Google is expanding direct payment, called ‘UCP Direct Checkout,’ to Canada within AI Mode, its AI-powered search mode, as well as the Gemini app. Announced on November 4, 2026, by Sabrina Geremia, Vice President and Country Director of Google Canada, this feature allows Canadian users to purchase directly from eligible merchants during their product searches.
- Google étend le paiement direct UCP au Canada dans AI Mode et Gemini.
- Les acheteurs commandent sans quitter la conversation, auprès de quatre partenaires initiaux.
- Google Pay traite les paiements, et les marchands restent vendeurs officiels de la transaction.
- Un accès plus large arrivera l’an prochain via Merchant Center, sans date précise annoncée.
A purchase without leaving the conversation
According to Google, the initial launch in Canada involves four partners: lululemon, select Shopify merchants, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Simons. Shoppers can complete their order within AI Mode and Gemini without leaving the conversation. Payment is processed with Google Pay, using the payment methods and shipping information saved in Google Wallet.
Google states that merchants remain the seller of record for the transaction and can customize the integration to their needs. In the coming months, the company plans to add new features to the purchase process, such as using loyalty programs.
An integration in Merchant Center starting next year
For merchants not part of the initial group, broader access will depend on an update to Merchant Center, Google’s platform that aggregates merchant product data. Google claims that starting next year, a simplified UCP integration will be available there. Merchants will thus be able to activate direct payment and other functions for their product listings in AI Mode and Gemini from their account.
UCP, or Universal Commerce Protocol, was launched earlier this year by Google with industry partners. It is an open standard intended for so-called agentic commerce, where AI agents make purchases on behalf of users. It provides a common language enabling AI agents, consumer interfaces, merchants, and payment providers to collaborate, from product search to after-sales service, without creating specific connections for each platform.
Mani Fazeli, Vice President of Product at Shopify, stated: ‘Canadians are already asking The AI / news what to buy, and now, Shopify merchants selling in Canada can be faithfully presented and purchased directly within AI Mode and the Gemini app, with no extra effort. UCP handles the complexity of agentic commerce in the background, so shoppers can buy what they find without leaving the conversation.’ Google clarifies, however, that the initial deployment only involves select Shopify merchants.
What remains unknown
Google has not yet communicated a specific date next year for the simplified UCP integration in Merchant Center. The company also has not detailed the eligibility criteria or sign-up steps for Canadian merchants outside the initial group. It is also unknown how orders placed via direct payment will be tracked and attributed in Merchant Center and Google Ads, nor how this purchase method will align with paid Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.
