“Reflexive AI usage is now a baseline expectation” at the Ottawa-headquartered commerce company and will be part of employee performance reviews, CEO Tobi Lütke said in an internal memo he also posted on X. Developers must use AI when prototyping new products, and teams can’t get access to more staff or resources unless they prove the work can’t be done with AI instead. (The Logic)

Talking point: Shopify has launched a suite of AI-powered tools for its merchants, including its Sidekick assistant as well as features to produce email-marketing messages and edit images. Internally, it’s using automated code generation and review systems. Lütke’s memo Monday positions AI as a huge benefit to businesses, which Shopify should be capitalizing on both for itself and for its clients. It’s a message he’s been sending since the firm cut a fifth of its workforce as well as its logistics arm two years ago. Shopify plans to keep head count “fairly flat” this year, but is still recruiting AI talent, president Harley Finkelstein said on a February earnings call.