Shopify has recently announced a big shift in how products can be discovered and sold online, this is called agentic shopping.
In short, your products can now be shown and purchased directly inside AI tools like ChatGTP – without someone ever actually visiting your website.
That’s a big change and if you’re a creative, maker, or small business owner, it’s completely understandable if your first reaction is: "Oh god, the AI is finally taking over!)"...
This post isn’t here to tell you this is amazing or awful, I just want to help you understand what it means for you, your business and how you can make the right decisions for your business.
What is “agentic” shopping, really?
Agentic shopping means AI tools (like chat-based assistants like ChatGTP and search experiences) can:
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Show your products
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Answer questions about them
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Complete the checkout
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Take payment
All without sending the customer to your Shopify website.
From the customer’s point of view, the AI becomes the shop. Your Shopify store will just be behind the scenes - handling products, payments and fulfilment.
This is a shift away from “your website is the main event” and towards AI behaving more like a marketplace.
Are Shopify stores automatically included?
For many merchants, yes.
Shopify has begun auto-enrolling eligible stores into agentic shopping experiences, with the option to opt out manually in your Shopify admin. I don't think you are able to opt out until the 26th of February (2026) without contacting the Shopify support team directly.
That’s one of the reasons this is causing such a stir online right now – it feels like a big decision being made for small businesses, not with them or by them!
The big worries creatives have – and why they’re valid
There are a few obvious worries here. Let's have a look at a couple...
1. “I’m losing control of my brand”
This concern is completely justified.
In agentic shopping:
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Your website design isn’t seen
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Your checkout customisations may not appear
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Your carefully crafted brand story may be reduced to a summary
For creatives whose brand, values and personality are a core part of why people buy, that can feel uncomfortable and takes away from what makes your brand you! This is one thing I bang on about when I'm working with clients - your website is your home, your brand, your place to pull people in. Removing this layer is super risky - both in terms of customer experience and what it means to actually run a business online!
If your growth depends heavily on storytelling, connection and visual identity, agentic checkout is not a neutral change at all.
2. “Are there more fees?”
Yes. There are always more fees...
Agentic storefront fees sit on top of:
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Your Shopify plan
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Transaction fees
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Payment processing fees
For low-margin products, this matters a lot.
It’s entirely possible for a product that’s profitable on your website to become marginal (or unprofitable) through AI checkout if pricing isn’t reviewed.
This is not fear-mongering – it’s basic maths. At the moment I have heard that some fees are free and others - ChatGTP for example, will sit at 4% which is a huge whack on top of existing fees, especially if you're not prepared for them or your margins are super tight.
3. “What if the AI gets something wrong?”
This is one of the most important points.
Even if:
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The AI explains the product
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The AI sets expectations
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The AI completes the sale
You remain fully liable.
If something is misrepresented, delayed, misunderstood or disputed, it’s still your responsibility as the seller.
At the moment, you don’t get full visibility or control over how every AI conversation about your product is handled. That makes this a genuine tricky area to manage. You just don't know what conversations someone is having with AI about your product and what it's saying about you!
My hope is that people will (at least for a bit) be a bit sceptical of buying through AI rather than visiting the website itself and that this new feature will work a bit like an interactive Google for a while and drive people directly to your site. Bear in mind though, this is not the end game - the end game is the searching, deciding, transaction etc will all be done through the AI!!!
4. “Is my data being shared?”
To make agentic shopping work, data is shared between Shopify and participating AI platforms such as Google and OpenAI (via ChatGPT).
Customers are subject to:
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Your privacy policy
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The AI platform’s privacy policy
For UK and EU businesses especially, this adds another layer of compliance and trust to think about – particularly if transparency and ethics are important to your brand.
The other side of the argument (and a reminder that not all things are instantly bad)
It would be dishonest to say there are no upsides. A real life experience which I had recently was a (now customer) was searching for help with setting up a creative business in Edinburgh on ChatGTP - it suggested me, my latest workshop with Kerry for the Foundations Event, led her to the page on the site and she contacted me and booked a ticket. So, good things can happen off the back of AI.
Distribution is changing – whether we like it or not
People are increasingly:
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Asking AI what to buy - this is happening A LOT
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Comparing products inside chat tools
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Expecting faster, simpler purchasing - people are increasingly looking for a quick win, they trust AI (whether they should or not is another blog post altogether) and they want to find what they want quickly!!!
Ignoring this shift entirely doesn’t stop it happening.
For some businesses, agentic shopping could:
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Reduce friction (at the expense of your brand/website experience)
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Put products in front of new audiences - definitely
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Act like an additional sales channel rather than a replacement
The key is seeing it for what it is: a new channel, not “the future of your whole business”.
This isn’t “your website is dead”
One thing I want to stress: This does not make your website irrelevant. In fact I would go so far as to say it makes your website even more important. If someone is being told by AI that they should buy your product and they do, they are now your customer! There is a high likelihood that in future they will come to your website to browse or purchase again, you can target them in the delivery of your product with flyers, offers etc... Your website has got to meet the expectations that they got from AI (if you need help working our if your website is doing a good job of this you might want to check out my website audit)
Your website is still where:
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Brand trust is built
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Longer-term customers are nurtured
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Email lists, storytelling and depth live
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You have the most control
Think of agentic shopping more like:
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Etsy
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Not On The High Street
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Google Shopping
Useful for discovery and convenience, but not where your whole business should live.
Ethical considerations for creatives
This part matters.
You might ask:
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Do I want my work summarised by AI?
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Does this align with my values?
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Am I comfortable trading control for reach?
There is no universally “right” answer here.
Ethical business decisions don’t have to be extreme. You’re allowed to:
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Opt in cautiously
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Opt out entirely
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Test it with a limited product range
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Revisit the decision later
None of those choices make you behind the times. Knowledge and awareness of what it means for you and YOUR business is important. This is new to everyone so pick your way at your own pace.
Practical things to do now...
Here’s a reasonably sensible, low-drama approach to these new cahnges:
1. Check your Shopify admin
See:
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Whether agentic shopping is enabled (I think 26th January 2026 is the big kick off day).
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Which partners are active
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What fees apply - there might be a free period but there will definitely be fees!
2. Review your pricing
If margins are already tight, factor in potential additional fees before deciding anything.
3. Treat this as a channel, not a strategy
Your website, email list and brand presence still matter enormously and you should make sure you have a strategy for these, arguably more than ever.
4. Don’t rush a values decision
You’re allowed to take time to decide how you feel about this and find out more.
My final thought (for now!)
It can often feel like big tech is out to get you and I totally agree - they're always changing things, updating them before you've maybe even had a chance to get up to date with the latest version!!!
Shopify agentic shopping isn’t inherently good or evil.
It’s a commercial shift that benefits scale, convenience (for customers) and platforms first – and small businesses second. It's not necessarily about giving people a good experience or matching them with the right product!
Take your time, chat with a few people, make a decision when you're ready and change your mind if you want - it's all ok!
This is a hot topic right now and things might change, I might form a strong opinion one way or the other and I might get more information as I find out more about it. I'll be sure to update and if you've got any questions please just get in touch!
-Hels