Hi all,
I’m reaching out to get clarification on the recent Partner Program Agreement update (effective Feb 27, 2026) regarding AI/ML data usage restrictions. From what we can tell, the new terms prohibit using merchant or customer data — even aggregated or derived — for training or developing AI/ML models.
Machine learning could benefit merchants merchants across stores, and we want to make sure partners stay compliant while still innovating.
Specifically, I have a clarifying question:
1. If we obtain explicit consent from the merchant to contribute anonymized merchant data to train models that benefit multiple merchants (cross-merchant models) or just that merchant (merchant-scoped model), is that permitted under the current terms?
This seems like a major question for anyone building AI-driven capabilities on Shopify, and would be helpful to get official clarity from Shopify. Which is pretty much most partners at this point.
- Is the spirit behind the new restrictions to dissuade partners ONLY in the agentic commerce space or something else? I ask because this was released around the time Shopify increase its focus on agentic commerce whereas machine learning (standard logistic regression) is far less intelligent and can’t be used like an agent. In that case, can you please clarify as to specific uses of ML in the wording of the partner agreement?
Thanks in advance!