Google today announced a new open standard for AI agent-based shopping called Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) at the National Retail Federation (NRF) conference.
Developed in collaboration with companies like Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, this standard allows agents to work on different parts of the customer buying process, including research and post-purchase support. The core idea is that standards facilitate different parts of the process instead of requiring connections with different agents.
Google said it can also work with other agent protocols, including Agent Payments Protocol (A2P), Agent2Agent (A2A), and Model Context Protocol (MCP), which Google announced last year. The company specified that agents and businesses can choose specific extensions of the protocol that suit their needs.
The company announced it will soon use UCP for targeted Google product listings in search’s AI mode and the Gemini app, allowing shoppers to check out directly from U.S.-based retailers while researching products. Users can pay using Google Pay and pass shipping information stored in Google Wallet. Google has announced that it will soon support PayPal as a payment option.
“This is one of the really exciting parts of being an agent,” said Tobi Lutke, Shopify CEO and founder. “We’re very good at finding people with specific interests and finding products that are a good fit for them. Like, I never would have searched for this product, but somehow I ended up right on the other side. Those kinds of serendipities are where the best commerce happens.”
Notably, Shopify today announced a similar integration with Microsoft Copilot for Shopping, allowing customers to easily checkout in the flow of a conversation.
In another consumer-facing change, Google said brands will now be able to offer special discounts to users looking for product recommendations when using AI mode. For example, if you’re searching for a rug using a query like, “I’m looking for a modern, stylish rug for my high-traffic dining room. I host dinner parties a lot and want something that’s easy to clean,” a brand can set up a campaign in a way that offers a discount at that time.
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The company is also providing new data attributes to users within Merchant Center to help merchants better showcase their products within the AI search screen. Companies like PayPal and OpenAI are also working to make sellers more discoverable with AI chatbot results. Startups like prompt companies are also working with merchants to make their products visible within AI answers.
Google is also now allowing merchants to integrate AI-powered business agents within their websites to answer customer questions. The company said retailers such as Lowe’s, Michael’s, Poshmark and Reebok are already using the product. Competitors like Meta and Shopify have been exploring AI-powered tools for enterprises for customer support and outreach.
The search giant also announced Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (CX), a suite that handles shopping and customer service for retailers and restaurants.
Companies like Google, Amazon, Walmart, and OpenAI have been releasing new standards and products to incorporate AI into every part of shopping, both on the consumer and merchant side. Adobe noted earlier this month that traffic driven to merchant sites by generated AI increased 693.4% during the holiday season, but the report did not say how much of this traffic translated into sales.
