Google is expanding straightforward checkout powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) to shoppers in Canada throughout AI Mode in Google Search and the Gemini app.
Sabrina Geremia, Vice President and Country Managing Director at Google Canada, announced the rollout on November 4, 2026.
The characteristic allows Canadian shoppers to acquisition immediately from eligible retailers during researching products on Google’s AI surfaces.
Google additionally announced plans to bring simplified UCP integration immediately into Merchant Center starting next year.
Here’s what’s changing alongside the Canadian rollout, how the checkout stream works, and what retailers managing Merchant Center feeds should prepared for.
How UCP Direct Checkout Works In Canada
According to Google, the first Canadian initiate includes four partners and merchant groups:
- lululemon
- Select Shopify merchants
- Shoppers Drug Mart
- Simons
These partnerships authorize Canadian shoppers to complete purchases inner AI Mode in Google Search and the Gemini app without leaving the conversation.
During checkout, shoppers pay alongside Google Pay using the fee methods and shipping particulars saved in Google Wallet.
Google says retailers remain the seller of document and can customize the integration to fit their endeavor needs.
In the coming months, Google plans to activity alongside retailers to add additional capabilities to the checkout experience, specified as applying loyalty rewards.
Merchant Center UCP Integration Arrives Next Year
For retailers exterior the first initiate group, broader admission is tied to an upcoming Merchant Center update.
Starting next year, Google says it volition create simplified UCP integration accessible immediately inner Merchant Center.
This update volition authorize retailers to allow straightforward checkout and another capabilities for their merchandise listings throughout AI Mode in Google Search and the Gemini app immediately from their accounts.
Google launched UCP before this twelvemonth alongside industry partners as an open norm for agentic commerce.
The protocol creates a shared tongue so AI agents, person surfaces, businesses, and fee providers can activity together throughout merchandise discovery, purchasing, and post-purchase assistance without construction tradition connections for all platform.
In the announcement, Mani Fazeli, VP of Product at Shopify, stated:
Canadians are already asking AI what to buy, and now Shopify merchants marketing into Canada can be faithfully represented and bought from immediately in AI Mode and the Gemini app, alongside zero additional work. UCP handles the complexity of agentic commerce underneath, so shoppers can buy what they discover without leaving the conversation.
While Fazeli notes that Shopify merchants marketing into Canada can be bought from immediately alongside zero additional work, Google specifies that the first rollout applies to choose Shopify merchants.
Why This Matters For Retailers And Paid Media Teams
Direct checkout in AI Mode and the Gemini app keeps additional of the transaction inner Google’s interfaces during keeping the merchant as the seller of record.
Even before the Merchant Center UCP integration arrives next year, merchandise nourish norm remains the basis for visibility throughout Google’s buying and AI surfaces.
Google’s generative AI optimization guide states that generative AI responses can contain merchandise listings and merchandise data anywhere appropriate. Using Merchant Center feeds can assistance products appear in the two AI responses and norm Google Search results.
For ecommerce teams and agencies managing Canadian accounts, here’s a few suggestions to assistance you remain onward of what’s coming:
- Audit your Merchant Center merchandise data: Because Google Merchant Center feeds assistance visibility in Google Shopping and AI responses, create certain merchandise titles, descriptions, pricing, and inventory position are accurate.
- Check Shopify eligibility in Canada: If you oversee a Shopify shop marketing into Canada, test how your products appear in AI Mode and the Gemini app, since Google notes first checkout admission is constricted to choose Shopify merchants.
- Coordinate alongside backing and operations teams: Before enabling straightforward checkout in Merchant Center next year, assessment how Google Pay transactions and Google Wallet shipping particulars align alongside your existing order, tax, and refund workflows.
- Account for loyalty program timing: Because loyalty rewards assistance is planned for the coming months fairly than accessible at launch, aspect that into your holiday promotional planning.
Keeping your merchandise feeds spotless now volition create it easier to clasp the Merchant Center UCP settings formerly they rotate into available.
What’s Still Unknown
Google hasn’t yet shared a particular publish date next twelvemonth for the simplified UCP integration in Merchant Center, or disclosed eligibility criteria and onboarding steps for Canadian retailers exterior the first initiate group. It additionally remains unclear how UCP straightforward checkout orders are reported or attributed in Merchant Center and Google Ads, or how straightforward checkout interacts alongside paid Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.
We’ll update this part as Google shares additional particulars concerning Merchant Center rollout timing and broader availability.
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