Shopify has added AI to almost every corner of the admin. Some of it saves hours every week; some of it needs a careful human eye. Here’s a practical tour of what’s built in today and how we recommend using it.
Sidekick: your admin assistant
Sidekick is the AI assistant inside your Shopify admin. You ask questions in plain language and it works with your store data. Shopify has steadily expanded it: in the Summer ’25 Edition it gained deeper analysis (for example, explaining what caused a sales spike), voice chat and screen sharing, image generation and support for 20 languages. In the Spring ’26 Edition, Shopify opened Sidekick to app developers, so apps such as Klaviyo, Loop and Yotpo can appear inside Sidekick conversations.
Good things to ask Sidekick
- “Which products had the biggest drop in sales last month, and why might that be?”
- “Create a 15% discount for customers who ordered more than twice this year.”
- “Which collections have products with missing descriptions or images?”
- “Summarise the most common reasons for returns in the last 90 days.”
Guardrail: treat Sidekick like a fast junior assistant. Review any change before you approve it, especially discounts, prices and anything customer-facing.
Shopify Magic: writing and image help
Shopify Magic is the set of generative tools built into product pages, email and the online store editor. It can draft product descriptions, email subject lines, blog outlines and FAQ answers, and help edit product images (for example, replacing a background).
- Use it for: first drafts, rewriting thin descriptions, consistent formatting across a large catalog.
- Don’t use it for: technical specs, health or safety claims, or anything you haven’t verified.
See our step-by-step workflow in Using AI to write product descriptions.
AI-generated theme blocks
Horizon and the themes built on it let you describe a block in words and have AI generate it — for example, “a three-column comparison of our plans with check marks.” It’s a fast way to prototype layouts without code.
- Great for quick experiments and landing pages.
- Check the result on mobile and for accessibility (contrast, headings, alt text).
- For layouts you’ll reuse everywhere, a properly built custom section is easier to maintain.
AI sales channels and agentic commerce
Shopify’s Agentic Storefronts and the Universal Commerce Protocol (announced with Google in the Spring ’26 Edition) make eligible products discoverable by AI assistants and agents. The practical takeaway: your product data now feeds more than your own website, so accuracy matters more than ever. We explain it in What agentic commerce means for Shopify merchants.
Where AI saves the most time
| Task | AI is great for | Keep a human on |
|---|---|---|
| Product content | First drafts, consistency | Facts, claims, brand voice |
| Store admin | Finding issues, bulk tasks | Prices, discounts, approvals |
| Design | Prototyping blocks | Mobile, accessibility, speed |
| Analytics | Spotting trends | Business decisions |
Our rules for using AI on a store
- Write a short brand voice guide and paste it into every prompt.
- Never publish AI text you haven’t read.
- Keep facts in structured fields (metafields), not just prose.
- Measure: compare conversion and returns before and after AI-written content.
Sources: Shopify’s Summer ’25 Edition and Spring ’26 Edition announcements.
A simple weekly AI routine for store owners
- Monday: ask Sidekick for last week’s top and bottom products and what changed.
- Tuesday: use Shopify Magic to draft descriptions for products with thin copy, then edit them.
- Wednesday: ask Sidekick which products are missing images, alt text or SEO fields.
- Thursday: draft next week’s email with Shopify Magic, then rewrite the opening line yourself.
- Friday: check AI-sourced traffic and orders in your reports.
Common mistakes
- Publishing AI descriptions in bulk without checking facts.
- Letting every product sound the same — shoppers notice.
- Approving bulk changes (prices, tags, discounts) without reviewing the list.
- Using AI images that misrepresent the real product.
FAQ
Is Sidekick free?
Sidekick is built into the Shopify admin. Feature availability can vary by plan and region, so check what’s enabled in your store.
Will AI replace my developer or agency?
It replaces some repetitive tasks. Strategy, custom features, integrations, performance work and quality control still need experienced people.
Need a hand?
We set up AI workflows that save time without making your store sound generic. Talk to a Shopify expert — or ask for a free, fixed-price proposal.