Shopify Bets On Gen-AI With New AI Tools To Simplify Store Creation But Stock Drops

Shopify (SHOP) on Wednesday rolled out a generative artificial intelligence (AI) feature that allows merchants on its e-commerce platform to set up online stores simply by entering a few descriptive keywords.

The new “AI Store Builder” generates three complete store layouts based on the merchant’s input, including text and images.

While Shopify has previously offered AI-based tools and third-party integrations to assist with store creation, this marks the company’s first fully integrated solution that automates the entire website setup experience.

“Instead of just having a merchant click and drag and fill out text fields on how they want their site to look—which can be really daunting for some—we thought why not ask them more open-ended questions and set up their store in the best likeness we can imagine, using AI,” said Vanessa Lee, vice president of product at Shopify.

The launch is part of Shopify’s broader Summer ’25 Edition, which unveiled a suite of new AI capabilities aimed at helping merchants grow faster and operate more efficiently. 

Alongside the AI Store Builder, Shopify introduced tools designed to integrate merchant storefronts with the rising wave of conversational shopping platforms. 

A new global product directory, Shopify Catalog, is now in early access for developers. It enables AI shopping agents, like those on platforms such as Perplexity, to surface merchant products directly in chat-based commerce experiences. Merchants that meet Shopify’s eligibility criteria will be included automatically.

Shopify also launched a Knowledge Base App to give sellers more control over how their brand appears in AI interactions. The app auto-generates AI-readable FAQs based on each store’s policies and settings, which merchants can customize. 

Shopify’s AI-powered assistant, Sidekick, also received a major upgrade. With enhanced reasoning abilities, Sidekick now delivers detailed business insights like analyzing inventory and marketing data to explain a dip in sales. 

It performs a range of functions on command, from generating customer segments to setting up discounts, and now supports both text and voice interaction in 20 languages. 

Shopify’s stock was down 3% in afternoon trade. The shares have fallen nearly 4% this year, but over 76% in the past 12 months. 

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