Google says artificial intelligence is moving from helping people shop to actively completing purchases on their behalf, as agentic commerce begins operating at a real scale.
In a new product update, Google announces the launch of the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard designed to let AI agents handle the full shopping journey, from discovery and checkout to post-purchase support, across retailers and payment providers.
The company says the protocol is meant to remove the fragmentation that currently forces each AI agent to integrate separately with every retailer or payments system, replacing it with a shared language that allows agents and commerce platforms to work together.
UCP establishes a common framework that allows AI agents to discover products, initiate purchases, and complete transactions securely without requiring custom integrations for each agent. The protocol is compatible with existing agent and payment standards and was co-developed with major retailers and greenlit by platforms across e-commerce, payments and global marketplaces.
“UCP was co-developed with industry leaders including Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target and Walmart, and endorsed by more than 20 others across the ecosystem like Adyen, American Express, Best Buy, Flipkart, Macy’s Inc., Mastercard, Stripe, The Home Depot, Visa and Zalando.”
Google says the first real-world use of the protocol will appear soon in AI Mode within Search and the Gemini app, where shoppers in the US will be able to complete purchases directly while researching products. Transactions will run through Google Pay using saved payment and shipping information, with PayPal support planned, while retailers remain the seller of record.
According to the company, future expansions will include loyalty rewards, related-product discovery, and more customized shopping experiences, with plans to roll the system out internationally.
Says Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai,
“AI agents will be a big part of how we shop in the not-so-distant future.”
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