Tools don’t create masterpieces. People do. Michelangelo’s chisel was simply a conduit for his vision and da Vinci changed the world with no more than ink and a notebook.
Today’s entrepreneurs build upon this creative legacy with modern tools that multiply the impact of their ideas while preserving their unique perspectives. We’re at the edge of a renaissance moment in commerce.
Winter ’26 Edition arrives packed with over 150 launches and enhancements, all centered around a simple but powerful idea: AI will amplify human creativity. In this transformative period that rivals 14th-century Florence, merchants stand as the modern pioneers crafting the future.
Here’s what’s inside.
Sidekick evolves from assistant to collaborator
At the heart of Winter ’26 Edition is Sidekick. It’s a tool experiencing a renaissance of its own, evolving from a reactive assistant to a proactive collaborator that predicts merchant needs and suggests action. It can also build code and make changes directly, all with your oversight.
Sidekick’s evolution goes beyond answering your questions. It now anticipates, takes initiative, and transforms simple conversations into executing on complex tasks like theme editing—all while knowing the commerce space better than any agent out there.
- A business advisor that never sleeps: With Sidekick Pulse, you’ll receive personalized, high-impact advice you can act on. Sidekick researches your store and surfaces actionable suggestions that can make meaningful improvements instantly. Brilliant insights, zero caffeine required.
- An app builder that runs on conversation: Create custom apps for the Shopify admin by prompting Sidekick. Bespoke software made for your business—using just words.
- You can now talk to your theme: Customize any store element through natural language commands like “make this button rounded.” Sidekick understands and modifies the appropriate settings instantly, whether it’s global styles or settings on individual blocks. You can now click on anything in the theme editor and ask Sidekick to make the edit for you.
- Collective genius in your pocket: Save, reuse, and share your best Sidekick prompts with your team or with a community of other merchants using Sidekick Skills. You can add skills to Sidekick’s repository for quick access, creating shortcuts for repeat tasks.
- A flow builder that just gets it: Use Flow to create automated workflows by simply describing what you want to accomplish. Say, “Help me automatically tag customers if they place an order over $200.” Sidekick then builds and visualizes the entire flow for you, no coding required.
- Photo wizardry without the design degree: Transform product photos with pro-level AI editing tools, built into your file editor for studio-quality results.