Shopify to open access to over 1 billion product listings for AI agents — The Verge

Shopify will allow shoppers to configure AI agents to search for products and make purchases on their behalf. Once an agent is connected to an account on the Shop platform, it will be able to work with more than one billion product listings in the Shopify catalog, The Verge reports.

Shopping through AI agents

The catalog includes products from both Shopify storefronts and other platforms. In September, Shopify announced a partnership with Meta that allowed its Muse agent to browse products and purchase them on a user's behalf.

Now, shoppers will be able to use agents without a separate partnership integration. To use the feature, a shopper must connect an agent to their Shop account. The Shopify-owned platform consolidates orders, tracks parcels, and offers product recommendations. Payment will be possible through the Shop Pay feature directly in a conversation with an agent, while completed orders will be sent to the Shop app.

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Limits on purchases

Shopify positions the capability as a personal shopping assistant. Users can set rules for an agent, including a spending limit or a requirement to show only products with fast delivery. At the same time, the shopper must approve every purchase.

As the publication notes, Google and Amazon are also developing AI-based shopping tools. The ability of AI agents to purchase products on customers' behalf has already become a subject of disputes between Amazon and Perplexity, as well as Meta and its Muse agent.