TechCrunch1 Oct 2026Sarah Perez

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

Now, with Canvas, merchants simply chat with Shopify’s AI agent,Sidekick, to create their site. As the AI makes changes, Canvas displays the results in real time, allowing merchants to see how the store looks overall as it comes together or zoom in to focus on certain…

Sidekick also takes screenshots of the work so it can see the same thing the merchant sees as the site updates.Canvas’s launch is part of a broader shift toward a future where building a website no longer requires coding it directly. It joins numerous other AI-powered site-building tools from companies like Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, and Framer, alongside vibe-coding platforms like Lovable and Replit.Merchants can still click on individual elements to make changes directly, if they choose.

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

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