At the 2026 National Retail Federation (NRF) conference, Google unveiled the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open-source standard designed to let AI agents handle the entire shopping journey – from discovery to checkout – across the web.
The “HTTP of Commerce” has arrived
Google is positioning UCP as the foundational plumbing for the “agentic” economy. Co-developed with retail titans like Shopify, Walmart, Target, Etsy, and Wayfair, the protocol creates a common language that allows AI assistants to interact directly with merchant backends. Instead of redirecting users to various websites, AI agents can now autonomously compare products, apply loyalty rewards, and execute secure payments.
Massive industry backing
The protocol has already gained significant traction with over 20 partners. Payment giants like Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, and American Express have endorsed the standard alongside retail leaders. By adopting UCP, retailers remain the “Merchant of Record”, maintaining control over customer data while letting Google’s Gemini or other AI agents manage the high-friction parts of the purchase process.
Why this is a game-changer
For years, the technical bottleneck of custom integrations, where every merchant had to build custom connections for every AI platform, stalled the growth of automated shopping. UCP solves this by providing a single, secure abstraction layer that works across different AI platforms. UCP solves this by providing a single, secure abstraction layer. For consumers, this means “AI Mode” in Google Search and the Gemini app will soon feature a “Buy” button that handles everything in two clicks, using encrypted “mandates” to ensure every transaction is authorized and secure.
Stay tuned as we continue to track how the UCP rollout reshapes the digital storefront and the future of consumer intent.
