What agentic commerce is
Agentic commerce is commerce carried out by an AI agent: an assistant that doesn't just answer but acts. The user asks “find me some waterproof trail running shoes for under 150 euros” and the agent searches, compares options, suggests one and, if the user approves, completes the purchase within the conversation.
It is the next step after GEO. With GEO we aim to get AI to mention and recommend a brand. With agentic commerce, the AI can also sell its products without the customer visiting the website.
It isn't science fiction: the most widely used assistants already show products with price and availability, and some let you pay without leaving the chat.
The protocols: ACP and UCP
For an agent to buy, it needs to talk to the shop in a standard way: read the catalogue, check price and stock, apply a discount and complete the payment. That is what agentic commerce protocols were created for.
OpenAI and Stripe published the Agentic Commerce Protocol, which allows purchases inside ChatGPT. In January 2026, Shopify and Google announced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard so that any agent can connect to and buy from any shop, with support for discount codes, loyalty programmes, subscriptions and pre-orders.
Shopify has also launched Agentic Storefronts: from the shop admin, the catalogue is published to ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot. The rollout is market by market, so it is worth checking what is available in your country at any given time.
What an agent needs from your catalogue
An agent doesn't see your design or your banners: it reads data. If the data isn't there, the product doesn't exist for it. And if two products from different brands are similar, the one that best explains who it is for and how it differs wins.
- Descriptive titles: what it is, who it is for and its main attribute, not just the commercial name.
- Complete, standardised attributes: size, material, dimensions, compatibility, use.
- Identifiers: GTIN or EAN, brand and reference.
- Price, stock and delivery times updated in real time.
- Clear shipping and returns policies, readable by machines too.
- Visible reviews and consistent product structured data across the whole site.
How to prepare your shop, step by step
First, audit the catalogue the way an AI would read it: can each product be understood from its data alone? This is the highest-impact work and it also helps with Google Shopping, marketplaces and on-site search.
Second, review the platform. On Shopify, agentic channels are switched on from the admin. On PrestaShop, Adobe Commerce or custom builds you need to assess the integration with each protocol or an equivalent feed.
Third, measure. Sales and traffic coming from assistants can be segmented in your analytics and in each channel's reports. And fourth, look after the brand beyond the website: agents, like people, trust what reviews, the media and comparison sites say.
My view: why start now
It will play out like mobile did: at first it was a small channel, and those who worked on it early took the advantage. Today the volume of agentic commerce in Spain is small, but the protocols are already defined and the big platforms are rolling them out.
What you need to do to be ready (an excellent catalogue, structured data and a good reputation) also improves SEO, GEO, conversion and marketplaces. It's hard to find a lower-risk investment.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between GEO and agentic commerce?
GEO aims to get AI to mention and recommend your brand. Agentic commerce goes one step further: the agent buys the product on the user's behalf, often without going through your website.
What is UCP?
The Universal Commerce Protocol is an open standard that Shopify and Google announced in January 2026 so that AI agents can connect to any shop and complete purchases, with discounts, loyalty and subscriptions.
Does my shop have to be on Shopify to sell through agents?
Not necessarily, but Shopify already integrates these channels from its admin. On other platforms you need to assess the integration with each protocol or with each assistant's product feeds.
We’ll tell you what we would do in your case, no strings attached. A real person from the team replies.
Founder and Chairman of Webimpacto. He drives the adoption of AI across the agency and its clients’ projects: GEO, agentic commerce and new channels such as ChatGPT Ads.