Why Knowing What to Ask, and What to Do Next, Is the Real Skill
AI didn’t make ecommerce easier.
It made the gaps more obvious.
Tools like Shopify Sidekick can generate sections, content, and ideas in seconds. But speed doesn’t equal clarity, and automation doesn’t replace understanding.
The biggest misconception right now is that the prompt is the work.
It isn’t.
The work happens before you type and after you get the output.
The Myth: “If I Write a Better Prompt, I’ll Get a Better Site”
Most people approach AI like this:
“What should I type to get the result I want?”
Experts approach it differently:
“What questions need to be answered before this should even exist?”
That difference is everything.
To show how this plays out in the real world, here’s a simple Shopify Sidekick test case you can run yourself.
The Test Case: A Basic Shopify Section
The goal sounds simple:
- Headline
- Supporting text
- Call-to-action button
- Works on mobile
But the outcome depends entirely on whether you’ve thought through why the section exists and how it should behave.
Prompt Without Questions (Beginner Approach)
This is what happens when someone skips the thinking and goes straight to the prompt.
Copy & Paste Prompt
Create a Shopify section with a headline, some text, and a button.
Make it look nice and work on mobile.
What’s missing
This prompt doesn’t answer:
- Who is this section for?
- What action should it support?
- How should it behave on small screens?
- What happens if content changes?
- What makes this usable for real people?
So the AI guesses.
Sometimes it guesses well. Often it doesn’t. And when it fails, the AI gets blamed.
Asking the Right Questions First (Expert Approach)
Before the next prompt is written, an expert is already answering questions like:
- What is the purpose of this section?
- What must be configurable vs fixed?
- How should this read on a phone?
- What are the accessibility requirements?
- How reusable does this need to be?
Only after those questions are answered does the prompt get written.
Prompt With Thinking Embedded (Expert Approach)
Copy & Paste Prompt
Create a reusable Shopify section that includes:
- A configurable headline (H2 by default)
- Supporting rich text content
- A primary call-to-action button with configurable label and URL
Layout & responsiveness:
- Single-column layout on mobile
- Centered max-width container on desktop
- Readable line length, max-width around 640–720px
- Responsive spacing and typography for smaller screens
Accessibility & usability:
- Semantic HTML elements
- WCAG AA color contrast
- Visible hover and focus states on buttons
- No fixed heights, allow content to reflow naturally
Customization:
- Expose section settings for headline, body text, button label, button link, and optional background color
Ensure compatibility with Shopify OS 2.0 and keep the section lightweight and theme-agnostic.
Why this works
This prompt didn’t magically get smarter.
The thinking did.
The AI is now executing against:
- Clear intent
- Clear constraints
- Clear success criteria
The Part Everyone Ignores: Knowing What to Do With the Output
Even with a strong prompt, the job isn’t done.
This is where most stores stall:
- They accept the output as “good enough”
- They don’t test it on real devices
- They don’t question whether it supports conversion
- They don’t adapt it to their catalog, brand, or customers
AI gives you material.
It doesn’t give you judgment.
This Is Where Services Actually Matter
What we’re really selling isn’t prompts.
We’re selling:
- The questions you didn’t know to ask
- The structure your site is missing
- The interpretation of AI output
- The experience to know what should be changed, removed, or refined
AI doesn’t replace strategy.
It exposes the lack of it.
The Real Takeaway
If you’re relying on AI to “fix” your site, you’re already too late.
AI works best when:
- Your structure is solid
- Your goals are defined
- Your content has intent
- Someone knows how to evaluate the result
The prompt is just the middle step.
The value is knowing:
- What problem you’re solving
- What questions need answers
- What to do once AI responds
That’s the difference between using AI and being led by it.