Google Brings AI Mode Checkout to Canada, Merchant Center Next
Google's UCP checkout starts with four partners in Canada. The route for every other store is a Merchant Center setting that arrives next year.
Shoppers in Canada can now buy without leaving AI Mode or the Gemini app.
Google Canada announced it on November 4. Not a launch partner? Your turn comes next year, Google says, through a new Merchant Center setting.
How the checkout works
It runs on the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard Google launched this year. UCP gives agents, stores and payment providers one shared language.
So a shopper researches a product in AI Mode or Gemini and buys it right there.
They pay with Google Pay, using cards and shipping details already saved in Google Wallet. These four are in at launch:
- lululemon
- Shoppers Drug Mart
- Simons
- select Shopify merchants, which Google hasn’t named
Google says the retailer stays the seller of record. Loyalty rewards come later, in the coming months.
The Merchant Center switch
That’s the part most store owners should mark. Starting next year, retailers will be able to turn on direct checkout for their listings from their own Merchant Center accounts.
There’s no date yet. Search Engine Journal notes that Google hasn’t shared eligibility rules or onboarding steps either.
Running Shopify? Shopify’s Mani Fazeli promised “zero extra work” for merchants selling into Canada.
But Google says only select Shopify merchants are in at launch, so check how your products show up in AI Mode before you count on it.
Then there’s reporting.
SEJ says it’s unclear how these orders show up in Merchant Center and Google Ads, or next to your Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.
Why it matters
Google says 59% of holiday shoppers in Canada plan to use an AI tool to shop this season. If part of that ends in a checkout inside Google, those sales never touch your site.
You still get the order.
Still, you lose the visit, your upsell and probably your email signup.
So what should you do before the Merchant Center switch?
- Clean your Merchant Center feed now: titles, descriptions, prices and stock status, since Google’s own guidance says the feed helps products appear in AI answers.
- Ask whoever runs your orders how a Google Pay sale would flow into tax and refunds.
- Don’t build a holiday promo around loyalty points inside AI Mode.
My read: it’s the same move as Google’s AI Mode ads and the home service booking links in AI Mode. Google keeps pulling the moment of decision into its own answer.
That said, I wouldn’t fight it.
If your feed is clean, a buyer who never sees your homepage can still buy from you. If it’s messy, I’d expect AI Mode to pick another store.
Common Questions
Which stores support direct checkout in Google AI Mode in Canada?
At launch on November 4, 2026: lululemon, Shoppers Drug Mart, Simons and select Shopify merchants. Shoppers pay with Google Pay inside AI Mode in Google Search or the Gemini app.
How can a Canadian online store enable checkout in Google AI Mode and Gemini?
Through Merchant Center, from next year. Google says a simplified Universal Commerce Protocol integration will let retailers switch on direct checkout from their own accounts; until then only launch partners have it.
Who is the seller of record when a customer buys through Google AI Mode checkout?
The retailer. Google says the merchant remains the seller of record, while the shopper pays with Google Pay using card and shipping details saved in Google Wallet.
