Getting started with Sidekick

You can chat with Sidekick from your Shopify Home page or from any other page in your Shopify admin. Use plain language to ask questions, complete tasks, or get guidance for your store. Sidekick is available on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices, and you can interact through text chat or voice and screen sharing.

Sidekick uses the page you're on as context for your question. For example, if you're viewing Analytics when you ask something, Sidekick can use data from that page in its response. You can also manage what Sidekick remembers about your preferences, past conversations, and recent activity in your admin.

Considerations for using Sidekick

Sidekick has the following limitations:

Sidekick can't talk to your customers or handle customer support conversations on your behalf.
Sidekick can't share private information or data from other Shopify merchants with you.
Sidekick can't make changes to your store without your approval, and will only present options for you to review and approve.
Sidekick can't make edits to images within a store theme or your product list.
Sidekick isn't currently available when you use the Shopify admin in a mobile browser. To use Sidekick on a phone or tablet, start a chat in the Shopify app.

Start a chat with Sidekick

Sidekick is accessible from your Shopify Home page and from any other page in your Shopify admin on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices. If Sidekick needs more details to complete your request, then it asks a clarifying question. Answer the question, and Sidekick continues with your task.

To start using Sidekick in your Shopify admin:

Steps:

Desktop

From your Shopify admin, go to Sidekick, or click the icon.
In the chat, enter a command or question and then click the icon to send your message.
Optional: You can use voice mode to speak to Sidekick instead of typing.
Depending on the type of response that you receive from Sidekick, you might need to click an additional button:
- Click the icon to navigate to the indicated page or resource.
- Click Apply to apply the generated content to your store.
Optional: To expand Sidekick into fullscreen mode, use one of the following:
- Hold shift and click the icon in your admin to open fullscreen mode.
- Click the icon in the Sidekick window.
- To return to the compact conversation area, click the icon.
To close the Sidekick window, click the icon or the icon.

Mobile

From the Shopify app, go to any page in your store and tap the icon.
In the chat, enter a command or question and then tap the icon to send your message.
Optional: You can use voice mode to speak to Sidekick instead of typing.
Optional: To expand Sidekick for a larger conversation area, tap the icon to view your full message history and get more room for longer replies. When you're finished, swipe down to return to the compact conversation area.
To close the Sidekick window, tap the icon.

Tablet

From the Shopify app, go to any page in your store and tap the icon.
In the chat, enter a command or question and then tap the icon to send your message.
Optional: You can use voice mode to speak to Sidekick instead of typing.
To close the Sidekick window, tap the icon again.

Submit feedback on Sidekick's responses

When Sidekick generates an answer or set of instructions, you can provide feedback about the quality of the response directly in Sidekick's chat interface. To rate a response, click one of the following icons:

Thumbs up: Click to indicate that this response was helpful.
Thumbs down: Click to indicate that this response was unhelpful.

If you click the wrong icon accidentally, then you can click it again to remove your rating. If you decide later that you want to change your rating of a response, then click the opposite icon to change your rating.

After clicking an icon to add a rating, you can click Add comment to open a dialog to include more detailed feedback about Sidekick's response. Including additional comments and feedback is optional, but your feedback helps improve the quality of responses generated by Sidekick. You can include feedback about helpful and unhelpful responses from Sidekick. After you've included your detailed feedback, click Submit.

Using Sidekick on mobile devices

In the Shopify app on your phone, Sidekick stays on your screen as you move through your store.

The chat stays visible on Orders, Analytics, Products, and other screens. You can ask questions and get guidance without leaving the task in front of you. To ask a follow-up question, tap the chat again without leaving the page.

To start or continue a chat, follow the Mobile steps under Start a chat with Sidekick.

Sidekick on mobile can do the following mobile-specific tasks:

3D scanning
Barcode printing
Tap-to-pay transactions

Using Sidekick on tablets

On a tablet, including iPads and Android tablets, the Sidekick window opens next to your admin, similar to how Sidekick works on desktop.

When you open Sidekick on a tablet, the navigation menu closes to make room for the Sidekick window. You can open the navigation menu again without closing Sidekick.

On smaller tablets held in portrait orientation, the Sidekick window stays on your screen as you move through your store, instead of opening next to your admin. Rotate your device to landscape orientation to open the Sidekick window next to your admin.

To start or continue a chat, follow the Tablet steps under Start a chat with Sidekick.

Using Sidekick on Apple Watch

You can ask Sidekick questions from your Apple Watch using voice mode. Sidekick on Apple Watch is designed for quick answers about your store, such as checking unfulfilled orders, today's sales, or low stock products. Sidekick on Apple Watch can answer questions, but can't make changes to your store or navigate the admin.

Limitations of Sidekick in the Shopify app

The following limitations apply when you use Sidekick in the Shopify app:

When a dialog is open over the main screen, Sidekick isn't available. This can include the Discounts screen and certain tasks on Products or Collections pages. Close the dialog or go back to the previous screen to use Sidekick again.
On a phone, Sidekick in the Online Store Editor isn't identical to Sidekick on other screens. Layout and options can differ.
On a tablet, Sidekick isn't available in the Online Store Editor.

Use Sidekick input features

Sidekick offers multiple ways to enhance your chat interactions and get personalized support. These features help you provide context, save time, and customize your experience:

Attach files from your Shopify admin
Upload files from your device
Turn on Target mode to select specific admin elements
Mention specific products, orders, customers, collections, or installed apps
Work with third-party apps to answer questions and complete tasks
Save a prompt as a skill for reuse