Google’s new commercial framework increases pressure on the “shopping agent”

To further push the limits of consumerismGoogle has launched a new open standard for agent commerce called Universal Trade Protocol (UCP). In short, it is a framework that combines the power of AI agents and online shopping platforms to help customers buy more things.

With the introduction of UCP, Google is offering three new online shopping features. To start, Google AI mode will have a new payments feature that will allow customers to purchase eligible products from select US retailers in Google Search. Currently, this feature works with Google Pay, but it will soon add PayPal compatibility and integrate more features, such as discovering related products and using loyalty points.

On the merchant side, UCP has also created the Business Agent feature, which Google says will be “a virtual salesperson able to answer product questions with a brand’s voice.” Sales Agent launches tomorrow to early adopters including Lowe’s, Michaels, Poshmark, Reebok and more. Also for retailers, UCP is responsible for the new Direct Offers feature, which allows businesses advertising with Google to “present exclusive offers to buyers ready to buy, directly in AI mode”. The Direct Offers feature will work in tandem with the AI mode advertisements that Google is testing.

With UCP and Google Search, retailers and payment processors are joining forces to make online shopping even easier, whether it’s determining which product to buy, completing the purchase, or offering “post-purchase assistance.” According to Google, UCP is compatible with existing industry protocols, such as Agent2Agent, Agent Payment Protocols and Model Context Protocol. UCP was even co-developed with industry giants like Shopify, Etsy, and Walmart, and has been trusted by even more companies in the commerce ecosystem, including Macy’s, Stripe, Visa, and many more.