Google has unveiled a comprehensive suite of AI-powered commerce tools centered around a new open protocol designed to standardize how artificial intelligence agents interact throughout the shopping process.
The Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), announced Jan. 11 at the US National Retail Federation’s annual conference, establishes what Google describes as a common language for agents and systems to operate together across consumer surfaces, businesses and payment providers. The protocol aims to eliminate the need for unique integrations between individual AI agents.
Vidhya Srinivasan, VP and GM of Ads and Commerce at Google, said UCP sits between agentic experiences with consumer services on one hand and business back-ends on the other, enabling seamless communication across the shopping journey from discovery and buying to post-purchase support.
Industry support signals market momentum for agentic commerce
The protocol was co-developed with industry leaders including Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target and Walmart. More than 20 additional companies across the retail and payments ecosystem have endorsed the initiative, including Adyen, American Express, Best Buy, Flipkart, Macy’s, Mastercard, Stripe, The Home Depot, Visa and Zalando.
The protocol is compatible with existing industry standards including Agent2Agent (A2A), Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) and Model Context Protocol (MCP), allowing it to integrate with current commerce infrastructure.
Direct checkout comes to AI-powered search
UCP will initially power a new checkout feature on eligible Google product listings in AI Mode within Search and the Gemini app in the US market. The feature enables US shoppers to complete purchases directly while researching products, using payment methods and shipping information already saved in Google Wallet. PayPal integration is planned for the near future.
Google emphasized that retailers remain the seller of record and can customize integrations to their specific needs. The company positions the feature as a solution to cart abandonment while capturing sales at the moment of peak intent.
In the coming months, Google plans to expand the feature globally and add capabilities including discovering related products, applying loyalty rewards and powering custom shopping experiences on its platform.
Business Agent brings branded conversations to Search
Google also launched Business Agent, a new tool allowing shoppers to chat directly with brands on Search. The feature functions as a virtual sales associate that can answer product questions in a brand’s voice during critical shopping moments. Business Agent went live Jan. 12 with retailers including Lowe’s, Michael’s, Poshmark and Reebok. US retailers can activate and customize the branded agent through Google’s Merchant Center.
Future capabilities will enable retailers to train agents based on their own data, access customer insights, provide offers for related products and enable direct purchases within the chat experience, including agentic checkout.
New data attributes optimize for conversational commerce
To help retailers succeed in what it calls the conversational commerce era, Google announced dozens of new data attributes in Merchant Center. These attributes complement existing data feeds and extend beyond traditional keywords to include answers to common product questions, compatible accessories and product substitutes. Google will roll out these attributes to a small group of retailers initially before expanding availability in coming months.
Direct Offers pilot targets high-intent shoppers
On the advertising front, Google introduced Direct Offers, a new Google Ads pilot designed for AI Mode. The format allows advertisers to present exclusive offers to shoppers who demonstrate buying intent, such as special percentage discounts.
When Google’s AI determines an offer is relevant based on a shopper’s query, the retailer can feature special discounts directly in AI Mode results. The company plans to expand beyond discounts to include bundles, free shipping and other value-based incentives.
Strategic implications for retail technology
The announcement positions Google at the intersection of multiple retail functions, from marketing and demand generation to back-end operations through Google Cloud. The company’s reach across the retail technology stack gives it a unique position as AI-driven shopping gains momentum.
Google Cloud simultaneously announced Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, a suite designed to enable retailers to build AI agents that maintain brand voice across channels. The offering includes shopping agents capable of complex reasoning, multimodal interactions and action execution.
Google moves to define the rules of AI-driven commerce
The Universal Commerce Protocol arrives as tech giants race to control how consumers shop through AI agents. OpenAI, Microsoft and Amazon are all developing competing approaches, raising the prospect of a fragmented market where retailers must build separate integrations for each platform. Google’s strategy centers on establishing UCP as the industry standard before competitors lock retailers into proprietary systems.
The approach may gain traction, but skepticism remains about whether retailers will embrace a Google-led standard given the company’s dominant position in search advertising. The real test will come when retailers weigh the protocol’s promised interoperability against the integration complexity and whether adopting UCP inadvertently strengthens Google’s grip on the commerce funnel.
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