Sidekick
Sidekick is AI in your Shopify admin that can read your store data and take actions like reporting, segmenting, creating discounts, and generating images. Just click the Sidekick button at the top of the screen for access. It’s free and available on all plans.
Why Skills
Skills are commands with defaults so that you don’t have to repeat yourself with context every time you run a common command. This can save you minutes each prompt and hours per week. You can have up to 25 skills saved in your admin. If you are careful with your Skills prompting, you can build powerful tools to level up your brand’s game.
Best Practices
Skills in Sidekick work like skills in other AI platforms, such as Claude. This means that they work best with a purpose, clear capabilities, clear limitations, and output formats. They also should be structured for the AI to better understand the hierarchy of instructions. I use markdown format for skills since this is the preferred format for Claude.
Skill 1: /discount — One message instead of six clicks
Why
You create discount codes constantly. It’s the same workflow every time. Discounts are near and dear to our heart at Passport, and we’ve made sure our app accurately calculates landed costs when your customers apply discounts. This means you should go wild creating tons of high-converting discounts.
Notes
We are specifically telling Sidekick to make assumptions and work until it completes your request so it doesn’t ask you a million clarifying questions. If you want it to check in with you, then remove the second line under “Purpose.”
Prompt (paste into Skill creator)
## Purpose
Creates Shopify discount codes with specifications.
Work through the user’s request without asking for clarifications. If you run into a problem, make assumptions and continue until the request is completed.
## Capabilities
– Generate discount codes with percentage or fixed amounts
– Set expiration dates and usage limits
– Apply to specific customer segments
– Configure minimum purchase requirements
– Set automated codes
## Best Practices
1. Show a summary of the rule you just created
2. Provide direct link to discount in admin
3. Show how similar codes have converted in the past
4. Use common patterns for codes (WELCOME10, FLASH20, FREESHIP)
5. Suggest best practices such as usage limits to prevent abuse if relevant
Try it
- /discount 20% off WINTER20 until end of January
- /discount free shipping
- /discount $50 off orders over $200
It should create the code, summarize, and link to admin. If you say “just execute,” it will. It also handles fuzzy asks like “/discount holiday sale” with sensible defaults.
Concrete example
Type: /discount holiday sale
Sidekick will reply with a similar configuration:
HOLIDAY25
- Discount Method: Code
- Value: 25% off entire order
- Valid: Now through Dec 26, 2025 (Boxing Day)
- Minimum Purchase: $50 subtotal
- Usage: Once per customer
- Eligibility: Everyone
- Combines with: Shipping discounts only
Best practices it auto‑applied:
- Clear naming pattern (HOLIDAY25)
- Once‑per‑customer to prevent abuse
- $50 minimum to protect AOV
- Time‑limited to create urgency
- Strategic 25% to convert without crushing margins
Skill 2: /image — On‑brand product shots without re-teaching your vibe
Why
Brand consistency matters: lighting, color, mood, vibe. If you want to get great results from Sidekick’s image generator, you’ll have to describe those each time you make a request. Instead, encode the brand image once and reuse it forever. At Passport we know that global marketing is a huge lever for expanding your customer base, and this will allow you to test loads of content and copy until you find the right fit for high click-through and return on ad spend.
Setup (3 steps)
1) Get your brand context
Ask Sidekick:
Give me a description of my brand image and color scheme in this format:
Brand Identity:
Product Focus:
Brand Personality:
Colors:
Visual Style:
2) Create the skill with this template
You create brand-consistent images for [STORE NAME].
BRAND CONTEXT (apply unless explicitly overridden):
– Brand: [IDENTITY]
– Personality: [PERSONALITY]
– Visual Style: [STYLE]
– Colors: [PALETTE]
– Products: [TOP 3–5]
BEHAVIOR:
1. Parse input for product, purpose, specifics
2. Ask clarifying questions only if critical
3. Generate image with brand defaults + request
4. After, ask: “Want adjustments?”
PRESETS:
– hero = dramatic product shot, dark bg, spotlight
– lifestyle = natural setting, warm light
– social = 1:1, space for text
– email = 16:9 banner, product + copy space
EXAMPLES:
“/image hero” → ask product → generate dramatic shot
“/image [PRODUCT] for Instagram” → square, brand colors
“/image lifestyle [PRODUCT]” → natural setting
“/image” → ask product + purpose → generate
EDGE CASES:
– If off‑brand, comply but flag and offer on‑brand alt
– If product unclear, suggest closest match
– If vague, offer 2–3 options
Always maintain [PERSONALITY] unless overridden.
3) Test it
- /image hero
- /image [your product] for Instagram
- /image lifestyle [your product]
- /image (should ask product + purpose)
- /image neon pink background (should comply but flag off‑brand)
Concrete examples
I tested in a store selling artisanal bread. Typing /image a model holding this bread like a basketball gave me the image below:
Typing /image Ben’s Baguette for Instagram with bright colors gave this result:
Both of these ended up being exactly what I was looking for from the prompt, but of course you can always refine with an additional prompt.
What doesn’t work (yet)
Sidekick can read broadly across the Shopify admin, but write is limited (that means it can’t save the work it does). You will still have to check Sidekick’s work and save anything it creates. There are some other limitations I’d love to see Shopify lift in future releases below.
Skills can’t:
- Bulk‑edit products
- Create draft orders
- Modify placed orders
- Automate across apps
- Save new flows
If Shopify expands write access, skills 10x.
Ship it
- /discount saves ~3 minutes per promo
- /image prevents the “re‑explain the brand” tax
This is not revolutionary, but each skill that gives you back a few minutes per day compounds into huge time and cognitive load.
Want to accelerate your global growth with the company that knows how to use AI practically? Contact Passport.
Authored by Ilan Rotenberg
Director of Product Management | Passport
Ilan Rotenberg, a seasoned engineering and product pro, boasts six years in software product management. Fueled by a passion for elevating user experience, Ilan excels in unraveling user problems, fostering product adoption, and streamlining customer flows. Armed with a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, Ilan has left an indelible mark, co-creating products with clients such as Airbus, the United Nations, Toyota, Rhode Beauty, and Clove.
