Google auto-enables native checkout for Merchant Center stores

Merchants are receiving emails from Google saying their products are now eligible for native checkout, the feature that lets a shopper buy without leaving Google Search AI Mode or Gemini. The report comes from Search Engine Roundtable, published 22 September 2026, and the wording is Google’s own, quoted from an email a merchant’s agency received.

What is Google turning on?#

Native checkout is powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol, or UCP. According to the report, UCP-powered checkout launched in February 2026, with a wider rollout on the Friday before the article. It works on Google Search AI Mode and Gemini, and payment runs through Google Pay.

The email says: “Eligible products are automatically included. There’s nothing for you to set up.” That is the whole change from a merchant’s side: the switch is already on.

Can merchants keep buyers on their own store?#

Yes, but the default runs the other way. The email says merchants can turn native checkout off if they would rather have buyers complete their purchases on their online store instead. The instruction quoted in the report is specific to Shopify: turn it off in the Shopify admin under Sales channels > Agentic.

The email was received by Menachem Ani, whose client sells on Shopify. The report says Shopify stores matched to Merchant Center accounts triggered these notifications. It does not describe what merchants on other platforms will see or where they would opt out, so this article does not either.

What does Google say merchants keep?#

The email states: “You manage and retain full ownership of your customer relationships, data, and sales.” That is a claim from Google’s message. The report does not detail how customer data, order handling or attribution work in practice, and no Google help page is linked, so those mechanics are unverified here.

For a store owner, the practical step is narrow: check whether the email arrived, confirm whether native checkout is on for the store, and decide deliberately whether AI Mode and Gemini purchases should happen on Google or on the merchant’s own site. Related coverage of the shopping surfaces involved is in the AI search hub.