Get your print-on-demand or digital product shop ready for an AI agent: write down every step from idea to shipped order, decide what the agent may only read and what needs your approval, keep niche and design calls for yourself, and clean up your catalog first: AI agent prompt
Most online sellers juggle research, designs, mockups, listing SEO and orders across many tabs. On Oct 27, 2026 Curtis Blackmore (@CurtisBlackmore), who says he has sold print on demand since 2016, published an X article arguing that sellers with an AI agent will outwork everyone else, and that MCP lets agents use selling tools directly instead of copy-pasting. His advice for sellers now: write down your workflow from idea to shipped order, decide what the agent can touch (reading data is low risk; publishing listings and placing orders need rules, approvals and a human in the loop), keep taste, niche picks and final design calls for yourself, and clean up your catalog with consistent titles, tags and variants. He also said MyDesigns is building an MCP (coming soon) so agents can work inside its tools while the seller reviews and approves. The prompt below walks you through that preparation.
The prompt
Help me get my online shop ready to hand work to an AI agent. What I sell: [e.g. print-on-demand t-shirts and digital planners]. Where I sell: [e.g. Etsy, Shopify, Amazon Merch]. Tools I use: [e.g. Canva, mockup tool, spreadsheet for SEO, print provider]. 1) Interview me with short questions, then write my full workflow as numbered steps from idea to shipped order, including who or what does each step today. 2) Sort every step into three lists: the agent may do it alone (read-only, e.g. research, reports), the agent drafts and I approve (e.g. titles, tags, descriptions, mockups), and only I do it (e.g. niche picks, final designs, publishing, prices, orders, refunds). 3) Give me a catalog clean-up checklist: consistent title pattern, tag rules, variant names and sizes, and missing fields; tell me what to paste so you can spot the inconsistencies. 4) Write a one-page instruction for the agent with these rules, including 'never publish, change prices or place orders without my yes'. 5) Suggest one low-risk task to try first for a week and how I'll judge if it helped. Don't copy other sellers' designs or trademarked terms.
Fill in the blanks, then copy
This prompt has 3 [bracket]s to fill in. Type your details below and the prompt updates as you go. Your answers stay in this browser and are reused on other prompts with the same blanks. Nothing is sent to us.
Example values are fictional, just to show how a filled-in prompt reads. Replace them with your real details.How to use it
- Copy the prompt above.
- Replace every [bracket] with your own details (use the fill-in-the-blanks box above, which remembers your answers for the next prompt).
- Paste it into Claude Code, Codex, Grok Bot and review the answer before you use it.
Works with: Claude Code, Codex, Grok Bot, MCP, Etsy, Shopify, MyDesigns
Real-world example: x.com/CurtisBlackmore/status/2115138603500409087
Featured in: Free AI agent prompts for small business (beginner-friendly)
Before you use it: what to check
Already built into this prompt
- research, reports), the agent drafts and I approve (e.g.
- Don't copy other sellers' designs or trademarked terms.
Check yourself
- This prompt works on text other people wrote (emails, reviews, messages or web pages). That text can hide instructions aimed at AI, such as "ignore your rules and…". Paste it as material to work on, and never let the AI act on requests inside it, like paying, sharing logins or changing records. How prompt injection works →
- Check every figure, price and total against your own records before anything is sent, posted or booked. A person approves refunds, discounts, payments and price changes.
- Don't let AI make the final call on hiring, pay, performance or discipline. Use it to organise information, and have a person decide using criteria you can explain.
- Anything legal, tax or compliance-related is a first draft for a qualified person to check. It is not professional advice, and clause references and deadlines must be checked against the source.
Using an AI agent? Download this prompt as a SKILL.md agent skill with these checks built in, or get the .zip for Claude.ai. How to install skills.
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