Google introduces new standard to let AI agents handle shopping

Google announces Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard that lets Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools help retailers reach shoppers who are ready to purchase, at the National Retail Federation held recently.

It has partnered with enterprises like Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, allowing AI agents and commerce systems to speak a shared language, from product discovery and checkout to payments and post-purchase support. It allows AI agents to support customers across the full shopping process.

Instead of businesses having to build and maintain separate integrations for every new agent or platform, UCP provides a single, interoperable framework that works across consumer apps, merchants, and payment providers.

UCP is compatible with existing industry standards, including Agent2Agent (A2A), Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), and Model Context Protocol (MCP). This ensures that companies can adopt UCP without replacing their current infrastructure.

“It’s an expansionary moment. Looking at retailers alone, we were processing 8.3 trillion tokens on our API in December 2024. A year later, we were processing over 90 trillion tokens. That’s an 11X-plus increase year over year. This shows us how important it is to get this moment right,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet.

Checkout and Direct Purchases Within AI Experiences

Users will soon be able to directly checkout and make purchases using Google Pay or PayPal through products listed on Google using the AI mode and the Gemini app.

It said the retailers will retain the record of the sales and be able to customise the integration according to their needs, which will help “capture sales and avoid abandoned carts.” ”.

“In the coming months, we’ll work with retailers to expand globally and add more capabilities, like discovering related products, applying loyalty rewards, and powering custom shopping experiences on Google,” the company said.

Introducing Direct Offers feature

As more shoppers use AI-powered tools to discover products, retailers are looking for smarter ways to convert interest into purchases. Google says it is expanding its advertising experiments in AI Mode and is introducing a new pilot called Direct Offers, aimed at surfacing exclusive deals at the moment a shopper is ready to buy.

Direct Offers allows advertisers to show targeted discounts, such as a 20% price reduction, directly within AI Mode search experiences. The idea is to pair product relevance with immediate value, helping shoppers make faster decisions while improving conversion rates for retailers.

How It Works

When a shopper makes a detailed, intent-rich query, such as searching for a modern, easy-to-clean rug suitable for a high-traffic dining room, Google’s AI already identifies products that best match those needs. With Direct Offers, eligible retailers can now attach a special discount to those results, giving shoppers an extra incentive to complete the purchase.

Retailers configure offers within their Google Ads campaign settings, and Google’s AI determines when an offer is relevant enough to be shown. The pilot currently focuses on discounts, but Google plans to expand support to other value-driven incentives, including product bundles and free shipping.

Google says it is working with brands such as Petco, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Samsonite, and Rugs USA, along with Shopify merchants, to refine Direct Offers. The company positions the pilot as a step toward faster, more context-aware commerce experiences designed for AI-first shopping behaviour.

Business Agent: An Branded AI Experience

Google is also rolling out Business Agent, a new branded AI experience that allows shoppers to chat directly with retailers within Google Search, positioning it as a virtual sales associate for the AI-first shopping era.

Business Agent enables brands to answer product questions in their own voice, helping them engage customers at high-intent moments during shopping. The goal is to reduce friction between discovery and purchase while giving retailers more control over how they show up in AI-driven search experiences.

The feature goes live soon with partners including Lowe’s, Michael’s, Poshmark, and Reebok, among others. Eligible U.S. retailers can activate and customise their branded agent through Google Merchant Center, it said.

Over the coming months, Google plans to expand Business Agent’s capabilities. Retailers will be able to train the agent using their own data, gain access to new customer insights, surface offers for related products, and enable direct purchases within the chat, eventually supporting agentic checkout.

Google positions Business Agent as a way for brands to maintain a direct relationship with shoppers, even as AI increasingly mediates product discovery and buying decisions.

Merchant Center to Support Data For AI-driven Commerce

The search giant is also introducing dozens of new data attributes in Merchant Center to improve product discovery across its AI-driven shopping experiences, including AI Mode, Gemini, and Business Agent.

The new attributes expand beyond traditional keywords, allowing retailers to include information such as answers to common product questions, compatible accessories, and substitute products. Google says the updates are designed to complement existing product feeds and help AI systems better match shopper intent during conversational searches.

The features will roll out initially to a small group of retailers, with wider availability planned in the coming months.

Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience

AI agents are increasingly reshaping how retailers operate. Alphabet said agents can now work directly with a company’s customer and commerce data to power more personalised and connected shopping experiences.

To support this shift, the company has introduced Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, a new platform built specifically for agentic retail. The platform brings together search, commerce, and customer service into a single, unified experience, enabling retailers to deploy shopping assistants, support bots, agentic search tools, and merchandising agents.

Alphabet said The Home Depot and McDonald’s are already using these agents to improve customer service outcomes.

Shopping Agent

Separately, the company is working with Kroger and other retailers on a new shopping agent that embeds AI Mode directly into a retailer’s own app. The agent functions like a digital sales associate, answering detailed questions and offering proactive, personalized recommendations.

Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience is available today in preview. It is built on open standards and is fully integrated with the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP).

Expansion Of Wing

Alphabet also announced an expansion of Wing, its drone delivery unit, as it looks to address the high costs and logistical complexity of last-mile delivery. Wing and Walmart doubled deliveries in existing markets in 2025. The service will expand to Houston next week, followed by Orlando, Tampa, Charlotte, and additional cities in the coming months.

The company said the updates are part of a broader push to reimagine the end-to-end shopping experience as it heads into 2026.