Shopify debuts Canvas, a way to build online stores by chatting with AI

Shopify introduced a new site-building tool called Canvas on Thursday that lets merchants set up their Shopify store by chatting with AI. With Canvas, merchants chat with Shopify's AI agent Sidekick to create their site, and Canvas displays the results in real time as the AI makes changes, allowing merchants to see the store as it comes together or zoom in on specific details.

According to Shopify, the display is not a static preview but the real code behind the store being rendered. That means merchants can test the page's full interactivity and animation and view pages as they would appear across different screen sizes. Sidekick also takes screenshots of the work so it can see the same thing the merchant sees as the site updates.

Shopify previously offered a no-code builder that involved editing a selected theme by rearranging modular sections and blocks, while deeper customizations required editing code or bringing in a developer. Merchants can still click on individual elements to make changes directly with Canvas.

Sidekick is not new; it has already been used to write code, build apps, customize themes, and make other edits. To make Canvas work, Shopify gave Sidekick the ability to work directly with the theme's files and simplified the theme architecture so the store's structure, logic, and design would be easier for Sidekick to understand and change. Canvas joins other AI-powered site-building tools from companies including Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, and Framer, alongside platforms like Lovable and Replit.

Shopify said the product is still in its early days and there are areas where it will need to expand and improve. Canvas could make becoming an online seller more accessible to those without the budget for developers and designers, or the time to learn to code.