Google is advancing its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) with new capabilities designed to simplify and connect AI-driven online shopping for retailers and consumers. These updates include multi-item cart functionality for shopping agents, real-time access to product catalogs for inventory and pricing, and identity linking to ensure loyalty benefits apply across integrated platforms, according to Google. The tech giant simplifies onboarding for retailers, pushing agentic commerce forward even as broader consumer trust in AI recommendations remains low.
Google Boosts Agentic Commerce with UCP Enhancements
The Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard co-developed by Google and the retail industry, aims to streamline online shopping. The latest enhancements enable AI shopping agents (software that acts on a user's behalf to complete tasks) to replicate typical shopping behaviors more closely. This includes a new Cart option, letting agents save multiple items from a single store to a shopping cart at once Google.UCP also introduces a Catalog capability, granting agents real-time access to select product details like variants, inventory levels, and pricing directly from a retailer’s catalog. Additionally, the protocol now supports Identity Linking, which allows shoppers on UCP-integrated platforms to receive loyalty or member benefits, such as special pricing or free shipping, just as they would on a retailer's direct site. "We built the UCP with the industry as an open standard to help make online shopping easier for everyone," stated Ashish Gupta, VP/GM, Merchant Shopping at Google, highlighting the collaborative effort Chain Store Age.
Google streamlines the UCP onboarding process within its Merchant Center, with a rollout planned in the coming months. This move aims to onboard more retailers of all sizes onto agentic experiences across platforms like AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app. Partners such as Commerce Inc, Salesforce, and Stripe plan to implement UCP on their platforms, further expanding its reach.
AI Shopping Trust Remains a Hurdle
While Google pushes the boundaries of agentic commerce, the broader landscape reveals a cautious consumer sentiment. OpenAI, for example, pulled back on its ChatGPT Instant Checkout feature, suggesting a nuanced approach to AI-powered transactions Retail TouchPoints. The primary challenge for widespread adoption lies in consumer trust.Only 14% of people explicitly trust AI recommendations, according to Salsify research cited by E-Commerce Times. However, comfort levels vary significantly across demographics. Gen Z shows a higher acceptance, with 34% comfortable with AI making final purchase decisions, compared to 0% of Boomers MediaPost. This generation also allows AI to purchase for them without approval at triple the rate of older demographics.
Despite the UCP's retail-centric design, lacking mechanisms like real-time inventory holds essential for travel transactions, developers are already exploring adapting the protocol for travel bookings. This indicates a strong interest in extending AI-powered commerce to new sectors, anticipating future capabilities and expanding the "agentic buying" wave.
