Shopify is aggressively positioning itself to lead in “agentic commerce,” calling AI the “biggest shift in technology since the internet” during its third-quarter earnings call. Shopify President Harley Finkelstein emphasized that AI is not just a feature but “central to our engine that powers everything we build.”
The e-commerce giant, which partnered with OpenAI in September, reported significant growth in AI-driven traffic. Since January 2025, traffic from AI tools to its online stores has increased sevenfold, while purchases attributed to AI-powered search have grown by 11 times. This shift is also expected to accelerate demand for advanced platform customization and Shopify app development, as merchants look to integrate AI-driven capabilities directly into their storefronts and workflows.
Shopify is also working with Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot to integrate shopping experiences directly into AI chat conversations. A recent Shopify survey found that 64% of shoppers are “likely” to use AI to some extent when making purchases.
Finkelstein stated that Shopify’s advantage in the AI era comes from its access to data from millions of merchants and its “founder mode” mentality of shipping products quickly. This includes internal AI tools like “Scout,” which helps employees analyze hundreds of millions of pieces of merchant feedback, support tickets, and usage data to make faster product decisions.
“What we’re really trying to do is lay the rails for agentic commerce,” Finkelstein said, adding that the company is prepared for “whichever path wins” as AI shopping evolves.
Separately, Shopify reported strong Q3 financial results, with revenue up 32% to $2.84 billion and a profit of $264 million. However, the company’s stock fell after its operating income of $434 million slightly missed analyst estimates of $437 million.
