By Steve Merrill, Founder of WRKNG Digital | October 2, 2026
Before AI agents start shopping your store, check your checkout access, product data completeness, feed status, and policy pages. Agents need to read your data and complete a purchase without hitting a wall. Here are the ten settings I check first in every audit.
1. Turn on the Google and YouTube sales channel
This channel pushes your products into the Merchant feed that AI shopping surfaces read. Without it, you're invisible to Google's AI shopping results. It's free and takes minutes.
2. Enable guest checkout
Forcing account creation kills agent-driven purchases. An agent completing a buy can't create an account for a shopper. Guest checkout has to be on.
3. Complete your product metafields
Metafields hold the extra attributes agents match on. Material, dimensions, compatibility, and use case belong here. Blank metafields mean missed matches.
4. Set accurate inventory tracking
Inventory has to reflect reality so agents don't recommend sold-out items. Enable tracking and keep it synced. False stock status erodes trust fast.
5. Fill shipping and delivery details
Agents and shoppers both weigh delivery speed and cost. Complete shipping profiles let assistants quote accurate delivery info. Vague shipping data gets you skipped on time-sensitive buys.
6. Add structured data via theme or app
Most themes ship partial schema. Add complete Product, Offer, and FAQ markup and test it with Google's Rich Results Test. Partial schema leaves gaps agents won't fill.
7. Verify your Merchant Center feed
A disapproved feed means your products don't reach Google's shopping and AI surfaces. Check Merchant Center for errors and fix them. One feed error can sideline a whole catalog.
8. Set clear return and refund policies
Assistants surface policy info to reassure buyers, and clear policies raise purchase confidence. Fill your return, refund, and shipping policy pages fully. Blank policies read as risk.
9. Confirm mobile checkout works
Most assistant-driven traffic lands on mobile. Test the full checkout on a phone as a guest. A broken mobile step quietly kills conversions.
10. Enable agentic checkout features
Shopify is rolling out agentic checkout flows that let approved agents complete purchases. Turn them on as they reach your store, per Shopify News. This is the setting that lets an agent actually buy.
How We Chose This List
These ten come from auditing live Shopify stores for agent-readiness and finding the settings that most often block a recommendation or a sale. We ordered them by how often each one was the blocker.
FAQ
Do I need all ten settings fixed before agents matter?
Prioritize checkout access and product data first. Those block recommendations and sales most directly.
Is agentic checkout available on every Shopify plan?
It's rolling out in stages. Check Shopify's announcements and your admin for availability on your plan.
How often should I recheck these settings?
Review them monthly and after any theme or app change. Updates can silently break schema or checkout.
Which setting do stores miss most?
Guest checkout and complete metafields. Both are easy to overlook and both block agent-driven buying.
Want a full agent-readiness check on your store settings? Get your score at wrkngdigital.com/agentic-commerce-landing-page.
