# Shopify Spring '26: UCP and Catalog open to every store

Shopify's Spring '26 Edition opens UCP and the Catalog API to every store, putting your products inside AI chat. What it means for UK shops.

## What changed in Shopify’s Spring ’26 Edition?

On 17 June 2026 Shopify shipped its [Spring ’26 Edition](https://www.shopify.com/editions/spring2026), and the headline for store owners is access, not invention. The Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and the Catalog API, which previously needed approval, are now open to every store and developer. In practice your products can appear and sell inside AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Copilot and the Shop app, with no extra apps or manual feeds.

## Is this a launch or a maturation of agentic commerce?

This is a maturation, not a launch. Shopify built its agentic commerce layer earlier and gated it behind approval. Spring ’26 removes the gate: “Building on Shopify’s agentic commerce layer used to require approval. That requirement is gone,” the company writes in its [developer announcement](https://www.shopify.com/news/spring-26-edition-dev). Developers now register an agent profile and call a public endpoint, and “Catalog access takes just an API key, no approval needed.” The plumbing existed; Spring ’26 opened the taps.

For a UK Shopify owner, that shifts the question from “can I be in AI shopping?” to “is my product data good enough to be chosen there?” That is the same readiness question behind our [agentic commerce service](/services/agentic-commerce).

## How do UCP and Catalog put my products in AI chat?

Your store is already enrolled. Shopify states that “Merchants on Shopify with eligible products are in Catalog by default” and “Shopify merchants are UCP-enabled by default” ([Spring '26 merchant edition](https://www.shopify.com/news/spring-26-edition-merchant)). Catalog standardises and enriches your product data, then syndicates it to AI surfaces. UCP carries the buying flow – search, cart and checkout – so a shopper can complete a purchase inside the assistant.

> **You are already in.** Eligible products are in Catalog by default and your store is UCP-enabled by default – there is nothing to install. The only variable is whether your product data is good enough to be chosen.

Here is what each piece does and what it asks of you.

| Component | What it does | What your store needs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Catalog API | Syndicates product details to ChatGPT, Copilot, the Shop app and others ([Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/news/spring-26-edition-merchant)) | Eligible products; accurate titles, descriptions and attributes |
| UCP | Carries discovery-to-checkout inside AI assistants ([Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/news/spring-26-edition-dev)) | Enabled by default; nothing to install |
| Sidekick guidance | Flags what to fix when products surface but do not sell ([Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/news/spring-26-edition-merchant)) | A habit of acting on its suggestions |

Data quality is the lever. Shopify reports that “AI searches powered by Shopify Catalog convert at 2x the rate of those using scraped data” ([Spring '26 merchant edition](https://www.shopify.com/news/spring-26-edition-merchant)). When products appear but stall, Sidekick suggests adding specifications to titles, improving descriptions and filling in missing details.

## What should a UK Shopify store do this week?

Audit the product data that now travels further than your storefront. Check titles, descriptions, specifications and images on your best sellers, because these are the fields AI assistants read and rank. This is the same first-hand quality work we cover in our [agentic commerce guide for UK Shopify stores](/blog/agentic-commerce-uk-shopify-stores), and it pairs with the [free agentic-readiness checks](/blog/shopify-agentic-readiness-scanner) and your wider [Google AI Mode visibility](/blog/google-ai-mode-overviews-uk-shopify).

One caveat on in-chat checkout: UK consumer law follows the sale, not the surface. A purchase made inside an AI assistant still carries the online cancellation and refund duties that apply to distance selling. GOV.UK confirms you must offer a refund when a customer cancels within 14 days of receiving an item, and when goods are “faulty, not as described or does not do what it’s supposed to” ([GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/accepting-returns-and-giving-refunds)). Your returns and refunds policy needs to be as clear in chat as it is on your product pages.

## Where to start

Spring ’26 puts your catalogue in front of AI shoppers by default. The advantage goes to the stores whose data is accurate enough to be chosen.

We will tell you which products are ready and which need work.