Google launches Universal Commerce Protocol, bets on AI-powered retail

As retailers increasingly turn to AI tools to attract shoppers and drive key parts of their business. Google He wants to make sure he’s at the center of the action.

At the opening ceremony of the National Retail Federation annual show On Sunday, Google announced the launch of what it calls the Universal Commerce Protocol. The company wants UCP to become an industry standard that retailers use for AI agents and systems in tasks such as discovery, purchasing and “post-purchase support.”

Google says its open source protocol creates a unified system that spans the shopping experience from search to checkout, so retailers don’t need to build their own tools and tie together various functions.

“It’s very important to have a standard way so that we can scale these and so that everyone can be prepared for all the various steps that will happen,” Vidhya Srinivasan, vice president of Google ads and commerce, said in an interview. “Businesses can pick and choose what they want, so they are given flexibility.”

E-commerce, Google’s OpenAI, Perplexity and Amazonall trying to get consumers to use their various apps and services to start their shopping journey.

In September, OpenAI announced Instant Payment, which allows users to purchase some products through ChatGPT and get paid for transactions it helps arrange. OpenAIs Agency Trading Protocol It is open source, developed in partnership with Stripe, and can compete with UCP.

Perplexity said in May it was partnering with PayPal to let users buy items, book travel and secure concert tickets directly from chat without leaving the platform, and in November it said it would offer a free agency shopping product for U.S. users ahead of the holiday season.

And early last year Amazon launched “Shop Direct” a feature that allows consumers to browse products on other brands’ sites on Amazon. Some of these items include a labeled button. “Buy For Me” An AI agent that can purchase items from other websites on behalf of the shopper.

According to a study, by 2030 the retail market could represent a $3 to $5 trillion opportunity globally due to AI-powered tools and mediated commerce. report From McKinsey in October.

Google said UCP was developed with the following companies: Shopify, Etsy, wayfair And Aim. The protocol will soon power a new payment feature that allows users to make purchases directly from Google’s AI Mode or the Gemini App. They’ll be able to pay through Google Wallet, but Srinivasan said the company plans to include other payment methods like PayPal in the future.

Srinivasan said UCP will be compatible with other existing protocols.

As part of Sunday’s announcements, Google also introduced a feature called Business Agent that allows shoppers to chat with brands.

“This is addressing the new consumer behavior that is shifting towards more conversational commerce,” Srinivasan said. “We want retailers to be able to connect with users on our surfaces using their own voice.”

Then there’s Google’s core market: advertising.

Google said it is testing “Direct Offers” that will allow retailers to offer unique discounts, such as 20% off a product, if a user of its AI Mode chatbot expresses an intention to purchase something.

“Our role in the ecosystem is matchmaking and the only way to do that is through advertisements,” Srinivasan said. “Innovating in the space that adds value to both retailers and buyers is a really big focus for us.”

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