# Google Merchant Center auto-enables native checkout on AI Mode and Gemini

Published: 2026-09-22T16:18:20.900Z · Source: Search Engine Roundtable (https://www.seroundtable.com/google-native-checkout-emails-42140.html)
Source date: 2026-09-22
Entities: google, ai-mode, gemini

Google has begun emailing Merchant Center sellers whose store platform supports the Universal Commerce Protocol that their products are "automatically included" in native checkout, letting shoppers buy directly inside Google AI Mode, Gemini and Search, per Search Engine Roundtable. Checkout itself has run on UCP since February; what changed is that eligible sellers are now opted in by default rather than choosing to turn it on, and Shopify merchants who want purchases to stay on their own site must disable it under Sales channels > Agentic. Google's notice does not say whether it takes a fee on native-checkout sales.

Why it matters: The default has flipped from merchants opting into agentic checkout to merchants having to notice and opt out of it, which raises the cost of not watching Merchant Center settings on a UCP-compatible platform.

## What this answers

**What is Google native checkout in AI Mode and Gemini?**

A checkout feature, powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol, that lets a shopper buy a merchant's product directly inside Google AI Mode, Gemini or Search rather than visiting the merchant's own site.

**Does Google automatically enable native checkout on my store?**

Yes, if your e-commerce platform supports the Universal Commerce Protocol — Google enables it on eligible products by default. Shopify sellers can turn it off in their admin under Sales channels > Agentic.


Canonical: https://anythingengineoptimization.com/item/2026-09-22-google-merchant-center-auto-enables-native-checkout-on-ai-mode-and/
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