Oprah energy in Mountain View this week: you get a buy button, and you get a buy button… Everyone gets a buy button!
Surprise, you’re opted in: Google is switching on native checkout in AI Mode and Gemini for eligible US Shopify merchants, by default.
Merchant Center is even emailing sellers that there’s “nothing for you to set up.” Which is exactly the problem.
The Google-hosted checkout doesn’t support custom pixels, client-side Google Analytics, bundles, or some checkout blocks. Want the sale on your own site? Switch it off under Sales channels > Agentic.
The shelf is shrinking, too: AI Mode is testing brand-query clicks that skip the comparison panel and go straight to the retailer. Other stores in that overlay lose their shot.
It also builds comparison tables with images and reviews, so your product data does the selling before anyone reaches your page.
Meanwhile, the bouncer’s working overtime: Amazon blocked Meta’s Muse agent after Meta refused to remove Amazon from its reach.
Muse still plugs into Shopify, though. And it’s outpacing ChatGPT’s early mobile launch:
- 1.8M iOS downloads in the US and Canada, vs. ChatGPT’s 1.3M
- 642K US daily users, vs. 231K
Amazon can afford to turn those shoppers away. For most stores, it’s time to set an agent policy before someone sets it for you.
