‘Get 100X the Work Done’: Shopify CEO Tells Employees to Try AI to Get Work Done Before Asking for More Human Workers
Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke publicly posted a memo to employees asking them to use AI.
Key Takeaways
- Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke sent a memo to employees on Monday and publicly posted it on X.
- In the memo, Lutke wrote that teams should try to use AI before asking for more headcount or resources.
- Shopify has a market value of over $100 billion at the time of writing.
Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke has a new hiring policy that puts AI front and center.
Lutke posted a memo he sent to employees on X this week that encourages workers to use AI to accomplish tasks. He wrote that every team should “demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI” before asking for more resources or additional human employees.
“Using AI effectively is now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify,” Lutke stated, per he posted on X. The post has drawn more than 2.6 million views.
Shopify, with a market value of at the time of writing, provides small businesses a platform to sell products online. Customers can build online stores and sell products on sites like TikTok and YouTube. The company, which was , hosts active online stores and made in 2024, a 24% year-over-year increase.
Lutke wrote in the memo that he had seen employees multiply their efforts and use AI “to get 100X the work done.” He asked employees to experiment with AI available internally, including Microsoft Copilot AI chatbot and Anthropic’s Claude code helper.
Lutke also asked employees to think about how their team would look with the addition of autonomous AI agents, which can carry out complex tasks like browsing the web without human assistance. Their ideas for AI agents could lead to “really fun discussions and projects,” he wrote.
Lutke is enforcing AI experimentation across Shopify, writing in the memo that Shopify would add questions about AI use to its performance and peer reviews.
“AI will totally change Shopify, our work, and the rest of our lives,” Lutke wrote. “Our job is to figure out what entrepreneurship looks like in a world where AI is universally available.”
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In September, Shopify reported that half of its merchants planned to use AI tools like , an AI image editor and writer that the company released .
Shopify has made reductions to its workforce over the past two years, though the changes have not been attributed to AI. In December 2022, the company had compared to in December 2024. Shopify laid off in July 2022, or about 1,000 employees, and .
Business Insider reported in January that the company had quietly let go of employees during the month.
Key Takeaways
- Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke sent a memo to employees on Monday and publicly posted it on X.
- In the memo, Lutke wrote that teams should try to use AI before asking for more headcount or resources.
- Shopify has a market value of over $100 billion at the time of writing.
Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke has a new hiring policy that puts AI front and center.
Lutke posted a memo he sent to employees on X this week that encourages workers to use AI to accomplish tasks. He wrote that every team should “demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI” before asking for more resources or additional human employees.
“Using AI effectively is now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify,” Lutke stated, per he posted on X. The post has drawn more than 2.6 million views.
