes in your store. They are the authoritative record of what actually happened: an order was placed, a customer was created, a product was updated. Because they come from Shopify’s servers rather than the browser, they don’t depend on the shopper’s device, ad blockers, or the pixel loading correctly.
In short, Website Events show what shoppers are doing on your site, and Webhook Events show what your store recorded. Reading them together is what makes them useful.
What your event volume tells you
The most useful thing about these charts is the volume. If events are flowing at a healthy, steady level, your data is coming in. If volume drops or a whole event type is missing, that points you towards the cause.
A few common patterns:
- Both charts flowing normally. Your data is coming in as expected. If your emails or flows seem off, the cause is likely further along, not in your data collection.
- Webhook Events flowing but Website Events low or empty. Shopify is sending data to Instant, but the pixel on your storefront is not. This usually means the pixel isn’t installed correctly, isn’t firing, or is being blocked on your site.
- Website Events flowing but Webhook Events low or empty. Your pixel is working, but the server-side connection isn’t delivering. This usually points to your Shopify connection rather than your storefront.
- Both low or flat. The integration itself may be disconnected or newly set up. Check that it shows Connected first.
Tip: If your emails or flows aren’t sending as often as you expect, start here. If your event volume is low, the issue is the data coming in, not the emails going out. If your volume looks healthy, the cause is likely further along in your flows or campaigns.
Conversions
Between the two event charts is a Conversions chart. This is your outcome layer: it shows the purchases coming through your store, sitting alongside the activity that leads to them. It plots two lines:
- Conversion count - the number of conversions in the selected range.
- Conversion amount - the total value of those conversions, shown in your store currency.
The two lines use separate scales (count on the left axis, amount on the right), so they won’t line up exactly. Reading conversions next to your event volume helps you connect shopper activity to real results. Healthy events with steady conversions is the pattern you want to see.
What each event means
Website Events (from the Instant pixel)
- Page Viewed - a shopper loaded any page on your store.
- Collection Viewed - a shopper viewed a collection or category page.
- Product Viewed - a shopper viewed a product page.
- Added to Cart - a shopper added a product to their cart.
- Checkout Started - a shopper began the checkout process.
These events aren’t unique, and one shopper can trigger several in a single visit. Viewing a product page fires both a Page Viewed and a Product Viewed, and if they reach that product through a collection page, they’ll fire a Collection Viewed too. This is why the totals across these events overlap rather than adding up to a clean count of visits.
It’s also normal to see more Checkout Started events than Added to Cart events. Some cart configurations trigger Checkout Started by default, so shoppers can end up firing that event instead of Added to Cart. This has no tangible impact: those shoppers simply enter the same flow through Checkout Started instead, and it triggers in exactly the same way.
Webhook Events (from Shopify’s servers)
- Orders - an order was created or updated in your store (a purchase).
- Products - a product in your catalogue was created or updated.
- Carts - a cart was created or updated.
- Checkouts - a checkout was created or updated.
- Customers - a customer record was created or updated in Shopify.
- Collections - a collection was created or updated.
Event volumes won’t match across the two charts, and they aren’t meant to. A single shopper can generate many Website Events (lots of page and product views) while producing very few Webhook Events, so the charts sit on different scales.
FAQ
Why is Checkout Started higher than Added to Cart? This is normal and nothing to worry about. Some cart configurations trigger a Checkout Started event by default, so shoppers can end up firing Checkout Started rather than Added to Cart. It has no tangible impact on your flows: those shoppers simply enter the relevant flow through Checkout Started instead, and it triggers the same way.
Which events can only come from the pixel? Your browsing events, Page Viewed, Collection Viewed, and Product Viewed, can only be captured by the pixel in the browser. Shopify’s webhooks don’t send them. So if your pixel stops firing, you’ll lose these events entirely, even though Orders and Customers keep arriving server-side. Seeing Product Viewed events is a quick sign your pixel is working.
Are these events counted per shopper, or can one shopper trigger several? One shopper can trigger several. The events aren’t unique. Viewing a single product page fires a Page Viewed and a Product Viewed, and arriving via a collection page adds a Collection Viewed too. So your event totals will overlap rather than adding up to a clean count of visits or shoppers.
I’m not seeing as many emails as I expect. Where do I start? Check these charts first. If your Website Events and Webhook Events are both flowing at normal volume, your data collection is fine and the cause is further along in your flows or campaigns. If your event volume is low, or a type is missing, that’s where to look.
My Webhook Events look fine but Website Events are almost zero. What does that mean? Shopify’s servers are sending data to Instant, but the pixel in the browser is not. This is a problem on your website: the pixel is likely not installed correctly, not firing, or being blocked. Check your pixel installation.
My Website Events are flowing but Webhook Events are low. What does that mean? Your storefront pixel is working, but the server-side connection isn’t delivering events. This points to your Shopify connection rather than anything on your storefront.
Why do the charts show such different numbers? They measure different things on different scales. Website Events count on-site shopper actions, which are high volume. Webhook Events count changes to store records like orders and customers, which are lower volume. A gap between them is normal.
The charts are flat or empty. Is the integration broken? Check that the Shopify integration shows Connected at the top of the card. A flat chart on a newly connected store can simply mean your data hasn’t started flowing yet. If it stays flat on an established store, the integration may have disconnected.
Does a drop in events mean I’ve lost data permanently? Not necessarily. A drop shows that fewer events came in during that window. The cause could be lower store traffic, a pixel that stopped firing, or a connection issue. Check which chart dropped first, then work back from there.
Do these counts reflect Instant activity or all Shopify activity? They reflect the events Instant is receiving from your store, both from the pixel and from Shopify’s webhooks. They measure the data flowing into Instant, not your email performance.
For setup, see Integrate Instant with your Shopify Site.