Google introduces Universal Commerce Protocol

Company Google has announced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) — an open e-commerce standard designed to reduce cart abandonment rates and enable AI-agent–assisted purchasing across Google Search, Gemini, and retailer systems.

The new protocol allows AI agents to accompany users through all stages of the shopping journey — from product discovery and selection to checkout and post-purchase support.

Additionally, find out why Google is deleting reviews at a record rate.

Purpose and operating principles of UCP

The Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) creates a unified interaction language between AI agents and commerce systems, enabling standardized data exchange throughout the entire commerce lifecycle — from product discovery to purchase completion and post-sale support. This approach eliminates integration fragmentation and reduces reliance on custom technical solutions for each individual platform or AI agent.

The core function of UCP is to reduce the complexity of implementing AI solutions in commercial processes. Instead of building individual API connections between agents, payment systems, and retail platforms, companies can rely on a single protocol that ensures compatibility and scalability of AI-driven commerce.

UCP is designed with existing industry standards in mind and is fully compatible with them, including:

• Agent2Agent — for structured interaction between different AI agents;
• Agent Payments Protocol — for handling payment scenarios and financial transactions in agent-based environments;
• Model Context Protocol — for transferring the context required for AI models to operate correctly at different stages of the user journey.

Thanks to this compatibility, UCP can be integrated into existing commerce, logistics, and payment infrastructures without significant changes to their architecture or business logic. This allows companies to gradually adapt their systems to an agent-oriented commerce model while minimizing technical risks and transformation costs.

From a strategic perspective, UCP lays the foundation for a transition from the traditional e-commerce model to AI-driven commerce, where intelligent agents play a central role by autonomously guiding users through all stages of the purchasing process, while retailers and payment providers remain full participants in the value chain.

Partner ecosystem and market support

The development of the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) was carried out in close collaboration with leading players in the e-commerce and retail markets, including Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, and Target. Involving these companies at the standard-definition stage made it possible to account for the practical requirements of large commerce platforms, marketplaces, and retailers with diverse business models and operational scales.

The participation of key market players ensured that UCP is oriented not only toward technological universality, but also toward real-world commerce scenarios, including product catalog management, pricing, logistics, payment processes, and post-sale support. This significantly increases the protocol’s practical value for businesses planning to integrate AI agents into their commerce ecosystems.

In addition, more than 20 companies across the retail, fintech, and payment services sectors have already officially endorsed UCP. This level of market engagement indicates strong interest in standardizing agent-oriented commerce and readiness across the industry to adopt shared technical protocols.

Broad partner support creates the conditions for large-scale adoption of UCP as an industry standard, reducing the risks of market fragmentation and solution incompatibility. For retailers and payment providers, this means the ability to integrate into AI-commerce scenarios without dependency on individual platforms, while retaining control over their own data, customer relationships, and business processes.

In the long term, such a partner ecosystem forms the basis for an open, competitive, and scalable AI-commerce environment, where innovation is driven by shared standards rather than closed technological ecosystems.

Read Google vs AI: What Really Gets Results.

A new checkout scenario within the Google ecosystem

The Universal Commerce Protocol will serve as the foundation for a new checkout experience in Google Search AI Mode and the Gemini app for eligible product listings.

Users will be able to complete purchases directly while researching products, without being redirected to third-party websites. Payments will be processed via Google Pay, using stored payment and shipping information. PayPal support is scheduled to be added in the near future.

According to Google, the new checkout model is designed to reduce cart abandonment while allowing retailers flexibility in configuring integrations based on their own business processes.

Planned functional expansions

As part of the protocol’s ongoing development, Google plans to introduce additional capabilities, including:

• loyalty programs;
• related product recommendations;
• customized shopping experiences.

These tools are intended to deliver a more personalized brand interaction and improve conversion performance.

Branded AI assistant for retail

In parallel, Google is launching Business Agent — a branded AI assistant that enables users to communicate directly with retailers within Google Search.

Business Agent acts as a virtual sales associate, answering user questions in a brand’s specific tone and voice at moments of high purchase intent.

At launch, the tool is already being used by companies such as Lowe’s, Michael’s, Poshmark, and Reebok. Future updates will include:

• expanded customization capabilities;
• model training on brand-specific data;
• direct purchasing, including agent-led checkout.

A new monetization approach in AI Mode

As part of its monetization strategy, Google is introducing Direct Offers — a pilot Google Ads format integrated into AI Mode. Its purpose is to allow advertisers to surface exclusive offers at the moment AI systems detect a high likelihood that a user is ready to make a purchase.

Initially, the format focuses on discounts, but Google plans to expand its functionality to include:

• bundled offers;
• free shipping;
• other value-based incentives aimed at increasing conversion rates.

As a result, Direct Offers become a tool for directly influencing final purchase decisions without requiring a visit to the retailer’s website.

Why this matters for businesses

Agent-oriented shopping is transforming not only channels, but the very logic of purchase decision-making. Increasingly, these decisions are formed before a user ever reaches a retailer’s website.

Google’s new protocols and AI interfaces shift influence to high-intent moments within AI-driven discovery processes, rather than traditional search advertising environments.

Tools such as Direct Offers and branded AI agents provide advertisers with new opportunities to:

• close sales at critical decision points;
• maintain margin control;
• preserve brand visibility as search continues to evolve.

At the same time, an open question remains whether higher conversion rates and improved margin control will offset potential declines in direct website traffic for retailers.

Conclusion

Google views agent-oriented shopping as an inevitable stage in the evolution of e-commerce. By introducing the Universal Commerce Protocol and new retail tools, the company aims to keep AI-driven commerce open and ensure that brands remain active participants in the purchasing process — even as AI agents increasingly take the lead.

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