What is live right now

As of September 2026, three surfaces actually move product: Shopify's agentic storefronts into AI chats, Google's UCP path in AI Mode and Gemini, and Amazon buying off-Amazon SKUs for you. ChatGPT still discovers products. In-chat Instant Checkout did not stick.

Shopify, Google, ChatGPT, Copilot, Meta

Shopify's own help docs say agentic storefronts are on by default for eligible stores. Catalog goes out through Shopify Catalog or Google Merchant Center. You pick channels in Sales channels, Agentic. ChatGPT is a referrer: the buyer finishes on your checkout in an in-app browser or a new tab. Google AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Meta can use Shopify-powered direct checkout if you leave that on.

There is a separate Shopify Agentic plan for people who want AI channels without (or alongside) a classic online store. Shopify's pitch is no monthly fee, card rates from 2.9% + 30 cents. Direct checkout is off by default on that plan. Read their setup doc before you assume it matches a normal Shopify store.

ChatGPT Instant Checkout

OpenAI launched Instant Checkout in September 2025, on the Agentic Commerce Protocol with Stripe. In March 2026 they pulled the closed loop. The line from their product-discovery post: the first version "did not offer the level of flexibility that we aspire to provide," so merchants use their own checkout and ChatGPT focuses on discovery. PCMag and Modern Retail covered the same week. Merchant count that actually went live was tiny against the "million Shopify shops" launch talk. Treat Instant Checkout as a failed first pass, not the current ChatGPT shopping product.

Amazon Buy for Me

Amazon's Shop Direct / Buy for Me path is different. If the SKU is not in Amazon's store, the app can send you to the brand site, or, for eligible products, complete the purchase on that site using your Amazon address and card. Amazon said in March 2026 that Shop Direct had over 100 million products from more than 400,000 merchants, with tens of millions eligible for Buy for Me. Rufus was renamed Alexa for Shopping in May 2026. This is Amazon's wall, not UCP.

The protocols underneath

Two open commerce specs do most of the talking. ACP is OpenAI and Stripe (Apache 2.0, first spec dated 2025-09-29). UCP is Google and Shopify, announced at NRF 2026, with Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart on the launch materials. UCP profiles speak JSON at /.well-known/ucp. Version string you will see: 2026-01-11. Payments have a third stack (AP2, Visa TAP, Stripe machine payments). That is a later page.

This map will rot. I will date updates. If a vendor page and a blog disagree, I side with the vendor help doc.

Sources: Shopify agentic storefronts, Shopify UCP, ACP GitHub, PCMag on Instant Checkout, Amazon Shop Direct.

Checked September 2026.