If you’re frustrated with changing interfaces and menus constantly when managing your Shopify store, you’re in luck. Shopify has just launched connector apps with ChatGPT and Claude that let you manage your entire store, all from an AI chat.
These are an extension of the Shopify AI Toolkit, and are the latest example of how Shopify is leaning deeper into AI.
Shopify Launches ChatGPT and Claude Connector Apps
To help Shopify merchants manage their stores more easily, the platform has launched connector apps with both ChatGPT and Claude. Now, instead of jumping from menu to menu and feature to feature, sellers can build and manage their stores in a conversation. With 83% of Shopify merchants already using ChatGPT, it made sense for the company to meet them there.
Merchants can get started by connecting the Shopify app in ChatGPT or Claude to their account. Once connected, using the feature is as easy as sending a chat message. You can ask about recent orders, view analytics on store performance, update prices, add products to your store, create discount codes, view customer information, adjust your inventory, and more.
Behind the scenes, these requests pass through the connector app to the Shopify API, where the request is processed and completed before the results are sent back to the chat. All of this helps simplify a merchant’s workflow and saves them from having to handle many of these tasks manually.
This connector app is useful for all merchants, but it’s an especially great fit for sellers and teams that already use AI chats for things like content creation or campaign planning. This is because it extends the in-AI chat capabilities of Shopify, without forcing sellers to learn any new tools.
Shopify Leaning Deeper into AI
In addition to these new connector apps, Shopify has been increasingly immersing itself in AI recently. For example, Shopify President Harley Finkelstein has said that AI is Shopify’s native language, and that it’s been embedded in everything the company does. During a speech at a recent event, he also said that Shopify is preparing for AI agents to change online retail.
Specifically, he said the company is going to use agentic applications as a kind of personal shopper, and mentioned that these agents may bring more context to shopping.
The company has also launched several other AI-focused features and capabilities, such as the Shopify AI Toolkit, a developer-focused tool that connects AI agents to a Shopify store to build apps and/or manage the store.
This is similar to the new connector apps, only that these connector apps let you manage your store right in the chat, rather than in a terminal or AI editor. Also, the Toolkit is more of a tool for developers, whereas the connector apps may be better for store owners and marketers.
Shopify has also launched a new app with more than 100 AI tools called Tinker, has worked with Google to create and develop the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), and debuted Shopify Sidekick, an AI-enabled ecommerce assistant.
Shopify Prioritizing AI is a Win For Merchants
The company’s aggressive adoption of AI, and the fact it’s adding so many AI-enabled tools, offers huge benefits for merchants on the platform. Whether it’s these brand-new connector apps or the Shopify Sidekick, these capabilities help merchants save time, boost efficiency, access useful insights, and make better decisions.
After such a major shift towards AI, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Shopify continue to embrace the technology with open arms and provide merchants with even more ways to take advantage of it going forward.
