Your AI agent can now buy things on Shopify
What's the story
Shopify, the e-commerce platform, has announced that browser-based artificial intelligence (AI) agents can complete purchases on its merchants' sites. This comes as a stark contrast to other retailers like Amazon and Adidas, who have been blocking such capabilities. The move is aimed at expanding the functionality of these AI agents beyond just product search and cart addition.
Enhanced capabilities
AI agents can now complete transactions
Shopify had already integrated WebMCP into its storefronts and carts. This feature allowed browser-based AI agents to search a retailer's inventory and add products to their cart.
Now, with the addition of WebMCP support for checkout (including Shop Pay), these agents can also read, modify, and submit transactions on the checkout screen with buyer authorization.
This is done without relying on screenshots or scraping web pages.
Tool introduction
New tools for AI agents
The update from Shopify also brings three new tools, get_checkout, update_checkout, and complete_checkout.
These are designed to let agents inspect a checkout process, modify details like the customer's address or delivery option, and place an order after getting authorization from the buyer.
The feature is being rolled out to all eligible Shopify merchants, as per Gil Greenberg, a staff product manager at Shopify.
Strategic alliances
Shopify's existing partnerships with AI agents
Shopify already has a hosted Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for agents to work server-to-server. The proposed standard WebMCP is meant for agents working inside the buyer's browser.
Both protocols use Shopify's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), which standardizes product discovery, cart creation, and checkout processes.
Top AI agents like Muse and Instinct already have direct partnerships with Shopify for agentic commerce, further strengthening its position in this space.