How to Use Shopify AI to Streamline Your Business

How to use Shopify AI to streamline your business

In the dynamic realm of online commerce, the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now a crucial element. The anticipated market size for AI-enabled eCommerce is $16.8 billion by 2030.

Currently, AI plays a vital role in helping businesses identify fresh prospects, enhance decision-making processes, and optimize overall operations.

Shopify, a leading global eCommerce platform, has consistently been a pioneer in furnishing innovative tools to assist merchants in effectively managing their digital enterprises.

This guide will extensively explore Shopify's AI features, demonstrate how to utilize them for the efficient streamlining of business success, and present a selection of top AI-powered apps on Shopify to maintain a competitive edge.

Explore Shopify's AI innovations for streamlined merchant selling

Shopify Magic

Shopify Magic is a complimentary suite of AI-driven features seamlessly integrated into all Shopify products and workflows, aiming to simplify the initiation, operation, and expansion of your business. These Shopify Magic tools are accessible free of charge to all Shopify merchants, irrespective of their subscription plan.

Shopify Magic

By merging the capabilities of Shopify with cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology, Shopify Magic delivers personalized and contextualized assistance across various tasks involved in marketing, store development, office management, and customer support.

One notable feature of Shopify Magic is its automatic text generation, which expedites the content creation process. Leveraging Large Language Models (LLM), computer programs designed to comprehend human language, this feature is versatile and can execute tasks such as language translation, answering queries, text synthesis, and content origination.

Shopify Magic utilizes the information provided by users to generate content suggestions. Users can implement text suggestions in different sections of their store, including:

  • Blog posts
  • Pages
  • Shopify email communications
  • Product Descriptions
  • Shopify Inbox's instant answers and suggested responses

Shopify Sidekick

Sidekick functions as an AI-driven commerce assistant crafted to simplify the process of launching, operating, and expanding your business on Shopify. Sidekick is available for free with unlimited access across all plans.

Fueled by Shopify Magic, Sidekick is specifically trained to comprehend various aspects of Shopify, accessing data, context, and expertise. This enables it to provide highly personalized and relevant support across a spectrum of tasks.

By employing Sidekick, you can engage in meaningful conversations using everyday language. It comprehends your intentions and enhances your writing for increased clarity, thereby stimulating your creative process.

Shopify Sidekick

Additionally, Sidekick contributes to addressing time-consuming tasks, improving store quality, and facilitating more lucid business decision-making.

Shopify Sidekick can help your business:

1. Enhance content creation: Whether it involves images, written content, videos, or audio, Sidekick is tailored to enhance your creative efforts and streamline the content generation process.

2. Discounts management: You have the flexibility to generate various types of discounts, including applying promotions to all products. Additionally, Sidekick can advise you on whether it's necessary to establish a new collection for all items before initiating a sale.

3. Address repetitive workflows, tasks, and research: Shopify Sidekick delivers indispensable assistance for addressing repetitive tasks, encompassing the automation of order processing and inventory management, as well as the management of customer inquiries and the orchestration of email campaigns.

When dealing with laborious workflows, whether it involves managing updates to products or handling tasks related to data entry, Sidekick is adept at efficiently addressing these challenges.

Regarding research, Shopify Sidekick rapidly assembles and scrutinizes data from diverse sources, furnishing store owners with valuable information and insights. Whether engaging in analyzing competitors, researching the market, or tracking trends, Sidekick equips merchants with the essential information needed to make informed decisions.

When is Shopify Sidekick available for your store?

Currently, Shopify has not provided a specific release date for the availability of Sidekick. However, considering the excitement surrounding this new tool, it is expected that merchants will soon have the opportunity to utilize Shopify Sidekick to enhance their online stores in 2024.

Although it is not yet fully accessible, early access applications are being accepted. You can explore the early access form for more information.

Optimizing your online store with Shopify AI

In this segment, you'll discover simple and effective ways to harness the power of Shopify Magic and Sidekick for the success of your business.

How to make use of Shopify Magic

1. Craft product listings

The primary function of Shopify Magic lies in text generation. When the symbol is accessible, it indicates access to the AI generator:

In this scenario, you can input key information to include product descriptions in your content. The text generator will then generate descriptions based on the provided information, allowing you to regenerate content until you find a suitable option:

craft product listing with Shopify AI

Imagine your store features a vast array of products; this process helps save a significant amount of time and accelerates your content creation! Simply input key details for each product, and Shopify Magic will handle the rest.

2. Generate blog posts

Utilize the Shopify AI tool to craft blog posts for your online shop. Shopify Magic can assist in generating the title, description, and body content:

Generate blog post with Shopify AI

Imagine you have a concept for a blog article but feel uncertain about its execution, or perhaps you find the process too time-consuming to craft a full post. Utilizing the AI-powered generator can provide that initial push, assisting in transforming your concept into a well-crafted piece.

3. Compose emails

By integrating the Shopify email app, you have the option to employ the AI generator to craft email drafts for your customers.

It's essential to note that this feature is exclusively accessible on an upgraded plan, and sending emails is not permitted during the free trial period.

Here's how you can utilize Shopify Magic to craft a subject line:

Craft email with Shopify Magic

Beyond subject lines, you can also leverage the text generator to formulate the content of the email body:

Use Shopify Magic to craft email

Pro tips for using Shopify Magic:

1. Selecting a style for your generated content

The choice of tone in your store's content is how you convey your brand's personality and can shape the emotions customers may experience as they read your content.

When creating theme text, product descriptions, and automatic email, you have the option to choose from pre-established tones provided by Shopify Magic:

- Expert:
  • Crafted with insights from a product or industry expert.
  • Maintaining a professional tone through the use of objective and scientific language.
  • Incorporating factual statements.
- Supportive:
  • Demonstrating empathy and a commitment to assisting the customer.
  • Communicating support through a friendly, straightforward, and approachable language.
- Persuasive:
  • Advocating passionately for the product's value.
  • Projecting a motivational and persuasive tone.
  • Deploying language that engages the senses and stirs strong emotions.
Note: The default tone for email subject lines and text leans towards persuasion
- Daring:
  • Encouraging customers to be bold and embrace adventure.
  • Inspiring action with robust and motivating language.
- Playful:
  • Approaching communication with a light-hearted attitude.
  • Incorporating fun, quirky language, including humor and slang expressions.
- Sophisticated:
  • Emulating the sophistication of a luxury brand marketing premium products.
  • Conveying sophistication and refinement.
  • Using language that appeals to a buyer’s inclination for high quality and exquisite taste.

Let's analyze examples to see how Shopify Magic creates diverse product descriptions that align with different tones:

use Shopify AI to create personalized tone of voice

As you can see, the playful tone exudes energy and positivity, employing phrases like "wear your sunshine" and "bloom through any weather."

use Shopify AI to create diverse tone of voice for content

Regarding the supportive tone, it prioritizes practicality and assurance. The use of "stay stylish and protected" conveys a sense of reliability and care, while the mention of looking great and staying dry caters to the user's comfort and well-being in various weather conditions.

If you prefer not to opt for Shopify's pre-defined writing tone, you can select 'Custom' from the Tone of Voice dropdown menu and input your unique brand voice.

Here's an example of an optimistic writing tone generated by Shopify Magic

You can discover more about other writing tones that can be chosen for your brand voice.

Once you create a custom tone, it remains an available option for each product description, unless you opt to replace the custom label with a different one, such as "Confident."

If you're uncertain about the most suitable tone for your content, experimenting with the tone setting is encouraged. This process involves generating various versions of the text to discover a tone that resonates well with your product and target customer.

Upon selecting a specific tone option, the characteristics of the suggested content undergo adjustments to align with the chosen tone. These adaptations include shifts in sentence structure, vocabulary, and punctuation in the generated output.

2. Utilizing your special instructions

When generating text for product descriptions or emails, you can offer specific instructions directly to Shopify Magic. These instructions can encompass details like format, content length, etc.

For instance, you might include a directive to create content limited to 50 words, compose the product description in a different language, or substitute certain words with emojis.

To include specific instructions during the generation of automatic text, input your directive into the designated Special Instructions field.

A bonus tip for you is that you can leverage the R.A.C.E. framework to provide effective instructions for optimizing Shopify Magic. This framework consists of 4 key components:

  • Role: Clearly define your role in the process.
  • Action: Specify the necessary actions to be taken.
  • Context: Offer pertinent details about the current situation.
  • Expectation: Describe the anticipated outcome.

To better understand how this framework operates, let's look at the example below:

tips to use Shopify Magic for crafting product descriptions

Example of special instructions using the R.A.C.E framework:

  • Role: Imagine yourself as a marketer.
  • Action and Context: Craft an irresistible product description for the shoes available in your store, targeting male customers in search of the perfect pair for outdoor exercise.
  • Expectation: The expected outcome is to employ a persuasive tone that sparks desire and motivates customers to make a purchase.

In certain instances, special instructions may not be accurately interpreted, resulting in generated text that doesn't align with your expectations. To address this, you can attempt to regenerate the text or refine the wording of your instruction until the desired outcome is achieved.

Elevate your store with Shopify Sidekick AI

Unlocking the potential of Shopify Sidekick AI is a strategic move to enhance the growth of your online store. Leverage the power of AI in your very own personal assistant, as Shopify Sidekick is intricately connected with the capabilities of Magic.

Interacting with Sidekick opens up possibilities for inquiring about your products or store. For instance, if you find yourself uncertain about the best-selling products, a simple query to Sidekick can provide insights:

Shopify Sidekick AI for inquiring about products

Similarly, when seeking inspiration for content ideas, your Sidekick is there to guide you toward optimal choices:

Shopify Sidekick to generate ideas

Moreover, Sidekick proves invaluable for handling repetitive tasks, including the creation of discount codes:

Shopify Sidekick to create discounts

The integration of Sidekick significantly simplifies these minor yet technical tasks, providing assistance that enhances your workflow.

When combined with text generation, you can fully harness the potential of Shopify Magic to streamline and optimize various aspects of your business operations.

Top Shopify AI tools that will blow your mind

The ascent of AI is a transformative trend rapidly redefining the landscape of business operations. As the Shopify App Store welcomes innovative AI applications, numerous opportunities emerge for leveraging AI to enhance efficiency, elevate the customer experience, and boost revenue.

This segment will highlight top-notch Shopify third-party apps seamlessly integrating AI, providing a glimpse into the myriad ways businesses can harness these advancements to their advantage.

1. Foxify Smart Page Builder

Foxify stands out as a leading smart page builder designed to empower Shopify merchants to swiftly and effortlessly create pages to maximize conversion rates, elevate sales, and increase average order value.

An exceptional feature of Foxify is Fox Magic, one of FoxEcom’s AI-powered tools, integrated to facilitate content translation directly within the page creation workflow.

Eliminate the hassle of installing a separate app for content translation after meticulously designing your stunning store with a page builder. Choose a singular solution, such as Foxify, that simplifies the entire process.

Boasting an extensive collection of 80+ sales-winning template designs, Foxify guarantees a smooth and efficient store-building experience. Take it a step further by effortlessly reaching global audiences using the one-click translation option.

Fox Magic efficiently handles all content translation tasks to your desired languages, ensuring a quick and hassle-free experience. Alternatively, you have the flexibility to customize your tone of voice through manual translation. This not only saves time and budget but also enables you to achieve more, effortlessly reaching millions of global shoppers.

Discover more about Fox Magic and explore how you can seamlessly localize your Shopify content with ease.

2. Tidio Live chat

Tidio stands out as a customer experience platform designed to empower online stores in delivering exceptional customer service and transforming passive visitors into active buyers.

Central to its capabilities is Lyro AI bot, which autonomously addresses the most common customer queries. Lyro efficiently manages up to 70% of routine customer questions, allowing human agents to focus on resolving more complex requests.

With the ability to assist multiple customers concurrently, Lyro excels in understanding context, retaining previous interactions, and providing detailed responses to ensure customer satisfaction.

This innovative solution enables small and medium businesses to effortlessly scale their support capacity without the need for additional hiring. Tidio's Lyro becomes a valuable ally in delivering automated and personalized support to customers, ensuring a seamless and efficient customer service experience.

3. Octane AI

Octane AI is a Shopify application harnessing the capabilities of AI and machine learning to develop conversational commerce solutions tailored for eCommerce stores.

If you're aiming to infuse a personalized touch into your Shopify store for your customers, Octane AI provides an effective solution through interactive quizzes. Utilizing this feature, customers can engage in answering questions, leading them to discover the best product(s) that suit their needs.

Shopify AI tools for your store

This distinctive feature leverages AI to analyze data within your store, considering factors such as product classifications and customer purchase behaviors.

Based on this analysis, Octane AI autonomously constructs a quiz, selecting questions, framing answers, and determining the quiz sequence. This intelligent quiz construction ensures alignment with your product offerings, resonating well with your customers and fostering engaging interactions while collecting valuable data.

The result is a personalized experience that contributes to increased sales, email and SMS subscribers, average order value (AOV), and the fortification of customer relationships with your brand.

4. Minta Social Media Video Maker

Minta AI is a robust platform offering the capability to instantly generate an array of product videos from your store's catalog. Minta's distinctive AI creation algorithm automates the entire process of creating branded creatives and facilitates seamless social marketing with just one click!

For eCommerce merchants, Minta emerges as a time-saving powerhouse, potentially elevating sales. It operates like an in-house video production team, collecting your product images and transforming them into dynamic marketing videos using its extensive array of proven templates.

Additionally, Minta provides the functionality to schedule your videos using a content calendar. Furthermore, you can utilize the auto-post feature, generating and posting product videos repetitively to effortlessly uphold a strong presence across your social accounts.

Another noteworthy aspect of Minta is the ability to directly publish the content it generates to your paid advertising accounts. Minta conducts tests on your creatives and produces iterations based on the success of your top-performing ads, ultimately aiming to enhance your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) even further.

Wrapping up

Having delved into the AI features of Shopify, you now possess the knowledge to effectively harness these capabilities for the advancement of your business.
Shopify Magic and Sidekick AI, both powered by cutting-edge AI, provide tailored and context-aware support, spanning from content creation to handling routine tasks.

The introduction of Shopify Sidekick paints a picture of a future where your online store seamlessly operates, managing inventory, fulfilling orders, and automatically addressing customer inquiries. Envision a scenario where immediate insights are at your disposal, enabling swift adjustments to your storefront with minimal effort.

Looking ahead, the trajectory of AI technology promises continuous advancements. You can further apply emerging AI features through Shopify third-party apps, unlocking innovative avenues to achieve your growth objectives.

Don’t hesitate to embrace these advancements to maintain competitiveness in the ever-evolving realm of online commerce. 💃

Lucy Nguyen

Lucy is a dedicated writer specializing in technology and B2B eCommerce. When she's not weaving words into captivating content, she enjoys wandering the streets with a camera in hand, capturing enchanting moments through her lens. This pursuit is a tremendous source of inspiration, fostering and nurturing her creativity.