Your New Colleague is an AI: Shopify Implements "AI-First" Hiring Policy

Shopify's new policy requires teams include AI agents as essential collaborators alongside human employees. In a memo published on social media, CEO Tobi Lütke says that among other things, teams must prove tasks can't be accomplished by using AI before hiring. He also requires all employees to integrate AI into their daily work lives. He makes clear that AI isn't just a tool at Shopify—it's also a teammate.

Shopify's new "AI-First" policy aligns with a trend we're seeing more broadly: radical implementation of AI-transformation strategies. It represents a fundamental shift toward agentic AI in the workplace, where in tandem with human-defined objectives, AI agents operate autonomously to complete routine and repetitive tasks.

This approach also mirrors the transformation I've written about at Moody's, which similarly embraced AI to empower all employees as innovators and encourage a "yes, and..." mindset toward AI adoption. Lütke calls this a "opportunity AI" mindset, but the thrust is one and the same. It's a collaborative human-AI partnership that transforms workforces into innovation engines, enabling employees to focus on creative work that scale beyond normal limitations.

The message is clear: your new colleague is an AI. And it's here to free you up to be more creative and innovative, helping you scale your ideas limitlessly.