Shopify AI Integration

Shopify exposes two APIs: the Admin API (REST + GraphQL) for store management, and the Storefront API (GraphQL) for customer-facing experiences.

Docs: https://shopify.dev/docs/api

The 2nth Model: One Person + One AI

Every Shopify role has an AI partner that makes them extraordinary:

Role	The Human Decides	The AI Enables
Store Owner	Strategy, pricing, brand direction	Revenue dashboards, trend analysis, competitor monitoring
Merchandiser	Collection curation, product selection	Auto-tagging, SEO optimisation, inventory-aware recommendations
Content Creator	Brand voice, creative direction	Draft product descriptions, blog posts, alt text, meta tags
Customer Service	Escalations, refunds, relationship calls	Order lookup, FAQ answers, draft responses, sentiment analysis
Marketing Manager	Campaign strategy, budget allocation	Audience segmentation, A/B copy, performance reporting
Operations/Fulfillment	Exception handling, carrier selection	Order routing, stock alerts, fulfillment tracking, fraud flags

Authentication

Admin API

X-Shopify-Access-Token: shpat_xxxxx

Storefront API

X-Shopify-Storefront-Access-Token: xxxxx

Admin API Base URL

https://{store}.myshopify.com/admin/api/2024-10/{resource}.json   # REST
https://{store}.myshopify.com/admin/api/2024-10/graphql.json      # GraphQL

Admin API — Key Resources

Products

GET /admin/api/2024-10/products.json?limit=50&status=active
POST /admin/api/2024-10/products.json
PUT /admin/api/2024-10/products/{id}.json

Orders

GET /admin/api/2024-10/orders.json?status=open&limit=50
POST /admin/api/2024-10/orders/{id}/fulfillments.json

Customers

GET /admin/api/2024-10/customers.json?limit=50
GET /admin/api/2024-10/customers/search.json?query=email:user@example.com

Inventory

GET /admin/api/2024-10/inventory_levels.json?location_ids=1234
POST /admin/api/2024-10/inventory_levels/set.json

Admin GraphQL API

{
  products(first: 10, query: "status:active") {
    edges {
      node {
        id
        title
        variants(first: 5) {
          edges {
            node { price inventoryQuantity sku }
          }
        }
        seo { title description }
        tags
      }
    }
  }
}

MCP Server Pattern

const ROLE_TOOLS = {
  owner:       ['get_revenue_dashboard', 'get_top_products', 'get_customer_growth', 'get_inventory_value'],
  merchandiser:['list_products', 'update_product', 'manage_collection', 'get_seo_audit', 'auto_tag_products'],
  content:     ['get_product', 'update_product_description', 'generate_alt_text', 'update_seo_metadata'],
  support:     ['search_orders', 'get_order_status', 'search_customers', 'draft_response', 'create_return'],
  marketing:   ['get_sales_report', 'get_customer_segments', 'generate_campaign_copy', 'get_channel_performance'],
  operations:  ['list_unfulfilled_orders', 'get_inventory_levels', 'create_fulfillment', 'flag_fraud_risk'],
};

Webhooks

Webhook	Use Case
orders/create	Alert operations, update dashboards
orders/fulfilled	Notify customer service, update tracking
products/update	Trigger SEO re-audit
inventory_levels/update	Check reorder points
customers/create	Welcome sequence, segment assignment
refunds/create	Alert customer service, flag patterns

Rate Limits

Plan	REST	GraphQL
Standard	2 req/sec	50 points/sec
Advanced/Plus	4 req/sec	100 points/sec
Shopify Plus	20 req/sec	1000 points/sec

Common Gotchas

• API versioning: Always specify version (e.g., 2024-10). Deprecated versions return errors
• Pagination: REST uses Link headers; GraphQL uses cursor-based edges/node
• GraphQL is cost-based: Complex queries cost more points. Check extensions.cost in responses
• Metafields: Use GraphQL — REST support is limited
• Bulk operations: For >250 items, use GraphQL bulk operations
• Currency: Amounts are strings in REST; use MoneyV2 in GraphQL

See Also

• API queries
• Role patterns
• AI integration