Google expands its Universal Commerce Protocol to power AI-driven shopping

Google is doubling down on the infrastructure behind “agentic commerce,” introducing new capabilities to its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) while making it easier for retailers to plug in.

Google says UCP — its open standard for connecting retailers to AI-powered shopping experiences — is getting new features designed to make online buying feel more like a traditional storefront, even when handled by automated agents.

What’s new. The latest updates focus on making shopping via AI agents more functional and flexible.

• A new cart capability allows agents to add or save multiple products from a single retailer in one go, mirroring how a typical shopper builds a basket.
• There’s also a catalog feature, giving agents access to real-time product data such as pricing, inventory and variants when needed. The goal is to make interactions more accurate and responsive.
• Another addition is identity linking. This lets shoppers carry over logged-in benefits — like member pricing or free shipping — when using platforms connected through UCP, rather than losing those perks outside a retailer’s own site.

Why we care. This update accelerates the shift toward AI-driven, agent-led shopping, where platforms like Search and the Google Gemini app may choose, compare and even purchase products on users’ behalf. That makes product data quality — pricing, inventory and feeds — very important for visibility, while simplified onboarding and support from platforms like Salesforce and Stripe suggest rapid adoption, giving early movers a competitive edge.

Zoom out. UCP is designed as a modular system. Retailers and platforms can choose which capabilities to adopt, rather than implementing everything at once.

That flexibility is key as the industry experiments with how much control to hand over to AI-driven shopping experiences.

What Google is doing. Google plans to bring these capabilities into its own ecosystem, including AI-powered experiences in Search and the Google Gemini app.

The company is also working to expand adoption by lowering the barrier to entry. A simplified onboarding process inside Merchant Center is expected to roll out over the coming months.

Bottom line. UCP is evolving from a concept into a broader ecosystem play. By adding more capabilities and simplifying onboarding, Google is pushing to make agent-driven commerce easier to adopt — and harder to ignore.

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