Shopify announced on Tuesday that shoppers can connect any AI assistant to their Shop account and let the bot buy products for them. The feature works with the Shop app, which already handles orders, tracking and recommendations. When a shopper authorizes a purchase, the AI uses the one‑click Shop Pay checkout inside the chat, and the order shows up in the Shop app just like any other purchase.
How does the personal‑shopper feature work?
Customers first link an AI agent – for example a chatbot they use daily – to their Shopify account on the Shop app. They can set simple rules, such as a maximum spend or a preference for fast‑shipping items. When the bot finds a product that matches the shopper’s request, it shows the suggestion in the conversation. The shopper must approve the checkout before the bot completes the purchase using Shop Pay.
The system draws from Shopify’s catalog of more than a billion items, which includes products listed on both Shopify storefronts and external sites that use Shopify’s backend.
What this means for everyday buyers
For people who already use AI chatbots, the new option removes the need for a special partnership like the earlier Muse deal with Meta. Any compatible agent can act as a “personal shopper,” handling the legwork of finding and ordering items while the user retains final approval. This could make voice‑ or text‑based shopping feel more like a conversation and less like a manual checkout process.
Why it matters
Regular shoppers can now let the AI assistants they already use handle product searches and price checks, saving time while still keeping control over the final purchase. The change also opens the door for smaller AI developers to build shopping bots without a direct Shopify partnership.
