NEW YORK, January 11, 2026 — Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show conference, a new open standard designed to enable AI agents to handle the full shopping journey—from product discovery to checkout and post-purchase support—across different retailers and platforms.
Developed in collaboration with major retailers including Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, UCP creates a consistent framework for AI agents to interact with e-commerce systems.
It allows agents to perform tasks such as searching products, offering personalized recommendations, completing purchases, and resolving issues without requiring custom integrations for each merchant.
Google plans to incorporate UCP into AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app, enabling U.S. shoppers to buy directly from eligible listings while researching. Users can pay through Google Pay, with shipping information automatically pulled from Google Wallet. Support for PayPal is planned for later.
The company also launched Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (CX), a set of ready-to-use and customizable AI agents built on Gemini models. These agents manage the entire customer lifecycle, from initial discovery to autonomous post-purchase resolution, and can be deployed rapidly by retailers.
Early adopters include Kroger, Lowe’s, Papa John’s, and Woolworths. Honeywell is developing a Smart Shopping Platform with Google Cloud that uses real-time shelf and inventory data to improve in-store experiences.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, described the vision: “We are moving toward a world where AI agents will handle shopping tasks seamlessly.” The announcements reflect Google’s push to embed AI more deeply into commerce, competing with emerging agentic systems from other providers.
UCP is open-source and compatible with protocols such as Agent Payments Protocol and Model Context Protocol. Google is encouraging broad adoption to build a unified ecosystem for AI-driven commerce.
The initiatives arrive as AI agents gain traction in retail, promising more personalized and efficient shopping experiences while raising ongoing questions about data privacy and potential job impacts.
