Google Expands Agentic Commerce for Holiday Shopping

Google has expanded its agentic commerce features ahead of the year-end holiday shopping season. As more consumers search for and buy products using AI, sellers now have new ways to adapt to that shift.

The most notable addition is "AI Performance Insights" in Merchant Center. Now generally available in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and the United States, it lets retailers compare their share of visibility against competitors across Google surfaces, including AI Mode and AI Overviews.

Beyond just checking visibility, sellers also gained more ways to actually reach consumers. A beta that combines Google's "Business Agent" with YouTube ads has launched for a group of U.S. retailers, letting viewers ask detailed product questions without leaving YouTube.

The checkout step that follows those questions has expanded too. Sellers using checkout based on the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) can enable a feature that moves a shopping cart to their own website, along with an enhanced checkout-flow testing feature.

Tapestry, which owns Coach and Kate Spade, used this checkout to let customers buy products directly from Google Search, AI Mode, and the Gemini app ahead of the holiday season. The feature is launching first in the U.S., with Australia and Canada to follow in early next year.

For these features to work, they ultimately depend on solid product data. Sellers who applied best practices to their Merchant Center feed saw average conversion rates rise 5% the following month, and in a Lululemon test, conversational attributes were reflected in 50% of AI Mode's related product recommendations.

The scope of data integration also extends to loyalty programs. Sellers who connect their loyalty program data to Google can display member-only prices and perks; Minted, an online stationery company, used this feature to show special member pricing to loyalty members searching for holiday cards.

Google described these changes as ultimately meant to make it easier for AI agents to understand and discover its products and turn them into purchases. That is also why this expansion arrived ahead of the year-end holiday shopping season.

In Korea

This expansion was announced for Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and the United States, and Korea is not included. Domestic retailers can check directly in their Merchant Center accounts to see whether features such as AI Performance Insights or loyalty program integration have rolled out, whether there are plans to adopt Universal Commerce Protocol checkout, and whether they can join the Business Agent beta tied to YouTube ads.

Source: Search Engine Land, Anu Adegbola, September 16, 2026. Checked September 17, 2026. Read the original