---
title: "How the AI places Pickup orders"
description: "Follow the complete AI conversation flow for Pickup orders in Interlinked — from product discovery and cart management to store location selection, optional advance payment, and pickup confirmation."
section: "Orders"
url: https://interlinked-ai.com/en/resources/docs/how-ai-places-pickup-orders
lang: en
lastUpdated: 2026-04-20
---

# How the AI places Pickup orders

## Overview

When your business uses the **Pickup Only** or **Shipping & Pickup** workflow, the AI can handle in-store pickup orders entirely through conversation. This article walks through each step of the Pickup order flow.

The product discovery and cart management experience is identical to the [Shipping flow](/en/resources/docs/how-ai-places-shipping-orders). The key differences start at checkout — instead of collecting a delivery address, the AI presents store locations, handles optional advance payment, and tells the customer when their order will be ready.

## Step-by-step flow

### 1. Customer starts a conversation

The customer messages your business on Instagram, Facebook, or WhatsApp. The AI responds with your configured greeting.

### 2. Product discovery

The customer browses your catalog through conversation. The AI helps them find products, answers questions, and shows matching results — exactly like the Shipping flow.

### 3. Cart management

The customer adds products to their cart, adjusts quantities, removes items, or views the cart summary. The AI supports flexible cart editing throughout the entire conversation, even during checkout.

### 4. Proceed to checkout

When the customer is ready to check out, the AI transitions to the pickup flow.

<div class="docs-callout docs-callout-note">
  <p><strong>Note</strong></p>
  <p>Unlike the Shipping flow, the AI does <strong>not</strong> mention free shipping thresholds during a Pickup conversation. Since the customer is collecting the order in person, shipping cost messaging does not apply.</p>
</div>

### 5. Store location selection

If your business has more than one store location, the AI presents the available options and asks the customer to choose where they want to pick up their order.

For example:

> "We have three locations: Downtown Branch, North Plaza, and Airport Mall. Which one works best for you?"

The customer selects a location and the AI confirms the choice.

If your business has only one store location, the AI automatically assigns that location without asking.

### 6. Advance payment (if configured)

What happens next depends on your **advance payment** settings.

#### Case A: Advance payment is required

If you configured an advance payment percentage in the wizard, the AI:

1. Tells the customer the advance amount due (based on the configured percentage of the order total).
2. Sends the **18-digit CLABE** (interbank account number) and bank details.
3. Asks the customer to make the transfer and send the **transfer receipt** in the chat.

The AI processes the receipt and updates the order status accordingly.

#### Case B: Advance payment is not required

If advance payment is turned off, the AI skips the payment step entirely and moves directly to pickup instructions. The customer pays when they arrive at the store.

<div class="docs-callout docs-callout-tip">
  <p><strong>Tip</strong></p>
  <p>Advance payment is useful if you need to prepare or reserve inventory before the customer arrives. If your products are ready on the shelf and you prefer payment on arrival, you can leave advance payment disabled.</p>
</div>

### 7. Preparation time

The AI tells the customer when their order will be ready for collection. This depends on the **preparation time** you configured:

- **Immediate pickup** — If preparation time is set to zero (or "Immediate Pickup" is toggled on), the AI tells the customer they can pick up their order right away.
- **Preparation required** — If preparation time is set (e.g., 30 minutes, 2 hours, 1 day), the AI tells the customer when the order will be ready.

For example:

> "Your order will be ready for pickup at Downtown Branch in approximately 30 minutes."

### 8. Order confirmation

The AI creates the order and confirms the details with the customer.

## Email notifications for Pickup orders

For Pickup orders, the email notification behavior is different from Shipping:

| Event | Business owner email | Customer email |
|-------|---------------------|---------------|
| Order placed (at checkout) | ✅ | — |

The business owner receives an email when the order is placed so they can begin preparing it. This notification happens when checkout begins, before the transfer receipt (if applicable) is processed.

<div class="docs-callout docs-callout-note">
  <p><strong>Note</strong></p>
  <p>For Pickup orders, the primary notification goes to the business owner to trigger order preparation. The customer receives their confirmation in the chat conversation itself.</p>
</div>

## Key differences from Shipping orders

| Aspect | Shipping | Pickup |
|--------|----------|--------|
| **Delivery address** | AI collects full address (email, postal code, city, street, etc.) | AI presents store locations for selection |
| **Free shipping messaging** | AI mentions free shipping threshold during shopping | No shipping messaging |
| **Payment** | Full payment required | Advance payment optional (configurable percentage) |
| **Email at order placement** | Business owner + customer | Business owner only |
| **Preparation time** | Not applicable | AI communicates when order will be ready |

## Conversation behavior

### Same flexible cart editing

Just like Shipping, the customer can modify their cart at any point during the conversation. Adding, removing, or changing quantities is supported all the way through checkout.

### Checkpoint-based flow

The AI uses internal checkpoints to track progress through the Pickup flow. It always knows which step it is on, which information it has collected, and what to ask next.

### Required data prompting

When advance payment is enabled, the AI continues prompting until the transfer receipt is provided. It does not skip required steps or proceed without the necessary information.

## What to do next

- **See how Shipping orders work** — Compare the delivery order flow. See [How the AI places Shipping orders](/en/resources/docs/how-ai-places-shipping-orders).
- **See the combined flow** — If you use Shipping & Pickup, see [How the AI places Shipping & Pickup orders](/en/resources/docs/how-ai-places-shipping-and-pickup-orders).
- **Manage your orders** — Track all orders from the Orders page. See [View and manage orders](/en/resources/docs/view-and-manage-orders).
- **Verify payments** — Understand receipt review and bank verification. See [Payment verification and security](/en/resources/docs/payment-verification-and-security).