Shopify debuts Canvas, a way to build online stores by chatting with AI

Shopify introduced Canvas, a new site-building tool that lets merchants create their online store by chatting with Shopify's AI agent, Sidekick. Unlike the existing no-code builder, which involved rearranging modular sections within a selected theme, Canvas enables deeper customizations through natural conversation with AI—eliminating the need for coding or hiring developers. As the AI makes changes, Canvas renders the real code in real time, allowing merchants to test full interactivity, animations, and responsiveness across different screen sizes. Sidekick also takes screenshots so it can see what the merchant sees while the site updates.

Canvas is part of a broader industry shift toward AI-powered website building, joining similar tools from Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, and Framer, as well as vibe-coding platforms like Lovable and Replit. While merchants can still click on individual elements to make direct changes, the primary workflow is through chat. Sidekick is not entirely new—it has previously been used to write code, build apps, and customize themes—but Canvas is the first full site-building product where users can view and edit their entire store at once. To enable this, Shopify granted Sidekick direct access to theme files and simplified the theme architecture so the store's structure, logic, and design would be easier for the AI to understand and modify.

Still in its early days, Canvas has room to expand and improve, but it could make becoming an online seller more accessible to people who lack the budget for developers and designers or the time to learn coding.

(Source：TechCrunch)