New Era for Shopify merchants

If you run a Shopify store, you are entering a new phase of e-commerce where "SEO" (Search Engine Optimization) is being overtaken by "AEO" (AI Engine Optimization).

Millions of shoppers are now using AI assistants to find products, but the journey usually breaks at the most critical moment: checkout or transaction.

UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol) is the fix. It’s a new on-ramp that lets AI “shopping agents” discover your products, ask the right questions (variants, shipping, returns), and move a buyer from intent → checkout → order with fewer clicks and less drop-off.

Crucially, this isn't just some random tech. UCP is an open standard powered by Google and co-developed with e-commerce giants like Shopify. It defines the common language for that end-to-end flow across platforms, merchants, payment providers, and credential providers.

What the f*** is UCP actually?

Technically, UCP is a standard. Commercially, it is the universal translator between your Shopify store and the AI world. It handles three critical things:

• The Handshake (Discovery): Your store tells the AI, "I am open for business, and here is exactly what I can do." This ensures the AI knows you are a trusted merchant, not just another random website.

• The Actions (Capabilities): These are the "verbs" of commerce. Instead of just reading text, the AI can trigger real business logic: Checkout, Check Inventory, Apply Discount, or Link Identity. It turns a conversation into a transaction.

• The Connection (Bindings): Whether the customer is on WhatsApp, a Google Search AI result, or a voice assistant, UCP ensures the transaction works the same way. It maps these commercial actions 1:1 to modern tools (like MCP) so you can build once and sell everywhere.

For the technical folks (The Specs):

• Discovery & negotiation: Agents and merchants “handshake” on what each supports (versions + capabilities).
• Capabilities (think: verbs): e.g., Checkout, Order Management, Identity Linking, plus extensions (discounts, fulfillment, consent, etc.).
• Bindings / transports: The same capability can be invoked over HTTP/REST, MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools, or A2A—UCP maps capabilities 1:1 to MCP tools.

A quick mental model:

How this boosts revenue (conversion + AOV) for Shopify merchants

1) You become “agent-ready” where shoppers already are

Google is explicitly positioning UCP as a path to turn AI interactions into purchases across its AI surfaces (e.g., Gemini / AI Mode), starting with direct buying.
Business impact: capture incremental demand from high-intent shoppers who never reach a traditional PDP/cart flow.

2) Lower friction checkout = fewer abandoned carts

UCP’s checkout primitives let an agent complete the purchase with status-driven steps (create → update → complete), and optionally escalate to a trusted embedded checkout UI when needed.
Business impact: fewer “form fatigue” drop-offs, especially on mobile and cross-border.

3) Higher AOV via “agent-native” upsell logic (without being spammy)

Once agents can reliably identify:

• buyer intent (“I need a crewneck sweater, sustainable, ships to US”),
• variant constraints,
• shipping/returns requirements,

…you can shape what the agent recommends:

• Bundles (“sweater + care kit”)
• Threshold incentives (“free shipping over $X”)
• Smart add-ons (size/compatibility safe cross-sell)
• Time-bounded offers surfaced at decision time

UCP supports extensions (e.g., discount/fulfillment extending checkout) in the protocol itself.

Now I want this, how?

There are two practical paths:

Path A — Merchant checklist (no-code / low-code)

This is how most Shopify merchants should start:

1. Make product data agent-friendly
2. Clean titles, consistent variants, accurate inventory
3. Strong shipping/returns policies

4. Rich attributes (materials, sizing, compatibility) so agents can filter accurately

5. Enable fast, reliable checkout behaviors

6. Make sure checkout works smoothly end-to-end (especially shipping rates + payment methods).

7. Keep discount rules predictable (agents don’t handle weird edge cases well).

8. If you want Google AI surfaces: follow Google’s UCP onboarding guidance

9. Google’s guide positions UCP as “turn AI interactions into instant sales” and provides an implementation/onboarding path (including business profile + capability negotiation).

Path B — Build (or hire someone to build) an agent that sells via Shopify’s UCP-compliant tools

Shopify provides MCP servers that are UCP-compliant, covering discovery, checkout, and orders.
This is the fastest “developer path” to a working demo that can later become:

• an on-site AI concierge,
• a WhatsApp/LINE assistant,
• a support + reorder agent,
• a partner integration.

An Example Step-by-step: build a simple “Shopify UCP” shopping agent (Node.js)

Below is a minimal, beginner-friendly walkthrough using the same primitives Shopify documents:
Authenticate → Search catalog → Create checkout → (Update) → Complete.

0) Pre-requirements

• Node.js installed on your pc
• Access to Shopify Dev Dashboard (to generate credentials / tokens for agent APIs)
• VsCode or any IDE

1) Get a bearer token (JWT) for Shopify agent APIs

Shopify’s agent docs: you generate a global access token that authenticates your agent with Catalog + Checkout MCP servers.

Create a .env in your local VsCode:

BEARER_TOKEN=your_jwt_token_here
CATALOG_ID=your_catalog_id_here

(Do not commit .env. Use .gitignore file to exclude .env.)

2) Search products (Catalog MCP → search_global_products)

Create search-catalog.js:

import 'dotenv/config';

const bearerToken = process.env.BEARER_TOKEN;
const catalogId = process.env.CATALOG_ID;

async function main() {
  const res = await fetch('https://discover.shopifyapps.com/global/mcp', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${bearerToken}`,
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      jsonrpc: '2.0',
      method: 'tools/call',
      id: 1,
      params: {
        name: 'search_global_products',
        arguments: {
          saved_catalog: catalogId,
          query: 'I need a crewneck sweater',
          context: 'buyer looking for sustainable fashion',
          ships_to: 'US',
          min_price: 50,
          max_price: 200,
          limit: 3,
        },
      },
    }),
  });

  const data = await res.json();

  // Shopify’s example parses the returned text payload as JSON.
  if (data?.result?.content?.[0]?.text) {
    data.result.content[0].text = JSON.parse(data.result.content[0].text);
  }

  console.log(JSON.stringify(data, null, 2));
}

main().catch(console.error);

This is directly aligned with Shopify’s “search catalog” tutorial structure and parameters.

What you’re looking for in results: a product variant ID (you’ll pass it to checkout) and the shop domain.

3) Create a checkout session (Shop’s MCP endpoint → create_checkout)

Once you have:

• shopDomain (example: your-store.myshopify.com)
• variantId (a gid://shopify/ProductVariant/...)

Create checkout.js:

import 'dotenv/config';
import { randomUUID } from 'crypto';

const bearerToken = process.env.BEARER_TOKEN;

const shopDomain = 'YOUR_SHOP_DOMAIN.myshopify.com';
const variantId = 'gid://shopify/ProductVariant/1234567890';

async function main() {
  const res = await fetch(`https://${shopDomain}/api/ucp/mcp`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${bearerToken}`,
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      jsonrpc: '2.0',
      method: 'tools/call',
      id: 1,
      params: {
        name: 'create_checkout',
        arguments: {
          _meta: {
            ucp: {
              // Platform profile is required by UCP MCP binding for negotiation/versioning.
              profile: 'https://agent.example/profiles/shopping-agent.json',
            },
          },
          checkout: {
            idempotency_key: randomUUID(),
            currency: 'USD',
            line_items: [{ quantity: 1, item: { id: variantId } }],
            buyer: { email: 'buyer@example.com' },
          },
        },
      },
    }),
  });

  const data = await res.json();
  console.log(JSON.stringify(data, null, 2));
}

main().catch(console.error);

This follows Shopify’s “complete checkout” tutorial and UCP’s MCP requirement that _meta.ucp.profile is included for every tool invocation.

4) Update + complete checkout (status-driven)

Shopify describes the flow as: create → update until ready → complete when status becomes ready_for_complete.

Two important gotchas from Shopify:

• Checkout updates replace the whole checkout state—if you omit fields, they’re removed.
• Sometimes the checkout returns requires_escalation and provides a continue_url (meaning: hand off to embedded/trusted UI).

In practice your agent loop looks like:

1. create_checkout
2. if status === incomplete → update_checkout with missing info
3. if status === requires_escalation → open the continue_url in embedded checkout UI
4. if status === ready_for_complete → complete_checkout

(Shopify’s tutorial includes example payloads for complete_checkout and the intermediate update steps.)

Shopify is building the foundation for agentic commerce.

Universal Commerce Protocol, which we co-developed with Google, is now live. UCP will make it faster for agents and retailers to integrate.

It’s open by default, so platforms and agents can use UCP to start transacting… pic.twitter.com/Gs0vzvfjra

— tobi lutke (@tobi) January 11, 2026

What Shopify merchants should do this week to adapt quickly?

1. Audit product data like an agent would

   • Can a bot pick the right variant from your descriptions?
   • Are shipping/returns explicit and consistent?

2. Create 2–3 “AOV plays” that are easy for an agent to apply

   • “Free shipping over $X”
   • “Bundle discount”
   • “Add-on with the top 3 products”

3. Decide your strategy

   • If you want quick wins: build an on-site agent that uses Shopify’s UCP-compliant MCP tools.
   • If you want distribution via Google AI surfaces: start with Google’s UCP guide and required profile/onboarding steps.

🚀 Ready to make your store AI and Agent Ready?

The shift to Agentic Commerce is technical and moves fast. While the potential for revenue is huge, implementing UCP and MCP protocols correctly requires deep technical understanding.

You don't have to figure this out alone.

If you need someone to architect and build a UCP integration for your Shopify store (or any e-commerce platform), I can help you turn this new technology into a competitive advantage.

• 🌐 See what I build: tahmid.space
• 🤝 Specific questions or need a consultation? Connect with me on LinkedIn