Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said Tuesday that artificial intelligence is making entrepreneurship more accessible by reducing barriers to starting businesses [1].

The shift suggests a fundamental change in how small businesses scale, as AI automates complex operational tasks that previously required significant capital or specialized labor.

During an interview on CNBC’s "Squawk on the Street," Finkelstein said how AI lowers the entry threshold for new merchants [1]. He said that the technology allows more people to start and scale online businesses by automating many of the tasks traditionally associated with retail management [2].

This integration extends to the company's internal operations. Finkelstein said that artificial intelligence is behind well over half the coding done at Shopify [4].

Financial data from the first quarter of 2026 reflects a period of high volume despite some losses. The company reported quarterly revenue of $3.2 billion [3]. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) for the first quarter reached $101 billion [3], which represents a 35 percent increase year-over-year [3].

Finkelstein said the specific impact of AI-driven channels on sales, stating that these channels drove nearly 13 times the order growth [3]. However, the company also reported a Q1 net loss of $581 million [4].

Finkelstein said the automation of coding and business processes is a primary driver for the platform's current trajectory. The company expects continued growth as these tools become more deeply embedded in the merchant experience [3].

“AI makes entrepreneurship more accessible.”

Shopify's strategy indicates a pivot toward AI as a core infrastructure tool rather than just a feature. While the company is seeing massive growth in gross merchandise volume and AI-driven orders, the significant net loss suggests that the cost of implementing and scaling these technologies remains high. The reliance on AI for over 50 percent of its internal coding signals a broader industry trend toward automated software development to maintain rapid deployment cycles.