Shopify is teaming up with Meta to bring its Shop Pay checkout system to Meta’s new personal AI agent, Muse, a move that has the potential to change how consumers shop online.

The partnership will allow Muse users to discover products from Shopify-powered retailers and complete purchases through the AI assistant, rather than having to manually navigate to individual shopping or retailer websites.

Shopify said the integration will use its checkout service Shop Pay, giving Muse a way to complete transactions.

It’s a significant step in the development of “agentic commerce”, where AI assistants move beyond simply recommending products to actually completing purchases for people.

Meta launched Muse earlier this month as a personal AI agent capable of performing online tasks for users, including shopping, travel and more . The company says Muse can open a browser, fill out forms and act on a user’s behalf, with approval required for sensitive actions such as making a purchase.

Meta had already announced that Shop Pay would be coming to Muse, following its initial launch with Stripe’s Link payment system.

Shopify Agentic Storefronts

Shopify Agentic Storefronts

Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke confirmed the partnership, saying the companies were working together to enable agentic checkout with Shop Pay across Shopify stores. Meta’s chief AI officer Alexandr Wang said the partnership would give Muse users access to a broad range of stores and products.

For retailers, it means a new route to customers when AI assistants are being increasingly used for research products and shopping. 

Instead of a consumer searching Google, visiting websites, comparing products and entering payment details, an AI agent could potentially handle much of the process.

For Shopify, its infrastructure can remain part of the transaction even when the customer interaction takes place outside a traditional online store.

The company already supports direct checkout through Meta surfaces for eligible merchants and Shopify states that products can be discovered via Shopify Catalog and purchased without customers leaving the Meta experience. 

The news comes as there is a growing divide among major tech companies around how AI shopping agents can interact with online retailers. Amazon has moved to block Muse from its website, while Shopify is actively developing a checkout pathway for the agent. 

The development will be one to watch. Shopify’s current direct Meta checkout specifies US customers.

The partnership suggests that the next phase of online retail may increasingly see AI agents take over the searching, comparing and purchasing from consumers.