Google expands Universal Commerce Protocol and launches new agentic shopping tools

Google is expanding its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) initiative with new checkout features, AI shopping integrations and support for additional industries as announced today at Google Marketing Live 2026.

Driving the news. The company announced several new UCP-powered commerce capabilities designed to support what it calls the “agentic commerce era.”

A key update is the expansion of Universal Cart, which allows shoppers to save products across retailers and complete purchases using Google Pay or retailer checkout experiences.

Google says the experience will soon support brands including Nike, Sephora, Target, Walmart, Wayfair and Shopify merchants such as Fenty and Steve Madden.

The company is also integrating UCP into:

• Direct Offers
• Demand Gen campaigns
• AI Mode shopping experiences
• Shopping ads on YouTube

Google additionally announced buy-now-pay-later integrations with Affirm and Klarna directly inside Google Pay.

How it works. Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) allows retailers to connect product catalogs, checkout and payment experiences across Google surfaces including Search, AI Mode and Gemini. Users can add products to a shared Universal Cart and complete purchases either through Google Pay or directly on the retailer’s website.

The company is also expanding UCP into additional verticals including hotel booking and food delivery.

Future experiences will allow users to book hotels directly from AI Mode or order food from conversations inside Google Maps.

To help brands improve discoverability across AI experiences, Google is introducing:

• AI Performance Insights in Merchant Center
• Conversational Attributes for product descriptions
• Merchant Center integrations with Ask Advisor

Why we care. Google is laying the infrastructure for AI-assisted shopping and commerce discovery.

As conversational shopping experiences expand across Search, Gemini and Maps, brands may need to rethink how they structure product feeds, descriptions and commerce data.

The update also signals that AI-driven commerce is moving beyond discovery and into transaction workflows, with checkout, financing and promotions increasingly embedded directly into Google experiences.

What to watch. Retailers should pay close attention to how Google integrates checkout, financing and shopping actions directly into AI-powered experiences. The expansion into hotel booking and food delivery also suggests Google is preparing for broader transaction capabilities across Search and Maps.

Availability. Many UCP-powered features are rolling out in the U.S. first, with expansions planned for Canada, Australia and later the U.K. Additional vertical integrations are expected in the coming months.

Dig deeper. More Google Marketing Live 2026 news from today:

• Google tests new conversational ad formats in AI Mode and Search
• Google launches AI Performance Insights and Conversational Attributes in Merchant Center
• Google expands Direct Offers with AI-generated bundles, native checkout and travel deals
• Google brings Meridian marketing mix modeling into Analytics 360
• Google expands Demand Gen with YouTube creator tools
• Google upgrades Asset Studio with Gemini-powered creative generation and video tools
• Google launches Ask Advisor across Ads, Analytics and Merchant Center

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