Prefixbox is a Built for Shopify 💎 app. That means:
We never change your theme code
You’re always in control of what gets activated
Permissions are only requested when needed
💡Hint: Want to learn more? See the App & plans overview article.
Prefixbox installation process
Open the Shopify App Store and find the Prefixbox AI Search & Filter listing
Click Install and approve the requested permissions
(Optional) After installation, pin the app to your Shopify sidebar for easier access
Prefixbox AI Search installation window (data access approval)
⚠️ Important: After install, Prefixbox automatically starts syncing your product catalog in the background. Most features work while syncing, so you can continue setup without waiting.
Watch our short onboarding video
Setting up a test environment
We strongly recommend testing Prefixbox on a non-live theme first, especially before activating anything for live visitors.
Choose one of these options:
Use a Shopify test store
Duplicate your live theme and activate Prefixbox only on that copy
Duplicating a theme inside Shopify's "Theme" menu
💡Hint: If you set up Prefixbox on a test theme, you won’t lose your settings.
Just make sure to activate the Core Embed again when switching to the live theme.
Activate the Prefixbox core embed
The Core Embed is the technical foundation of Prefixbox. It connects our search engine to your store — without touching your theme code.
It needs to be active before you can turn on modules like Autocomplete or Search.
Turning on the core embed
Go to the Core embed card on the home screen
If you’re working on your live theme, just click Enable core embed — this opens the Shopify Theme Editor
In the Theme Editor, toggle the embed on, then Save your changes
⚠️ Important: If you want to activate Prefixbox on a draft or staging theme, use the Theme overview screen first. From there, you can choose the theme and access its embed settings.
The "Core embed" can be activated after clicking on the "Enable core embed" button
Once the toggle switch is on and the theme editor is saved, the Core embed will be active
💡Hint: You can also manage Core Embed status for any theme from the Theme Overview page. This is useful if you want to prepare or test multiple themes in parallel.
📖 What the Core Embed does
Loads Prefixbox’s AI search engine in the background
Doesn’t affect your layout or branding
Enables smart modules like Autocomplete and Filtering
Enable search modules
Each module unlocks powerful features for different areas of your store:
Autocomplete (also known as “Instant search”) helps shoppers as they type, showing instant product suggestions
AI Search Engine powers your search results page with smart filters and product layouts
AI Collections Page upgrades your collection pages with enhanced filters and product cards
Turning on a module
Go to the module card on the home screen (e.g. Autocomplete)
Click Enable app embed — this opens the Shopify Theme Editor
In the Theme Editor, turn on the embed toggle, then Save your changes
It's possible to activate search modules on the Dashboard once the Core embed is active
Search & Collection results can be added as "App blocks" inside the Shopify theme editor
Once the changes are saved, you’ll see the module status is set to Active on the Dashboard, and a Customize module dropdown becomes available.
Customizing modules
Customization gives you access to two ways to tailor the experience:
Layout settings (inside the app): control the structure, layout, and logic of the modules
Visual editor: adjust the look and feel (e.g. colors, text spacing, image effects, layout paddings) inside the native Shopify visual editor inside the theme editor.
Each module can be customized to match your needs and store design
⚠️ Important: If your theme or another app already includes a search or autocomplete feature, be sure to disable or remove it to avoid overlapping elements on your storefront.
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