Google announced new capabilities for its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) on March 19, significantly expanding what AI agents can do when shopping on a user's behalf.

What's New in UCP

The Universal Commerce Protocol is an open standard Google co-developed with the retail industry to standardize how AI agents interact with online stores. The latest update adds three capabilities:

  • Cart: AI agents can now add multiple items to a shopping cart at once from a single store — the same way a human shopper would.
  • Catalog: Agents can retrieve real-time product details from a retailer's catalog, including variants, inventory levels, and live pricing.
  • Identity Linking: Shoppers receive the same loyalty rewards and membership benefits (like discounts or free shipping) whether they're on a retailer's native site or shopping through an AI agent.

Industry Adoption

Salesforce, Stripe, and Commerce Inc. are among the first platforms committing to implement UCP. Google is also simplifying the onboarding process in Merchant Center, making it accessible to retailers of all sizes over the coming months.

The protocol already powers shopping in Google's AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app, with broader integration planned.

Why It Matters

The update draws a sharp contrast with OpenAI, which recently scaled back agentic checkout features. Google is doubling down — giving AI agents the infrastructure to complete purchases end-to-end while preserving consumer trust through transparent loyalty and identity controls. As agentic commerce moves from demos to daily use, UCP is positioning itself as the open infrastructure layer connecting AI agents to global retail.