What is ACO?
Agent commerce optimization prepares product catalogs and checkout for agent-driven shopping, where AI assistants compare products, recommend one and may complete the purchase for the shopper.
Shopping agents rely on accurate, machine-readable product data: name, price, availability, shipping cost, return policy, product identifiers and reviews. Gaps or errors mean a product is skipped or misrepresented.
Why ACO matters
AI shopping features from ChatGPT, Google, Perplexity and others are turning product discovery into a conversation. Products with complete, trustworthy data are the ones agents can recommend with confidence.
How ACO works
- 01
Discover
The agent searches for products that match the shopper's needs.
- 02
Compare
It reads price, stock, shipping, returns and reviews from structured data and product feeds.
- 03
Recommend
It presents the best options, with reasons.
- 04
Buy
Where supported, it completes checkout on the shopper's behalf.
ACO best practices
- Add complete Product structured data, with Offer price, priceCurrency and availability.
- Include GTINs, brand and SKU so products can be matched across stores.
- Publish shipping details and return policies in structured data.
- Keep product feeds and on-page prices in sync.
- Show genuine reviews with aggregate ratings.
Common ACO mistakes
- Currency symbols inside the price field.
- Stale availability that marks sold-out items as in stock.
- Missing identifiers, so the product can't be matched.
How to measure ACO
Metrics to track
- Product schema validity and completeness
- Price and stock accuracy
- Visibility in AI shopping answers
- Orders that originate from agents
What it improves
- Complete Product schema
- Price and stock accuracy
- Merchant feed quality
- Agent checkout support
ACO vs. related optimizations
These overlap with ACO. Work on one usually helps the others.
ACO FAQ
What product data do shopping agents need?+
At minimum: name, image, price, currency, availability and a product identifier. Shipping cost, return policy, brand and reviews help agents compare total value.
What is a GTIN?+
A Global Trade Item Number: the barcode number on a product, such as a UPC or EAN. It lets search engines and agents recognize the same product across retailers.
Do I need a product feed as well as schema?+
For Google Shopping and similar programs, yes. Your on-page schema and your feeds should match exactly.
Can AI agents actually buy things?+
Some AI assistants now support completing purchases with participating merchants. Clean product data and a reliable checkout are the foundation.