--- title: "AI for Ecommerce in 2026: 8 Ways Stores Use It, and Where to Start" description: "AI in ecommerce is now specific tools for specific jobs, plus a new way shoppers find products. We opened eight tools and Shopify's own announcements on 16 October 2026 and wrote down what each does, where it fits and what to check." author: "Ecompanda" date: 2023-08-20 updated: 2026-10-16 category: "AI for ecommerce" readingTime: "6 min read" canonical: https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/ai-for-ecommerce source: https://www.ecompanda.co --- # AI for Ecommerce in 2026: 8 Ways Stores Use It, and Where to Start _By Ecompanda. Published August 20, 2023, updated October 16, 2026._ AI in ecommerce is now specific tools for specific jobs, plus a new way shoppers find products. We opened eight tools and Shopify's own announcements on 16 October 2026 and wrote down what each does, where it fits and what to check. The 2023 version of this article promised that generative AI would skyrocket your profits. Three years on, that promise has aged badly and the useful part has become clearer: AI in ecommerce is a set of specific tools that save time on specific jobs, plus a new channel, because shoppers now ask assistants what to buy. This is a full rewrite for 2026. We opened the website or the official announcement for each tool below on 16 October 2026 and quote what the maker says, with the date. We have not measured results, and where a vendor gives a number we say it is the vendor's. Shopify is the first three entries because most of our readers run on it and because Shopify has changed the most. ## 8 ways stores use AI in 2026 ### 1. Sidekick: an assistant inside your Shopify admin ![Screenshot of the Shopify Sidekick page, taken on 16 October 2026](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/7c3344aad26a55a16e7a25dd2f25cf9836542c7c-1440x810.jpg?w=1400&auto=format) _Shopify Sidekick page, 16 October 2026._ [Sidekick](https://www.shopify.com/sidekick) is Shopify's built-in assistant. In its Winter '26 Edition, published in December 2025, Shopify said Sidekick had moved from a reactive helper to a proactive one: it researches your store and suggests improvements (it calls this Sidekick Pulse), builds simple admin apps from a prompt, creates automations in Flow from a description, and edits your theme when you ask for a change in plain words, such as making a button rounded. Shopify also lists AI photo editing inside the file editor. Read its [own announcement](https://www.shopify.com/news/winter-26-edition-merchant) for the full list. **Where it fits:** small teams that do their own admin and theme edits and want a faster way to do routine ones. ### 2. Canvas: designing the whole store with Sidekick ![Screenshot of the Shopify Canvas announcement, taken on 16 October 2026](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/6c5f622e572d7eb5bd141078989aad2766cb2857-1440x810.jpg?w=1400&auto=format) _Shopify announcement of Canvas, 16 October 2026._ On 1 October 2026 Shopify announced [Canvas](https://www.shopify.com/news/introducing-canvas), a design surface that lays every page of your store out together so you can pan across them, zoom in on details and work with Sidekick through chat or by clicking elements. Shopify says it is rolling out over the days after launch, so check whether your store has it yet. The same post says Sidekick made more than twenty-five million theme edits in the first half of 2026. That is Shopify's figure, and it tells you how much of this is already in use. **Where it fits:** merchants who want to try a new layout without opening a code editor. Keep a backup of the theme first. ### 3. Catalog and agentic storefronts: being found inside AI assistants ![Screenshot of Shopify's Spring '26 Edition announcement, taken on 16 October 2026](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/37e3ba51b2ba4281f7dfd2d4413ae0083a54610b-1440x810.jpg?w=1400&auto=format) _Shopify's Spring '26 Edition announcement, 16 October 2026._ This is the biggest change for most stores. In its [Spring '26 Edition](https://www.shopify.com/news/spring-26-edition-merchant), from June 2026, Shopify says Shopify Catalog and the Universal Commerce Protocol are switched on by default for merchants, and that Catalog sends product details to places like ChatGPT, Copilot and the Shop app without extra apps or manual feeds. Its Winter '26 post adds that you can choose which platforms show your products and see where sales come from inside your admin. Shopify also says that searches powered by Catalog convert at twice the rate of searches that use scraped data. That is Shopify's claim and we have not tested it. The practical point stands without the number: these systems read your product data, so thin or inconsistent data costs you visibility. **Where it fits:** every Shopify store. Clean titles, sizes, materials and attributes now matter outside your own website. This is the work we do under [AI Shopping Optimization](https://www.ecompanda.co/ai-search/ai-shopping). ### 4. Klaviyo: personalised email and SMS from a prompt ![Screenshot of the Klaviyo website, taken on 16 October 2026](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/1d2fee5cc60490d8110cafbeb11ec250fbf2857f-1440x690.jpg?w=1400&auto=format) _Klaviyo, 16 October 2026._ [Klaviyo](https://www.klaviyo.com/) describes itself as an AI marketing and service platform that builds personalised, omnichannel campaigns, including email, SMS and WhatsApp, and 24/7 support from a single prompt, using what it calls K:AI Agents. Its home page calls it an autonomous B2C CRM. **Where it fits:** stores with an email list big enough to segment. Start with one flow, such as abandoned cart, and compare it with what you had. ### 5. Gorgias: an AI agent for customer support ![Screenshot of the Gorgias website, taken on 16 October 2026](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/ec01aa2d657eed5b863ae4387e2ab4ae2bbdff71-1440x810.jpg?w=1400&auto=format) _Gorgias, 16 October 2026._ [Gorgias](https://www.gorgias.com/) calls itself a conversational AI platform for ecommerce, with an AI Agent, a helpdesk, chat and FAQ. Its home page demo shows a shopper asking for a black blazer under a set price and the agent answering with products. **Where it fits:** stores that get the same questions every day: where is my order, what is your returns policy, does this come in my size. Keep refunds and exceptions with a person. ### 6. Nosto: personalisation, merchandising and search ![Screenshot of the Nosto website, taken on 16 October 2026](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/a5abc81ead7f619111b14965f10d13bff1b0c4cd-1440x810.jpg?w=1400&auto=format) _Nosto, 16 October 2026._ [Nosto](https://www.nosto.com/) describes AI-powered ecommerce personalisation, merchandising and search tools, and calls itself an agentic commerce experience platform. It says its search goes beyond keyword matching to understand what the shopper means. **Where it fits:** stores with a large catalogue where shoppers struggle to find things. ### 7. Rebuy: product recommendations for Shopify ![Screenshot of the Rebuy website, taken on 16 October 2026](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/142bcd221707be6969937fd761b7f3ca659d4dc0-1440x810.jpg?w=1400&auto=format) _Rebuy, 16 October 2026._ [Rebuy](https://www.rebuyengine.com/) describes itself as a personalisation platform for Shopify brands, with AI-driven product recommendations meant to lift sales and save time. **Where it fits:** stores that want recommendations in the cart and after purchase without building them by hand. Judge it by average order value over a few weeks, not by a demo. ### 8. Algolia: AI search for your own site ![Screenshot of the Algolia website, taken on 16 October 2026](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/9g0lkkr3/production/cba6ab951a38a2623e28ab8de2f309497d1f6af1-1440x810.jpg?w=1400&auto=format) _Algolia, 16 October 2026._ [Algolia](https://www.algolia.com/) calls itself an AI search and retrieval platform that spans agentic, generative and classic search. Its home page demonstrates an AI shopping assistant answering a visitor's questions. **Where it fits:** stores where site search is a real share of sessions. Check your own search report before paying for a better one. ## Where to start: a 30 day plan 1. **Week 1. Fix your product data.** Titles, sizes, materials and colours written the same way on every product. This helps your own site, your feeds and the AI assistants at once. 2. **Week 2. Try Sidekick on three routine jobs** you do every week, such as a banner change or a discount. Keep a note of what saved time and what needed fixing. 3. **Week 3. Pick one customer-facing tool** (support, email or recommendations) and set it up on one flow only. 4. **Week 4. Compare.** Look at the same numbers you had before: support replies per day, email revenue, average order value. Keep what moved them and switch off the rest. ## What to be careful about - **Wrong facts at scale.** An AI that writes a size chart or a care claim can publish the same mistake on a hundred products. Spot-check every batch. - **Customer data.** Read each vendor's data terms before connecting your customer list or your inbox. - **Vendor numbers.** Conversion lifts quoted on a product page are marketing. Test with a before and after, or a holdout group, on your own store. - **Speed.** Every tool that adds a script slows your pages. Check your [speed](https://www.ecompanda.co/speed) after each one. Related reading: [ChatGPT alternatives in 2026](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/chatgpt-alternatives) and [AI for marketing in 2026](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/ai-for-marketing). If you would like help finding where AI saves your store the most time, we run a [conversion diagnostic](https://www.ecompanda.co/convert/cro-diagnostic). ## Frequently asked questions ### What does AI mean in ecommerce? It means software that does a part of running a store that used to need a person: drafting product copy, answering support questions, recommending products, searching the catalogue, and increasingly, answering shoppers inside an AI assistant. ### How does Shopify use AI? Shopify has Sidekick, an assistant inside the admin that edits themes, builds simple apps and automations, and edits photos. It also sends product data to AI shopping surfaces through Catalog. The sections above link to Shopify's own announcements. ### Will AI shopping replace store search and ads? Not on its own. It is a new place people discover products, next to search, social and email. The sensible response is to make sure your product data is accurate so you are represented well wherever shoppers ask. ### How much does it cost to add AI to a store? It depends on the tool and changes often, so we do not quote prices. Sidekick is part of Shopify itself. Most of the others are monthly subscriptions. Start with one, measure it for a month, then decide. ## Related - [11 Best Free AI Content Generator Tools to Use in 2023](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/best-free-ai-content-generator) - [AI for Marketing in 2026: What Works, What to Skip and 6 Tools to Try](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/ai-for-marketing) - [8 ChatGPT Alternatives Worth Trying in 2026, and What Each One Is For](https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/chatgpt-alternatives) --- Canonical HTML version: https://www.ecompanda.co/blog/ai-for-ecommerce