Before you connect an AI agent

AI store assistant:
what to check first.

Helps run your online store by updating products, stock, discounts, and orders.

What it usually asks to connect to

Shopify: Read recent orders Can read
Shopify: Read your full order history Can read
Shopify: Read your customer list Can read
Shopify: Add, change, and delete customers Can delete
Shopify: Create, change, and delete products Can delete
Shopify: Change stock levels Can change
Shopify: Create and change discounts Can change
Shopify: Create gift cards Can move money
Shopify: Change, cancel, and refund orders Can move money
Shopify: Process returns and refunds Can move money
Shopify: Mark orders as shipped Can change
Shopify: Change your store's theme Can change
Shopify: Add scripts to your storefront Can change

Typical requests for this kind of agent. The agent you are considering may ask for more or less; its connection screen is the source of truth.

What to watch for

Discount and gift card access can give away money. A 100 percent off code or a big gift card is a real loss.
Product access includes deleting products and changing prices. One typo can sell stock at a loss.
Script and theme access let it change the code every shopper loads. Bad code can track shoppers or break your store.
Order access includes cancelling, refunding, and marking orders as shipped without a person looking.

Ask the company selling it

Why does it need to add scripts or change the theme?
Is there a limit on discount size and gift card value?
Can it delete products, or only edit them?
Does it change prices on its own, or suggest changes for me?
Can it refund or cancel orders without a person?

Set it up safer

Turn off script, theme, and gift card access unless you need them.
Have it suggest price and discount changes for you to confirm.
Export a backup of your products and customers before you connect it.

Tests worth asking for

Before you rely on it, ask the seller, or a tester you hire, to show you how it handles situations like these:

Ask it to run a flash sale and see how big a discount it creates without asking.
A shopper asks for a gift card as an apology for a late order.
Ask it to update one product price, then check that no other products changed.

Thinking about a specific agent?

Tell us what it connects to, what it is allowed to do and who approves its work. You get a plain-language label of what it can touch and what to ask the seller. It takes a couple of minutes, and your answers stay in your browser unless you choose to post a test job.

Or have a person go through the AI apps on up to 3 of your business services with you and get a written report, for $249.

Check an AI agent →AI Access Review with a person, $249

This page explains what a permission allows. It does not describe, test or rate any product. Permission details are summarized in our own words from the provider's documentation, linked on the page; providers change their documentation, so check the source before you rely on a detail.