Google has unveiled a new open standard called the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), designed to streamline AI agent-driven shopping experiences, at the National Retail Federation (NRF) conference. Developed in collaboration with major retailers including Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, UCP enables AI agents to seamlessly manage various stages of the customer journey—from product discovery to post-purchase support—without requiring separate integrations for each step. The protocol is built to work alongside other emerging agentic standards, such as the Agent Payments Protocol (A2P), which Google launched last year, as well as Agent2Agent (A2A) and Model Context Protocol (MCP). This modular design allows businesses and agents to adopt only the components of UCP that align with their specific needs. Google plans to integrate UCP into its AI-powered search and Gemini apps, enabling U.S.-based retailers to offer direct checkout options while users are researching products. Shoppers will be able to complete purchases using Google Pay and automatically pass in shipping details stored in Google Wallet. PayPal will soon be added as an additional payment option. “This is one of the really exciting parts about agentic,” said Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke. “It’s really good at finding people who have specific interests and finding the product that is just perfect for them. Like, I would have never searched for this product, but somehow it found me right on the other side. This kind of serendipity is where the best of commerce happens.” Shopify also announced a parallel integration with Microsoft Copilot for shopping, allowing users to complete purchases directly within conversational flows. In another enhancement, Google will enable brands to deliver targeted discounts to users during AI-powered product searches. For example, if someone searches for “a modern, stylish rug for a high-traffic dining room that’s easy to clean,” a brand can trigger a special offer at that moment, increasing the likelihood of conversion. To improve product visibility in AI search, Google is introducing new data attributes in the Merchant Center, helping sellers better present their items in AI-driven results. Meanwhile, companies like PayPal and OpenAI are also working to make products more discoverable in AI chatbot interactions. Startups focused on prompt engineering are similarly helping merchants ensure their offerings appear in AI-generated answers. Google is also rolling out an AI-powered Business Agent feature for websites, allowing merchants to provide real-time customer support. Early adopters include Lowe’s, Michael’s, Poshmark, and Reebok. Competitors like Meta and Shopify have been developing similar tools for customer service and engagement. Additionally, Google announced Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (CX), a new suite aimed at helping retailers and restaurants manage shopping and customer service at scale. As AI continues to reshape commerce, major players including Google, Amazon, Walmart, and OpenAI are rapidly launching new tools and standards to embed AI into every stage of the shopping process. Earlier this month, Adobe reported that traffic to seller sites driven by generative AI surged by 693.4% during the holiday season, though the data did not include conversion rates or actual sales figures.