Google has announced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard that enables AI agents to connect and transact with any merchant. Developed with industry leaders including Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, the protocol has been endorsed by over 20 major retailers and platforms, including Mastercard, Stripe, and Zalando.
Ashish Gupta, VP/GM of merchant shopping at Google, said: “The shift to agentic commerce will require a shared language across the ecosystem—and the Universal Commerce Protocol provides that framework. Through our collaboration with partners like Shopify we’re ensuring the protocol is interoperable and ready to meet the evolving demands of retailers and their customers. We’re excited to work together and bring this to life soon starting with a new checkout feature in AI Mode in Google Search and the Gemini app.”
The protocol aims to standardise how AI agents interact with merchants, making it easier for consumers to move from product discovery to purchase in conversational environments. Google plans to roll out native shopping on its AI surfaces, including Google Search’s AI Mode and the Gemini app, so users can complete transactions without leaving the conversation.
Shopify opens up Catalog through new Agentic plan
Shopify is introducing several updates alongside UCP. Merchants will soon be able to sell directly through Google’s AI channels, integrate with Microsoft’s new Copilot Checkout, and, for the first time, brands not using Shopify can access the Shopify Catalog through its Agentic plan. This opens Shopify’s infrastructure to more retailers looking to participate in AI-driven commerce.
Vanessa Lee, VP at Shopify, said: “Shopify has a history of building checkouts for millions of unique retail businesses. We have taken everything we’ve seen over the decades to make UCP a robust commerce standard that can scale. Agentic commerce has so much potential to redefine shopping and we want to make sure it can scale to every product a customer might want to purchase.”
Microsoft is also playing a role in this shift through its Copilot Checkout integration. Nayna Sheth, head of product for agentic payments at Microsoft, said: “Today’s shoppers expect to go from search to purchase in a single conversation. With Copilot Checkout, Shopify merchants can meet customers exactly when intent peaks while remaining at the centre of every interaction and in control from start to finish.”
Retailers adopting UCP will retain control over branding and data while gaining access to new AI-powered sales channels. The protocol also supports extensions for loyalty programs, subscriptions, and dynamic pricing, giving businesses flexibility as they adapt to changing consumer behaviour.
JD Sports takes a different path to AI commerce
UCP, however, is not the only path to AI commerce. JD Sports Fashion has announced that it is partnering with commercetools and Stripe to leverage commercetools’ Agentic Commerce Suite (ACS). Customers in the US will soon be able to make one-click, AI-powered purchases of JD Sports’ products through platforms such as Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Both UCP and ACS share the goal of making conversational commerce practical and scalable. However, JD Sports Fashion’s choice shows that retailers may adopt different technical frameworks to achieve agentic commerce, depending on their infrastructure and partnerships.
With major names already on board and alternative solutions emerging, agentic commerce is moving rapidly from concept to reality.
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