Shopify Sidekick Practical Experience: Core Methods and Lessons for Building Production-Grade AI Agents (Agentic Systems)

If you’re an AI product developer working on intelligent assistants, or an e-commerce merchant looking to use AI to boost operational efficiency, you’ve likely faced a critical question: How do you build a “reliable” AI agent? It needs to not only understand user needs but also accurately call tools, complete complex tasks, and operate stably in real-world business scenarios. As a globally recognized e-commerce solutions provider, Shopify has offered an answer through its AI assistant, Sidekick. Evolving from a simple tool-calling system to a sophisticated agent platform capable of helping merchants analyze customers, fill out product forms, and manage backends, …