What is agentic commerce?
AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Perplexity increasingly find, compare and buy on the shopper’s behalf. Here is what agentic commerce means, what agents actually read, and what a Nordic online store should do first.
What is agentic commerce?
Agentic commerce is online shopping where an AI assistant does the work the customer used to do. The shopper describes what they need, say “a warm wool sweater that survives the washing machine and arrives before the weekend”. The assistant searches, compares products from several stores, checks stock and delivery, and suggests a purchase.
More and more often the assistant can also add the item to a cart and take the shopper all the way to payment. “Agentic” means the assistant acts on someone’s behalf, within the limits the customer has set. The customer still approves the purchase itself.
What changes for an online store?
The old journey: the shopper searched on Google, clicked through to your site, looked at images, read and bought. You could influence every step with design, banners and campaigns.
Now part of that journey happens before the shopper ever sees your site. The agent has already picked the three products worth showing. If your data does not answer the question the shopper asked, you are not in that shortlist, however good your homepage looks.
“Agents don’t read your website the way a customer does. They read the data.” Øyvind Haagensen, CCO at Scandicommerce, on stage at Handelskonferansen 2026.
Where does agentic commerce happen today?
There are four surfaces worth knowing:
- ChatGPT. By far the largest source of AI traffic in the stores we run.
- Google AI Mode and the Gemini app. Google has launched Universal Cart, a cart that works across merchants in Google Search and the Gemini app. U.S. only for now.
- Microsoft Copilot. Named by Shopify as one of the AI channels merchants can switch on.
- Perplexity. Also named by Shopify as an AI channel.
For Shopify stores the connection runs through Shopify Catalog, which syndicates eligible products to AI platforms without a separate integration per platform. With Agentic Storefronts, part of Shopify’s Winter ’26 Edition in December 2025, you switch AI channels on and off in the admin. Checkout is still Shopify Checkout, and you remain the merchant of record. Orders from AI channels show channel attribution in the Shopify admin.
How much traffic comes from AI assistants?
Not much yet, but it converts. We looked at five Shopify stores we run, over the 90 days to 17 October 2026 (anonymised, data from Salespulse):
Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot together sent fewer than 30 visits in the same period. So the volume is small, but shoppers arriving from ChatGPT have often already made up their minds. This is the moment to lay the groundwork, while competitors are still waiting.
What do AI agents read in an online store?
Agents read structured information. In practice that means:
- A product title and description that say what the product is
- Attributes such as material, size, colour, dimensions, weight and GTIN (EAN)
- Price and stock per variant
- Shipping, returns and warranty terms
- Answers to common questions about the product and the store
What the agent does not read is the campaign banner on your homepage, the mood photo or a line like “contact us for shipping costs”. Øyvind Haagensen uses an example from a real catalogue: a product titled only “Historica”. To someone who knows the brand, that may mean something. To an agent it says almost nothing. Is it a throw, a book or a lamp?
What should a Nordic store do first?
You don’t need to wait for new launches. This work pays off whichever agent the shopper uses:
- Write titles that say what the product is. Product type, material and the key feature belong in the title, not just the collection name.
- Complete attributes and GTINs. In Shopify, product data lives in standard product attributes and metafields. Gaps in those fields are gaps in what an agent can answer.
- Make shipping and returns machine-readable. Write them clearly and unambiguously. Shopify lets you give agents your policies and FAQs through the Knowledge Base app.
- Check Shopify Catalog and Agentic Storefronts. See which products are included and which AI channels are switched on.
- Measure it. Watch orders with AI channel attribution in the admin so you can see what actually comes in.
What is live where?
- Shopify Catalog and Agentic Storefronts: Shopify has not published a country list. Check what is available in your own admin.
- Google Universal Cart: launched in the U.S. on 15 October 2026 in Google Search and the Gemini app, with YouTube and Gmail next (Digital Commerce 360).
- UCP-powered checkout at Google: expanding to Canada and Australia in the coming months, later the U.K., according to Google.
- Norway and the Nordics: nothing announced as of 17 October 2026.
If you want to understand the protocol underneath, we have written a separate walkthrough: UCP and Google Universal Cart explained.
Frequently asked questions
Is agentic commerce the same as AI search?
No. AI search answers questions and shows products. Agentic commerce goes a step further: the assistant compares, adds to cart and can take the shopper all the way to payment. Both rely on the same product data.
Can an AI agent buy without the customer approving?
No. In the Universal Commerce Protocol, backed by Google and Shopify, every payment authorization is tied to cryptographic proof that the customer consented.
Is Google Universal Cart available in Norway?
No. Universal Cart launched in the U.S. on 15 October 2026. Google has said UCP-powered checkout will expand to Canada, Australia and later the U.K. Nothing has been announced for Norway or the Nordics.
What should I do first?
Review your product titles, complete attributes and GTINs, make shipping and returns clear, and check which products are included in Shopify Catalog. It pays off whichever agent the shopper uses.
How we help stores with this
We review product data, policies and checkout in your Shopify store and give you a prioritised list of what to fix so agents understand and recommend your products. Read more about how we work with agentic commerce.
Related posts
Want to talk about your store?
A short call and you will know what is worth doing first.