Sidekick now helps you customise checkout and customer accounts

On 13 October, Shopify added Sidekick to two places where merchants configure the most sensitive parts of their store: the checkout and customer accounts editor, and the Checkout Blocks app. The idea is simple. Instead of searching the docs or contacting support, a merchant can ask Sidekick how something works and get guidance in context. It is a small change on paper, but it sits on top of the part of the store that decides whether a visitor becomes a customer.

What it is

Sidekick is Shopify's built-in assistant. This update extends it to checkout and customer account customisation. Shopify describes it as help that gives answers and guidance without the need to search the docs or contact support.

There are two surfaces. The first is the checkout and accounts editor itself. The second is the Checkout Blocks app, where Sidekick helps merchants understand and plan blocks and functions.

How it works and how to access it

In the checkout and accounts editor, Sidekick is available in the desktop editor. Merchants can use it to:

• Learn how to configure checkout and customer account settings.
• Get app recommendations based on their needs.
• Search the Shopify Help Center.

In the Checkout Blocks app, Shopify gives examples of what Sidekick can help with:

• Learning how to configure blocks for the checkout, thank you and order status pages.
• Understanding how payment, delivery and validation functions work.
• Reviewing what is already configured and why.
• Finding the relevant settings or steps so merchants can make changes themselves.

Shopify is clear that these are only a sample, and encourages merchants to ask Sidekick for guidance as they build checkout and customer account experiences.

Limits and caveats

The changelog entry is short, and it leaves several questions open. It does not specify which plans get access, whether there is any pricing or usage limit, or whether availability differs by region. The only access detail given is that the editor support is in the desktop editor.

The wording also matters. The examples describe Sidekick helping merchants learn, understand, review and find the right steps, so that merchants can make changes themselves. Nothing in the entry says Sidekick will make checkout changes on a merchant's behalf. We would treat it as a guide and a second pair of eyes, not an autopilot.

What it means for merchants

Checkout and account settings are not areas most teams touch every week. When they do, the cost of a wrong turn is high, and the answer usually sits across several help pages. Having a place to ask a plain question inside the editor shortens that loop.

The ability to review what is already configured and why is arguably the most useful part for brands that have inherited a setup from a previous team or agency. Understanding how payment, delivery and validation functions behave is exactly the kind of context that tends to get lost over time.

What it means for agencies and partners

For agencies, this lowers the cost of the basic questions that clients ask us, and that merchants ask themselves. Teams can point clients to Sidekick for how a setting works, and keep our time for the decisions that need judgement: what to show at checkout, which validation rules are worth the friction, and how account experiences support retention.

It also raises a practical point for handover. If clients can ask Sidekick to explain a configuration, our documentation and naming of blocks and functions needs to be clear enough that the explanation matches our intent.

How we would approach it

1. Open the checkout and accounts editor on desktop and confirm Sidekick is available on your store, since Shopify has not published plan or regional details.
2. Ask Sidekick to explain your current checkout and customer account configuration, and compare its answer with what your team believes is set up.
3. In the Checkout Blocks app, review the existing blocks and functions and note anything nobody can explain.
4. Use Sidekick to find the right settings, then make changes yourselves and test them on a real order flow.
5. Record what you learn so the next person does not have to rediscover it.

The short version

Sidekick now offers guidance inside the checkout and accounts editor on desktop, and inside the Checkout Blocks app. It can explain settings, suggest apps, search the Help Center and help you understand what is already configured. Plans, pricing and regional availability were not specified, so check your own store before relying on it. Used well, it saves time on the basics and leaves more room for the decisions that matter.

ETTA provides fractional ecommerce leadership for fashion, streetwear and sportswear brands. If you want a senior view on how this affects your store, get in touch.