E-commerce software provider Shopify said during its second-quarter earnings call that AI-driven search has materially boosted traffic and orders for its merchants. Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, described AI as "a complement to search, rather than a substitute for it," and said the technology has particularly helped the long tail of e-commerce, including the smaller merchants that make up most of Shopify’s customer base.
Key financials and growth metrics
- Shopify reported second-quarter revenue of $3.6 billion, up 36% year-over-year, topping Wall Street’s $3.4 billion forecast.
- Gross operating profit rose 31% to $1.71 billion, ahead of analysts’ expectation of $1.63 billion.
- The company said AI-driven traffic and orders to Shopify stores tripled year-over-year in the quarter.
How AI search differs and why it drives conversions
Shopify explained that AI agents search differently than traditional search engines. Search engines typically rank results by popularity for a small set of keywords, whereas AI agents make multiple queries against Shopify’s catalog and leverage richer structured data to match products to a buyer’s specific intent rather than just keyword matches.
Finkelstein illustrated the difference with an example: a buyer asking an AI assistant for the best car seat that fits three across a sedan. Traditional search tends to focus on the keyword "car seat." An AI agent, however, understands the actual need — dimensions, vehicle type, and the requirement for three seats — and searches across those constraints simultaneously to find a product that actually fits, not merely the highest-ranked item.
This multi-dimensional matching, Shopify says, leads to better conversions for merchants.
Impact on shopping behavior and category reach
Shopify noted that buyers’ journeys are shortening: half of all AI-referred sessions land directly on a product description page, which is 2.5 times the rate seen for traditional search. Additionally, 75% of AI-attributed purchases in Q2 occurred outside Shopify’s top 100 categories, indicating that AI is helping surface sales in the platform’s "sweet spot" of long-tail offerings.
The company also suggested it could benefit from AI’s larger role in transactions because of Shopify’s trusted checkout experience.
Integrations with AI tools and partners
Shopify said it has built connectors and integrations with several AI tools and platforms, including Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Manus, Replit and Vercel, as well as vibe-coding platforms like Lovable, enabling merchants to build on Shopify in ways they choose.
Conclusion
Shopify’s second-quarter results indicate that AI-powered search is boosting merchant traffic and conversions without displacing traditional search. Management points to improved intent-matching, higher on-product landing rates, broader category reach, and expanded AI integrations as drivers of the company’s outperformance in the quarter.
