Agentic commerce is coming in a massive way. Announced yesterday, Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol is about to change the way we shop online and establish a $5TN global channel by 2030.
What is the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)?
Universal Commerce Protocol is a new standard for AI-based commerce, which will enable agentic AI to deliver end-to-end shopping experiences without leaving the interface.
It’ll build on the existing infrastructure made popular recently by OpenAI, Shopify (who co-developed it), Paypal and others – like MCP (Model Context Protocol), A2A (Agent To Agent) and A2P (Agent To Payment) – allowing vendors to quickly access and leverage the new tooling build around it.
What else did Google announce?
UCP wasn’t the only thing Google shared, it’s just the start. Expect to see a serious upgrade to the online shopping experience directly in AI mode, Gemini and directly in Google search.
Additionally, Gemini will be able to offer a customer service experience directly in-platform, the Merchant Centre is getting a huge attribute upgrade – and for advertisers, a new feature called “Direct Offers” will allow you to reach people in new and compelling ways.
Why will things be different this time?
Some may see this as another cry of “wolf” in the space; this isn’t Google’s first foray into integrated commerce.
Voice search promised to be retail’s next frontier, but a macro shift never materialised. The visual element of shopping proved too important to overcome – albeit some growth in use across the FMCG space.
Google’s other recent innovations, including Universal Cart, Shopping Actions and Google Express – also ran out of steam, against strong marketplace competition. But I believe that this time really is different.
The AI adoption curve is outstripping all other technology and unlike voice, there’s no extra devices needed to access the functionality. While I doubt this will be an overnight success, the trajectory of mobile commerce should serve as a good benchmark for scale.
Importantly, Google isn’t going at this alone. UCP was co-developed with Shopify and is expected to integrate with agentic-ready payment processing systems (like Paypal); people won’t need a dedicated account to use it, a drawback of Google’s previous attempts.
When and where should we expect it to launch?
The direction from Google is “soon”, but with advancements already being made by Open AI – who revealed their commerce functionality last year, I would expect the roll-out to be well underway for the summer.
Google launched AI mode in the US first and UCP will be no different, giving marketers across the world the opportunity to study the impact, prepare their integrations and deploy ahead of their local launch.
Who will benefit from UCP?
The short answer is everyone, but it’s clear to see how direct retailers will see the most benefit. This is a direct line into consumers wallets at point of consideration and conversion, a space which has only been made widely available through marketplaces.
On that note, while multi-brand retailers can benefit from UCP, the reality is that this will likely erode their share. Marketplaces have long won on their breadth, depth and experience. With AI offering the full package, the business model will need to change to stay relevant.
And if you think this change is limited to retail, think again. I fully expect we’ll see the technology come to travel, luxury and other “high-ticket” sectors in the near future – following a similar path to market as m-commerce as the tech becomes better established (and trusted).
I’m a retailer, what should I do?
AI is predicated on great data access and UCP will be no different. If you’re not making your product information widely available and useful, by adding as much contextual information through your product feed as possible – now is the time to start.
Additionally, think about what else you could provide; product reviews, delivery information, etc. While these may not be typically surfaced through your advertising feed, AI has (through MCP) the capability to receive the information. The more you can share, the better.
Should I only care about Google?
Absolutely not – OpenAI has already launched a commerce product and others will be close behind. While Google (though search) will have a way to corner to the lion’s share of the market, it’s not the only platform that is competing for people’s attention.
I wouldn’t rule out Amazon in this space either. While UCP (and agentic commerce at large) is likely to erode their dominance, if they stand still, as a business, they’ve always risen to new challenges.
If you need help navigating this shift, we’re on hand to support – email us at info@found.co.uk to find out more.
A final thought on the future
The real winner here is Shopify, who have quietly built a retail empire by – more than ever – becoming the de facto operating standard for e-commerce. Now, with UCP, vendors have more ways to connect with prospective customers.
As a result, I believe we’ll see a consolidation of technology in the year ahead. With AI taking a massive stake in audience access, any system that enables businesses to aggregate and leverage their data just went from nice-to-have – to business critical.
If you want to discuss any of the latest developmets with our expert team, get in touch here.
