A growing number of shoppers no longer start with a search box. They ask an AI assistant: "What's a good gold necklace under $200 that ships to the UK by Friday?" The assistant reads product pages, feeds and reviews across the web, then recommends a handful of options. Sometimes it even helps complete the purchase.
People call this agentic commerce, and there's a lot of hype around it. Here's what has actually changed, and what you can do about it today.
What's actually happening
The big platforms are all building ways for AI assistants to show, and in some cases sell, products:
- Google announced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) in January 2026, developed with Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target and Walmart. It lets eligible merchants offer checkout directly inside AI Mode in Google Search and the Gemini app. It needs a Merchant Center account, and for now it covers select merchants with eligible products in the United States, Canada and Australia.
- OpenAI introduced Instant Checkout in ChatGPT in 2025, starting with Etsy sellers and selected Shopify brands. Since then, OpenAI has said it's prioritising product search and discovery, with many purchases finishing on the merchant's own site.
- Microsoft has started adding checkout options to Copilot for some merchants.
1. Treat your product data as your shop window
AI assistants don't look at your beautiful banner. They read your data. Make sure every product has:
- A clear, descriptive title (what it is, key material, size or variant)
- Complete attributes: size, colour, material, dimensions, compatibility
- GTINs or barcodes where your category uses them
- Accurate price, stock and delivery information
If you sell on Google, keep your Merchant Center feed clean and error-free. It's the same data Google's AI shopping features draw on.
2. Add structured data to your store
Structured data (Product, Offer and Review markup) tells machines exactly what your page is: the product name, price, availability and rating. Most Shopify themes include the basics, but it's worth checking with Google's Rich Results Test that your product pages pass. A missing price or availability field can quietly keep products out of AI and shopping results.
3. Answer questions in plain words
Assistants quote clear answers. Write them on your product and policy pages:
- Sizing and fit guidance
- Delivery times to the US and the UK
- Returns and exchanges
- Care instructions and materials
A short FAQ on your best-selling product pages is one of the cheapest, most effective things you can add.
4. Build reviews everywhere you sell
AI tools look for signs that a product and a brand can be trusted: reviews on your store and on marketplaces, consistent ratings, and real answers to customer questions. A steady flow of genuine reviews matters more than ever.
“In AI search, the best-described product often beats the best-advertised one.”
5. Let AI crawlers read your site
Check that your robots.txt doesn't block the crawlers AI assistants use, such as OAI-SearchBot (ChatGPT search), PerplexityBot and Google's crawlers. Also submit your site to Bing Webmaster Tools as well as Google Search Console: Bing's index feeds several AI assistants, including Microsoft Copilot.
6. Keep stock and prices accurate everywhere
An AI agent that recommends a product it can't actually buy, or finds a different price at checkout, won't recommend you again. If you sell across several channels, accurate syncing isn't just about avoiding overselling any more. It's about staying recommendable. (Here's how to keep stock in sync across channels.)
7. Watch the protocols, but don't over-invest yet
UCP, OpenAI's Agentic Commerce Protocol and the rest are still rolling out in phases, often to select merchants first. For most small and mid-sized brands, the right move today is:
- Get your product data, feeds and structured data right.
- Check your Shopify admin and Google Merchant Center for AI and agentic checkout options as they open up.
- Join when your platform offers it, rather than building custom integrations now.
Your AI shopping readiness checklist
0 / 8 DONEThe short version
AI assistants are becoming a new front door to your products. You don't need a new platform to be ready: you need clean product data, clear answers, real reviews, accurate stock, and a site AI crawlers can read.
That groundwork is exactly what I set up for the brands I work with, across their marketplaces, their own stores and Google. Book a free call and I'll tell you where your store stands.
Sources: Google Merchant Center Help: About the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) checkout feature · OpenAI Help: Instant Checkout · Fast Company: Google, OpenAI and the race to build agentic commerce. AI shopping features are changing quickly, so availability in your country and platform may differ.
