Guide · Practitioner
Microsoft Copilot Shopping and Product Recommendations
Microsoft says Copilot bases product options on the shopper's prompt, likely engagement, available merchant data and other factors ([Microsoft](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/copilot/shopping-with-microsoft-copilot)). Microsoft Advertising says AI can only reliably surface products that are in your Microsoft Merchant Center feed, and that titles, descriptions, GTIN/MPN, availability, price and category carry the most weight (Microsoft Advertising).
Disclosure: MentionX is our product. Facts below come from Microsoft, accessed 30 Oct 2026. Features vary by market.
How does Copilot shopping work?
From Microsoft Support (Microsoft):
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Product search in chat | Options based on prompt, likely engagement, merchant data and other factors |
| Product details | Sizes, retailers, review summaries, return windows, price history, depending on what the merchant provides |
| Buy | Goes to the retailer's purchase page |
| Shopping homepage | Personalised recommendations and deals that improve as users shop and chat |
| Results | Summarised from across the web and from advertisers; sponsored links identified |
| Commissions | Except where identified, Microsoft doesn't receive compensation for suggestions and doesn't use potential commissions to influence ranking |
Microsoft notes availability varies by market, language, device, platform and subscription.
What data does Copilot use?
Microsoft Advertising's AEO/GEO guide describes three data sources (Microsoft Advertising):
| Source | Role |
|---|---|
| Crawled data | Shapes baseline perception: categories, reputation, market position |
| Product feeds and APIs | Structured data you push: accuracy, details, consistency |
| Live website data | What agents see on your site: reviews, media, dynamic pricing, transactions |
It says Copilot breaks down a shopping query in a "reasoning phase" using crawled data and product feeds, and gives an example where a product reaches the top three recommendations because feeds show competitive price and in-stock status. That example is Microsoft's, not a guarantee.
What should your feed include?
Microsoft Advertising's guidance (Microsoft Advertising):
- [ ] Send 100% of products, not just advertised ones
- [ ] Accurate titles and descriptions
- [ ] GTIN/MPN
- [ ] Real-time availability and pricing
- [ ] Product category
- [ ] Audit top revenue products in Product explorer
Feeds can be uploaded manually, by FTP/SFTP, from a URL, via the Content API or imported from Google Merchant Center (Microsoft Advertising).
What are UCP and Copilot Checkout?
Microsoft says Merchant Center will support the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), adding signals such as returns and support policies, plus attributes like native checkout eligibility, product warnings and a Merchant Item ID (Microsoft Advertising). Feeds enable discovery; UCP enables transactions.
Copilot Checkout lets shoppers buy inside Copilot while the merchant remains merchant of record and uses its existing payments, fraud, tax and fulfilment systems (Microsoft Advertising).
Does organic SEO still matter?
Yes. Microsoft says AI systems run real-time web searches throughout the shopping journey and your site must rank well to be discovered, evaluated and recommended (Microsoft Advertising). See How to rank in Copilot.
What's a merchant plan?
Illustrative example: a kitchenware brand only sends advertised SKUs to Merchant Center.
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Send the full catalog to Microsoft Merchant Center (or import from Google) |
| 2 | Fix GTINs, categories and titles on top 50 SKUs |
| 3 | Make availability and price update in near real time |
| 4 | Add return and support policies; prepare UCP attributes |
| 5 | Check product pages show reviews and accurate specs |
| 6 | Test 20 shopping prompts in Copilot monthly |
How do you test Copilot shopping?
- Run category prompts ("best non-stick pan under $50").
- Record which products and merchants appear.
- Open product details: are your returns, reviews and price history shown?
- Compare with your feed data.
| Prompt | Your product shown? | Details complete? | Competitor shown |
|---|---|---|---|
| "best non-stick pan under $50" | No | — | Brand B |
Illustrative row.
How does it compare?
| Engine | Merchant data route |
|---|---|
| Copilot | Microsoft Merchant Center feed (Microsoft Advertising) |
| ChatGPT | Structured metadata from providers; Shopify Catalog; feed applications (OpenAI) |
| Perplexity | Merchant listings; Instant Buy for compatible merchants (Perplexity) |
Checklist
- [ ] Full catalog in Merchant Center
- [ ] Key attributes complete
- [ ] Real-time price and availability
- [ ] Policies for UCP
- [ ] Monthly prompt tests
Related
Sources
- Microsoft, Shopping with Microsoft Copilot
- Microsoft Advertising, Prepare for the age of AI shopping (PDF); From discovery to influence: AEO and GEO (PDF); Agentic commerce
- OpenAI, Shopping; Perplexity, Instant Buy
All accessed 30 Oct 2026.
Questions
How does Copilot pick products?
Microsoft says Copilot bases product options on the prompt, likely engagement, available merchant data and other factors. Sponsored links are labelled.
What feed data matters most for Copilot?
Microsoft Advertising names accurate titles, descriptions, GTIN/MPN, real-time availability, pricing and product category as carrying the most weight in AI recommendations.
Can shoppers buy inside Copilot?
Microsoft describes Copilot Checkout, which lets shoppers buy inside Copilot while the merchant stays merchant of record. Availability varies.