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Shopify AI product descriptions, step by step

Generate a product description inside the Shopify editor, with prompts that give usable first drafts.

4 min read

Shopify writes product descriptions for you without an app. Open a product on a desktop computer, click the Generate text icon in the description toolbar, type a short prompt with the product’s title and at least two features, and the text lands straight in the description field for you to edit and save.

The generator is part of Sidekick, Shopify’s AI assistant. It works in every language Shopify supports, and it writes in the language of your prompt. It does not work in the Shopify app on iPhone or Android.

Generate a description for one product

  1. In your Shopify admin, go to Products.
  2. Click the product you want a description for.
  3. In the description text box, click the Generate text icon in the toolbar.
  4. Type your prompt and submit it. The generated text is applied directly to the description.
  5. Edit and format the text, then click Save.

If the product is already published, the new description is live as soon as you save. Write and check the text before you click Save, or draft it on a product that isn’t active yet.

Write a prompt that gives a usable first draft

Shopify’s minimum is a product title plus two features or keywords. That gets you a generic paragraph. Each extra detail below makes the draft more specific:

Add thisWhyExample
The product typeA title like “Washington” says nothing about what it is”hot sauce”
Who it’s forSets the angle of the copy”for runners training in winter”
Materials, fit, method, useThese often become their own paragraphs”merino wool, slim fit, machine washable”
ToneOtherwise you get a default voice”plain and friendly, no exclamation marks”
Brand wordsSpecial terms are usually kept in the output”the Ridgeline collection”
Variants, vendor, collectionMore keywords the generator can use”comes in sizes S to XL, in navy and rust”

A complete prompt looks like this:

Ridgeline merino base layer, long sleeve. Women’s, for runners training in winter. 100% merino wool, 200 gsm, slim fit, flatlock seams, machine washable. Sizes XS to XL in navy and rust. Tone: plain and friendly, no exclamation marks. Two short paragraphs, then a bullet list of materials and care.

If the first result is close, refine it in small steps (“make it shorter”, “use a warmer tone”) instead of rewriting the whole prompt.

Check the draft before you save

Generated text can include benefits you didn’t list and facts taken from similar products in other stores. Before you click Save, read the draft against your own product data:

  1. Claims you didn’t give it. Delete any benefit, certification, award or guarantee that wasn’t in your prompt.
  2. Numbers and materials. Check weights, sizes, percentages and fabric names against your spec sheet.
  3. Care and safety lines. Remove anything you can’t stand behind, such as “hypoallergenic” or “waterproof”.
  4. Words that clash with your variants. If the draft says “available in black” and you don’t sell black, fix it.
  5. Your voice. Cut stock phrases so the description doesn’t read like every other store’s.

Less detail in the prompt gives less accurate and less original text, so if you keep deleting invented claims, put more facts into the prompt.

Write descriptions for many products

The Generate text icon works on one product at a time. You can also ask Sidekick in its chat panel. Fields Sidekick fills are highlighted in purple so you can review them before accepting.

For edits across several items, Sidekick uses a Store changes card:

  • Your live store doesn’t change until you publish.
  • Click Start review, check each change, and click Publish all changes.
  • One set holds up to 50 changes, and drafts expire 10 days after the last update.
  • Published changes can’t be undone automatically. You would have to ask Sidekick to revert them and publish again.
  • The card isn’t available in the Shopify app.

Mention products directly by typing @ and the product name in the chat, so Sidekick works on the right items.

Reuse the same instructions every time

If you write descriptions often, save your house rules as a Sidekick skill. Create one by describing it in the chat, for example “Create a skill that writes product descriptions”, and answer Sidekick’s follow-up questions. Sidekick then loads the skill on its own when a request matches. You can save up to 50 skills, and they only work in conversations with memory turned on.

Put the things you’d otherwise repeat into the skill: tone, length, the bullet list format and words you never use.

Write the SEO title and meta description too

Sidekick can also suggest a page title and meta description. Shopify’s example prompt is “Rewrite the page title and meta description for @PRODUCT, and keep the title under 60 characters”. You review the suggestion on the product form, and nothing changes until you save.

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