150 new updates on the 'Horizon' for merchants & developers

Why it matters

Right now, we’re seeing 80% of developer time going into building custom sections. Sidekick and generative AI are starting to change that and for ecommerce teams and developers, this will largely reduce the repetitive nature of building and assign more time for creative strategy. With AI handling product data, content, and segmentation inside the Shopify admin, teams can move faster and limit the need to jump between tools.

The update:

• Developers and Ecommerce teams can now update products with full metadata via natural language prompts
• Update product images and text, or optimize existing listings using AI suggestions
• Segment customers dynamically and apply filters based on behavior or tags
• Integrated into the Shopify admin with contextual interactions so there’s no need to open external dashboards
• Theme editor: you can now use AI to create a custom sections or blocks. Based on your prompt, AI will write the code and add it to your theme.

Our take (Tijs):

"Sidekick and Gen AI is inching closer to being an AI co-pilot from what I’m seeing. It can already modify product attributes and media, which saves teams hours of repetitive work. A feature that I’m really waiting for is its ability to create and adjust complex Shopify Flow’s. These two will make a more robust experience and allow us to build more natively.”

Why it matters

Theme flexibility has long been a friction point for merchants. While Dawn introduced a more modular base, customization was still largely confined to swapping layouts and basic section tweaks. Horizon offers a new way to build, flexibly.

The update:

• Block-based architecture: Shopify introduced a new section type that supports dynamic content using theme blocks.
• AI-assisted layout generation using Sidekick: including block suggestions and contextual visuals
• Major improvements to theme editor UI: copy and paste sections, blocks and theme blocks, rename sections for better experiences and group section options in categories

Our take (Niels):

 "Horizon changes how we think about native Shopify themes. The flexibility is powerful and it's a completely new foundation. You can now, for example, drop an icon directly into an existing 'Image with Text' block and style it natively. That wasn't possible before without custom code. You can nest blocks in sections to create more custom layouts, customize your product cards to show more than just a title and price, add things like swatches, inventory levels, ratings, text, buttons etc...the list goes on.

But this flexibility also creates complexity. The more options merchants have, the easier it is to accidentally dilute design consistency. So for brands, this means design systems and stricter guidelines are more important than ever."

Why it matters

Historically, Shopify merchants with region-specific legal entities were forced to spin up multiple expansion stores, creating the need for duplicate content and increased operational overhead. This update allows brands to run different markets under a single Shopify Plus instance.

The update:

• Brands can manage multiple business entities from one Shopify Plus store
• Assign separate catalogs, tax logic, currencies, and domains per entity
• Localized payouts via Shopify Payments for each business entity’s jurisdiction
• View and test storefronts using a new "View as" preview mode per market setup

Our take (Niels):

 "This is massive for global brands. Being able to consolidate store management while still complying with different tax and business structures saves time, cost, and headaches.

However, this new way of working requires a mindset shift as it will increase store complexity significantly. Merchants will need careful setup, clear documentation to decipher between individual market requirements, to make sure things don’t get out of hand."

Why it matters

Consumer behavior is shifting towards conversational, intent-driven shopping. Shopify’s investments in Storefront MCP. The recent announcements around Shopify integration within OpenAi's products plus their Global Catalog launch and Shop App improvements, we see Shopify moving towards.

The update:

• Storefront MCP allows access to product information, collections and store faq’s
• Enables dynamic storefront components powered by real-time data and AI interaction
• Shop App will integrate with GPT-based shopping agents using Shopify’s global catalog (just announced, not yet integrated).
• New search and recommendation systems built around shopper intent and behavior

Our take (Tijs):

"This is the start of AI becoming the front-end. Imagine a shopper chatting with your store, asking for 'something lightweight for summer under €100 and having an agent build the cart in real-time. Storefront MCP is something we are experimenting with for clients to promote faster, more specific shopping experiences for customers.”

Why it matters

Shopify is closing the loop between low-code workflows and pro-code customizations. The new developer platform offers modern build tooling, and Shopify Flow’s now supports advanced data interactions that used to require custom middleware. So, developers get a more streamlined build process with fewer workarounds, ecommerce teams can launch smarter automations faster, and technical debt is reduced across the board.

The update:

• New Dev Dashboard for centralized control over apps, stores, and testing
• Local development with hot reload, no tunnels required
• Dev stores emulate any Shopify plan, including Plus-only features
• Shopify Flow now supports HTTP responses

Our take (Tijs):

"We used to rely on tools like Gadget or create custom Serverless apps with Next.js, to create middleware and integrations. Now, with their new updates we can relay more natively within Shopify Flows. It means fewer moving parts, lower costs, and a tighter feedback loop between front and backend logic.”

Every Edition drop comes with questions, hot takes, and the occasional developer meltdown. So we went to Reddit to answer some of the internet’s burning questions since the release of Horizon. Here’s what the Shopify community is buzzing about, and what Niels's and our team at Ask Phill has to say.

Question 1: Is the Horizon theme just a prettier Dawn?

“Definitely not! It's a completely revamped design and code foundation, harnessing the power of theme blocks within sections, allowing much more flexibility to create custom storefronts. I'd describe it as moving away from choosing between the available options, to moving more towards creating what you want”

Question 2: Can I use theme blocks without a dev?

“Yes, that's the beauty of utilizing Shopify and theme native features. You can use existing features and prebuilt sections and blocks to create your store and really make it your own, without having to rely on custom code.”

Question 3: Is it worth switching themes? 

“The new foundations really open up a world of possibilities. However, similar to the Dawn theme, there are still limitations in Shopify's own theme that can be a dealbreaker to start using it, instead of some more advanced third-party themes or a custom theme. Some examples: you still cannot update separate desktop and mobile images for the hero banner section. This is a really basic and important requirement, but somehow it's still not incorporated in Horizon. 

Another feature many merchants need is a way to link backend products, to be able to switch between them from the PDP. For example: you sell a t-shirt in blue and black, but they're not set up as product variants but separate backend products. Advanced themes offer the option (usually called siblings or product linking) to link the products in the backend and display swatches or product images on the PDP to switch from one product to another. There are more examples like this that aren't included in Horizon or previously Dawn.”