Google AI Mode and Gemini Store Checkout Requirements
Google's UCP checkout in AI Mode and Gemini as one requirements table: 3 countries, select merchants, a feed flag that defaults to FALSE, a Wallet Console account, and a REST API.
Three countries. Select merchants only. One feed flag that defaults to FALSE. That is Google's UCP-powered checkout in AI Mode and Gemini, compressed. The full requirement set is below, table first, explanation after.
Requirements table
| Area | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Countries | Products with eligibility in the US, Canada, or Australia |
| Access | Select merchants; interest form; early access rolled out in phases |
| Merchant Center | Account in good standing; products approved for free listings |
| Return policy | Return cost, return window, link to full policy |
| Support contact | At least one of: website URL, email, phone |
| Eligibility flag | native_commerce(checkout_eligibility) = TRUE per product; default FALSE |
| Regulatory notices | consumer_notice on items with warnings such as California Prop 65 |
| Product IDs | Feed id matches checkout API ID, or map with merchant_item_id |
| Feed delivery | Supplemental feed recommended; Merchant API supported; Content API deprecated |
| Categories | Subscriptions, used goods, pre-orders, age-restricted items, services and more excluded |
| Wallet | Google Pay & Wallet Console account |
| Processing | PSP on the Google Pay API, or direct integration with encryption and PCI documents |
| Integration | Native checkout REST API |
| Auth | Optional: X-API-Key header or OAuth 2.0 (recommended) |
| Testing | Sandbox, then production validation in Merchant Center |
Sources: Google's UCP Help article, the Merchant Center prep guide, the checkout integration guide, and the native_commerce attribute page. Nothing in the table comes from anywhere else.
What you get
A checkout ("Buy") button on eligible listings in AI Mode in Google Search and in Gemini. The shopper pays with Google Pay, using payment methods and shipping info saved in Google Wallet. Today that runs on standard funding PANs (FPANs) stored in Wallet. You stay the merchant of record.
The protocol underneath is the Universal Commerce Protocol. Google describes UCP as "a new open standard for agentic commerce" covering discovery, buying, and post-purchase support. It is compatible with A2A, AP2, and MCP.
Access: 3 countries, phased rollout
The Help article applies to products eligible in the United States, Canada, and Australia, for participating merchants and partners. Google's wording on access: "available for select merchants at this time." You submit an interest form. The early access program rolls out in phases.
The Google pages cited above give no timeline, no fee, and no approval criteria for that program. We won't guess any of them.
Merchant Center: 3 checks
- Good standing, with products approved for free listings.
- A return policy with return cost, return window, and a link to the full policy. Set it at account level or with the
returnsorreturn_policy_labelattributes. Advanced accounts configure it per sub-account. - Customer support info: at least one of website URL, email, or phone. It powers the "Contact Merchant" link on the order confirmation.
Product data: 4 things to set
The flag. native_commerce(checkout_eligibility) is a boolean. Default FALSE. Nothing is eligible until you say so. Plain native_commerce still works as an alias.
The notice. consumer_notice is mandatory for items with regulatory warnings. notice_type takes legal_disclaimer, safety_warning, or prop_65. notice_message caps at 1,000 characters.
The ID. Your feed id must match the ID your checkout API expects. If it doesn't, merchant_item_id maps it and takes precedence.
The delivery. Google recommends a supplemental feed. Through the Merchant API, custom attributes go in accounts.productInputs.insert. The Content API is deprecated, so new feed work shouldn't start there.
Excluded categories
Google rules these out of UCP checkout:
- subscriptions and installments
- personalized goods
- refurbished, used, and final-sale items
- pre-orders
- items bundled with services (warranties, installation)
- special shipping such as freight
- gifting and in-store activation
- age-restricted goods (alcohol, tobacco)
- prohibited content: weapons, adult, healthcare and pharma, counterfeits
- services (lessons, classes, travel packages unless on travel rails)
- rentals, virtual items, and software-dependent goods
If a SKU sits in any of these, its flag stays FALSE.
Payments: 2 paths
No Google Pay button is needed on your site. A Google Pay & Wallet Console account is needed.
Path one: your PSP. If it isn't integrated with the Google Pay API yet, the PSP onboards.
Path two: direct, with no PSP. You set up encryption and upload PCI compliance documentation. More work, more owners.
Integration: 1 API, 2 auth options, 2 environments
Google's Native checkout integration is a REST API that lets Google manage the checkout flow with your servers. Google renders the buyer UI initially, "with future plans to support more agentic experiences."
Auth on your checkout endpoint is optional. Options: an API key in the X-API-Key header, or OAuth 2.0. Google recommends OAuth. Build against the sandbox, then validate capabilities in production in Merchant Center.
3 checkouts, sorted by where the sale happens
| Feature | Where the transaction happens |
|---|---|
| Existing checkout button | Your website |
| UCP checkout | Google's surfaces (AI Mode, Gemini); you remain merchant of record |
| Google agentic checkout | Your website, with an agent buying on the customer's behalf at their direction |
UCP is the layer that standardizes the exchange between an agent and your backend, via API, MCP, or A2A. Different features, different projects. Don't scope one and ship another.
Verdict: eligible is not visible
Checkout eligibility makes a product buyable from an answer. It does not make Google, Gemini, or any other assistant put that product in the answer. Ranking still happens upstream of the Buy button, and Google's checkout docs don't measure it.
That measurement is why Promptwatch sits first in our rankings. Here is what it covers next to this rollout, and what it doesn't:
| Signal | Promptwatch | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Brand in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode answers | Yes | Prompt tracking |
| Brand in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other engines | Yes | Same prompt set |
| Pages cited in those answers | Yes | Citation analytics |
| AI crawler fetches, GoogleOther included | Yes | Agent Analytics, from Professional |
| AI-referred site visits and conversions | Yes | Visitor analytics |
| ChatGPT Shopping recommendations | Yes | ChatGPT Shopping tracking, from Business |
| AI Mode product cards, Gemini shopping listings | No | Not tracked |
| UCP checkout orders | No | Your checkout API and order systems |
One caution on the visitor row. UCP orders complete on Google, so a shopper who buys there never lands on your site. Visitor analytics covers click-throughs and the existing checkout button path. It won't count UCP sales, and nobody should present it as if it does.
Pricing: Essential $95/mo (50 prompts, 7-day trial). Professional $245/mo (150 prompts, 25M crawler logs, 1M visitor events). For an ecommerce team watching AI Mode alongside its crawl data, Professional is the floor. More ecommerce picks in our ecommerce GEO ranking. Start at promptwatch.com.