Shopify employees must prove AI can't do the job before asking for staff expansion

Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke sent a message to employees in which he emphasized the importance of using artificial intelligence in everyday work and developing skills in this area. At the same time, he noted that before asking for an increase in the team or additional resources, employees must prove that the task cannot be completed using AI. This is reported by CNBC.

"Employees will be expected to prove why they cannot get what they want done using AI before asking for more headcount and resources. What would this area look like if autonomous AI agents were already part of the team? This question can lead to really fun discussions and projects," Lutke wrote.

The letter Litke sent to Shopify employees quickly found its way into the media, so the company's CEO decided to go further and publish it in full on X. In addition to the new demands for increased staff and resources, he also noted that the use of AI-based tools is now a core expectation of every Shopify employee.

"Using AI effectively is now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify. It's a tool of all trades today, and will only grow in importance. Frankly, I don't think it's feasible to opt out of learning the skill of applying AI in your craft; you are welcome to try, but I want to be honest I cannot see this working out today, and definitely not tomorrow," Lutke said in the letter.

Lutke goes on to emphasize that AI should be integrated into all company workflows. In particular, he notes that graphic design prototyping should be based primarily on AI research. In addition, the use of AI will be taken into account when evaluating employee performance, and employees should regularly share their own experiences using new tools.

As a reminder, Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows users to launch their own online stores and manage sales. In addition to actively implementing AI into internal processes, the company is also expanding its capabilities for customers - recently introducing the Sidekick chatbot and the Shopify Magic toolset.