“Blend Commerce deliver real value from day one. The practical, actionable information they share in their emails is remarkable.
- Subscription sign-ups increased by 61%.
- Overall store conversion rate improved by 14%.
The most impressive part is that we achieved all of this purely by using the data and tools Blend make freely available.”
You might have seen Shopify and Google announce their new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) this week.
Great… just what we all need…
Another thing to worry about with AI.
TL;DR
UCP is the standard Google + Shopify are using to power buying inside AI experiences (like Google AI Mode and Gemini).
And the good news, this isn’t something you need to “build”.
It’s something you either get included in… or you don’t.
And that depends almost entirely on how clean, clear, and trustworthy your product and policy data is.
What’s happening right now
Google is rolling this out across AI Mode in Search and Gemini.
Product discovery happens via Google Merchant Center shopping feeds.
Embedded checkout is currently available to a small group of approved merchants and is being rolled out gradually.
On the Shopify side, they are using Shopify Catalog as their main data source that feeds AI channels (including the Shop app) as these partnerships expand.
But it’s not the only way discovery happens.
Your products can still be discovered via normal web crawling and existing Google product feeds
Lastly, automatic inclusion in Shopify Catalog currently requires shipping to the US or Canada.
So if you don’t ship to those regions, you’ll likely miss the first wave.
Things you can do now…
- Rename your variants. Use the words and options people would actually search for.
- Tidy up your product pages. Titles, key details, benefits, images, barcodes/GTINs if you have them. If it’s unclear to a human, AI won’t know what to do with it either.
- Make shipping times and return policies clear. Easy to find on the product page, not on separate pages or popups.
- Sort out your FAQs. I haven’t used this before, but apparently, the Shopify Knowledge Base allows you to define clear answers regarding shipping, returns, and sizing, so AI doesn’t guess.
- Ensure your reviews are clearly visible on product pages. Not hidden behind tabs, and ensure the review schema is set up correctly.
And that is about it for now.
Chat soon,
Peter
About the author
Peter Gardner Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer
Peter Gardner is the Australia-based co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Blend Commerce, the specialist Shopify CRO agency named Global CRO Agency of the Year 2026. He helps established Shopify brands improve conversion rate, average order value and repeat purchase by combining quantitative data, qualitative customer insight and structured experimentation.
Peter writes the Shopify CRO Newsletter and is known for the Buy Trifecta®, a framework focused on helping customers Buy Now, Buy More and Buy Again, while using prioritisation models such as PECTI to help brands focus on the highest-impact CRO opportunities.
Peter also co-founded the eCom Collab Club®, a dynamic eCommerce community that connects and empowers eCommerce professionals through events, networking opportunities, and educational resources.
“Blend Commerce deliver real value from day one. The practical, actionable information they share in their emails is remarkable.
- Subscription sign-ups increased by 61%.
- Overall store conversion rate improved by 14%.
The most impressive part is that we achieved all of this purely by using the data and tools Blend make freely available.”
