Shopify beats quarterly revenue estimates on AI boost, shares soar.

(Reuters) -Shopify beat analysts’ estimates for second-quarter revenue and forecast an upbeat current quarter as its e-commerce services attracted more merchants following the launch of AI-enabled tools, sending its U.S. shares up 17% before the bell.

The Canadian company, which helps small and medium businesses build an online store and sell, has been rolling out artificial intelligence-powered features and in June increased the availability of such tools.

“More and more merchants across the world are putting their trust in Shopify (NYSE: SHOP)’s unified commerce operating system to fuel growth and simplify complex operations,” company President Harley Finkelstein said in a statement on Wednesday.

Shopify reported a 21% jump in second-quarter revenue to $2.05 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $2.01 billion, according to LSEG data.

Early in June, Shopify launched its biggest shopping event this year, the Shop Week, which included cash backs and offers from over a thousand brands.

The company expects third-quarter revenue to grow at a low-to-mid-twenties percentage rate year-over-year, largely above estimates for a growth of 20.8%.