Shopify Sidekick checkout and accounts guidance: settings and limits

What can Sidekick help merchants do now?

On October 13, 2026, Shopify announced that Sidekick is available in the desktop checkout and accounts editor. Merchants can ask how to configure checkout and customer account settings, get app recommendations for their needs, or search the Shopify Help Center where they are working.

In the Checkout Blocks app, Sidekick can also help merchants understand and plan blocks and functions. Examples include configuring blocks for checkout, Thank you and Order status pages, and understanding payment, delivery and validation functions. It can help review what is already configured and why, then locate the settings or steps to make a change yourself.

The announcement describes answers and guidance. It does not provide a workflow for Sidekick to edit, save or publish these configurations autonomously. The general setup documentation also says store changes require the merchant's review and approval. A completed conversation is not evidence of a completed store change.

Confirm the configuration and page before opening Sidekick

First, in your desktop Shopify admin, go to Settings, then Checkout. In Configurations, confirm the target configuration and its actual active or draft status, then click its Edit button. Both types can be edited, but a check in a draft does not establish the result in the active configuration.

Second, use the page selector at the top of the editor to confirm the current page. A one-page checkout uses Checkout; a three-page checkout has Information, Shipping and Payment. Customer account pages include Order status, Orders, Profile and Sign-in. Select the page you intend to work on before treating an account sign-in question as a checkout-page change.

Third, choose the sidebar for the task: Sections controls functionality, Settings controls appearance, and Apps lets you add or find apps that extend functionality. Confirm the selected page, block or setting before asking Sidekick how to configure that location.

Fourth, open Sidekick and describe your goal. The general desktop entry is Sidekick or its icon. As the refreshed admin rolls out, most pages use a Sidekick input field instead. Its location can differ, so follow the actual admin you see. Sidekick uses the current page as context; still check the real page and setting its answer points to.

How do you ask for steps you can verify?

Here is a hypothetical prompt that was not executed: My store is on Basic, and I want to add a support contact message to the Thank you page. Explain where to configure a Checkout Blocks static content block, its display conditions and the checks to perform. This example shows how to state a plan, page and goal. No store was operated and no block was added.

After receiving guidance, find the corresponding page and block in the actual configuration, check the existing content and display rules, then decide whether to change them. If the goal involves ordering payment methods, delivery or validation, ask Sidekick to explain the relevant functions and restrictions. Eligibility for a static message block does not establish access to those functions.

If Sidekick recommends an app, check its supported pages, required permissions and plan before deciding what to do next. A recommendation or list of steps does not mean the app was installed or a setting was written. State the current condition, the field you intend to change and the expected result so you can check each part.

Check the Checkout Blocks plan and staff permissions

The Shopify Help Center says merchants on Basic or higher can use Checkout Blocks dynamic content and static content blocks, but only on Thank you and Order status pages. All other Checkout Blocks features are available only to Shopify Plus. Feature examples in the announcement do not grant the same capabilities to every plan.

To use Checkout Blocks, you must be the store owner or a staff member with the specified permissions. Under Store permissions, Content must include at least View metaobject definitions, plus View and Create and edit entries. Under App permissions, staff must also have at least Checkout Blocks permissions. Check the actual staff role; being able to open Sidekick does not establish permission to configure the app.

Markets has a separate restriction: customizing checkout and accounts pages for specific markets is available only on Advanced or Plus. That requirement does not replace Checkout Blocks' own Plus requirement. Check the target feature, page, plan and permissions separately when deciding whether an operation is available.

What should you check before previewing and saving?

First, return to the page selector and confirm the configuration and page being previewed. Use the mobile preview button in the menu bar to inspect the phone-screen layout, then switch back to desktop preview. Check the wording, block position and display conditions. A mobile preview shows a layout; it does not establish a mobile-editor launch for this desktop Sidekick update.

Second, remember that the editor uses a simulated checkout environment. You cannot place orders there, and actions such as Pay Now and Buy Again are deactivated. Preview can help check presentation, but it cannot prove that payment, repeat purchase or a real order workflow was verified.

Third, review each unsaved change before saving. The editor's undo and redo controls apply only to unsaved customizations. Once you save, you can no longer use those controls to undo or redo the preceding changes. Make adjustments before saving, then confirm the target configuration and settings again.

Fourth, perform your own save action after confirming that the changes match your intent, then check the actual settings in that configuration. Record whether you edited an active or draft configuration. A Sidekick answer, simulated preview and save action do not together establish successful autonomous publication; the announcement does not describe that capability.

If Sidekick works on phones, why check the desktop entry?

The general Sidekick setup guide says Sidekick is available on desktop, mobile and tablet devices. On a phone or tablet, start a chat in the Shopify app; Sidekick is currently unsupported in the Shopify admin through a mobile browser. This is general device availability, and it does not expand the October 13 announcement's explicit desktop checkout and accounts editor scope.

If you do not see the expected entry, check the device, whether you are using the app or a browser, and whether your admin uses the gradually rolling out refreshed layout. Then check the target configuration and feature permissions. The reviewed announcement does not provide a country-by-country rollout list, extra-fee table or activation status for a particular store. Confirm these against the actual account rather than assuming availability from the announcement date.