Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol Aims to Be the AI Shopping Middleman—But Can It Stick?

Google wants to turn the chaos of AI shopping into a seamless, cross-platform experience—and it’s betting the Universal Commerce Protocol will be the glue that holds it all together.

Google announced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard for AI agent-based shopping, at the National Retail Federation (NRF) conference. Developed with Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, UCP aims to unify customer buying processes (discovery, post-purchase support) under a single protocol.

Integrates with existing agentic protocols like Agent Payments Protocol (A2P), Agent2Agent (A2A), and Model Context Protocol (MCP), allowing businesses to pick modular components.

Google will deploy UCP in U.S. Google Search and Gemini apps for AI-powered shopping, enabling direct checkout via Google Pay and shipping info from Google Wallet. PayPal support is coming. Shopify’s Tobi Lutke said:

"It’s really good at finding people who have specific interests and finding the product that is just perfect for them... This kind of serendity is where the best of commerce happens."

Brands can now offer real-time discounts in AI search results (e.g., a rug recommendation with a tailored discount for "high-traffic dining room" queries).

Google added new data attributes in Merchant Center for better AI search visibility and allows merchants to deploy AI-powered Business Agents (used by Lowe’s, Michael’s, etc.).