Shopify is giving its engineers free rein on AI. Here’s why

Shopify has given its engineers free rein on AI, and the results are impressive. The company's data reveals a new era of agentic shopping, where AI is transforming how products are discovered and purchased online. Shopify's COO, Jess Hertz, discussed the company's growth and the role of AI in this transformation.

Hertz highlighted that 90% of Shopify's quarterly revenue comes from merchants who have been on the platform for over a year, demonstrating the strength of the core business. However, AI is also expanding Shopify's upside, with early signs that the AI-powered commerce agent, Sidekick, is helping merchants sell more and increasing conversion rates.

Shopify is building the infrastructure layer necessary for AI commerce, including agentic storefront integrations with major AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. The company believes that the complexity of managing various selling channels is both a challenge and a moat for Shopify. As the infrastructure for AI commerce becomes more scarce, Shopify's unified operating system and open commerce standards will help merchants manage these new technologies more effectively.

Shopify's engineers have been given the freedom to experiment with AI tokens, which the company sees as a healthy investment with a good return on investment (ROI). Despite concerns about the hidden costs of AI, Shopify's pragmatic approach ensures that engineers can access the best models for the best circumstances while monitoring costs and impact.