Google turns on native checkout in AI Mode and Gemini by default for Shopify merchants

Google is emailing Merchant Center users whose e-commerce platform supports the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) to tell them their products are now eligible for native checkout. Eligible products are included automatically. Shoppers can then buy them in AI Mode on Google Search and in Gemini, paying with Google Pay, and never visit the merchant's site.

Search Engine Roundtable reported the emails on Sep 22, 2026, after Menachem Ani posted one he had received on X.

What changed

• UCP-powered checkout launched in February for a limited set of merchants. Google announced the UCP integration in January.

• On the Friday before the report, Google opened it to more retailers.

• The email Ani shared says: "Eligible products are automatically included. There's nothing for you to set up."

• Eligibility, per that email: your products are published on your Shopify storefront and available in Merchant Center. Shopify has UCP built in, so once your store is matched to Merchant Center it qualifies.

• To opt out, Google sends merchants to the Shopify admin: Sales channels > Agentic.

The email in the report is the Shopify version. The source says the notices go to merchants on any platform that supports UCP, and it does not list which other platforms those are.

Why the default matters

Much of the market had read agentic checkout as stalled this year. Many brands planned around a simple split: shoppers discover in AI, then buy on the brand's site. That plan assumed a merchant would have to opt in. Google has made it opt-out.

When the purchase happens inside AI Mode or Gemini, the product page visit never happens. Neither does anything that runs on that page: cross-sells, bundles, email capture, loyalty sign-up, your own analytics tag.

Google's message says "You manage and retain full ownership of your customer relationships, data, and sales." The source does not say which customer data reaches the merchant after a native checkout, how those orders are attributed in Shopify or Merchant Center, or whether a fee applies. Until Google documents that, treat the ownership line as Google's framing. Then look at what your first native orders actually contain.

What to do today

• Open your Shopify admin, go to Sales channels, then Agentic, and check whether native checkout is on.

• Make the call on purpose. If your margin depends on add-ons or post-purchase flows, protecting the on-site path may be worth more. If your site adds little to a simple purchase, one more place to buy, right inside AI answers, may be the better trade.

• If you leave it on, track those orders separately from site orders so you can compare basket size and repeat rate.