Scoring Model
How Colter scores agent readiness across 5 dimensions. Weights, signals, score ranges, and how to improve.
TL;DR: Colter scores stores from 0 to 100 across transaction, discovery, ecosystem, content quality, and security. The fastest way to improve the score is usually UCP, ACP, JSON-LD,
llms.txt, and security headers.
Formula
composite = round(
transaction * 0.30 +
discovery * 0.25 +
ecosystem * 0.20 +
content_quality * 0.15 +
security * 0.10
)
Dimensions
| Dimension | Weight | High-value signals |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction | 30% | UCP, ACP, checkout capabilities, fast protocol endpoints, compatible PSP |
| Discovery | 25% | JSON-LD, sitemap, llms.txt, ai-plugin.json, robots posture, Open Graph |
| Ecosystem | 20% | Google coverage, OpenAI coverage, MCP, WebMCP |
| Content Quality | 15% | Complete product schema, price, availability, images, SSR |
| Security | 10% | HTTPS, HSTS, CSP, XFO, X-Content-Type-Options, rate limiting |
Score Bands
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
75-100 | Strong readiness |
60-74 | Basic readiness |
40-59 | Needs work |
0-39 | Not ready |
Agentic Commerce Level
Colter also emits an agentic_level and label:
| Level | Label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Web Forms | Basic site presence |
| 2 | Descriptive Search | Agents can find and read the catalog |
| 3 | Persistence | Stronger agent identity and handoff support |
| 4 | Delegation | Agents can browse, cart, and checkout |
| 4.9 max | Progress toward Level 5 | Level 5 behavior is not directly measurable today |
Fix Tiers
Every fix Colter surfaces is classified by tier. The tier controls how the fix appears in the report and how its absence affects your score.
| Tier | Absence | Label in report | When used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Costs you score and is flagged as a "Gap" | Gap: prefix | Feature of a main protocol (UCP, ACP) or blocks a main agent (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini) from shopping the site |
| Recommended | Costs you score and is flagged as an "Opportunity" | Opportunity: prefix | Real operational value, but your current stack may already cover it via another vendor |
| Bonus | Never costs score; never shown as a fix | Surfaced in the "Leading edge" commentary | Emerging protocols or leading-edge rails — credit if present, never penalized if absent |
The score accumulation respects tier: Required items must be present to hit full dimension credit; Recommended items contribute when present but never subtract; Bonus items only add.
Highest-Impact Fixes
| Fix | Typical effect | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Add UCP | Big transaction and ecosystem lift | Required |
| Add ACP | Big transaction and ecosystem lift | Required |
| Add complete Product JSON-LD | Discovery and content quality lift | Required |
Add llms.txt | Discovery and ecosystem lift | Recommended |
| Add security headers | Security lift | Recommended |
| Enable Google AI Mode / Gemini checkout (UCP catalog search + structured data with gtin/mpn/sku) | Transaction lift, Gemini compare-and-buy readiness | Recommended |
Shopify Storefront Catalog (UCP migration)
Shopify migrated the Storefront Catalog MCP to UCP at /api/ucp/mcp with new tool names (search_catalog, lookup_catalog, get_product). Legacy Storefront MCP tool names are being deprecated.
- Before 2026-06-15: stores on legacy-only tool names get partial credit and a Recommended-tier fix prompting migration.
- On or after 2026-06-15: legacy-only is scored as a Required-tier Gap. Migrate to the new endpoint before that date.
How To Use This Page
- Use Check to see current scores.
- Use Fix to get ranked improvements.
- Use Verify when you need conformance evidence.