E-commerce software provider Shopify is bullish on AI-powered shopping agents. The company cited AI as an incredible tool to enable more entrepreneurs and called it the biggest shift in technology since the internet. This statement was made during its third-quarter earnings call.
Shopify partnered with ChatGPT maker OpenAI in September. The company reported that traffic from AI tools to its online stores is up seven times since January of this year. Purchases attributed to AI-powered search have increased by eleven times.
According to Shopify President Harley Finkelstein, the company’s advantage in the AI era comes from its ability to access data from millions of merchants and billions of transactions. He also cited its founder mode mentality to ship products quickly. This includes internal tools like Scout, which uses AI to help employees search hundreds of millions of pieces of merchant feedback to make better product decisions.
Finkelstein stated that Scout is just one of many tools being developed to turn internal signals into fast, informed decisions. These signals include support tickets, usage data, reviews, social interactions, or prompts from Sidekick. He emphasized that AI is not just a feature at Shopify, but central to the engine that powers everything the company builds.
In addition to ChatGPT, Shopify is working with Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot on other in-chat shopping experiences. A recent Shopify survey found that sixty-four percent of shoppers are likely to use AI to some extent when making purchases.
The company has been building infrastructure to make it easy to bring shopping into every AI conversation. Finkelstein believes that working with leaders in the AI space ensures merchants on Shopify are better prepared than those who are not. He acknowledged it is still very early, but the goal is to lay the rails for agentic commerce.
While currently focused on building connections with AI agents, the company is also prepared for different permutations of how agentic commerce will evolve. Finkelstein noted that Shopify needs to be ready for whichever path wins, comparing this adaptability to the early days of social commerce and the concept of commerce everywhere.
Separately, Shopify’s third-quarter financial results showed revenue up thirty-two percent to two point eight four billion dollars, which was ahead of estimates. Profit was two hundred sixty-four million dollars, or twenty cents per share. However, the stock sagged on news that the company’s operating income of four hundred thirty-four million dollars had missed estimates.