AI news · Google · AI checkout
Google opens AI Mode checkout to Canadian shoppers
Lululemon, Simons, Shoppers Drug Mart and select Shopify merchants are first, and Google says it starts widening access to other retailers through Merchant Center next year.
Google Canada says shoppers can now buy straight from AI Mode in Search and from the Gemini app. The rollout started on 4 November 2026 with four groups of sellers: Simons, lululemon, Shoppers Drug Mart and select Shopify merchants.
It runs on the Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard that lets shopping agents, shops and payment firms talk to each other. Payment runs through Google Pay, using the card and delivery details saved in Google Wallet. The shop remains the seller of record, the business legally responsible for the order, CBC explains. The Globe and Mail reports that the shopper must approve the purchase, and that the checkout reached the US and Australia first, earlier in 2026.
Retailers pay nothing for access, Google Canada’s head of retail told CBC. Google says it starts widening access next year, with a simpler setup inside Merchant Center, its product database for shops. Google says it is also working with retailers on loyalty rewards.
Estimates of demand differ. Google says 59% of Canadian holiday shoppers plan to use an AI tool, from an October survey with Angus Reid, and CBC lines that up against 39% from Deloitte and 28% from PwC.
Merchant Center already drives other Google formats. Our shoppable video guide, updated on 24 October, lists a Merchant Center feed of at least four products as the source of the product panel under YouTube ads.
Google places the simpler checkout setup inside Merchant Center, the same account a shop already uses to feed those YouTube product panels.
Sources
- Google: A new way to shop: Introducing a more intuitive, agentic shopping experience for consumers and retailers in Canada. Checked
- CBC News: Google launches AI-based shopping in Canada in race to dominate e-commerce. Checked
- The Globe and Mail: Google the latest tech company to expand shopping through AI agents in Canada. Checked
Alexandre S.
Alexandre S. is a creative ad strategist and copywriter with ten years' experience in digital marketing across multiple channels.
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