Who pays AI agents for the sales they send?

Some agent checkout services and product catalogs now let an agent's builder earn commission on the sales the agent sends. Some program pages ask builders to tell the shopper and some do not, and no one independently measures whether a commission shaped the pick. ARC records which programs pay, what they publish, and what they leave out.

ARC never earns commissions. ARC holds no affiliate accounts, publisher IDs or network logins, and the links ARC publishes carry no tracking parameters.

Programs

Verified: ARC read it on the vendor's own page on the date shown, and anyone can check it there. Vendor claim: the vendor says it, and ARC has not measured it.

Crossmint Agent Checkouts affiliate program

AFFILIATE · READ 2026-11-01

Paid to: The developer whose agent runs the checkout. Source: https://docs.crossmint.com/agents/checkouts/affiliate-program

VERIFIEDWhat it is
Purchases an agent makes through Crossmint Agent Checkouts can earn affiliate commission from the merchant.
“Purchases your agent makes through Agent Checkouts can earn affiliate commission, with nothing new to integrate.”
VERIFIEDTracked affiliate link
When an affiliate partner covers the merchant, the checkout first opens a tracked affiliate link that redirects to the store. Otherwise it opens the agent's own start URL. The network decides whether the sale qualifies.
“the checkout first opens a tracked affiliate link, which redirects to the store”
VENDOR CLAIMOn by default
Developers do nothing to turn it on. The page says it already runs on checkouts at covered merchants.
“There is no new endpoint, parameter, or setup, and it already runs on your checkouts at covered merchants.”
VERIFIEDMerchant-set rates
Each merchant sets its own commission rate, and rates vary by merchant and product. No rate is published.
“Each merchant sets its own commission rate, and rates vary by merchant and product.”
VENDOR CLAIMAmazon not covered
Some large merchants are not in the network. The page names Amazon as one.
“Amazon, for example, is not part of the network.”
VERIFIEDCoverage and rates only by email
The page publishes no list of covered merchants and no rates. It tells developers to ask Crossmint by email. ARC does not request that list.
VENDOR CLAIMPayouts take about 2 months
Commission is paid about two months after the purchase, and can take longer.
“Expect about 2 months from the purchase, and it can take longer.”
VERIFIEDNothing changes for the shopper
The page says the checkout, the payment and what the user sees stay the same. It gives no shopper disclosure step.
“The checkout, the payment, and what your user sees stay the same.”
VENDOR CLAIMBuilder's own links kept
If the agent's start URL already carries affiliate tracking, Crossmint opens it as sent and adds no tracking of its own.
“does not replace it or add its own tracking on top”

NOT DISCLOSED ON THE PAGE

Any duty or prompt to tell the shopper that a commission may be earned
Any rule on how an agent should choose between merchants that pay and merchants that do not
Which affiliate network or partner is behind it
How the commission is split between Crossmint and the developer
The list of covered merchants and their rates

NOT MEASURED YET

Whether an affiliate redirect actually appears in a checkout (ARC has not run one)
Which stores are covered
Whether agents shift their picks toward covered stores
Whether agents tell shoppers about the commission

Shopify Promoted Placements (Global Catalog)

AFFILIATE · READ 2026-11-03

Paid to: The developer whose agent or app sends the buyer, via the Shopify Partner payout method. Source: https://shopify.dev/docs/agents/catalog/promoted-placement

VERIFIEDWhat it is
An optional flow in Shopify Global Catalog search. Some variants in a search_catalog response come back marked as promoted placements, and the developer who sends the buyer can earn commission on the sale.
“Promoted placements extend Global Catalog search with an optional paid-placement flow.”
VERIFIEDPaid on sales, not per placement or click
Shopify pays the developer a commission on the value of attributed purchases. The page describes no payment per impression, per placement shown, or per click. The placement object is typed as affiliate.
“Shopify pays a commission on the value of attributed purchases you drive through promoted placements.”
VERIFIEDPublished base rate
Shopify publishes its base rate on the page. The page says rates are set for the preview and might change before general availability.
“0.3% (30 bps) on attributed purchases of eligible products.”
VERIFIEDMerchants can add commission through Shop Campaigns
The rate on a variant is Shopify's base rate plus any commission the merchant funds through Shop Campaigns. Merchant-funded amounts are not published. They apply only to products in an active US campaign, in USD, and only when the purchase is completed in Shop (the Shop app or shop.com).
“The rate is a single value: Shopify's base rate plus any commission that a merchant funds through Shop Campaigns”
VERIFIEDShop Campaigns now included (beta)
Shopify's changelog post of October 27, 2026 says the program is in beta and includes Shop Campaigns. The docs page itself is labelled Developer Preview. Both describe a program before general availability.
“Promoted Placements is now in beta, and it includes Shop Campaigns.”
VERIFIEDInvite-led waitlist
Access is limited. Developers with a Global Catalog integration join a waitlist with their organization ID, Shopify onboards them in batches, and they accept program terms in the Dev Dashboard.
“Access to promoted placements is limited and invite-led during Developer Preview.”
VERIFIEDShopify merchants only
Only products from Shopify merchants can earn. Earning applies to search_catalog only.
“Earning applies to `search_catalog` only, and only to products from Shopify merchants.”
VENDOR CLAIMAttribution: last non-direct click, 7 days
Shopify attributes conversions by last non-direct click within 7 days. Every eligible item in the attributed order earns, not only the variant clicked. Sales reached by adding a variant ID to a cart or checkout directly are not attributed.
“Conversions are attributed using a last non-direct click methodology with a 7-day attribution window.”
VERIFIEDShopper disclosure is required where the law requires it
The page tells developers to disclose that they may earn a commission, to label promoted placements so users can tell them apart from organic results, and not to bury the disclosure in a footer. It asks for disclosures before commission is turned on. It does not prescribe exact wording or placement.
“Because you can be paid for referring buyers, you have a material connection that you need to disclose where required by law.”
VERIFIEDPromoted vs organic is marked in the response
A promoted variant carries a placement object; organic variants omit it. A server-side catalog setting decides whether promoted placements are blended into the ranked results.
“The catalog's server-managed configuration determines whether Shopify blends promoted placements into the ranked results.”
VENDOR CLAIMMonthly payouts, with disqualifications
Commissions are paid monthly through the Shopify Partner payout method (Hyperwallet). Conversions can be disqualified for cancellations, returns, refunds, invalid traffic, purchases by the developer or connected people, or altered attribution parameters.
“A conversion can be disqualified and earn nothing for cancellations, returns, refunds, fraudulent or invalid traffic, purchases by you or people connected to you, or missing or altered attribution parameters.”

NOT DISCLOSED ON THE PAGE

How variants are chosen to be promoted, or where promoted variants rank relative to organic ones
Any rule on how an agent should choose between promoted and organic products, or whether it must show organic results too
The commission amounts merchants fund through Shop Campaigns
The full program terms (the page says developers review them in the Dev Dashboard after onboarding)
Exact disclosure wording or placement (the page says Shopify does not prescribe it)
When the program reaches general availability, or how many developers are admitted

NOT MEASURED YET

Whether promoted placements appear in search_catalog results, and how often (ARC is not enrolled)
Whether promoted variants rank above organic ones
Whether agents shift their picks toward promoted variants
Whether agents label promoted placements or tell shoppers about the commission

Per-store incentives: not measured yet

ARC has no per-store incentive data yet, so this page shows no store counts and no rates. When there is data, each store gets these fields, each with its source and the date ARC read it. A store with no record is unknown, never “does not pay”.

Field	Meaning	Status
pays_agents	yes / no / unknown. Missing is never no.	Not measured yet
agent_commission_rate	A range the store published, e.g. 3–8%. Never inferred.	Not measured yet
agent_commission_networks	Network ids, e.g. awin; impact.	Not measured yet
agent_eligible	Whether agent-initiated purchases qualify.	Not measured yet
disclosure_required	Whether the store asks agents to tell the shopper.	Not measured yet
incentive_source + verified_on	Where the fact came from, and when ARC read it.	Not measured yet

Stores: publish agent-offers.json

A store can state whether it pays agents, and on what terms, in one small file at /.well-known/agent-offers.json. It holds no tracking IDs. A store that pays nothing can say so:

{
  "$schema": "https://www.arcreport.ai/schemas/agent-offers/2026-11-01.json",
  "version": "2026-11-01",
  "updated": "2026-11-01",
  "pays_agents": false
}

Read the draft spec → · JSON Schema

ARC does not read these files yet. A declaration is labelled “declared by store”, never changes a measured score, and listing is free. Spot an error? Send a correction.