Google Just Baked a Buy Button into AI—Can It Out-Shop OpenAI?

Google just turned Gemini into a shopping cart—and the AI war for your wallet is heating up.

The Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), Google’s open-source standard for AI-powered shopping, now includes direct purchasing in Google Search, Gemini, and future AI Mode features.

Developed with Shopify, Walmart, Target, and others, the protocol aims to create a common language for AI agents and online shopping systems. Over 20 companies—including Visa, Mastercard, and Alibaba affiliate Ant Group—have endorsed the initiative.

Google VP Vidhya Srinivasan explained in a blog post:

"The standard... sets up a common language for agents and online shopping systems."

UCP-compatible features include embedded 'buy now' buttons in AI search results and a business agent for direct brand conversations in Search, with Lowe’s, Poshmark, and Reebok among early adopters. Google CEO Sundar Pichai called the standard "laying groundwork" for agentic shopping, which he claims will "be a big part of how we shop."

OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol (2023) and Google’s UCP now compete as open-source shopping standards. While Microsoft and ChatGPT already offer commerce features, Google’s approach emphasizes embedded AI shopping across its ecosystem. Pichai’s "not-so-distant future" timeline remains vague, but the race to control AI-driven retail is accelerating.