**Shopify Bets Big on AI, Citing It as the Biggest Technological Shift Since the Internet**
Shopify, a leading e-commerce software provider, is doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI) as the next frontier in digital commerce. During its third-quarter earnings call, Shopify’s leadership highlighted AI as a transformative force, describing it as “the biggest shift in technology since the internet.” The company’s optimism is rooted in both its recent achievements and its ongoing partnerships with prominent AI developers.
**Partnerships Powering AI-Driven Shopping**
In September, Shopify solidified its commitment to AI by partnering with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. This collaboration has already yielded significant results: Shopify reported that traffic to its online stores originating from AI-powered tools has increased sevenfold since January. Even more striking, purchases attributed to AI-powered search features have grown elevenfold in the same period.
Shopify’s approach to AI is not limited to its partnership with OpenAI. The company is also collaborating with other major players in the AI space, including Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, to develop new in-chat shopping experiences. These integrations are designed to make shopping more conversational and intuitive, allowing consumers to discover and purchase products through AI chat interfaces seamlessly embedded in their everyday digital interactions.
**Harnessing Data for a Competitive Edge**
According to Harley Finkelstein, Shopify’s president, the company’s edge in the AI revolution comes from its vast dataset—comprising millions of merchants and billions of transactions—and its agile “founder mode” culture, which emphasizes rapid product development. Finkelstein believes that this unique combination positions Shopify to lead as AI becomes increasingly central to e-commerce.
A key example of Shopify’s AI-driven tools is Scout, an internal system that uses AI to sift through hundreds of millions of pieces of merchant feedback. Scout helps Shopify’s teams make better, faster product decisions by analyzing support tickets, usage data, reviews, social media interactions, and even prompts from the company’s Sidekick assistant. This allows Shopify to quickly identify trends, pain points, and opportunities, ensuring that its platform evolves in line with merchant and customer needs.
Finkelstein emphasized that AI is not just another feature at Shopify—it’s at the core of the company’s operations and innovation. “AI is central to our engine that powers everything we build,” he said during the earnings call, underlining the company’s intention to weave AI into all aspects of its business.
**Consumers Are Ready for AI-Driven Commerce**
Shopify’s bullishness on AI is supported by consumer sentiment. A recent survey conducted by the company found that 64% of shoppers are “likely” to use AI in some capacity when making online purchases. This readiness suggests that AI-driven shopping experiences are not just a technological novelty, but are poised to become a mainstream part of the buying journey.
Finkelstein explained that Shopify has been investing in the foundational infrastructure needed to enable shopping in virtually every AI conversation, regardless of the specific platform