Question 1

What is Zolto?

Accepted Answer

Zolto is an AI-run commerce platform for independent makers. It gives you a point-of-sale and an online store that share one inventory, plus an AI assistant that handles product photos, descriptions, and customer support.

Question 2

Who is Zolto for?

Accepted Answer

Makers, artisans, and small shop owners who sell at craft fairs, markets, and pop-ups and want to sell online too — without hiring a developer or learning complex software.

Question 3

How long does it take to set up a store?

Accepted Answer

About an afternoon. Upload a few products (or import a CSV), let the AI draft descriptions and style your photos, connect payments, and you can be live the same day.

Question 4

Do I need to be technical?

Accepted Answer

No. Zolto is built for makers, not store managers. The AI does the setup busywork, and a guided tour walks you through the dashboard.

Question 5

How much does it cost?

Accepted Answer

There's a free plan (no card required). Paid plans start at CHF 19/month for the Maker plan, with a 14-day free trial. Plans are month-to-month — cancel anytime.

Question 6

Can I sell both in person and online?

Accepted Answer

Yes — that's the core of Zolto. One inventory powers both your point-of-sale and your online store, and stock stays in sync in real time so you never oversell.

Question 7

How do I get paid?

Accepted Answer

You connect your own Stripe account and your customers pay directly into it. Zolto never holds your money.

Question 8

Do I need to buy a card reader?

Accepted Answer

No — payments happen on the phone you already own, via the Zolto POS app: contactless card, Apple Pay / Google Pay, and TWINT QR. Nobody inserts a card anymore, they tap, so there's no reader to buy, rent, or plug in.

Question 9

How is Zolto cheaper than Stripe, SumUp, or Worldline?

Accepted Answer

Those tools were built for an era when websites were hard and a card reader was king, so they charge for hardware, setup, and lock-in — easily around CHF 2,000 a year. AI builds your store in an afternoon and your phone is the terminal, so the real cost is tiny. Zolto passes that saving on: paid plans start at CHF 19/month, roughly one-hundredth of the old way, and we never charge for anything that isn't charged to us.

Question 10

What if I keep my inventory in a notebook?

Accepted Answer

That's fine — keep it however you already do. Snap a photo of your handwritten list and the AI reads it into a real catalogue (names, prices, quantities). AI is good with ambiguity, so you don't have to become an 'inventory person.'

Question 11

Do I have to tag every sale at a busy market?

Accepted Answer

No. Just enter the amount and take the tap. At the end of the day Zolto emails its best guess at what you sold; you tap to confirm and each piece is marked sold across your store and POS automatically.

Question 12

Can I bring products from another platform?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Import your catalogue with CSV or bulk photo upload, so switching from Shopify, Square, or a spreadsheet is quick.

Question 13

Will AI assistants be able to find my products?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every store publishes an llms.txt and a Model Context Protocol (MCP) endpoint, so AI assistants and agents can discover and recommend your products, alongside normal search-engine SEO.

Question 14

What about product photos?

Accepted Answer

Take one rough phone photo and the AI restyles it into a clean product shot or an on-model image — no photographer or studio needed. AI-styled images are always disclosed.