What Shopify's AI Memo Tells Merchants
On April 7, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke posted an internal memo that makes using AI a basic expectation for everyone at the company. The memo is about how Shopify works, but it says a lot about where the product is heading for merchants.
Published Apr 9, 2025. Author: Ecomm Guys. 4 min read.
Key Points
- Lütke's memo says using AI well is now a fundamental expectation for every Shopify employee.
- Teams must show why AI can't do a job before asking for more headcount.
- AI use will be part of performance and peer reviews, and of the prototype stage of product work.
- Merchants should expect AI in more admin tools, and the tools will only be as good as the store data behind them.
What the Memo Says
Lütke shared the memo publicly on X after hearing it was being leaked. According to BNN Bloomberg, which carried The Canadian Press report, the memo runs more than 1,100 words. It tells staff that applying AI in their work is a fundamental expectation, and that opting out of learning it isn't realistic.
TechCrunch quoted the memo's line that before asking for more headcount and resources, teams must demonstrate why they can't get what they want done using AI. The memo also says AI questions will be added to performance and peer review forms. It adds that AI should be used in the prototype phase that starts every product project, because it speeds that stage up.
The memo applies to everyone at the company, from executives to junior staff.
Why Merchants Should Pay Attention
A company that builds tools for millions of merchants is telling its own product teams to start with AI. That makes it likely that more of what merchants use every day in the Shopify admin will include AI features, and that new features will arrive faster.
Shopify already offers AI tools for merchants. The Canadian Press report notes tools that answer questions and write product descriptions and email subject lines, and Shopify's Sidekick assistant rolled out to all merchants in English in late 2024. The memo suggests this is only the start.
AI Tools Depend on Your Store Data
Every AI feature in a commerce platform works from the data in your store. If your product titles are inconsistent, your descriptions are thin, your variants are messy, or your product categories are wrong, AI tools will give you weaker copy, vaguer answers, and worse suggestions.
That makes the unglamorous work more valuable. The stores that will get the most from new AI features are the ones with clean, complete product data.
- Consistent product titles that say what the product is.
- Full descriptions that cover materials, sizes, use, and care.
- Correct Shopify product categories and filled-in category metafields.
- Tidy variants, with one option per real choice.
- Accurate inventory and shipping settings.
Good Habits With Sidekick and AI Tools
Lütke's memo makes a point that applies to merchants too. He writes that a lot of people give up after one prompt that doesn't return the ideal result, and that using AI well is a skill learned by using it a lot.
In practice, that means treating AI tools as a first draft. Ask Sidekick or another assistant to summarize a report, draft a product description, or suggest a discount setup, then check the output against what you know. Be specific in what you ask for. Never publish AI-generated copy or change settings without reading the result. And keep a person responsible for anything customers see.
It also helps to agree on a few rules as a team. Decide which tasks AI can draft, such as product descriptions, email subject lines, or report summaries. Then decide which always need a person from start to finish, such as pricing changes, refunds, and anything legal. Write the rules down so new staff follow them too.
Start With Your Best Sellers
Pick your 20 best-selling products and review their data: title, description, category, variants, and images. Fix what's missing. Then spend 15 minutes a week trying Sidekick on real tasks, such as summarizing last week's sales or drafting a collection description, so your team builds the habit before the next wave of features arrives.
If your product data needs a cleanup before Shopify's AI tools can use it well, book a call with our team.
Sources
- Shopify CEO tells teams to consider using AI before growing headcount TechCrunch, April 2025
- AI now an expectation at Shopify, will factor into performance reviews, hiring: CEO BNN Bloomberg (The Canadian Press), April 2025
- Shopify Winter '25 Edition Shopify Blog, December 2024