An internal memo leaked from Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke sparked a wave of attention across social media after revealing how far the company is leaning towards artificial intelligence.
Originally targeted at employees, this memo laid out a dull new reality. AI is not just a useful tool for Shopify, it’s now a baseline. Teams need to prove they have used their AI to the fullest before seeking additional recruitment or resources. The message was clear: “Hiring AI before you hire a human.”
After the leak, Lucke stepped in to check the notes and controlled the story. “Context: This is a Shopify internal memo I shared here because there is a leak and (probably) malicious,” he writes to X.
He didn’t just confirm it – he fully confirmed it. “If you don’t use AI by default on Shopify, I added, ‘You’re late.’ The shift is not theoretical. It’s already restructuring how work is done across the company.
https://t.co/6i6h3ski3x
– Tobi Lutke (@tobi) April 7, 2025
AI first, second human
A note entitled “AI Usage has become a Baseline Expectation” rules out all of that. Before seeking more team members or additional resources, Shopify employees should show they have already investigated what AI can do.
“Stasis is almost certain, and stagnation is a slow motion failure,” writes Lucke. “If you don’t climb, you’ll be slipping down.”
That line is not simply intended to sound violent. It reflects a severe shift in thinking across the company. Shopify is no longer experimenting with AI. It’s all in.
From recommendations to requirements
AI was encouraged. Now that’s a must.
Employees are expected to integrate AI into their work by default. Tools such as Copilot, Claude, Cursor, and internal platforms such as chat.shopify.io and proxy are all part of the standard toolkit. Lütke refers to incorporating 10x employees into a 100x team not only as useful but as a multiplier.
This memo reveals that AI is now a part of everyday life, not a project of the future, but a part of everyday life. Performance reviews consider using AI. The prototype is expected to be AIRED. Those who know how to write better prompts have the advantage.
Quick takeout from 10 memos
One user on X broke the notes and slashed through the company’s story and captured what this really means to the company.
“Hiring AI before you hire people.”
AI Fluency is a new baseline. If you’re applying to Shopify, expect it to be important.
AI agents are now treated like teammates.
Prompts are core skills. Top performers will be top prompters.
AI usage is tracked. Someone will probably build a product around this.
Prototyping begins with AI. Even within a $100 million company, speeds will increase.
Organisation charts are beginning to include bots.
AI literacy is becoming a new coding literacy.
AI is not just a feature, it’s next to the backend, frontend and design.
Shopify wants per person output, and AI is the path to getting there.
Everyone is in
The memo did not omit leadership. “This applies to all of us, including me and the executive team,” Lucke said. And he just wasn’t talking. He said he wrote a Shopify Summit talk last year using an AI agent.
He explained that some teams have already reached levels of productivity that they thought were unrealistic a year ago. People who weren’t on someone’s radar are solving impactful problems simply because they know how to operate AI the right way.
What does this signal?
Shopify not only tweaks how the team works, but also rewrites its internal playbook. Are you looking for more help? Prove that AI can’t do it first. Do you want to build something new? Start with AI. Do you have a performance review? Show us how to use AI effectively.
The pace hasn’t slowed down either. Lucke compared it to Alice in Wonderland’s Red Queen Race. He said with Shopify’s growth rate, everyone needs to level up just to keep pace, including him.
Looking ahead
Lütke wrapped the notes with calls to action. “Our job is to understand what entrepreneurship looks like in a world where AI is universally available,” he said. “What we need to succeed is our collective total skills and ambitions to multiply our craft with AI for the benefit of merchants.”
Shopify has made that stance clear: AI is not a feature. It’s the foundation. Other companies may want to pay attention. This shift probably won’t stay within Shopify for long.
Below is the complete post:
Context: This is an internal Shopify note that I shared here.
We are in an age where more merchants and entrepreneurs can be created than any other merchant in history. We often talk about defeating the curve of complexity so that more people can choose this as a career. Each step along the entrepreneur’s path is filled with decisions that require skill, judgment and knowledge. With AI along the journey, not only consulting, but also working for merchants, is to change the step function that will blow your imagination.
Our task at Shopify is to make our software arguably the best canvas for developing the best business of the future. We do this, keep everyone on the cutting edge and endure all the best tools so that our merchants can succeed more than they could have imagined themselves. To do this, you definitely need to go ahead.
Recursive AI usage has become a baseline expectation on Shopify
What I’ve learned so far is that using AI wells is a skill that needs to be learned carefully by using it frequently. Unlike everything else, there is too much. Tweeting around, it was the right thing, but it was just too many suggestions. This is what I want to change here today. I also learned that AI, in contrast to most tools, acts as a multiplier.
We are all fortunate to work with great colleagues. This is my favorite of this company. What’s even more surprising is that for the first time, the tool is seen to be ten times more on its own. I have seen many of these people approach incredible tasks. I’ve never even worked on it before.
This sounds daunting, but given the nature of the tool, this doesn’t sound terribly ambitious to me anymore. It’s also the kind of environment that our top performers say they want. Learning together, surrounded by people on a personal journey of growth and working on valuable, meaningful, and challenging issues, is exactly what Shopify created to offer. This is deeply connected to the core value of being a constant learner and represents both the opportunity and requirements for thriving in change. These are not just ambitious phrases, but the fundamental expectations that come with being part of this world-class team. This is what our founders wanted, and this is what we built.
Using AI effectively has become a basic expectation for everyone on Shopify. It is a tool for all trading today and only increases its importance. Frankly, I don’t think it’s feasible to opt out of learning the skills to apply AI in your craft. You are welcome to give it a try, but I honestly can’t see this work today and definitely not tomorrow. Stagnation is almost certain, and stagnation is a slow motion failure. If you haven’t climbed, slide it.
The AI must be part of the GSD prototype phase. The prototype phase of a GSD project must be dominated by AI exploration. The prototype is intended to learn and create information. AI accelerates this process dramatically. You can learn to create something that other teammates can see, use, or reason for, with just a few of the ones they’ve taken before.
Add questions about using AI to your performance and peer review survey. Learning to use AI Well is an unliberated skill. My sense is that many people don’t get back to what’s ideal right away after writing the prompt. It is important to learn to encourage and load context, and it is worth providing feedback to peers on how this is going.
Learning is self-directed, but we share what we have learned. You can access as many cutting-edge AI tools as possible. There is Chat.Shopify.io. This has been around for years. The developers have proxies, Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, all pre-tooled and ready. Learn as a team and adapt together. Share WS (and LS!) with each other when experimenting with new AI features. Dedicate time to monthly business reviews and AI integration in the product development cycle. Slack and Vault have plenty of places to share prompts that people have developed, such as #Revenue-Ai-Use-Cass and #ai-Centaurs.
Before demanding more people and resources, teams need to demonstrate why they can’t use AI to get what they want to do. What does this area look like if an autonomous AI agent is already part of a team? This question can lead to a truly enjoyable discussion or project.
Everyone means everyone. This applies to all of us, including me and the executive team.
AI will completely change Shopify, our work, and the rest of our lives. We’re all involved in this! I couldn’t think of a better place to be part of this truly unprecedented change than I was here. You’re not just getting the number one seat, but you’re surrounded by the whole company learning and moving things forward together.
Our job is to understand what entrepreneurship looks like in a world where AI is universally available. And I’m meant to do the best job possible with it, and to do that I’m everyone needing help. I have already laid out many AI projects this year as a theme. Our roadmap is clear and our products better match our mission. What we need to succeed is our collective total skills and ambitions to multiply our craft for the benefit of the merchant.
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