Enhance Integrations with Sidekick App Extensions

Executive summary:

• Sidekick app extensions offer new integration opportunities for apps.
• They enhance workflow integration with Shopify's AI-powered assistant.
• Enterprise merchants can harness these extensions for improved efficiency.

What changed

Today, Shopify introduces Sidekick app extensions, providing your app with new ways to integrate with Shopify’s AI-enabled commerce assistant, Sidekick. This feature allows your app to connect its data and workflows through app extensions. With these tools, Sidekick can search your app’s data, offer contextual answers, and navigate merchants directly to specific sections within your app. Furthermore, merchants can execute predefined actions safely, such as editing email templates or updating support issues, with Sidekick’s assistance, all while maintaining control.

Why it matters

Sidekick app extensions present substantial benefits to Shopify Plus merchants by streamlining operations, enhancing the customer experience, and improving overall engagement with your app. With these extensions, merchants can enjoy a seamless and efficient interaction with their apps, facilitated by intelligent AI suggestions and navigation features. This reduces the time spent on redundant tasks and optimizes workflow management.

Role-specific impact

• Marketers: Access to timely insights and ability to take quick actions based on app data, resulting in effective campaign management.
• Developers: Leverage the open platform to create robust app extensions that engage users through intuitive AI-assisted features.
• Store admins: Streamline administrative tasks with direct guidance from Sidekick, increasing productivity and reducing complexity.

Use-case example

Real-world scenario & metric

An email marketing app utilizes Sidekick app extensions to allow merchants to identify top-performing subject lines quickly. By integrating app data through an extension, Sidekick searches and suggests best practices directly within the Shopify admin panel, leading to improved open rates and a 20% increase in campaign effectiveness.

Implementation checklist

1. Review and integrate Sidekick app extensions following Shopify's documentation.
2. Define and deploy safe, scoped actions within your app.
3. Test extensions in a sandbox environment to ensure operational integrity.
4. Gather feedback from users via the Shopify Developer Community to refine integrations.
5. Monitor performance metrics to measure success and impact.

FAQ

Q: How does Sidekick improve app interactions?
A: By providing context-aware assistance, it allows users to navigate and manage app features effectively, enhancing the overall user experience.

Q: Can I control which data Sidekick accesses?
A: Yes, merchants retain full control over what data is integrated and shared through app extensions.

Resources

For further information, visit the Sidekick app extensions documentation.

Need guidance? Talk to Makro.