At the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York, Google CEO Sundar Pichai unveiled the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard that allows AI agents from ChatGPT, Claude, or other platforms to access product catalogs, check real-time inventory, and process transactions through a single integration point.
“UCP is a Common Language”
Google Ads and Commerce Vice President Vidhya Srinivasan said, “Think about all the various steps in your own shopping journey. For an agent transaction to work, the systems governing each of these steps must align, communicate with each other, and be able to act on your behalf. UCP is a common language. It bridges agent experiences with consumer services on one side and business backend systems on the other, enabling them to work seamlessly together.”
UCP Developed with Major E-Commerce Platforms
UCP was developed in collaboration with Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart. It is supported by more than 20 companies, including Home Depot, Best Buy, Macy’s, Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal. The protocol works with existing industry standards such as Agent2Agent (A2A), Model Context Protocol (MCP), and Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2).
Srinivasan stated, “Having a standardized way to scale these things is crucial, so everyone can be prepared for all the various steps to happen. It offers flexibility, as businesses can pick and choose what they want to use.”
$5 Trillion Expected in Agent Commerce Market
According to McKinsey, retail analysts project that by 2026, one-quarter of shoppers will use AI-powered chatbots, and the agent commerce market is expected to reach between $3 trillion and $5 trillion by 2030.
UCP will soon introduce a new payment feature in Google’s AI Mode and Gemini app, enabling users to complete purchases without leaving the conversation. Initially, the system will use Google Pay with saved payment and shipping details, with PayPal support coming later. Retailers will retain the ability to customize offers, provide loyalty enrollment, and suggest complementary products.
Google also introduced a feature called “Business Agent,” which creates branded virtual sales associates within Google Search results. Lowe’s, Michaels, Poshmark, and Reebok are early adopters. Srinivasan said, “This is designed to address the newer consumer behavior, which has shifted toward more conversational commerce. We want retailers to connect with users on our platforms using their own voice.”
Google processed 90 trillion tokens in December 2025, up from 8.3 trillion in December 2024—an 11% increase year over year. The Shopping Graph now contains 50 billion product listings, with over 2 billion items updated every hour.
Google Competes with Amazon and Microsoft
This launch places Google in direct competition with Amazon, which has been testing similar AI shopping features via Alexa, and Microsoft, which recently unveiled its Copilot Checkout feature.
Despite the infrastructure push, consumer adoption still lags. A ChannelEngine study found that only 17% of shoppers feel comfortable allowing AI to complete a purchase, although many already use AI to research products.
The bigger question is whether retailers will adopt yet another protocol in an already fragmented e-commerce landscape, or if Google’s scale and reach will make this protocol the standard that finally sticks. For now, the fact that Walmart, Shopify, and major payment processors are already on board suggests this might be different.
