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If you’ve spent time in eCommerce over the past decade, you’ve probably witnessed hundreds of launches claiming to “redefine online shopping.” But this time, it’s actually different.
Shopify’s new Catalog API has quietly gone live, with Perplexity AI as its first official integration partner, and it might be the biggest shift in product discovery since the launch of the Shopify App Store. What does it mean to expose the full breadth of Shopify’s product data to AI models like ChatGPT or Perplexity? It means we’re moving into a world where discovery, comparison, and purchase could collapse into a single conversation. And the time to act is now.
The Shopify Catalog API is a machine-readable feed that contains real-time product data from every published Shopify store. And, let’s be clear. It’s not a scraped dataset. It’s not a workaround. It’s a first-party, live API that lets trusted partners pull product information directly: titles, prices, stock levels, taxonomy, materials, care instructions, etc.
Imagine asking a chatbot, “What’s the best waterproof hiking boot under $150 that ships to Montana?” And getting answers pulled live from across the entire Shopify universe, with rich metadata, verified availability, and one-click checkout. That’s what the Catalog API enables.
Shopify’s new Catalog API isn’t just a technical update, it’s a seismic shift in how ecommerce products are discovered, ranked, and purchased. For the first time, every product published on a Shopify storefront can be surfaced directly by intelligent discovery agents like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Shopify Copilot. No scraping. No lag. No middleman. This changes the entire equation for how merchants attract visibility, compete for attention, and convert buyers.
The implications go far beyond better product feeds. We’re entering an era where AI-driven browsing replaces traditional search, where product metadata is your most important marketing asset, and where organic discovery is no longer tied to SEO or ad spend, but to the structure and quality of your data.
The Shopify Catalog API transforms the discovery landscape by giving LLMs (like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Shopify Copilot) real-time access to every product published across Shopify’s ecosystem. It’s not just a feed, it’s a structured, machine-readable index of the global Shopify product graph, including titles, descriptions, taxonomy, prices, inventory levels, and enriched attributes like color, material, and sizing.
Before this API, discovery was fragmented. You had to rely on Google indexing, paid search ads, or aggregators like Pinterest or Meta to surface product listings. Now, discovery agents can retrieve the most accurate version of a product directly from Shopify’s source of truth.
This marks a shift away from traditional search-driven discovery toward AI-native discovery. As we mentioned, in this new paradigm, product data is the new storefront. Your visibility depends less on backlinks or bidding strategy, and more on how well-structured, descriptive, and up-to-date your metadata is. Merchants who invest in clean product taxonomy and compelling copy will win in this environment because the bots will see (and prefer) it.
Historically, buying from more than one Shopify merchant in a single checkout session wasn’t possible. Every store was its own silo, with its own cart, payment rails, and order flow. But with the Catalog API and Shopify’s broader investments in infrastructure like the Commerce Component stack, the technical barriers are falling away.
Shopify has hinted at a future where users can browse and purchase from multiple brands, perhaps within a single discovery surface like Perplexity or Copilot, and check out once, in one flow. Imagine adding a bag from a DTC fashion brand and a skincare product from a wellness startup to the same cart and completing the purchase in a few taps.
For consumers, this means less friction and more serendipitous discovery. For merchants, it opens up a whole new surface area for collaborative conversion. If multi-merchant checkout becomes normalized, brand partnerships and complementary product bundles will have a much bigger upside.
Unlike traditional syndication tools where brands must manually opt in or configure feeds, the Catalog API flips the default. If you publish a product on Shopify, it’s included in the global product graph unless you actively choose to exclude it.
This shift reduces friction for merchants but raises the bar for product data hygiene. Your products will be discoverable by default, but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll be seen. Just like search engines use ranking signals, agent-driven discovery tools will surface products based on metadata quality, image resolution, structured fields, and inferred relevance.
For brands, this means you’re already “in the game,” whether you planned for it or not. The competitive edge lies in how well you play it i.e. how well you structure your feeds, localize your attributes, and enrich your product data.
Right now, visibility through the Catalog API is organic and free. Agents like ChatGPT or Perplexity pull from the feed without charging merchants for placement or exposure. But that won’t last forever.
As the ecosystem matures, Shopify is expected to roll out a monetization layer, potentially similar to Google Shopping Ads or Amazon Sponsored Products. Merchants who establish a strong organic presence early will gain meaningful momentum before that shift happens.
This is a rare window where product data optimization can generate disproportionate returns. Merchants who take advantage now, tuning their titles, clarifying their attributes, and structuring their catalogs, will earn prime placement before competition, pay-to-play, and platform fatigue set in.
One of the biggest concerns with a global, real-time product feed is the potential for misuse, like price scraping, checkout hijacking, or aggressive competitor monitoring. Shopify is aware of these risks and has put guardrails in place to protect merchants.
Access to the Catalog API is invite-only, and every integration is thoroughly vetted. Only trusted platforms with a clear upside for merchants are allowed to pull real-time data like pricing and inventory. Discovery partners must demonstrate that their use of the feed will drive genuine value, whether through increased GMV, improved conversion, or more efficient discovery.
Startups aren’t excluded, but participation is curated. Shopify is already working with a small number of pilot partners, prioritizing those that align with merchant growth and show a strong track record of ethical data use.
Whether you’re a small DTC brand or running a high-volume SKU machine, your product data just became your new storefront. With the Catalog API powering real-time discovery across AI agents and shopping surfaces, the quality of your metadata now directly impacts visibility, relevance, and conversion.
The merchants who treat their product feeds like prime real estate will be the ones who show up first, get clicked, and get purchased. Here’s how to get ahead while the field is still wide open.
Your product data isn’t just backend info anymore, it’s your first impression. Titles, descriptions, and attributes are now being read and ranked by AI-powered discovery agents. If your product shows up in a search, the quality of your copy could be the difference between a click and a scroll-past.
Write for clarity, SEO, and conversion. Descriptive, benefit-oriented language wins. Think:
Good: Water-resistant hiking boot with Vibram sole, designed for alpine trails from exploring foothills to the Rocky Mountain Peaks
Bad: Boot model 802
Every word counts. Especially in titles and key attributes, where LLMs pull context and relevance signals. Prioritize clear taxonomy, avoid jargon, and make sure your descriptions speak directly to your buyer.
The Catalog API only works as well as the data it can read. If your store uses custom or non-standard fields, you risk falling through the cracks. Shopify’s standard metafields, like color, material, pattern, and size, are built to be machine-readable and compatible with the API.
Audit your product pages to ensure you’re using the recommended fields and schemas. Consistency and structure are what make your products eligible for rich discovery experiences, and potentially, multi-merchant checkout in the future.
Shopify’s new meta-object system lets you go beyond the basics and include enriched details that support both discovery and decision-making. These structured fields include:
This kind of detail isn’t fluff, it’s functionality. It gives LLMs more context to surface your products accurately, while helping shoppers make informed, confident decisions once they get there. The more questions your product page can answer in advance, the higher your odds of conversion, especially in AI-powered shopping environments where attention is scarce.
This shift isn’t just for merchants, it opens up a massive opportunity for agencies, Shopify app developers, and service partners. The Catalog API redefines how ecommerce visibility works, and the need for technical guidance, optimization tooling, and structured data expertise is about to surge.
Here’s how to stay ahead, and help your clients do the same:
If your clients are using custom fields, inconsistent tags, or outdated product templates, now’s the time to clean house. Shopify’s Catalog API prioritizes structured, standardized data, and anything that falls outside of that won’t be picked up by discovery agents.
Create automated scripts to migrate legacy data into Shopify’s official metafields. Normalize taxonomies. Tag inconsistencies. Surface missing attributes. This isn’t just technical debt, it’s lost revenue if left unchecked.
The new “product card” isn’t a visual layout, it’s a machine-readable snapshot. Discovery agents like ChatGPT and Shopify Copilot don’t browse the way humans do. They pull from structured data, interpret context, and serve up recommendations instantly.
Start designing experiences that optimize for that environment. That might mean developing apps that enrich product feeds, building Copilot-aware merchandising strategies, or creating LLM-ready catalog extensions. The next wave of performance isn’t about pixels, it’s about structure.
It’s coming. As more consumers start discovering products through AI-powered agents, brands will notice when they don’t show up. And when they ask, “Why can’t anyone find us on ChatGPT?”, you’ll need an answer.
In most cases, the culprits will be:
Be proactive. Audit client catalogs. Document best practices. Offer optimization services. The agencies and dev teams who help brands get visible in this new discovery layer will become indispensable.
This isn’t just a play for Big Tech. Shopify is opening the Catalog API to startups, but only the ones that bring real value to the table (for now). If you’re building in the discovery, AI, or commerce enablement space, now is your moment.
Shopify isn’t interested in surface-level engagement. If your product drives clicks without conversions, it won’t make the cut. The Catalog API is designed to power meaningful discovery that leads to purchases. If you're building with the API in mind, your value proposition should be focused on merchant GMV. Think: improved conversion rates, shorter path to checkout, higher AOV, not just shiny UX or top-of-funnel metrics. Show how you help merchants sell more, not just get seen.
Shopify is serious about safeguarding merchant data. Startups that prioritize privacy, security, and ethical data usage will have a real advantage. That means:
Trust is currency in this new ecosystem. If your product leaks data or erodes confidence, you’ll lose access before you gain traction.
The Catalog API pilot window is open, but not for long. Shopify is actively reviewing early-stage partnerships and curating which companies get access. If you’re building something that genuinely helps merchants grow, now is the time to reach out.
Start drafting your integration strategy. Define your merchant benefits. Reach out to the Shopify Partner team with a clear thesis. The startups who move now won’t just get access, they’ll help shape the future of AI-powered commerce.
We’re entering a new era of ecommerce, one where the entire customer journey, from search to purchase, can unfold inside a single LLM-powered interaction. No separate browser tabs. No ten-step funnels. Just a question, a recommendation, and a transaction—all in one conversation.
The Catalog API is Shopify’s first real move into that world. It’s more than a feed, it’s infrastructure:
It’s also a defensive play. For years, product discovery has been dominated by Google, Amazon, and marketplaces that control both traffic and transactions. With the Catalog API, Shopify is asserting itself as the underlying product layer for AI-powered commerce, giving merchants a way to show up where shoppers are heading next.
If the strategy works, Shopify won’t just be a storefront platform. It will be the connective tissue between the products merchants sell and the AI agents that consumers trust to help them buy. That’s a radically different, and much more powerful, position to hold.
The Catalog API marks a turning point in ecommerce, where product discovery becomes real-time, intelligent, and radically democratized. Whether you're a merchant, agency, or startup, your success will depend on how well you adapt to this new landscape.
Product data is no longer backend admin. It’s your growth engine.
Structured feeds are no longer optional. They’re your storefront. And, now’s the time to act. Audit your product catalog. Clean up your data. Build for visibility. Reach out to Shopify if you're ready to help shape the future of agent-led commerce. Because in this next chapter, the brands that get discovered first, win.
