Installs in ~2 min· 3 assets · 4 steps

Turn returns into a queue with evidence, a recommendation and a decision

Returns stop being an inbox thread. They become a queue with evidence, a recommendation, and a decision.

A shopper files a return with photos. The recipe pulls the real order from Shopify, and AI weighs the request against your return window and policy, then stops and hands it to a person. Nothing is auto-decided. Your reviewer sees the request, the photos, and the AI recommendation in one place, makes the call, and the customer is emailed the outcome either way. Approved refunds can be issued straight through Stripe.

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Free · no credit card · you connect your own apps

The blueprint

Trigger

Return & Refund Request Form is submitted

Every run starts from one submission.

Action

Look Up Order

Transform

AI Eligibility Check

AI reads the input and returns a structured result.

Logic

Approved or Rejected?

Branches on the outcome, so each path is handled.

Action

Email the Customer

What gets built

3 things appear in your workspace.

Installing provisions each one, wired together and ready to run.

FormReturn & Refund Request Form

Customer-facing intake: order, reason, photo evidence. Publishing it auto-creates the Return Requests response sheet, the single system of record.

EmailReturn Status Update

A reusable template for telling the customer the outcome, sent once the reviewer approves (and any automatic refund has gone through) or rejects.

WorkflowProcess Return Request

Verifies the order in Shopify, runs the AI eligibility check, logs the request, routes it to a human reviewer, issues approved refunds via Stripe when a charge is on file, and emails the customer the outcome.

What you connect

The apps this recipe needs.

You connect your own accounts. Swap any app that offers an alternative at install.

Order Lookup

Shopify *

Looks up the order to pull its total, date, and line items for the eligibility check.

Review Notification

Gmail *

Emails the reviewer a secure link to review the request when it's ready for human sign-off.

Customer Notification

Gmail *

Emails the customer their return outcome. Swap for Brevo.

Refund Processor

Stripe *

Issues the approved refund against the original charge, when a charge ID is on file for the request.

How it works

Step by step, once it is running.

01
A Customer Requests a Return
The shopper fills the Return & Refund Request Form: order number, reason, and photos of the item. Worth flagging before you publish it: the order field expects Shopify's internal numeric order ID, not the #1001-style number printed on the shopper's receipt. Publishing the form auto-creates the Return Requests sheet, which becomes the record for every request that follows.
02
The Order Is Verified and AI Checks Eligibility
The workflow looks the order up in Shopify and pulls its total, date, and line items, so the review is against what was actually bought, not what the customer remembers buying. The AI Eligibility Check then weighs the request against your return window and any policy notes you set at install, and recommends approve, reject, or needs-review.
03
A Human Reviews
Your reviewer gets an email with a secure link. Opening it shows the request, the photos, and the AI recommendation together, the person makes the call, always. If they want the refund issued automatically, they paste the Stripe charge ID into the charge_id column on the request's row before approving.
04
Approved Refunds Are Issued and the Customer Is Updated
On approval, if a charge ID is on file, a refund is created in Stripe against the original charge and the amount is written back to the sheet. If there isn't one, the request is still marked approved and you issue the refund yourself. Either way (approved or rejected) the customer gets an email. No request ever goes quiet.

What you walk away with

One self-serve return intake form with photo evidence attached
Every request checked against the real Shopify order before anyone reviews it
An AI eligibility recommendation on every request, a recommendation, never an auto-decision
Single-click human review with the request, photos, and recommendation on one screen
Approved refunds issued through Stripe, with the amount and audit trail in the sheet
A status email to the customer every time, no silent queues, no chasing
Install-time swaps: Shopify ↔ BigCommerce / WooCommerce / QuickBooks · Gmail ↔ Brevo / Outlook / Customer.io · Stripe ↔ PayPal / Razorpay

FAQ

Questions about Return & Refund Request.

Is the refund issued automatically?

No. AI verifies the order and checks eligibility against your return window and policy notes, then a human reviews and decides. Approved refunds are issued through Stripe after that decision, not before it.

What do I need to connect?

Shopify, Gmail and Stripe. Shopify verifies the order exists and is in window, Gmail sends the status updates, and Stripe issues approved refunds. BigCommerce and WooCommerce are listed alternatives to Shopify, with PayPal and Razorpay for payments.

How is eligibility decided?

Against your own rules. return_window_days and policy_notes are configuration values, so the eligibility check reflects your published policy rather than a generic default, and the reviewer sees the reasoning.

Does the customer get updates?

Yes. The Return Status Update email goes out as the request moves, so a customer is not left wondering whether their return was received, approved or refunded.

What stops fraudulent claims?

Order verification. The claim is checked against the real order in Shopify before it reaches a reviewer, so a request for an order that does not exist or falls outside the window is caught at the start.

Turn returns into a queue with evidence, a recommendation and a decision

3 things appear in your workspace.

The apps this recipe needs.

Step by step, once it is running.

Questions about Return & Refund Request.

Install it, then make it yours.