Automatically generating email subject lines and body text

Shopify Magic uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to take details that you provide, such as campaign type and product keywords, and generate suggestions for email subject lines in Shopify Email. If you have a draft of your email subject line written already, then keywords automatically generate based on your subject line. Before you generate automatic text for your emails, review Tips for using Shopify Magic text generation.

Supported languages

​ Support for automatically generated email subject lines and body text is currently available in the following languages:

  • English
  • German
  • Spanish
  • French
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Portuguese (Brazilian)
  • Chinese (Simplified)

By default, American English is the dialect used for English suggestions. The language data that the AI uses is largely from North American sources, so generated content might contain vocabulary and expressions that are local to that region. You can change any part of the content suggestions to match what your customers would expect.

The language used to generate your output suggestions is determined by the default language for your storefront. If your default storefront language isn't one of the supported languages, then this feature isn't available in your Shopify admin. You can update this language setting by going to Settings > Languages and clicking Change default.

Although the list of supported languages are the languages that have been verified, the text generation might work for additional languages to differing degrees of quality. If you want to try generating output in your preferred language, then you can use special instructions to specify the output language to use. For example, you could include the instruction Write the description in Norwegian. Because the quality of the output might vary significantly, you should only use this method for languages that you're comfortable reading and evaluating. Another strategy is to generate the English output, and then use the Translate and Adapt app to translate the generated output to your preferred language. ​

Create email subject lines

When you create a Shopify Email campaign, you can use Shopify Magic to generate a subject line and email body text. By default, American English is the dialect used for English suggestions. The language data that AI uses is largely from North American sources, so generated content might contain vocabulary and expressions that are local to that region. You can change any part of the content suggestions to match what your customers would expect.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Apps and sales channels.

  2. Click Email.

  3. Click Open app.

  4. Click Create campaign, and then select a template.

  5. Complete any of the following steps:

    • To draft an email subject line, in the Subject field, click the Generate text icon.
    • To draft email body text, in the rich text editor of the text section, click the Generate text icon.
  6. Enter information about the type of email that you're sending, and add keywords. The more details that you add, the more relevant the suggested content is.

  7. Optional: Select a new tone from the Tone of voice drop-down menu. Learn more about choosing a tone for your emails.

  8. Optional: Write any additional instructions that you want to add in the Special instructions field. Refer to Using special instructions for information about the types of instructions you can provide.

  9. Click Generate text to generate three versions of your suggested content.

  10. Complete any of the following steps:

    • Click Try again to view the different results.
    • Select a different tone or modify your prompt, and then click Try again.
  11. To choose a suggestion that you want to use, click Keep.

After you've generated and selected your text, you can finish customizing your email message, or click the Generate text icon to access the previous suggestions and generate new ones.

Edit existing email body text

If you have a Shopify Email campaign draft that contains text that you want to edit, then you can use Shopify Magic to rephrase, extend, or simplify the content.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Apps and sales channels.

  2. Click Email.

  3. Click Open app.

  4. Click the title of the campaign draft that you want to edit.

  5. Click the Generate text icon, and then choose any of the following from the drop-down menu:

    • To rephrase the content, click Rephrase.
    • To make the content longer, click Extend.
    • To simplify the content, click Simplify.
  6. Optional: Select a new tone from the Tone of voice drop-down menu. Learn more about choosing a tone for your emails.

  7. Optional: Add or edit instructions in the Special instructions field. Refer to Using special instructions for information about the types of instructions you can provide.

  8. Click Try again.

  9. To choose a suggestion that you want to use, click Keep.

Improving the content suggestions that you receive

When you evaluate generated suggestions for Shopify Email, consider what makes effective email content. The best way to improve the generated suggestions is to provide the AI tool with more details about your campaign, such as campaign goals, product information, and specific keywords. You should also choose a tone that best suits your brand.

To improve text generation results, consider adding the following types of information to your email campaigns:

  • Campaign type: Any campaign specifications you provide will help generate better results. For example, product restock, spring sale, or birthday discount.
  • Product keywords. If you're writing about a specific product, then try adding the name and type of product. If the product name is ambiguous, then provide keywords that describe the product or category, such as hot sauce or bar soap. Add any descriptors that highlight what makes the product unique or why someone might want to buy it. For example, Monaco isn't descriptive. However, by using a set of keywords such as New arrivals, Monaco, 10% discount, and Lightweight tortoise-shell sunglasses, you can tell Shopify Magic what to write about. Keyword prompts can be simple or complex, and you can phrase your prompt in a sentence or just use keywords. You can also include emojis.
  • Important brand keywords or terminology. While the results will include different phrasing for the information that you provide, special words or phrases are often kept, such as brand names or unique descriptive words. If you include your brand name in your brand tagline prompt, then it will usually be included in the results. For example, if you describe your mint lip balm as mint-astic in the keywords, then the generated suggestions will often include that term.
  • Other email details. Any additional details that are relevant to the type of content that you're generating should be provided. For example, if you want to create a sale message, then be sure to include the sale amount and the types of products that are part of the sale. Shopify Magic uses the details that you add to your email to automatically suggest ideas for what keywords to provide.
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