Question 1

How do I start?

Accepted Answer

With a 30-minute call: we talk through how you run your operation today, look at where you can save time and get more return, and show you in a demo on example data how Optivate does that. Leave your details and Enrico schedules a time within one working day. Then you get a tailored proposal and start with a 14-day trial. Prefer to look for yourself first? Take the ROI scan: in about 5 minutes you see which building blocks fit, what it costs and what the work costs you now. No sales pitch. If it doesn't fit, we'll say so.

Question 2

Can't I just do this myself with ChatGPT or Claude?

Accepted Answer

A question in a chat is something else than software that runs by itself every night. Optivate is built with Claude, the AI model by Anthropic. But the work is in everything around it: connections to your Shopify, ads and accounting, checks on every output, and processes that keep running when a connection breaks or a model changes. Yannick has been programming for over ten years, for KLM and DUO among others, and builds that with his team of developers. At our own brands it runs every night.

Question 3

Do I have to use all of Optivate?

Accepted Answer

No. We fit around what you already have. If you already have your own translation setup, a PIM or a set way of working, we leave it in place and connect to it. You only pick the building blocks you need: we advise what fits; you switch off what you don't need. Optivate OS is the base we set up for you.

Question 4

How quickly does a first system go live?

Accepted Answer

Within a week, inside your 14-day trial: a fixed, guided onboarding of five working days. We build on your own systems, so there's some manual work at the start, and we help you with it.

Day 1: A 45-minute kick-off. You give us access using a checklist.
Days 2–3: We connect everything, import your data and check your cost prices and numbers against Shopify.
Day 4: We capture your tone of voice. You approve the first output.
Day 5: Live, with your first morning overview.
To day 14: You work with it on your own data, we check in every day. Stop within 14 days and you pay nothing.

A live system isn't a finished system: we keep refining it every month based on what we see in production. See the day plan.

Question 5

What do I need to provide?

Accepted Answer

About 2–3 hours in total for your team. We do the rest.

Access to Shopify (through the Optivate app) and your ad accounts. And your accounting, if you connect it.
Your cost prices, or where they are.
Lead times per supplier. For Stock & purchasing.
Go through your tone of voice once. For Content & translation.
One person who approves.

Standard connections are included; we connect other systems on request. Download the checklist (PDF).

Question 6

What happens after the setup?

Accepted Answer

Then it runs in your operation and we keep it running: monitoring, updates and new AI models. That's included in your fixed monthly price, no separate fees.

Question 7

Do my employees get training or onboarding?

Accepted Answer

Yes. For every go-live we run a walkthrough session with the people who'll use the system daily. We explain what it does, what it doesn't do, and when they should call us. After that they get a short written handover they can share with new colleagues.

Question 8

What are your rates?

Accepted Answer

One custom fixed monthly price, for the building blocks you need. Optivate OS is always the base.

Custom pricing, from €795 a month. Your price depends on the building blocks you choose, your catalog, your markets and what we connect to your own tools.

Guided onboarding included, no setup fee. Request a proposal and you'll get it within one working day. Start with a 14-day trial. Stop within 14 days and you pay nothing.

Question 9

How does the trial period work?

Accepted Answer

You accept your proposal, by signing or by email. Then you start with a 14-day trial: we set Optivate up on your own store and data, with the building blocks you need, and you're live within a week. If you stop within those 14 days, email us: the agreement ends and you pay nothing. If you don't, your contract runs from day 15: 12 months, then cancel monthly.

Question 10

Why a 12-month term?

Accepted Answer

Most of the work is at the start: connecting, setting up, a closer eye for the first 30 days and adjusting to your real operation. A year gives us both the time to earn that investment back. That's why you start with a 14-day trial: if it isn't a fit, you stop at no cost. The 12 months count from day 15.

After 12 months you're free to stop or continue. From then on you can cancel monthly, and you take your data with you. No automatic renewal for another year.

Question 11

What if I figure out after 2 months that it isn't working?

Accepted Answer

You'll notice quickly. That's what the trial is for: in the first 14 days you see on your own data whether it works, and you can stop at no cost. For the first 30 days we check in every day. If it isn't working, we say so and look for a solution together. No formal process: we just talk directly about what is and isn't working. The exit terms are in the contract.

Question 12

Are there setup fees or hidden costs?

Accepted Answer

No. Guided onboarding is included, and falls inside your 14-day trial. After that you pay monthly what we agreed. Above €50M in revenue, with several stores or brands, or with custom connections, hands-on onboarding can be added. We price that up front in the proposal. Additional work only with a price up front. AI costs are included in your monthly price: no credits, no separate account. We agree the number of products and languages up front in your proposal.

Question 13

Who owns what we build together?

Accepted Answer

The platform and the modules, including the modules we build on request, remain ours. That way more stores can use them, and they keep getting better. Your data and accounts are in your name. If you stop, you take your data with you.

Question 14

What if Optivate AI shuts down or gets acquired?

Accepted Answer

That risk exists with every vendor. What we do about it: your data and accounts are in your name, not ours, and your data is stored in the EU. If we stop, or you do, you take your data with you. Another party can pick it up from there.

Question 15

Where is our data stored and who has access?

Accepted Answer

Operational data (logs, configs) is hosted in the EU. LLM calls go through Anthropic and OpenAI; we enable their zero-retention settings where available, so prompts and outputs don't linger with them. Inside Optivate, access is limited to the team members working on your engagement. We're GDPR-compliant and sign a data processing agreement before we start working with your data. More on security and privacy.

Question 16

What if an AI system makes a mistake?

Accepted Answer

Three layers built in. First: nothing goes live without your approval. Prices, copy and translations land in your approval queue first. The system suggests, you or your team approve. Second: we log every decision, so we can reconstruct exactly what happened.

Third: if a meaningful mistake occurs, we help fix it directly. We see ourselves as part of your team, not an external vendor hiding behind an SLA. For specific risk profiles (medical, legal) we agree extra safeguards up front.

Question 17

What's the minimum revenue to work with you?

Accepted Answer

About €1M in annual revenue. Below that most of the work is still fine to do yourself, and what it earns you doesn't outweigh the monthly price. Optivate is built for Shopify brands from €1M to €100M in revenue, and fits best with established brands that have their own systems: we build on them. Every proposal is custom.

Question 18

How are you different from a dev agency or consulting firm?

Accepted Answer

We're entrepreneurs ourselves. We run ETQ Amsterdam and TOV Essentials, together €35M online, annual run rate 2026, with 6 FTE, and Optivate runs there every night. No prototypes or AI strategy decks: software that already works in a real Shopify store. Read how we do it or read our story.

And you don't pay for hours for what's already in the platform. A dev agency builds from a brief and bills by the hour. With us there's no setup fee and a fixed monthly price, and we keep it running. Want something extra? You get a price up front.

Question 19

Does this work with our current stack?

Accepted Answer

Almost always. Shopify, Meta Ads, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Klaviyo and Exact Online are connected as standard. We have connected an ERP like Troublefree before, and we build other connections on request. No migrations: we build on top of what already runs. Optivate is built for brands on Shopify and Shopify Plus. Full list on the integrations page.

What you probably want to know.

How we work together.