Shopify is giving its traders a group of new AI-operated devices designed to help their customers increase online shopping experience. This includes an AI store builder for users to set a storefront using a single prompt, as well as an AI generator to create elements (such as banners) without coding the code.
The platform upgraded its AI Commerce Assistant, Sidekic, with new voice chat and screen sharing capabilities.
The announcement of these updates on Wednesday during the launch day of Shopify, the company’s bipolar announcement which shows recent changes in the platform.
The AI Store Builder aims to quickly create the foundation of a website, so there is more time for personalization. To use the tool, users must first enter a prompt that describes their brand. For example, “Tennis gear and stylish ethleickar.” Shopify’s AI then generates a ready-to-launch storefront, and traders can then manually customize their store within the editor.
Shopify also introduced a new public theme called “Horizon” in its theme store, a market to download pre-designed templates.
The horizon contains an underlying AI to help traders accommodate their designs as they wish. This is also the first subject to include “theme block”, which is essentially constructing blocks that traders can use to customize how their online store looks without touching any code.
These theme blocks can also be customized with the help of AI. For example, if the merchant wants a banner with text and an animation, they can describe it, and it generates the code.
Additionally, users can now engage in voice chat with sidelm, which responds audially to questions. For example, if traders are confused about tariffs – a warm theme for retailers right now – Sidekic will direct them to supporting resources. Users can share with a sidekick to navigate, such as finding settings.
With these new capabilities, the sidekick is now available in the Shopify mobile app.
Sidekik was widely rolled out to all traders in December 2024. According to the company, the monthly users have exceeded double since the beginning of 2025, a spokesperson told Techcrunch.
The continuous investment of Shopify in AI should not be unexpected. For employees in the recent memo of CEO Tobi Lutke, he suggested that the AI could help the company maintain a small task force.
