Shopify President Says AI Is Fueling a New Business Boom

Shopify president Harley Finkelstein says artificial intelligence has made launching a small business easier than ever before. Speaking on CNBC’s “Mad Money,” he shared that a new entrepreneur makes their first sale on Shopify roughly every 26 seconds, pointing to how accessible the platform has become for first-time sellers.

AI Platforms Are Driving More Traffic Than Ever

According to Finkelstein, traffic and orders arriving at Shopify stores through AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini have tripled over the past year. Notably, most of that growth isn’t benefiting major brands. Roughly three-quarters of AI-driven purchases last quarter came from product categories outside the top 100, suggesting AI is helping smaller, niche sellers compete in ways that traditional search and advertising rarely allowed.

Finkelstein described the shift as AI accelerating entrepreneurship at an unprecedented pace, framing the current moment as a golden age for new business owners, with Shopify positioned at the center of that growth.

Sidekick’s Role in Early Business Success

He also highlighted Sidekick, Shopify’s built-in AI assistant, which handled 34 million merchant conversations last quarter alone. Finkelstein noted that sellers who use Sidekick early in their journey tend to reach their first five sales faster than those who don’t, a milestone he considers critical for determining whether a new business survives its early stages.

The comments came alongside strong investor reaction: Shopify shares rose 17% following the company’s latest earnings report, even though the stock remains down 8% for the year overall. The results suggest that while AI-driven commerce is reshaping small business growth, market sentiment around Shopify itself is still catching up to its longer-