Sidekick blank or missing — the admin AI assistant never opens.

Several “Shopify AI / admin blank” bugs look alike. They do not share a fix. This page is only when Sidekick (the admin AI assistant) should open and answer and does not. Shopify Magic product description / image generate failing is shopify-magic-ai-not-working — that playbook covers Magic tiles on products, not the Sidekick chat. An embedded Partner / custom admin app that is a white screen after install is shopify-admin-app-blank-after-install. Inbox chat missing on the storefront is shopify-inbox-chat-not-showing.

Soft links when the bug is adjacent: Inbox Instagram / Meta DMs not connecting is shopify-inbox-instagram-not-connecting. Theme app extensions not appearing in the theme editor is shopify-theme-app-extensions-not-appearing. This playbook stays on Sidekick expected in admin → missing / blank / no response → merchant cannot use the assistant.

Confirm Sidekick is enabled for your Shopify plan and region. Rollouts are not universal — a Basic / Shopify / Advanced / Plus store in one market may see Sidekick while another does not. Screenshot Admin home / search for the Sidekick entry point. If the entry never appears for the store owner, treat eligibility / rollout as the first hypothesis.

Reproduce as the store owner (not a limited staff / collaborator role). Open Sidekick from Admin. Note: blank panel, perpetual spinner, hard error, or no entry at all. Test a clean Chromium profile with extensions disabled — many ad / privacy blockers strip the Sidekick iframe. Note whether Magic AI still generates product copy while Sidekick alone fails.

Soft-check: if Magic product AI is the broken surface, leave for shopify-magic-ai-not-working. If only a Partner embedded app is a white screen, use shopify-admin-app-blank-after-install. If storefront Inbox is missing, use shopify-inbox-chat-not-showing.

Sign in as the store owner on an eligible plan. Retry Sidekick from Admin home or admin search. Use a clean browser profile (or disable ad / script blockers that target Shopify admin). Hard-refresh Admin (cache). If you are on a staff account, confirm the role is allowed to use Sidekick — limited roles sometimes hide AI surfaces.

If Magic AI product generate also fails in the same session, continue on shopify-magic-ai-not-working. If an installed embedded app is blank while Sidekick works, that is shopify-admin-app-blank-after-install. If the storefront chat bubble is missing, use shopify-inbox-chat-not-showing.

Retest: owner on eligible plan → clean browser → Sidekick opens → prompt returns a response. Soft notes: Magic AI belongs on shopify-magic-ai-not-working. Admin app blank belongs on shopify-admin-app-blank-after-install. Inbox belongs on shopify-inbox-chat-not-showing.

Shopify Magic AI not working is shopify-magic-ai-not-working. Admin app blank after install is shopify-admin-app-blank-after-install. Inbox chat not showing is shopify-inbox-chat-not-showing. Inbox Instagram not connecting is shopify-inbox-instagram-not-connecting. Theme app extensions not appearing is shopify-theme-app-extensions-not-appearing.

The only honest test for this page: eligible owner → Sidekick opens in admin and answers a prompt (or you prove why Sidekick refuses to mount). Anything else is a different product.

Stay DIY if you can spend one afternoon on the list above: prove plan / owner access, clean-browser retest, separate Magic vs Sidekick vs embedded apps, retest one Sidekick prompt through to a visible answer. That is the whole playbook. No agency required. Short answers also live on the merchant FAQ. Related pages: Magic AI, admin app blank, Inbox chat.

Pay for help when the work is not the Sidekick toggle itself — it is connecting the stack you already have so admin / Sidekick / ops exceptions land in a channel you already check, and the live store is one workflow instead of a spreadsheet plus a Slack bot you forgot. That is the Latch AI Ops install.

What $997 USD one-time buys: lead capture on the live store, ops alerts in a channel you already check, and a checkout-ready workflow. 72 hours after collaborator access, not after payment. One live Shopify store. Access plus a delivery thread. Store URL collected at checkout. Not a SaaS seat, not a theme rebuild retainer, not a conversion guarantee, not a brand or theme job.

Other shops’ public ranges, not testimonials: a checkout / ops install typically runs $500–$2,500. A full ops consulting block typically runs $2,000–$5,000. $997 is the cheap end of that work, sold as a 72-hour install of three systems — not as an earnings number or conversion-lift claim.

What it does not buy: more orders, recovered revenue, a forever Sidekick guarantee, or a case study. Latch AI Ops has not published customer proof because there are no customers yet. You are buying the install.

Checkout is on Whop. Operator is Nico. United States offer. You can revoke collaborator access after handoff. We do not take owner passwords.