Shopify Sidekick 101: What It Is and How To Use It?

Shopify now introduces a powerful AI assistant called Shopify Sidekick to help eCommerce business owners manage and grow their online stores more efficiently. With Shopify Sidekick, you don’t have to go through the whole process of growing your store yourself.

In this article, we will discuss what Shopify Sidekick is, its key features, and how to make use of it to your advantage. So, get ready to  unlock a smarter way to run your Shopify business.

1. What is Shopify Sidekick?

Shopify Sidekick is an AI-powered assistant that helps Shopify merchants manage and grow their online stores as simply as possible. This tool automates various tasks, from customer support to inventory management.

As part of the broader Shopify Magic and Sidekick suite of AI tools, Sidekick focuses on delivering real-time suggestions, automating repetitive tasks, and providing insights tailored to each business.

Shopify Sidekick is perfect for entrepreneurs who do not have the time or are just incapable of doing technical things. It’s especially valuable for small to medium-sized businesses that want to scale without expanding overhead costs.

Note: If you’re still in the setup phase, make sure your store is ready before diving into Sidekick. Here’s how to launch your Shopify store step by step.

2. Shopify Sidekick key features

Designed to simplify everyday tasks and optimize performance, Shopify Sidekick gives store owners powerful tools to manage their business more efficiently.

Below are the key features of this Shopify AI assistant Sidekick:

2.1. Help and guidance

One of Shopify Sidekick’s most advanced features is its ability to provide clear, step-by-step instructions to guide you through a wide range of tasks within your Shopify admin.

For example, I asked Sidekick to help me set up a test discount code and track its usage. It immediately provided a sample setup you could work with. From there, just clicked Preview in the discount section to view it, then customized the settings based on your store’s specific needs.

It also understands plain language prompts and can offer multiple options or suggestions based on your queries. You can even ask it to take you to a specific section in your admin, saving you valuable time.

2.2. Content generation

Shopify Sidekick helps you generate content like product descriptions, email templates, blog posts, and marketing campaigns that strictly align with your brand’s voice. You provide a prompt, and it delivers high-quality, ready-to-edit copy right where you need it.

For example, I tried the prompt “Help me write a thank-you email for recent customers”, and Sidekick crafted a very detailed content.

The assistant also explains why each content suggestion might be a good fit for your audience. If you’re not satisfied, it can instantly generate alternative versions.

With Sidekick, you can save a lot of time, while also ensuring consistency across all your marketing materials.

2.3. Customer segmentation

With natural language prompts, Sidekick for Shopify can build custom customer segments tailored to your business. You simply describe your customer group, and it does the filtering work for you.

I asked Sidekick to create a customer segment from customers who have already made a purchase, and it showed the exact sales data from my store.

Whether it’s customers in a specific country or buyers from the last 60 days, segmentation is quick and intuitive. No advanced setup or technical skills are required.

2.4. Theme editing

It is important to create a store that looks good to attract potential customers, and Shopify Sidekick helps you achieve this with ease. It can adjust your store’s look by suggesting and applying theme changes, from layout to colors, typography to spacing.

These edits apply to both draft and published themes, but you must manually save changes to activate them. Sidekick even explains its design choices to help you understand the creative direction.

2.5. Analytics and reporting

With built-in analytics features, Shopify Sidekick helps you visualize your store’s performance using clear graphs and charts. It can create custom ShopifyQL queries to show sales, returns, or top-performing products.

Just describe the data you want, and Sidekick will either display the results or guide you to a detailed report. Tracking your growth and optimizing performance will be easier than ever.

You might wonder how Shopify Sidekick compares to a more general AI tool like ChatGPT. While both are powered by advanced AI, their design and use cases differ, especially when it comes to supporting Shopify store owners. Here is a quick Shopify x ChatGPT comparison table:

As technology continues to evolve, Shopify is likely to release more AI-powered features within its platform. Sidekick will gradually adopt more specialized and practical capabilities, such as:

• Enhanced functionalities: Upcoming updates may bring tools like deeper analytics and tighter integration with other Shopify functions.
• Smarter personalization: Sidekick could deliver more customized guidance based on a clearer understanding of each store’s unique performance.
• Wider theme support: Future releases may expand beyond the Dawn theme, making Sidekick accessible to a broader range of Shopify users.

3. How to use Shopify Sidekick?

Now, curious about how to get Shopify Sidekick up and running? The process is easier than you thought:

Step 1: Access Shopify Sidekick

Log in to your Shopify admin dashboard on a desktop. If you haven’t set up a store yet, you can get started easily with the Shopify 1 dollar offer.

Click the Sidekick icon to open the chat interface.

Step 2: Ask or select a prompt

Start interacting with Shopify Sidekick in one of two ways:

• Select from the suggested prompts displayed in the chat window.
• Type a question or command in plain language into the “Ask anything…” field, then click the paper airplane icon to send it.

Step 3: Take action based on the response

Depending on Sidekick’s response, take one of the following actions:

• Click the > button to navigate to a recommended page or resource.
• Click Apply to add the generated content directly to your store.

You can click the ↻ icon if you’d like Sidekick to generate a different response. Use the thumbs-up or thumbs-down buttons to share your feedback on the quality of the reply.

To close the Sidekick window, click the Sidekick icon again or press the X button.

That’s indeed simple, right?

Sidekick can help you automate key tasks, but combining it with live chat can give your customers real-time support. Learn how to add live chat to your Shopify store now.

4. Tips to optimize Shopify Sidekick

Now that you understand what Shopify Sidekick is and how it works, it’s time to make the most of it. These practical tips below will help you optimize this AI assistant for better content generation, smarter personalization, and more efficient online store management.

4.1. Always double check the generated content

Shopify Sidekick uses powerful AI models, but that doesn’t guarantee every output will be perfect. Large language models (LLMs) can sometimes produce irrelevant, biased, or even offensive results, especially when handling niche topics or vague instructions.

Always read through Sidekick’s generated content before adding it to your online store. As a store owner, you’re responsible for the final message, whether it’s a product description, email, or homepage copy.

If something looks off, don’t publish it. Use the thumbs down icon to report low-quality or harmful content. Your feedback helps improve the tool’s accuracy and protects your eCommerce brand image.

4.2. Set a specific tone for your generated content

The tone of your content plays a major role in how customers perceive your brand. With Shopify AI assistant Sidekick, you can select from predefined tones:

• Expert: A professional tone that uses factual, technical language to convey authority and industry knowledge.
• Daring: Bold and energetic, this tone uses strong, motivating language to challenge and inspire action.
• Playful: Light-hearted and casual, it features fun, quirky wording, often with humor and slang.
• Sophisticated: Polished and refined, this tone appeals to luxury shoppers through elegant, high-end language.
• Persuasive: Emotion-driven and passionate, this tone aims to convince customers by appealing to their senses and needs (default for email content).
• Supportive: Friendly and empathetic, this tone focuses on clear, approachable language that reassures and guides.

You can also use custom tones by adding specific descriptors like “Confident and witty” to give Sidekick clearer guidance. Once created, these custom tones remain available across your store for future content generation, ensuring branding consistency and personalization.

4.3. Keep instructions clear and concise

Sidekick works best when given direct, focused prompts. Vague or overly wordy instructions lead to generic or irrelevant outputs.

Use plain language and aim for one goal per prompt. If you need more complex output, break the task into smaller steps. Also, avoid stacking too many special instructions at once, as this may cause inconsistent results.

4.4. Give feedback on suggestions

Your feedback is vital for improving Sidekick’s relevance and content quality. Each time you receive AI-generated output, you’ll see thumbs up and thumbs down icons below it. Use them by following these steps:

• When generating automatic text, hover over the suggestion and choose how you’d like to respond:
  • Click the thumbs-up icon to give positive feedback
  • Click the thumbs-down icon to report issues
• Select a feedback category and add any additional comments if needed.
• Click Send to submit your feedback to Shopify.

*For detailed, official notice from Shopify, check Shopify’s guidelines on content generation.

Over time, this creates smarter, more personalized interactions. This is key when using Sidekick for Shopify features tied to content or business analytics.

4.5. Avoid over-reliance on AI for content marketing

While Sidekick for Shopify is a great time-saver, don’t let it replace your creative direction. Overusing AI for content marketing may result in inconsistency and weaken brand identity.

Balance Sidekick’s output with human input to maintain authenticity. Your brand’s voice and storytelling remain crucial in driving long-term eCommerce success.

5. 3 Popular AI apps on Shopify 

AI is becoming a powerful force in eCommerce, and Shopify Sidekick is just one part of the growing AI ecosystem on Shopify. Beyond Sidekick, there are several third-party apps that use AI to address specific pain points like personalization, customer engagement, and content creation.

To help you get even more from your Shopify store, here are three popular AI apps that you should check out.

5.1. SEOAnt

SEOAnt is an AI-driven SEO optimization tool designed to automate key SEO elements for Shopify merchants. It simplifies keyword research, on-page SEO, and image optimization to increase your store’s visibility without requiring in-depth technical knowledge.

Overall Rating: 4.8⭐ (1,776 reviews)​

Key Features:

• AI-powered keyword analysis and meta tag optimization
• Bulk editing of image alt text and meta tags
• Site speed enhancements and broken link scanning
• Backlink exchange and competitor keyword analysis
• 24/7 customer support​

Pricing: Installation is free, while Pro plan starts at $29.99/month, and Premium plan goes up to $59.99/month for advanced features like AMP support and unlimited product optimization.

5.2. Boost AI Search & Filter

Boost AI Search & Filter enhances the shopping experience by providing advanced AI-powered search and filtering capabilities. Since its launch, this app has become a go-to solution for enhancing product discovery on Shopify stores.

Overall Rating: 4.7⭐ (2,007 reviews)​

Key Features:

• AI-powered search with semantic understanding
• Customizable product filters and smart search suggestions
• Visual merchandising tools for product promotion
• Detailed analytics on search behavior and filter usage
• Integration with large product catalogs and responsive support

Pricing: This app is free to install and offers four pricing plans, starting at $29/month and going up to $399/month, depending on the features and the number of products you want.

5.3. Outfy

Outfy is the application you need if you want to stay active on social media without constantly creating content yourself. This is an automated social media marketing platform where engaging and attractive content is created and posted on different social media.

By installing Outfry, merchants can increase their online presence and drive traffic to their stores without putting in a lot of manual effort.

Overall Rating: 4.6⭐ (1,372 reviews)​

Key Features:

• Automated posting of products, videos, and promotional content
• AI-generated captions and hashtags
• Supports multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube
• Customizable scheduling and multilingual support
• User-friendly interface with live support​

Pricing: Outfy has four pricing plans, including a free plan with basic auto-posting features. Paid options range from $20 to $70 per month, which include advanced tools like AI videos, multilingual captions, and multi-store management.

6. Conclusion

As AI becomes an essential part of eCommerce, Shopify Sidekick is a helpful tool that makes it easier to run and grow your online store. It supports you with smart content, guided actions, and personalized suggestions.

Whether you are just starting out or already running a store, learning how to use this tool can give you a real competitive advantage. Hopefully, this guide has helped you understand how to use and optimize Shopify Sidekick more effectively.If you found this helpful, don’t forget to share this post and follow eComStart for more simple, practical eCommerce tips to grow your online store.

7. FAQs