Agentic commerce for Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento: get your store ready for AI assistants

You get an online store ready to sell through AI assistants with three things: a complete, current product feed (in Google Merchant Center and through your platform to ChatGPT), product pages an AI crawler can read without JavaScript, and a connection through your platform to the new protocols: OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) and Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). In October 2026 the US is the market where this goes furthest: US shoppers can already check out inside several assistants.

This article first sets out what is really available per AI platform, and what has already disappeared again. Then the product data every assistant needs, and the steps per platform: Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento.

What works per AI platform in October 2026?

The market changed faster in the past year than most guides. Below is the state of play based on the sources of OpenAI, Google, Shopify and Perplexity themselves.

Platform	Discovery	Checkout inside the assistant (US)	How you get in
ChatGPT	Product results with a click-through to your store	No separate checkout anymore; the buyer pays in the store’s own checkout, opened in ChatGPT	Shopify Catalog (automatic), a product feed for approved partners, or the open web
Google AI Mode and Gemini	Product data through Merchant Center	Yes, through UCP and Universal Cart	Google Merchant Center, UCP through your platform
Microsoft Copilot	Product results	Yes, for Shopify stores	Shopify Catalog
Perplexity	Answers based on the open web plus merchant data	Yes, through PayPal	Merchant Program (interest form) or the open web

ChatGPT: Instant Checkout is history

OpenAI launched Instant Checkout at the end of September 2025, together with the Agentic Commerce Protocol it developed with Stripe. In March 2026 OpenAI shifted course: a spokesperson told Digital Commerce 360 that Instant Checkout is moving to apps. Large brands such as Target and Instacart have their own app in ChatGPT. For everyone else, ChatGPT is now mainly a discovery channel; shopping results in ChatGPT have been shown since April 2025.

What that looks like for Shopify is described in Shopify’s explanation of agentic commerce: the buyer completes the purchase in the merchant’s online store, opened in a browser inside ChatGPT. That applies to Shopify stores selling to US buyers.

ACP still exists. OpenAI calls it, in its commerce documentation, the open standard ChatGPT uses to read structured catalog data. Supplying your own product feed is only possible as an approved partner, and according to the feed specification standard uploads go to the US market. According to OpenAI’s help article on shopping, Shopify merchants are already integrated through Shopify Catalog, and product results in ChatGPT are not ads.

If you want paid visibility as well, you can now advertise in ChatGPT. More in advertising in ChatGPT. The original Instant Checkout setup is in ChatGPT Instant Checkout.

Google: UCP and Universal Cart, live in the US

Google announced the Universal Commerce Protocol on January 11, 2026, developed with Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target and Walmart and backed by Adyen, Stripe, Visa, Mastercard and others. At Google Marketing Live in May 2026 came Universal Cart: one cart across several stores in Search and the Gemini app, paid with Google Pay, while the store always stays the seller. Universal Cart went live in the US on October 15, 2026. Canada and Australia follow, then the United Kingdom.

Google also made “conversational attributes” available worldwide in May 2026: product descriptions that match how people ask for products in a conversation. How UCP works technically is in UCP explained.

Perplexity: merchant program and shopping in the US

Perplexity started shopping in November 2024: “Buy with Pro” for Pro subscribers in the US and a Merchant Program through which retailers share product data. The program is free and promises a better chance of appearing as a recommended product, plus a dashboard with search and shopping trends. In November 2025 shopping became free for all US users, with checkout through PayPal. Perplexity is not in Shopify’s list of connected AI channels.

What this means: Perplexity also shows products it takes from the open web. So make sure PerplexityBot can read your product pages and that price, stock and specs are correct there. You can apply to the Merchant Program through the interest form in Perplexity’s announcement; read the terms on what Perplexity may do with your product data first. How to become visible in Perplexity itself is in getting found in Perplexity.

Product data every AI assistant needs

Every assistant needs the same foundation: a complete product feed with facts that match your product page exactly. A feed you get in order for Google Merchant Center is the best starting point; ChatGPT and Perplexity ask for the same fields.

GTIN (UPC/EAN). Google recommends a GTIN for every product the manufacturer assigned one to. If it is missing, the product may get limited visibility or be disapproved; a wrong GTIN always leads to disapproval. Private label and custom products without a GTIN do not need one. In OpenAI’s feed the GTIN is optional. So fill in every existing GTIN, and never make one up.

Titles. Google allows up to 150 characters, with no promotional text such as “free shipping” and no capitals as filler, and the title must match your product page. A pattern that works: brand, product name, product type, main attribute, variant. So not “The ultimate running experience” but “Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 42 men’s running shoe black/white size 10”.

Price and availability. These must match your product page at all times. OpenAI asks you to update price and stock as soon as they change, and recommends a full feed per day plus interim updates through the API. A product listed as available but sold out costs you the customer’s trust and a disapproval at Google.

Descriptions. Facts instead of advertising language: material, dimensions, weight, compatibility, use, care and warranty. An assistant looking for “a rain jacket for biking to work” can only match on what is written. So also describe who the product is for and what it is for.

Images. From January 31, 2027, Google requires at least 500 by 500 pixels for all product images, with no watermarks, promotional text or borders, and no enlarged thumbnails or generic images. Supply several photos per product: on its own, in use and details.

Category, brand and variants. Use the most specific Google product category, always fill in brand separately, and link variants (size, color) through a shared group ID. OpenAI’s feed uses group_id for that and requires item_id, title, description, url, brand, seller_name, image_url, availability and price.

Shipping and returns. Record shipping costs, delivery time and return policy as separate settings or feed fields, not only in the description. Merchant Center has its own settings for that and OpenAI’s feed a return_policy field. An assistant that cannot determine the total cost cannot compare you fairly.

Product pages an AI crawler can read

Your product pages are the second source next to your feed, and for ChatGPT and Perplexity often the only one. Three points decide whether they are usable.

Server-rendered HTML. GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot do not execute JavaScript; only Googlebot renders pages. If your theme loads price, stock or specs only through JavaScript, or you run a headless store without server-side rendering, those crawlers see an empty page. Check it with the technical scan, which shows what is in the HTML.

Product structured data that matches your text. Use Product with an Offer (price, currency, availability) and where possible shipping and return details, following Google’s guidelines for merchant listings. The markup must match what the visitor sees. Special markup for AI features is not needed according to Google. The JSON-LD guide shows how to build it.

Let the crawlers in. Check in robots.txt that Googlebot, OAI-SearchBot (ChatGPT’s search crawler) and PerplexityBot may read your product pages. GPTBot collects training data; you can allow or block it separately without affecting ChatGPT search. Cart, checkout and account can be excluded. Details in how AI crawlers read your site.

Shopify

Shopify is best positioned, because the platform handles the connection with the AI channels itself. Through Shopify Catalog your products reach ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, and Shopify developed UCP together with Google.

1. Check Agentic Storefronts. In the Shopify admin, under Sales channels, there is an Agentic section where you choose per AI channel whether your products appear there. According to the Shopify help page it is on by default for eligible stores. Besides ChatGPT and Copilot, Shopify also names Google AI Mode and Gemini, and Meta. Checkout inside the channel applies to US buyers.
2. Connect Google Merchant Center with the official Google & YouTube app and resolve disapprovals (missing GTINs, mismatched prices, images that are too small).
3. Check your structured data. Most themes include Product markup, but not always with shipping and return details or variants. Test a few product pages with Google’s Rich Results Test.
4. Check robots.txt. Shopify manages the file itself; you change it through a robots.txt.liquid template in your theme. Make sure no rule shuts out AI crawlers.
5. Fill in product fields completely. Meta title and meta description per product, alt text on images, and variants with clear options. Shopify Catalog can only pass on what you fill in.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce has no built-in connection with the AI channels yet; you build your reach with feeds, plugins and your own product pages. WooCommerce wrote in October 2025 that it is working with Stripe on support for ACP and experimenting with OpenAI’s product feed specification.

1. Product feed for Google. Use the official Google for WooCommerce plugin (formerly Google Listings & Ads) or a feed plugin such as Product Feed PRO or CTX Feed. Fill in GTIN, brand, category and shipping details per product.
2. Product feed for ChatGPT. Product Feed PRO has an OpenAI feed template, also in the free version. You need approval from OpenAI first; without it you cannot submit the feed.
3. Structured data. WooCommerce adds basic Product markup. Yoast WooCommerce SEO or Rank Math extend it (the plugins compared). Check variable products in particular: each variant should have its own price and availability.
4. robots.txt. Manage it through your SEO plugin or by hand, and only exclude cart, checkout and account.
5. Speed. Cheap shared hosting and a heavy theme make WooCommerce slow, for crawlers too. A caching plugin and decent hosting help.

Shopify’s Agentic plan is an option for stores on another platform that sell to US shoppers: no monthly subscription, with Shopify Checkout’s standard transaction fees for sales through the AI channels.

Magento (Adobe Commerce)

Magento has the strongest API layer but the fewest ready-made AI connections. Adobe announced on February 18, 2026 that Adobe Commerce will support both UCP and ACP, without a concrete timeline.

1. Product feed. Use a feed extension (for example Amasty Product Feed) or build the feed through the REST or GraphQL API. For large catalogs the API route is usually the most reliable, because you decide how often price and stock refresh.
2. Merchant Center. Let Google fetch the feed on a schedule and keep an eye on the diagnostics in Merchant Center.
3. Structured data. The default markup is limited. An extension or your own implementation through layout XML and templates gives you full control over which fields go into the markup.
4. robots.txt. In Magento 2 you find it under Content > Design > Configuration, per website or store view, under Search Engine Robots.
5. Multistore. Give every store view (language or country) its own feed and markup with the right currency and shipping details.

Common mistakes

• Prices that differ between feed and product page, for example because of a sale that only runs on the site.
• Invented or missing GTINs on branded products.
• Advertising language in titles instead of brand, type and variant.
• Price and stock only through JavaScript, so AI crawlers do not see them.
• Blocking AI crawlers by accident with a rule in robots.txt that is too broad.

Start today

Whatever your platform, these three steps have the most effect:

1. Get your feed in order in Google Merchant Center and resolve all disapprovals and warnings.
2. Make your product pages readable without JavaScript, with Product structured data that matches the visible price and stock.
3. Check robots.txt for Googlebot, OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot.

Then you know whether it works by checking whether ChatGPT names your products and your store for the questions your customers ask. GreatCompany will measure that every day; join the waitlist for early access. More on AI visibility for online stores is on GEO for e-commerce.

Read on

• ChatGPT Instant Checkout
• UCP: the open standard for AI commerce
• Advertising in ChatGPT
• Getting found in Perplexity