E-commerce
Second Brain for your e-shop helps AI understand your business
Second Brain is an organised company memory for your e-shop – documents, agreements and procedures in one place that help AI understand your business better. A practical guide to building one.
When working with AI, I often found myself going back to older client agreements. I kept explaining who the client was and what we had worked on. Today AI can read the related emails, minutes and notes for itself. It can work with your e-shop's context in much the same way. Second Brain stores the company materials and procedures that both you and your AI assistants keep coming back to.
What exactly did we agree last time?
When I return to a client, I need to know what still holds and what remains open. With Second Brain I don't have to piece the whole story back together in the prompt. I ask the AI to find the materials and summarise the agreement. I also want to see the sources it draws on. Then I check whether it has understood the context correctly.
Imagine a similar situation in your e-shop. You negotiated terms with a supplier before the season. Part of the agreement is in an email, part in a note from a phone call. A new offer has arrived. You need to compare it with what you agreed last time.
AI can prepare an overview of the agreements and flag the differences. It can even suggest questions for the supplier. But it has to be given the right materials. It needs to tell a confirmed agreement apart from a proposal. This illustrative example is based on the way I work with client context.
Second Brain is an organised company memory. It stores documents, decisions and procedures so you can find them and use them in your next piece of work.
What AI needs to know about your e-shop
When you brief a post about a new product, you know a lot of the context. You know who the customers are and what you promise them. You also know the phrases you don't want to use. The AI needs to find this information somewhere.
I would include the following materials in your company foundation.
- Product range and customers. What you sell, to whom and what customers come to you with.
- Communication guidelines. How you write, the tone and form of address you use and which claims you make. As well as what you avoid.
- Suppliers and agreements. Contacts, confirmed terms, minutes and links to the original communication.
- Current priorities. What you're working on this month and which decisions have already been made.
- Work procedures. How you prepare content, handle requests and evaluate results.
Each document should have a clear name. Add a date and a link to the source where needed. When an agreement changes, mark the valid version. If documents contradict each other, decide which one takes precedence.
In Second Brain, statistics can take the form of dated reports. For the current number of orders, however, read from the source system or a fresh export. Do the same for stock levels. An old report helps you understand the trend. It won't show you today's stock level.
The comparison below is based on a new chat without saved instructions, attachments or company context. We are comparing ways of working with materials, not the features of specific AI products.
| Area | New chat without materials | Second Brain |
|---|---|---|
| Company context | You add the necessary information about the company into the prompt. | AI can load a saved company profile and guidelines. |
| Work procedure | You explain the steps in the current conversation. | AI can use a saved procedure and the limits of its work. |
| Previous agreements | You supply the relevant communication or a summary of it. | AI can look up saved agreements and source materials. |
| Current numbers | You need fresh data from the source system. | Here too you need a current source. Second Brain does not update the numbers on its own. |
How I work with it in practice
My foundation is made up of my own folders and files. In Obsidian I read, edit and link them. It saves notes as ordinary text files in Markdown format. So I can open them in another editor too. This principle is also described in the Obsidian documentation.
You can set aside a separate project or working folder for your e-shop. In it you store the company profile, communication guidelines, materials and procedures. In Codex or Claude Code you can work over such a folder. I use both tools as needed. I tell the agent where to look for context and where to save its draft. When you switch tools, your own files can remain your shared foundation.
Recurring tasks can be described with saved instructions and procedures. Codex supports skills. These are bundles of instructions and materials. Claude Code can load persistent project instructions. The exact setup depends on the tool you use.
WordPress or WooCommerce can be connected to AI through a configured MCP. MCP mediates access to specific permitted tools. The WordPress MCP Adapter exposes selected functions according to your setup and permissions. Connecting it does not automatically permit all product operations. With WooCommerce you also need to check the available interfaces and access. A technically skilled administrator can also use SSH and WP-CLI. SSH provides access to the server. WP-CLI is a tool for managing WordPress through commands.
Access to email or analytics has to be granted separately as well. Without a connection you can work with the documents or exports you supply.
Choose your way of working according to the task and the technical support available.
| Way of working | What it's suited for | What you need to set up |
|---|---|---|
| Files and project | Drafting copy, working with materials and reports from exports. | A folder, a company profile, materials, a procedure and a place to save the result. |
| MCP | Working with the data and functions that a specific connection makes available. | Supported operations, the connection, permissions and approval of changes. |
| SSH and WP-CLI | Managing WordPress by a technically skilled administrator. | Access to the server, the scope of permissions, a backup and a test of the change. |
Spell out exactly what the agent may read, change and save as a draft. Also define the steps that require your OK and the interventions that are off limits. For example, it can prepare a product description and save it as a draft. Don't allow it to publish, change prices or stock, or delete anything without your OK. Text rules are context for the AI. Restrict the technical permissions accordingly as well.
I explain the more detailed organisation of files and instructions in the original article about Second Brain.
When working with data, keep privacy and the GDPR principles in mind. Start with product materials without names, emails, addresses and order identifiers. Use aggregated data for reports. Removing a name alone does not guarantee anonymity. The remaining data can still identify a person. If you need personal data, check the legal basis, the terms of service and the retention period. Also check whether you need a data processing agreement. Neither a local folder nor SSH guarantees that the AI does not send the content to the service provider.
From company memory to your own AI team
Once you have the basic context, you can split the work among assistants. You assign each one a responsibility, materials and limits. In a small e-shop the split might look like this.
| Assistant | What it is responsible for | What stays with a person |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Content drafts based on the product range and communication guidelines | Checking claims and approving publication |
| Supplier communication | An overview of agreements, a comparison of offers and a draft reply | Confirming terms and sending the message |
| Reports | Processing the available data according to a saved procedure | Checking the conclusions and the business decision |
I think of such an AI team as a division of tasks and rules. At the start you can happily use a single assistant. You run it as needed.
The label "marketing assistant" on its own is too broad. A useful profile states where it finds the product range and which guidelines apply. It also says how to proceed when a piece of data is missing. The work procedure then breaks down a specific activity. That could be preparing a draft post about a product.
In an e-shop the marketing assistant can prepare product descriptions, SEO titles, meta descriptions and blog articles. It can also suggest category placement, tags and product attributes. Attributes are properties such as size, material or colour.
First it should read the existing categories, tags and attribute names. It must also respect the units in use. It takes properties from verified supplier materials. It must not make up a missing material or dimension. Review new names before they are saved, so that needless duplicates don't arise.
It can prepare drafts even without a connection to the e-shop. Direct writing or automation require a supported connection function and the relevant permissions. SEO copy on its own does not guarantee a ranking in search.
An e-shop's weekly report step by step
Let's imagine an e-shop whose owner wants an overview of orders every week. They also need to be alerted to changes. The procedure can have five steps.
1. Load the data
The assistant is given an export of orders or permitted access to the data. The procedure specifies the source and the fields needed. For a routine overview, prefer aggregated data without identifying customers. If you want to assess advertising, supply advertising data as well. It cannot infer campaign costs from the orders.
2. Verify the period and the rules
Before comparing, it checks the range of the data. The procedure specifies how to count cancelled orders and returns. It explains whether the amounts include VAT and shipping. It also defines the periods being compared. This way you clarify the meaning of the numbers in advance.
3. Compare the results
The calculations should be based on verifiable data, for example from a table. The AI prepares a commentary on them and flags the differences. It can name a drop in the number of orders. But it must back up the cause. Without the necessary data, it should state a question to look into. For example, whether an important product was in stock.
4. Check the conclusions
The report should include the period, the sources, the findings and any missing data. You check the calculations and the meaning of the changes. You may know of a circumstance that is missing from the data. For example, a drop in sales during technical maintenance.
5. Save the report
The approved output goes back to the e-shop's reports. It will have a date and links to the materials. A week later it is available for a further comparison. If you discover a recurring error, fix the saved procedure too.
A saved procedure helps keep the way of working consistent. It does not, however, guarantee a flawless result. That is why human checking has its specific place.
How to start without building the whole system at once
When preparing a workshop, I start with the basic company context. Then comes one assistant, one procedure and a second test in a new chat. For an e-shop I would start the same way.
Choose a recurring task for which you have materials. It could be a report or preparation for a conversation with a supplier. Add a brief company profile and the documents needed for that task.
Then write down the assistant's responsibility and the procedure. What does it receive as input? What should it verify? What should the result look like? When must it stop and ask you?
Before making changes in the e-shop, make a backup. Try a bulk edit on a small sample of products first. Check the result and only then decide whether to continue.
Correct the first output together. Then open a new chat in the same working folder and try a second input. For example, the next week or a different supplier. You'll check whether you can carry on from the saved materials. And you won't have to repeat the whole conversation.
What has to be maintained over time
After a new supplier agreement, add the confirmed terms. After a change in communication, update the guidelines. Work a new way of working into the procedure. Save results under the relevant topic together with the sources.
Decide who maintains the company memory. Make sure there are backups too. In a smaller e-shop it can be you, later a specific colleague. AI can suggest additions. But someone has to confirm what actually holds.
I see the benefit of Second Brain precisely in this continuity. For your next task you have the decisions and procedures already made to hand. The AI can use them. You focus on what has changed since then.
Frequently asked questions about Second Brain for an e-shop
Do I need to know how to program?
You don't need to program to organise materials and prepare drafts. You need to know your business and be able to check the result. For the technical connecting of systems, bring in someone who understands their setup and permissions.
Do I need Obsidian or a specific AI tool?
Obsidian is an optional interface for working with your own files. You can move your own materials and procedures between tools. You can also use a project in an AI tool with selected materials. Such a project does not automatically see all the files on your computer.
Do I need a connection to my e-shop straight away?
You can start without one. You give the AI product materials or an export and have it prepare a draft. WordPress is not a requirement. The extent of the connection depends on your e-shop platform, the supported functions and permissions.
How often should I update the materials?
Update agreements, priorities and procedures after every significant change. For data that changes often, record the source and the date. Verify price, availability or order status before each relevant use.
Does Second Brain replace the e-shop system?
No. The e-shop system remains the source of truth for orders, products and stock. Second Brain adds company context and work procedures on top of them. It must still draw the current numbers from the relevant system or a fresh export.
If you want to get started with Second Brain in your e-shop, write to me. Together we'll go through one specific procedure and the materials you need.