How to Use OptiMonk to Build a Welcome Popup From Claude

The short answer: if your store sees fewer than 10,000 pageviews a month, this whole job runs on OptiMonk's free plan, agent and Claude connection included (pricing page, checked on 26 October 2026); add the domain, install the code, connect Claude to the MCP endpoint, brief a welcome offer, pick a concept, agree targeting and the coupon, review the draft as a shopper would, connect Klaviyo, add a no-popup control and publish it yourself, then read submits against that control.

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A first-order discount in exchange for an email address is the classic welcome popup, and it is often built in a hurry. OptiMonk now hands the building to an AI agent you can talk to from Claude, which leaves you the parts that need judgement: the offer, the brand check and the decision to go live. For plans and limits, see the OptiMonk glossary entry.

Before you open Claude:

• The traffic sum. For example, 3,600 sessions a month at 2.5 pages each = 9,000 pageviews, inside Free's 10,000, which counts every page load, popup or not (pricing FAQ). Free also includes 1,000 AI credits a month; the pricing page does not say what one build costs, so check the balance after your first.
• A Claude plan with custom connectors. On Team and Enterprise an owner adds the connector first (Claude guide).
• The discount, created in the store. A code the shop does not recognise fails at checkout; a connected Shopify store can let OptiMonk create it instead (coupon guide).
• Your email list. The Klaviyo, Mailchimp or HubSpot list that new signups should join.
• A plan to measure. A no-popup control from day one, added in step 8, so the result is compared with doing nothing.

1. Add your domain

Click your initials in the bottom-left corner, choose Settings, open Domains and click Add domain. OptiMonk reads the site and names the platform it found, which decides the install guide you see next; the new row reads Not inserted until step 2 is done (domain guide).

2. Install the code

On Shopify, install the OptiMonk app, then switch OptiMonk on in the theme editor's App embeds tab and save. Both parts are needed, and a theme change switches the embed off again. On WordPress, activate the plugin, paste your OptiMonk ID under Appearance and add onsite.optimonk.com and front.optimonk.com to your cache plugin's ignore list. Then click Check now until the row reads Code inserted (install guide).

3. Connect Claude

In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, add a custom connector named OptiMonk with the endpoint https://agentic.optimonk.com/mcp, and complete the sign-in. In Claude Code the command is claude mcp add --transport http optimonk https://agentic.optimonk.com/mcp. There is no key to paste. Ask Claude to call whoami: it answers with the account it acts for and the permissions it holds, the first thing to check if a later call fails (Claude guide). Every permission is a box you tick when you connect (AI assistants page).

4. Brief the agent like a designer

Write the brief in one message: "Build a welcome popup for example-shop.com: 10% off the first order for an email address, first-time visitors only, after a few seconds on mobile and on exit intent on desktop." The agent asks up to four questions as a single card, then draws four concepts, usually in about a minute (concept board guide). Concepts are plans, not popups: ask for changes on any of them and every earlier version stays one click away. Select two if you cannot choose, and OptiMonk builds both as an A/B test.

This is the agent's part of the job. It reads your store for colours, fonts and tone, designs, writes the copy and builds the draft. It does not put anything in front of a shopper.

5. Agree targeting and the coupon

Before the build, three cards ask when the popup shows, who sees it and how often; the defaults, once per visitor and never again after they convert, suit a welcome offer (targeting guide). The Coupon step offers a fixed code, a pool of unique codes or, on connected Shopify stores, a single-use code generated per visitor; set what happens when a pool runs out (coupon guide). Click Build it. It takes about three minutes and you can leave the page.

6. Review the draft as a shopper would

Open Live Preview: the popup sits over a screenshot of your homepage on desktop and mobile, the fields work, and Share link sends it to a colleague (review guide). This is the human check. Whoever owns the brand reads the headline, the small print and the discount before anything else happens; fixes go in by clicking an element or by typing the change, and nothing changes for anyone until you click Save.

7. Connect Klaviyo

On the campaign's Integrations tab, click Add integration and walk through Provider, Account, List and Field mapping. The integration sits as a Draft until the campaign is published (integration guide). Do this in the app: the MCP tools cannot connect an email provider (MCP reference).

8. Add a control, then publish it yourself

Under the variant table, choose Add A/B test variant, then Control (no popup): a holdout that sees nothing, so the result is measured against no popup at all. Traffic is split evenly across active variants, and a custom split is not available yet (A/B testing guide). Then flip the switch in the campaign header; OptiMonk checks for a missing trigger or untracked button first. To see the live popup without showing it to visitors, add a URL rule for optimonk=true and open your site with that parameter (go-live guide). OptiMonk's help centre says publishing is done by a person in the app (what you can ask it), which is where it belongs.

9. Read submits against the control

Give it a day or two of traffic. The campaign Overview shows impressions, submits and submit rate, and for a test the uplift and each variant's chance to win (results guide). Uplift is measured against the holdout when there is one, and chance to win is a Bayesian estimate that needs a reasonable amount of data before it means much. If first orders matter more than signups, set an order goal under Reports, then Manage goals, and the report recalculates.

What OptiMonk's own docs warn about

• A theme change. It switches the Shopify app embed off (install guide).
• A unique-code pool left empty. The campaign then does not show at all (coupon guide).
• Reading an interrupted build as a failure. It resumes by itself, and a timed-out build retried without an idempotency key is paid for twice (MCP reference).
• Asking the agent for numbers. Reporting is not available to an agent yet, so results come from the Overview tab.

Each concept round and each build spends AI credits, and the way to more credits is the plan above or a Master quote (pricing FAQ), so an agent that cheerfully draws four fresh concepts on request is also a meter turning in OptiMonk's favour. Brief it once, well.

FAQ

Can Claude publish the popup for me?

Assume it will not. The AI assistants page says the agent saves every campaign as a draft for you to review and publish, even though the developer reference lists a publish tool. A person switching it on is the right check anyway.

Can I use ChatGPT or Cursor instead of Claude?

Yes. The same endpoint works for ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor and other MCP clients, with an API key as the fallback where OAuth is not supported (connection guide).

What happens when the free plan's pageviews run out?

Campaigns pause at the limit and start again when you upgrade or the monthly counter resets, after a warning email at 80% (pricing FAQ).