Prepare for the age of AI shopping
Driving growth with agentic commerce
AI assistants now research, shortlist and increasingly buy for your customers. Learn how to be found in Copilot and Google AI Mode, convert the shoppers they send, measure it properly with Microsoft Clarity and Google Analytics, and lower your customer acquisition cost while others guess.
The new storefront is a conversation
Shoppers ask Copilot, Gemini or ChatGPT what to buy. The assistant compares options and shortlists. Increasingly, checkout happens inside the chat. If your product data is incomplete, you are not ranked lower. You can be left out of the answer entirely.
of US consumers expect AI-assisted shopping from retailers within a year.
Microsoft Advertising US consumer survey, n=1,028, Aug to Sep 2025 (playbook p.2)faster growth in automated traffic than in human traffic, with AI-driven sessions nearly tripling in 2025.
HUMAN Security 2026 report, as cited in Microsoft's playbook (p.2)better conversion for AI-referred visitors than non-AI traffic.
Adobe Analytics Q1 2026, as cited in Microsoft's playbook (p.2)of consumers have used AI for shopping tasks such as research and comparison.
Retail Economics, 6,000 consumers in the UK, US and France, Nov 2025Survey and platform-reported figures show direction, not a forecast for your store. The course teaches you to measure your own.
The reality check from 6,000 shoppers and 698,214 websites
The Retail Economics report The Future of Search and Discovery (with AWS, Botify and DataDome) is used throughout the programme. Three findings shape the courses.
Still want to discover for themselves
Nearly half of consumers say discovery is something they want to do themselves. Only 10% are AI-first, and 55% use AI but stay in the approval loop. Plan for a hybrid shopper.
Bot traffic in a year
Botify's data on about 200 retail sites shows AI bot traffic rose 5.4x during 2025. Visit counts and impressions can mislead, so Course 3 teaches you to separate machines from shoppers.
Of sites did not block a fake AI agent
DataDome's test of 698,214 sites found 79.7% accepted a spoofed ChatGPT assistant user agent. Who you let in is now a marketing and security decision.
Source: Retail Economics with AWS, Botify and DataDome; consumer survey of 6,000 people in the UK, US and France, November 2025. The partners sell bot-management and AI-visibility services, and the course says so.
Discovery moves to data
Microsoft's playbook says LLMs and agents rely on structured data, not imagery, design or storytelling. Your product data is a marketing asset.
Decisions move to agents
Agents filter by price, availability, returns and trust signals, then shortlist before a shopper visits.
Purchase moves into the chat
Copilot Checkout and Google's UCP-powered checkout let shoppers buy without leaving the conversation.
Four pillars across all three courses
Each pillar covers both Microsoft and Google, in practical steps you can start the same week.
Feed readiness
Make products discoverable and understandable to AI assistants: complete, current structured data in Microsoft Merchant Center and Google Merchant Center, including GTINs, availability, price, return policy and support details.
Protocols without the jargon
UCP, ACP and AP2 explained by layer: what each does, who backs it, and which ones you actually need to act on.
Agentic checkout
Copilot Checkout with PayPal, Shopify and Stripe, and Google's UCP-powered checkout in AI Mode and Gemini: eligibility, merchant-of-record duties and a readiness checklist.
AI analytics and visibility
Measure and optimise with Microsoft Clarity AI Visibility, a GA4 AI channel group and Search Console's generative AI report. Then use Clarity and Google Analytics together, set a policy for bots and agents, and report AI traffic honestly.
The marketing focus: three numbers that matter
Microsoft and Google, compared the way a marketer needs
Both are moving fast, and many features are pilots or limited to selected merchants. The course gives you the map and a way to check current status.
| Microsoft: Copilot and Bing | Google: Search AI Mode and Gemini | |
|---|---|---|
| Product data | AI-ready feed in Microsoft Merchant Center. Playbook emphasises the whole catalogue, daily refresh, and six key attributes: titles, descriptions, GTIN/MPN, availability, pricing, category. | Google Merchant Center feed. The native_commerce attribute controls Buy button eligibility for UCP checkout. Schema.org markup is a supporting signal (vendor guidance). |
| Checkout | Copilot Checkout in the chat with PayPal, Shopify and Stripe. Merchant stays seller of record. Pilot, US | UCP-powered checkout in AI Mode and Gemini with Google Pay. Merchant stays seller of record. Select merchants |
| Brand conversation | Brand Agent on your own site, set up through Clarity settings. | Business Agent in Search, set up through Merchant Center. Limited, US |
| AI ads | AI-native ads on Bing and Copilot, plus Showroom ads. US, pilots | Ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode via AI Max, Shopping or Performance Max, and the Direct Offers pilot. US, pilot |
| Protocols and trust | Agentic Commerce Protocol with Stripe's Shared Payment Token. Playbook also covers UCP settings. | Universal Commerce Protocol (with Shopify) for the shopping lifecycle and Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) for signed purchase authorisation. |
| Measurement | Clarity AI Visibility (beta): AI bot activity, citations, Share of Authority, grounding queries. | GA4 custom AI channel group and the Search Console Generative AI report (impressions only). |
Status labels reflect sources checked on 8 October 2026. Features change often, so verify current availability before you plan around them.
Microsoft, then Google, then the measurement layer
See what Microsoft's playbook teaches, what Google's ecosystem teaches, and how to measure both with Microsoft Clarity and Google Analytics. Every lesson ends with a marketing lens (CAC, conversion, ad-spend efficiency) and a short quiz.
Microsoft's Playbook for AI Shopping
Built page by page from Microsoft Advertising's 26-page playbook: AI-ready feeds, UCP in Merchant Center, AI-native ads and Offer Highlights, Copilot Checkout, Brand Agents, Clarity AI Visibility, and the full 90-day roadmap.
Agentic Commerce: From AI Discovery to Autonomous Transactions
Google's shopping agents, the Universal Commerce Protocol, AP2 mandates and bounded authority, the Wayfair and Fiserv case studies, then a marketer's module on Google AI surfaces and GA4 measurement. Ends with a case study, knowledge check and final assessment.
Microsoft Clarity vs Google Analytics: Compare, Then Use Both
What each tool answers, retention, sampling and consent, the official integration, the find-explain-test-confirm loop, a measurement stack for AI traffic, and a module on bots, agents and new metrics from the Retail Economics report. The final course of the programme.
Agentic Commerce Readiness Blueprint
Merge everything into one board-ready blueprint with a cross-platform test plan, an operations checklist, a 90-day roadmap and an interactive builder you can print.
Inside each course
1Course 1: Microsoft's Playbook for AI Shopping
- The shift: the three eras of the web, product data as a marketing asset, your honest baseline, and who actually shops with AI (personas, trust, categories)
- Chapter 1, Get discovered: feed readiness, UCP settings and attributes (
consumer_notice_type,merchant_item_id), AI-native ads and Offer Highlights - Chapter 2, Be chosen: Copilot Checkout onboarding paths and Brand Agents setup, plus test plans that prove the gain
- Chapter 3, Understand: Clarity AI Visibility reports, the AI-referred segment, Smart Events and the weekly review
- The 90-day roadmap and a table of what is US-only, beta or global
2Course 2: Agentic Commerce on Google
- What agentic commerce is, AI shopping agents and the need for standards
- UCP: four actors, layers, capabilities, extensions and human-in-the-loop
- AP2: authorisation, authenticity, accountability, mandates and bounded authority
- Case study: how Wayfair enabled about 30 million products and used its partner APIs
- Fiserv: trust, security and transparency, audit trails and protecting decisions
- Challenges, preparation steps and responsible agentic commerce
- For marketers: AI Mode, Business Agent, AI Max, UCP-powered checkout, GA4 and Search Console
- Case study challenge, 8-question knowledge check, final assessment
3Course 3: Clarity vs Google Analytics
- Two tools, two questions: a side-by-side comparison, retention and sampling
- Privacy and consent: Clarity Consent Mode, masking, and why numbers never match
- Using both: the official GA4 integration, the diagnose loop and an AI-traffic measurement stack
- AI traffic: bots versus agents, who gets access, spoofing, new metrics and a preparedness checklist
- Decision guide and common mistakes
4Capstone: Readiness Blueprint
- A cross-platform test plan for CAC, CRO and ad-spend efficiency
- One data layer, many surfaces: operations for orders that start elsewhere
- Brief, rubric and interactive builder that you can print or save as PDF
Not just knowledge: documents you can use on Monday
Each course ends with something you can put in front of your team or a client.
An honest baselineYour CAC, conversion, AOV and MER, with AI traffic reported as the minimum it is.
A feed and checkout auditA scorecard for Microsoft Merchant Center and Google Merchant Center, with fixes, owners and dates.
Test plans with a controlFor Brand Agents, Copilot and Google AI placements, each with a stop rule so budget follows proof.
A measurement blueprintClarity and Google Analytics connected, consent checked, and a policy for bots and agents.
Your own mandate and case-study designWrite a bounded-authority purchasing mandate and design a secure agentic checkout.
A 90-day roadmapSequenced from Microsoft's playbook, with owners, gates and what is US-only or beta.
Built for people who own the numbers
E-commerce managers and directors
You own the catalogue, conversion and revenue, and need to know what AI shopping asks of your data and checkout.
Performance marketers and heads of growth
You own CAC and ad efficiency, and need a way to test Copilot and Google AI placements without wasting budget.
Technical product managers and developers
You will implement feeds, protocols and order flows, and need the map of UCP, ACP and AP2, plus how Wayfair connected agents to existing APIs.
Agency strategists and consultants
You advise brands and need a sourced, honest framework to lead the conversation.
Founders of online brands
You wear every hat and need the shortest path to being found, chosen and measured by AI.
Retail leaders planning budgets
You need to separate real opportunity from hype before you commit spend.
Not for you if you want a guaranteed result or a trick. This course is about readiness, evidence and controlled testing.
Then join AI Academy for 10% of the standard price
Complete the programme and you can enrol in BSOE AI Academy for just 10% of the standard price, where you go deeper into how AI is changing marketing, sales and customer engagement.
- AI in marketing
- AI in customer engagement
- AI in sales
- A wide range of further AI training courses
- Free use of the Command Center for Businesses: six AI tools that draft landing pages, email campaigns, a month of social posts, lead lists, a 24/7 website chatbot and follow-up messages for your own business
Open to learners who complete the programme.
BSOE AI Academy runs a seven-level pathway from AI foundations to agentic AI and AI to make money.Get ready while the rules are still being written
Platforms are rolling these features out now, many as pilots for selected merchants. The brands whose data, checkout and measurement are ready first are the ones that can join each wave.
Everything in the programme
- Course 1: Microsoft's Playbook for AI Shopping (17 lessons)
- Course 2: Agentic Commerce on Google, with the Wayfair and Fiserv case studies (27 lessons)
- Course 3: Microsoft Clarity vs Google Analytics, plus bots, agents and new metrics (16 lessons)
- Capstone: a printable Readiness Blueprint builder
- Quizzes, activities and assignments throughout
- Further reading and the research behind every claim
All three courses and the capstone
Independent training from BSOE AI Academy, over 700 students taught.
Questions
How do I enrol?
Select Enrol and follow the steps. The programme price is one price for all three courses and the capstone.
Is this official Microsoft or Google training?
No. It is independent training by BSOE AI Academy. It draws on Microsoft's Agentic Commerce Playbook and on Google's, Shopify's and Stripe's published material, and it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Microsoft or Google.
Are these features available in my country?
Many are US-first, in pilot, or limited to selected merchants. The course teaches you to get ready now and to check current eligibility with each platform before you plan around it.
Do I need a Shopify store?
No. Some programmes are easier on Shopify, and the course covers PayPal and Stripe routes and what to ask your own commerce platform.
Will it guarantee more sales or a lower CAC?
No. Nobody can honestly promise that. You will learn to measure your baseline, test with controls and scale only what improves your own numbers.
How does the format work?
It is self-paced and online: three courses with quizzes, activities and assignments, then a capstone blueprint builder. Your progress saves in your browser on the device you use.
Which course should I start with?
If you run ads or ecommerce on Microsoft, start with Course 1. If you want the technical and payments picture (UCP, AP2, Wayfair, Fiserv) start with Course 2. Course 3 comes last because it shows how to measure the changes from the other two.
Why a whole course on Clarity versus Google Analytics?
Because you cannot lower acquisition cost on a channel you cannot see. Google Analytics shows how much and from where; Clarity shows why visitors act as they do. Microsoft's playbook says Clarity enhances rather than replaces existing analytics, and the course shows how to connect and use both.
Where do the independent reports come from?
Each course has a Further reading page linking Retail Economics reports on AI, search, trust, delivery, availability and payments. They are independent research, not Microsoft or Google publications.
How do I join AI Academy afterwards?
Learners who complete the programme can enrol in BSOE AI Academy for 10% of the standard price. The Academy covers AI in marketing, customer engagement and sales, a wide range of further AI courses, and free use of the Command Center for Businesses.