Runner AI builds a whole store, hosting and checkout included, from a chat conversation instead of a drag and drop editor. What decides whether it suits you is how you feel about a declining percentage-of-sale fee stacked on top of the subscription, since that fee never goes away.
What is Runner AI?
Runner AI is made by Adaptive Machines, Inc., a Delaware corporation based in Newark, Delaware. It runs on the web, iOS, Android and desktop. Runner AI has no listing on the Shopify App Store; instead it can migrate a catalogue, orders and customers in from an existing Shopify store in one click.
What you can build with Runner AI
Runner AI builds and edits a store entirely through chat rather than a drag and drop editor: a merchant describes the business in plain language and Runner AI generates the design, pages, products and workflows. Hosting and live checkout are included from the Plus plan up. There is no custom code access; the AI edits the underlying code itself rather than exposing it to the merchant.
A/B and multivariate testing is included on Pro and Max, with a preview-only version on Plus and Free. Product sourcing for dropshipping is built in on every tier, with the number of dropshipping products capped by plan. Running more than one store from a single account is available only on Max.
Integrations and setup
Runner AI lists 928 integrations, including featured connections to Google Ads, Meta Ads, Stripe, Klaviyo, TikTok Ads, Google Analytics, Shippo, CJ Dropshipping, Gmail and Slack, alongside one-click Shopify catalogue migration.
Runner AI pricing: what each plan gives
Plus costs $25 a month ($20 a month billed yearly), Pro costs $49 a month ($39.20 a month billed yearly), and Max costs $159 a month ($127.20 a month billed yearly). Every plan also carries a declining fee per sale on top of the subscription: 3.5% on Free, 2% on Plus, 1.5% on Pro, and 1% on Max, plus the payment provider's own fee. The cheapest paid plan, Plus, gives 1,000 credits a month, 1 always-on published store, unlimited products, up to 100 dropshipping products and the 2% per-sale fee. There is a free plan that lets a merchant build and preview a full store with up to 20 products, up to 20 dropshipping products and 150 starting credits, but it has no live checkout. There is no setup fee and no minimum contract term; a cancelled subscription stays active until the end of the current billing cycle.
Privacy and security
Runner AI's terms of service name the EU or UK General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act. Support is available through email, chat, community channels and Slack, with faster support on higher plans.
Who Runner AI suits
Runner AI suits someone who wants a store built and edited through conversation rather than a visual editor, with hosting, checkout and dropshipping sourcing included once on a paid plan, and the option to preview the whole build for free first.
It suits less well a merchant who wants to keep costs purely flat, since every plan carries a per-sale fee on top of the subscription that never drops to zero, or anyone who wants to run more than one store, since that is limited to the top Max plan.
How Runner AI compares
Runner AI scores 7.5 out of 10 among the AI store and page builders we rate. These three do the same job and are the closest to it, compared on what each vendor publishes.
Shopify
Runner AI starts at $25 a month but adds a declining per-sale fee from 3.5% down to 1% on every plan, so the price grows with revenue. Shopify is a flat $39 a month subscription and holds SOC 2 and PCI DSS compliance. Runner AI is chat and prompt driven with no code editor; Shopify gives you full theme code access and a 200-template Theme Store.
Pick Shopify if you want a flat subscription and full code access.
Pick Runner AI if you want to build a store by chat instead of editing code or a theme.
GemPages
Runner AI starts at $25 a month plus a declining per-sale fee from 3.5% down to 1%, and it is a full store builder with its own checkout from the Plus plan up. GemPages is flat at $29 a month with a free plan and no per-sale fee, but it is a page builder that sits on top of an existing Shopify store with no checkout of its own. Runner AI is chat-driven; GemPages gives you drag-and-drop editing and custom code access.
Pick GemPages if you want drag-and-drop control and code access with no revenue share.
Pick Runner AI if you want a full store with checkout built through chat.
Pagepilot
Runner AI starts at $25 a month but every plan carries a declining per-sale fee from 3.5% down to 1%, on top of its own checkout from the Plus plan up. Pagepilot is flat at $39 a month with no per-sale fee, a drag-and-drop editor and a dropshipping product finder, but no checkout of its own since pages publish into an existing Shopify store. Both source products to sell; Runner AI runs on four platforms against Pagepilot's one.
Pick Pagepilot if you want a flat fee and drag-and-drop control over an existing store's pages.
Pick Runner AI if you want a full store built by chat, with checkout included, on more surfaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Runner AI cost?
Plans run from Plus at $25 a month ($20 a month billed yearly) to Max at $159 a month ($127.20 a month billed yearly), and every plan adds a declining per-sale fee on top, from 2% on Plus down to 1% on Max.
Which platforms does Runner AI work with?
Runner AI is itself the storefront and checkout. Shopify appears only as a one-click source to migrate an existing catalogue, orders and customers into Runner AI.
Can I build a store on Runner AI for free?
Yes. The free plan lets you build and preview a full store with up to 20 products and 150 starting credits, but it has no live checkout, so you cannot yet accept payments on it.
Does Runner AI offer an API?
No. Runner AI does not publish a developer API; references to API keys in its help documentation are for connecting third-party services such as CJ Dropshipping.
