If your store is not on Shopify, agents building on Shopify’s Catalog API can now still show your products, but they cannot sell them through Shopify. On October 27, 2026, Shopify added a sources parameter to the beta Catalog API that returns products from “brands that don’t sell on Shopify” in the same response as Shopify merchant products, according to the developer changelog.

The buying step stays with you. That is the part worth reading closely.

What Shopify changed

The change is on the existing search_catalog method. There is no new endpoint. The sources values are:

  • Omit sources, or set ["shopify"]: Shopify merchant products only (the unchanged default).
  • ["shopify", "external"]: Shopify merchants and external brands together.
  • ["external"]: only brands that don’t sell on Shopify.

get_product returns an external product when given its ID. lookup_catalog support for external products is described as “coming later”. Apps that do nothing see no change.

What an external product looks like to an agent

Per the changelog, each external product includes a description, an image, a price, and a link to the brand’s product page. Two fields matter most for a merchant:

  • eligible.native_checkout is always false. Shoppers cannot buy through Shopify checkout, and these products do not earn Promoted Placements commission.
  • The shopper completes the purchase “on the brand’s own site”.

So Shopify’s catalog becomes a discovery layer for you, not a checkout. Whether an agent can finish the purchase depends on your own storefront.

Where the data comes from, and the limits

During the beta, the changelog says external product data “comes from each brand’s website”. It does not say how, and it does not name the fields it reads. We do not know whether it uses your structured data, your page text or something else, so treat that as unconfirmed.

Two limits are stated:

  • External products only return when the shopper is in the United States. Shoppers elsewhere get Shopify merchant products only.
  • It is a beta, so the behaviour can change.

What to check on your own site

Because the description, image, price and link are taken from your site, whatever your product pages say publicly is what an agent may carry into a Shopify-powered search. Practical checks, which are our reading and not a Shopify requirement:

  • The price on the page matches the price in your product markup. See real-time price and stock for AI shopping agents.
  • Your product page is reachable by a plain request, not only after JavaScript runs or behind a bot wall.
  • The link that lands a shopper on your page leads to a page where an agent or person can pick a variant and reach checkout.

FAQ

Can AI agents buy my non-Shopify products through Shopify’s Catalog API?

No. Shopify’s changelog states that external products always return eligible.native_checkout: false, so they cannot be bought through Shopify checkout. Each result links to the brand’s own product page, where the purchase is completed.

Does my store need to be on Shopify to appear in the Shopify Catalog?

Not any more, in the beta. Shopify now supports a sources parameter that includes brands that don’t sell on Shopify, but only for shoppers in the United States, and only when the calling app asks for external products.

How does Shopify get product data for brands that don’t sell on Shopify?

The changelog says only that external product data comes from each brand’s website during the beta. It does not publish the method or the list of fields, so merchants cannot yet verify exactly what is read.

Sources

A catalog can show your product to an agent, but only your own checkout lets it buy: AgentReady audits the transaction.