Setting up agentic storefronts for stores on the Agentic plan

After you opt in to the Agentic plan, you need to complete setup for agentic storefronts in your Shopify admin. Your store and products are included automatically in Shopify Catalog when your store and products meet the requirements. Before you can sell with agentic storefronts on the Agentic plan, you also need to add your business details and registration documents, and verify your identity.

To learn more about Shopify agentic storefronts, including information about product discovery and the different AI channels that are available, refer to Shopify agentic storefronts.

Requirements and considerations for using agentic storefronts on the Agentic plan

The requirements for using agentic storefronts on the Agentic plan depend on which AI channels you want to sell on, because AI channels support the following different selling paths:

  • Some AI channels support product discovery only, and send customers to your existing online store checkout to complete their purchase.
  • Some AI channels support a Shopify-powered direct checkout, where customers complete their purchase without leaving the AI channel.

Your Shopify admin displays which options are available to your store. Review the following eligibility requirements for each AI channel that you want to use:

When you use the Agentic plan, the following differences apply to your store that don't apply to stores that are using other Shopify plans:

  • Direct selling with agentic storefronts is deactivated by default: To start selling on AI channels that have direct checkout, you need to manually opt in to the AI channel and activate direct checkout after completing agentic storefronts setup. Depending on the channel that you want to activate, refer to the steps for Google AI Mode and Gemini, Meta, or Microsoft Copilot. This step isn't required for ChatGPT.
  • Product data required: In addition to the standard product requirements for Shopify Catalog, you need to provide an external product URL for each product that links to that product's listing on your online store. You can add the product URL to the external URL standard metafield.
  • You can't review your ChatGPT order history in Shopify. You must use your own existing online store analytics platform.

Confirm your business details and your identity

After you sign up for the Agentic plan, you're prompted to provide your business details and registration documents, and to verify your identity. Either the store owner or a staff member with the Manage and install apps and channels permission can complete the identity verification request. A reverification might be requested when account details change or during periodic reviews.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Sales channels > Agentic.

  2. In the Get ready for Agentic Storefronts section, do the following:

    1. Add your business details:
      1. In the Add business details row, click Add or Edit.
      2. In either the business details dialog, or in the Settings > General section of your Shopify admin, enter the required information.
      3. Click Save.
    2. Verify your identity:
      1. In the Verify Identity row, click Verify.
      2. Follow the steps and prompts to complete your identity verification.
    3. Add a business registration document:
      1. In the Add business registration row, click Add.
      2. Click Add Upload file.
      3. Upload an official business registration document.
      4. Click Save.

Choosing your Agentic plan setup

Review the following setup options for the different ways that you can use the Agentic plan:

  • Product discovery: For ChatGPT with agentic storefronts, you need to follow only Step 1: Set up product discovery on this page. Customers complete their purchases on your own online store checkout in a ChatGPT in-app browser, or in a new tab when customers use ChatGPT web.
  • Direct checkout: To sell on AI channels that have a direct checkout, you need to follow all the setup steps on this page.
  • Shopify online store: Refer to Online store access with the Agentic plan. This option is separate from your agentic storefronts setup, and it doesn't change how you sell in AI channels.

Step 1: Set up product discovery

Before you can sell through agentic storefronts, you need to set up your store for product discovery. This ensures that AI channels can find and recommend your products to customers.

To set up product discovery, complete the following tasks:

Import your products to Shopify

To make your products discoverable through agentic storefronts, you need to import products into your Shopify admin. If your products are eligible for Shopify Catalog, they're then available to the ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot AI channels.

To make your products available to the Google AI Mode and Gemini channel with agentic storefronts, you need to install the Google & YouTube sales channel, and have your products and shipping information automatically synced.

To make your products available to the Meta channel with agentic storefronts, you need to install the Facebook and Instagram by Meta sales channel, and have product syncing activated in the Product feed section.

After you import your products, you also need to keep your product data up-to-date with Shopify, especially for dynamic data such as pricing and inventory.

When choosing a product import method, consider the following factors:

  • How frequently you add new products
  • How often your product pricing changes
  • How quickly your inventory levels fluctuate, and whether you need to prevent overselling
  • How much manual updating you can manage in the Shopify admin

For example, if you have a larger product catalog with frequent pricing or inventory changes, then use real-time syncing with the GraphQL Admin API or webhooks. If you have a smaller catalog with infrequent updates, then periodic CSV imports into your Shopify admin might be sufficient.

Review the details of the product import methods that are available, and their potential use cases.

Product import methods for agentic storefronts
Import methodUse casesReal-time syncing
CSV importInitial import, small catalogs that don't change frequently, or no concerns about overselling.No
GraphQL Admin API, using the Sync product data guide and productSet mutationReal-time updates for pricing and inventory, or high-frequency product syncing.Yes
Product Information Management (PIM) Connector appLarge product catalogs with existing PIM systems. Browse apps in the Shopify App Store, ask your existing PIM provider if they have a connector app, or learn more about PIM for Ecommerce.Yes

Review or edit your store details

When you sign up for the Agentic plan, you're required to provide details about your store, such as your store name, business address, and contact details. To review or update these details, refer to Managing your store details.

Add store policies

Before you can sell through agentic storefronts, you need to publish the following store policies in your Shopify admin:

  • Terms of service
  • Privacy policy
  • Return and refund policy

To learn how to create and publish these policies, refer to Adding store policies.

Add your existing online store domain to your Shopify admin

To sell with agentic storefronts, you need to add your existing online store domain to your Shopify admin so that AI channels can link back to your store.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Domains.

  2. Click Add domain > Add existing domain.

  3. In the dialog, enter your existing store domain, and then click Add.

  4. To verify your domain, in a separate browser tab, log in to your third-party domain provider account, and then add the value in the Update to column to your TXT records.

  5. Click I added the TXT record. The verification status will update to Domain is verified by Shopify.

To learn more about adding TXT records to a specific domain provider, refer to Connecting a third-party domain to Shopify.

Manage your FAQs in the Shopify Knowledge Base app (optional)

The Shopify Knowledge Base app helps AI shopping agents better understand and represent your business to customers by providing up-to-date store facts and FAQs as a trusted data source.

This app is already installed on your Agentic plan store. Learn more about Managing your store FAQs using the Shopify Knowledge Base app.

Group related products (optional)

If you list certain variants as separate products in your Shopify admin and want to group multiple products from your store into a single product listing on AI channels, then use one of the following methods depending on your use case:

  • Combined listings: Merchants with stores on Agentic enterprise plans can use the Shopify Combined Listings app to combine individual products into a single listing.
  • Catalog mapping: Use catalog mapping to set a custom variant grouping method. For example, stores with more complex option structures should use catalog mapping.
  • GraphQL Admin API: To create or manage combined listings that must be maintained as separate products using the GraphQL Admin API, refer to the Shopify About combined listings and Build for combined listings developer documentation.

Step 2: Configure your checkout experience

After adding your products, you need to configure the settings that allow customers to complete purchases when they're shopping in AI channels.

To configure your checkout experience, complete the following tasks:

Set up payments

To receive payments through agentic storefronts, you need to set up a payment provider in your Shopify admin. Shopify Payments is Shopify's built-in payment gateway option. Alternatively, you can connect to a third-party payment provider. If you connect a third-party payment provider, then you need to add a payment method for third-party payment provider fees.

Regardless of which payment provider you use, all refunds for orders placed through AI channels must be processed through your Shopify admin. Learn more about refunding orders.

Configure your shipping settings

Configure your shipping zones and rates to ensure that accurate shipping costs are calculated at checkout:

Learn more about Creating a shipping strategy.

Configure your tax settings

To ensure that accurate taxes are collected at checkout, configure your tax collection using Shopify Tax, manual tax rates, or a third-party tax app. Learn more about setting up taxes in your Shopify admin.

Add a custom checkout domain to your Shopify admin

By default, you're assigned a .myshopify.com URL for your checkout domain. This URL isn't visible to customers in most scenarios, but might display when checkout doesn't occur in the AI channel's checkout. If you want to use a custom domain that you own to your Shopify checkout, such as checkout.yourstorename.com, then you can add it to your Shopify admin.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Domains.

  2. Click Add custom checkout domain.

  3. In the dialog, enter your custom checkout URL, and then click Add.

  4. In a separate browser tab, log in to your third-party domain provider, and then add the provided A record or CNAME to your DNS records.

  5. In your Shopify admin, click I updated DNS records. Your domain's status updates to DNS records are verified by Shopify.

Configure your store discounts (optional)

If you want to offer discounts to your customers with agentic storefronts, then you can set up automatic discounts and discount codes to be applied at checkout. Learn more about discounts on Shopify.

Step 3: Set up order management

When you receive orders through agentic storefronts, they display in the Orders page of your Shopify admin. How you manage these orders depends on your business needs and your existing fulfillment processes.

Fulfilling orders

You can fulfill orders in either of the following ways:

  • Fulfill orders directly from Shopify: If you prefer to fulfill agentic storefronts orders directly from your Shopify admin, then you can use the built-in order management tools. To learn more, refer to Fulfilling orders.
  • Use your existing order management system: If you prefer to fulfill agentic storefronts orders using your established workflows, then you can use webhooks (for example, orders/create, orders/updated, or fulfillments/create) with the GraphQL Admin API to export agentic storefronts orders from your Shopify admin.

If you fulfill your agentic storefronts orders outside of Shopify, then you need to update the order status in Shopify so that AI channels can provide your customers with accurate order updates. You can update the order status manually, or using the GraphQL Admin API for fulfillment orders and fulfillments.

Customer notifications

You can manage email and SMS notifications that your store sends to customers and staff from the Notifications page in your Shopify admin. Notifications are triggered by specific events such as order placement, fulfillment, refunds, exchanges, and account changes.

Customer notifications are turned on by default on most stores. For stores on enterprise Agentic plans, order confirmation notifications are turned off by default. Your store owner can contact Shopify Support to turn specific customer notifications on or off.

Step 4: Activate AI channels

After completing product discovery, checkout configuration, and order management setup, you can activate agentic storefronts and start selling through AI channels.

To opt in to selling on AI channels that have direct checkout, refer to the following steps on the relevant channel's page to opt in to the channel and activate direct checkout:

Troubleshooting for agentic storefronts on the Agentic plan

If your products or your checkout don't work as expected with agentic storefronts on the Agentic plan, then review the following general troubleshooting steps:

Troubleshooting specific issues

Troubleshoot products that aren't displayed in an AI channel

Your products are displayed in an AI channel only after they're included in Shopify Catalog, and the AI channel selects them for a customer's request.

  • Confirm that your products are in Shopify Catalog. If they aren't, then review the requirements for Shopify Catalog.
  • Confirm that you activated the AI channel that you want to sell on. For Google AI Mode and Gemini, and for Meta, confirm that the required sales channel is installed and that your product feed is syncing.
  • Review whether your product data is complete and current. Learn more about optimizing your products for Shopify Catalog.

Eligibility doesn't guarantee that a product displays in a specific AI answer or product placement. Each AI channel decides which products to display for a customer's request.

Troubleshoot products that aren't included in Shopify Catalog

Your store and your products are included in Shopify Catalog automatically when they meet the Shopify Catalog requirements. Review the following details for each product that isn't included:

  • Your product has a title, description, image, price, and available inventory.
  • You added an external product URL to the external URL standard metafield.
  • You published your terms of service, privacy policy, and return and refund policy.
  • You added your existing online store domain to your Shopify admin, and it's been verified.
Troubleshoot checkout that isn't available to customers

Checkout availability depends on the AI channel and your setup.

  • ChatGPT sends customers to your existing online store checkout. Shopify-powered direct checkout isn't used for ChatGPT.
  • For Google AI Mode and Gemini, Meta, and Microsoft Copilot, direct checkout is deactivated by default on the Agentic plan. You need to set up the channel, and then activate direct checkout.
  • Confirm that you set up a payment provider, shipping settings, and tax settings.
Troubleshoot an online store that you can't publish

You can't publish your Shopify online store with the Agentic plan. Building and previewing your online store is included in the Agentic plan, but publishing your online store and accepting online store orders requires a paid Shopify subscription plan.

To publish your online store, move to a paid Shopify subscription plan. After you move to a paid plan, you can remove the password from your online store and publish it. Learn more about building your online store on the Agentic plan.

If you complete these steps and your products or your checkout still don't work as you expect, then contact Shopify Support. Include your store URL, the AI channel, the products that are affected, and the steps that you already completed.