Shopify launches Canvas to build online stores by chatting with AI

In short: Shopify has launched Canvas, a new Shopify tool that lets people build an online store by chatting with an AI assistant called Sidekick.

What happened

Shopify introduced Canvas, a site-building tool for merchants who want to set up and customize a Shopify store using a chat conversation. Instead of clicking through lots of menus or hiring a developer for more complex changes, merchants can tell Sidekick what they want, like changing a layout, colors, or sections.

As Sidekick makes updates, Canvas shows the results right away. Shopify says this view is not just a mockup. It is showing the store’s real underlying files and code (the instructions a website runs on), so merchants can try features like buttons, animations, and other interactive parts as they build.

Canvas also lets merchants zoom out to see the whole store or zoom in on details. Sidekick takes screenshots of the page as it changes, so the AI can “see” what the merchant is seeing and adjust based on the current design.

Shopify says Sidekick is not brand new. It has already been used for tasks like writing code, building apps, and customizing themes. With Canvas, Shopify is packaging those abilities into a single place where merchants can build a full storefront while watching it take shape.

Why it matters

For small businesses, building a good-looking online store can be time-consuming and expensive, especially when changes require coding or outside help. Tools like Canvas aim to make store setup feel more like giving instructions to a helpful assistant (like telling someone how you want a room arranged) rather than learning web design from scratch.

Source: TechCrunch AI