"Recommend a good washing machine in Baku under 500 manat." More and more people ask this not of Google but of ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot. The AI picks a few models, compares them and shows where to buy. This is agentic commerce: AI searches, chooses and sometimes even places the order on the shopper's behalf.
What happened in 2026?
- Early in the year, Google and Shopify introduced the UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol) standard, so AI assistants and stores can speak one language across the whole shopping journey.
- OpenAI and Stripe are developing ACP (Agentic Commerce Protocol), and OpenAI extended it to product discovery and comparison.
- Shopify switched on Agentic Storefronts by default for eligible merchants, so products from millions of stores can appear in ChatGPT, Copilot and Google AI Mode.
- One notable detail: paying directly inside ChatGPT (checkout) was scaled back. The model that emerged is that AI discovers and recommends, and the purchase happens on the store's own site.
What does this mean for a store in Azerbaijan?
These protocols mostly operate in the US and European markets for now. But the logic behind them already applies in every AI assistant: AI recommends the store it can read and trusts. If an Azerbaijani shopper asks ChatGPT "where can I buy this" and your name isn't in the answer, you'll never even see the lost sale.
How to get your store ready for the AI shelf
- Clean up product data. Every product needs an exact name, model code, specs, price and stock status. Not "Super price!" but "Samsung WW70, 7 kg, A+++".
- Add Product schema. Price, availability, brand and reviews should be marked up as structured data, which AI reads directly.
- Maintain a product feed. A Google Merchant Center feed is the main source for both Google Shopping and AI Mode.
- Collect reviews. When recommending, AI looks at ratings and reviews. A product with no reviews looks "risky".
- Keep the site fast and open to bots. If AI bots are blocked, your catalogue doesn't exist for them.
- Don't forget marketplaces. Your presence on platforms like Birmarket is another trust signal AI can see.
The bottom line
Agentic commerce won't double your sales tomorrow, but the way shoppers find products is changing. A store that tidies up its product data and site now will be ready when this channel fully reaches the local market.
Want to build your online store for the AI era? See our e-commerce service and our AI chatbot solutions.