Shopify Opens AI Commerce to All Merchants With Agentic Storefronts

San Francisco: Shopify has launched Agentic Storefronts, making its 5.6 million merchants discoverable and shoppable inside ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google AI Mode, and Gemini. The feature went live by default on March 24 for all eligible US merchants, no app install, no opt-in required.

The launch is the most significant expansion of AI commerce infrastructure to date. Merchants set up their product data once inside the Shopify Admin. From there, inventory, pricing, and product details sync automatically across every supported AI channel simultaneously.

Shopify also launched a standalone Agentic Plan for brands that do not use Shopify as their primary platform. Those brands can now add products to the Shopify Catalog and become shoppable across all AI channels, without migrating their store. These agentic storefronts effectively positions Shopify as the infrastructure layer beneath all AI commerce, regardless of which platform a merchant runs.

The technical backbone is the Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard co-developed by Shopify and Google. Walmart, Target, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Stripe have all signed on. The protocol standardises how AI agents discover and transact with merchants across any platform.

The checkout model reflects OpenAI’s recent retreat from in-chat purchasing. Customers discover products inside ChatGPT and complete purchases on the merchant’s own storefront, either in an in-app browser on mobile or a new tab on desktop. Google AI Mode and Microsoft Copilot both support embedded checkout directly within the conversation. There are currently no additional platform fees beyond standard Shopify processing rates.

AI-driven traffic to Shopify stores has grown sevenfold since January 2025. AI-attributed orders are up elevenfold over the same period. Shopify is betting that agentic commerce is not a feature, it is the next major distribution channel, and it intends to own the infrastructure layer beneath all of it.