Shopify Magic and Sidekick are the two artificial intelligence tools integrated into Shopify for free. Magic generates content, product descriptions, emails, or images. Sidekick is a conversational assistant that analyzes your data and acts directly within your administration interface. One writes, the other executes.
Many merchants confuse the two, or miss out on what they can truly gain from them. This guide clarifies the difference, shows how to activate and use them daily, and honestly discusses their limitations. For an overall framework of AI on the platform, see our guide to AI on Shopify.
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Shopify Magic and Sidekick, what's the difference
The confusion is normal: both are part of Shopify's native AI suite, free and included in your subscription. But they don't play the same role. Magic is a content generator that appears in your admin fields. Sidekick is an assistant you query in natural language and who acts for you in the store.
The simple way to remember: Magic writes, Sidekick does.
- Shopify Magic: content generation role. It writes descriptions, emails, replies, and retouches images. It is found directly in the relevant admin fields. Ideal for quickly producing text and visuals.
- Shopify Sidekick: assistant role that acts. It analyzes your data, creates segments, modifies your theme, recommends actions. It is accessed via a chat available everywhere in the admin. Ideal for managing and executing tasks without menus.
What Shopify Magic does concretely
Magic intervenes where you produce content in Shopify. Its most useful daily uses:
- Product descriptions: generation, rewriting, or enrichment from a few keywords.
- Marketing emails: subject lines and message bodies, directly in Shopify Email.
- Replies and FAQ: suggested responses in Shopify Inbox for customer support.
- Images: the Magic image editor retouches, crops, or stages a product visual.
- Page titles and content: suggestions for titles and sections for your pages and articles.
The advantage is speed. The trap is blandness. Compare:
Raw: "Our moisturizing cream offers optimal hydration for all skin types." Reworked: "A cream designed for skin that feels dry in winter. One application in the morning lasts all day."
Magic produces the first version in three seconds. The second, the one that sells, requires your judgment. This is the whole point of proofreading, which we detail below.
To automate support beyond the Inbox, read our guide to AI customer service chatbot for e-commerce.
What Shopify Sidekick does concretely
Sidekick is the assistant that transforms a request in plain language into an action in your store. Unlike a generic AI tool, it knows your data and works within your admin. Some real uses:
- Querying your data: "which products sold best last month?" and getting a numerical answer.
- Creating customer segments by simply describing the criteria, without going through manual filters.
- Editing the theme: modifying a section, color, or layout with a simple instruction.
- Getting proactive business recommendations on what deserves your attention.
- Speeding up technical tasks, including help with creating small applications and recommending relevant apps.
Since its latest developments, Sidekick has evolved from a simple answering machine to a true co-pilot that acts. We covered these new features in our analysis of the Winter 26 Edition.
How to activate and use these tools
Good news: there's almost nothing to install, everything is native. Here's how to get started.
- Check your access. Magic and Sidekick are included in Shopify plans. Make sure you are on an up-to-date version of the administration.
- For Magic: go to a product page, an email, or a page, then click the AI generation button in the relevant text field. Provide a few keywords and start.
- For Sidekick: open the chat from the dedicated icon, accessible from any page of the admin, and formulate your request in natural language.
- Refine your request. The more context you provide (target, tone, constraint), the better the result. To go further, draw from our Shopify AI prompts library.
A note on language: the tools work in French, although some of the most recent features sometimes arrive first in English.
Is Shopify Magic free
Yes. Shopify Magic and Sidekick are included free with your Shopify subscription, with no additional cost or apps to buy. This is one of their great advantages over paid third-party tools.
The only nuance: some advanced features may depend on your plan or be rolled out gradually. But for common use (content, assistance, analysis), access is free from the first plan.
The limits, and when to opt for custom solutions
Magic and Sidekick are excellent starting points, not complete solutions. Knowing their limits avoids disappointment.
- A generic brand voice by default. Without guidance, the content sounds like everyone else's. This is the number one weakness, and it is corrected by the method described in our guide for maintaining your brand voice.
- No strategy. These tools execute; they don't make decisions. The "what" and "why" remain your job.
- Complex business cases (pricing logic, integrations, high-volume automations) go beyond what native tools do.
When a native tool is no longer sufficient, the right reflex is to build a tool adapted to your business. This is precisely what our AI Studio offer does: custom automations and tools connected to Shopify, where Magic and Sidekick stop.
Magic and Sidekick vs. ChatGPT
Should you use Magic and Sidekick or ChatGPT? Both, but not for the same thing. Native tools have a decisive advantage: they know the context of your store and act within the admin. ChatGPT, on the other hand, is more flexible and powerful for open-ended thinking, brainstorming, or long texts.
In practice: Sidekick for managing and executing within Shopify, Magic for initial content drafts, an external assistant for delving into a topic. This rise in agents acting within the store prepares for a broader change, agentic commerce, where AI also shops for the customer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shopify Magic free?
Yes. Magic and Sidekick are included free with your Shopify subscription, with no app to buy. Some advanced features may depend on your plan or be rolled out gradually.
What's the difference between Shopify Magic and Sidekick?
Magic generates content (descriptions, emails, images) in the admin fields. Sidekick is a conversational assistant that analyzes your data and acts in your store. To summarize: Magic writes, Sidekick does.
Is Sidekick available in French?
Yes, the tools work in French. Some new features are sometimes released first in English before being deployed in other languages.
Does Shopify Magic replace a copywriter or an agency?
No. Magic speeds up production, but raw content sounds generic and lacks strategy or brand voice. It saves time, but it doesn't replace human judgment or decision-making.
How do I activate Sidekick on my store?
Sidekick is native: open the chat from the dedicated icon in your Shopify administration, accessible from any page, then formulate your request in natural language. No installation is necessary.
Magic and Sidekick save you time, but it's management and custom solutions that make the real difference in the long run. Do you want to go further than native tools? Let's talk about your project with our team.
