How Spaces connects to your Shopify store

 

Integration Guide · Updated February 18, 2026 · 5 min read

 

Overview

Spaces integrates with Shopify's Storefront MCP (Model Context Protocol) server to give your customers an AI-powered shopping experience. Through this connection, an AI assistant can search your product catalog, manage shopping carts, and guide shoppers to checkout — all within a natural conversation.

✅ No setup required. Spaces connects to your store's existing storefront data automatically through Shopify's built-in MCP endpoint. No apps to install, no code to write, and no configuration needed in your Shopify admin.

 

How it works

When a customer uses Spaces to shop at your store, here's what happens:

1. Customer asks a question A shopper browsing your store asks about products through the Spaces AI assistant — just like talking to a knowledgeable store employee.

2. AI searches your catalog The assistant queries your store's Storefront MCP server to find matching products, complete with pricing, images, descriptions, and direct links.

3. Cart is managed The assistant can create a cart, add items, update quantities, remove products, and share a checkout link — all within the conversation.

4. Customer completes checkout The shopper is directed to your store's native Shopify checkout to finalize their purchase using your configured payment methods and shipping options.

Everything runs through Shopify's secure infrastructure. Your product data, pricing, and inventory are served in real time — no syncing or data duplication.

 

Product catalog search

The search_shop_catalog tool lets the AI assistant search your entire product catalog on behalf of the customer. It supports natural-language queries, so shoppers can describe what they want the way they'd ask a real person.

What customers can do

  • Search for products by name, category, or description
  • Ask for recommendations based on preferences or use cases
  • Browse results that include product names, prices, images, and direct links to your store

What's returned to the customer

Data Description
Product Name The title of the matching product
Price & Currency The current price in your store's currency
Variant ID The specific variant (used internally for cart operations)
Product URL Direct link to the product page on your storefront
Image URL The product's featured image
Description The product description from your Shopify admin

 

Example interaction

Customer: "I'm looking for organic coffee beans, preferably fair trade."

Spaces AI: "I found 3 options in the store! Here are the top matches:

  • ☕ Fair Trade Organic Blend — $18.99
  • ☕ Single Origin Ethiopian — $22.50
  • ☕ Decaf Organic Roast — $16.99

Would you like to add any of these to your cart?"

 

Shopping cart management

Spaces provides full cart functionality through two tools: get_cart and update_cart.

Retrieving the cart

get_cart retrieves the current contents of a customer's cart, including all items, quantities, prices, and a direct checkout URL. The AI assistant can show customers their cart at any point during the conversation.

IMPORTANT: the cart lives on Spaces, it is not shared with Shopify.

Updating the cart

update_cart handles all cart modifications:

  • Create a new cart — When a customer adds their first item, a cart is created automatically.
  • Add items — Products found via catalog search are added using their variant ID.
  • Update quantities — Customers can change the quantity of any item in the cart.
  • Remove items — Setting a quantity to 0 removes the item entirely.

Checkout

When the customer is ready to buy, the assistant provides a direct link to your store's Shopify checkout. Payment is processed through your standard checkout flow, including any customizations, payment methods, and shipping options you've configured.

Example interaction

Customer: "Add 2 bags of the Fair Trade Organic Blend to my cart."

Spaces AI: "Done! I've added 2× Fair Trade Organic Blend ($18.99 each) to your cart. Cart total: $37.98. Ready to checkout, or keep browsing?"

Customer: "Actually, make it 3 bags."

Spaces AI: "Updated! Your cart now has 3× Fair Trade Organic Blend. New total: $56.97. Here's your checkout link when you're ready →"

Your store's MCP endpoint

Every Shopify store has a dedicated MCP endpoint that Spaces connects to automatically. No configuration is required.

Endpoint format

https://{your-store}.myshopify.com/api/mcp

Replace {your-store} with your Shopify domain. For example, if your store is cool-beans-coffee.myshopify.com, your endpoint is:

https://cool-beans-coffee.myshopify.com/api/mcp

Key details

  • No authentication required — The endpoint is publicly accessible, similar to your storefront. It only exposes data already visible on your online store.
  • Real-time data — Changes you make in your Shopify admin are immediately reflected.
  • Secure by design — Read-only catalog access plus standard cart operations. No admin access, no customer account data, no order history.

 

Feature reference

The table below summarizes all Storefront MCP tools and their status in the Spaces integration:

Tool What it does Status
search_shop_catalog Searches your product catalog using natural-language queries and returns matching products with full details. ✅ Active
get_cart Retrieves current cart contents including items, quantities, and checkout URL. ✅ Active
update_cart Creates carts, adds items, updates quantities, and removes items. ✅ Active
search_shop_policies_and_faqs Answers questions about store policies, FAQs, and general store information. ❌ Not used

⚠️ Policy & FAQ search is not active. The search_shop_policies_and_faqs tool is available on Shopify's Storefront MCP server but is not currently used by Spaces. This capability may be added in a future update.

 

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to install anything? No. The Storefront MCP endpoint is built into every Shopify store. Spaces connects to it automatically — no apps, no code, no admin configuration needed.

Will this affect my existing online store? Not at all. The MCP endpoint operates alongside your storefront. It reads the same publicly visible product data. It doesn't modify store settings, themes, or customer data.

What product data is shared? Only data already publicly visible on your storefront: product names, descriptions, prices, images, variant information, and URLs. No private or admin-only data is exposed.

Can the AI assistant process payments? No. The assistant helps customers build their cart and then directs them to your standard Shopify checkout. All payment processing happens through your existing checkout flow.

How quickly are product changes reflected? Changes are reflected in real time. When you update a product's price, title, description, or availability in your Shopify admin, those changes are immediately available through the MCP endpoint.

Is this secure? Yes. The endpoint provides read-only catalog access and standard cart operations. It cannot access your admin panel, customer accounts, order history, or any private data.

Getting help

If you have questions about the Spaces integration or need assistance:

Was this article helpful?
0 out of 0 found this helpful
Have more questions? Submit a request
Powered by Zendesk