"Google is making a key push into AI-powered shopping with the unveiling of Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open technical standard aimed at letting shoppers buy products directly through AI chatbots and search interfaces. The protocol has backing from major retailers and payment players including Walmart, Target, Shopify, and Etsy. Notably, there was one e-commerce giant not included in Sunday's announcement: Amazon."
"The Seattle-based company has long controlled the infrastructure of online shopping. But UCP offers an alternative pathway that could bypass Amazon, potentially steering shoppers to competitors at the critical moment of product discovery. Announced over the weekend at the National Retail Federation conference in New York City, Google pitched UCP as a foundation for "agentic commerce," a fast-emerging concept in which AI agents help shoppers carry out multi-step tasks on their behalf."
Google unveiled the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open technical standard designed to let shoppers purchase products directly through AI chatbots and search interfaces. UCP has backing from major retailers and payment providers including Walmart, Target, Shopify, and Etsy. Amazon was not listed among early supporters, creating a potential pathway to steer shoppers to competitors during product discovery. UCP is positioned as a foundation for agentic commerce, where AI agents execute multi-step shopping tasks for users. The protocol standardizes a shared language allowing secure access to catalogs, pricing, availability, promotions, loyalty programs, and checkout flows, reducing custom integrations.
Read at GeekWire
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]