Google's AI Announcement Is News The Retail Industry Can't Ignore

"Google recently announced the launch of Universal Commerce Protocol, a new infrastructure that will enable seamless AI-powered shopping, Native Checkout across AI surfaces, Business Agent in Search and a Direct Offers pilot. Basically, what Google has done is establish a standard protocol for how brands are positioning themselves with AI as the protocol layer between consumers, retailers, and payment systems."

"Today, these are the early stages of AI agents being the place customers are starting to go in order to do their e-commerce shopping search. Agentic commerce is able to be much more highly personalized because it has all the information from richer search requests. AI shopping agents are reshaping digital commerce, autonomously influencing consumer purchasing decisions, and redefining online shopping transactions. With agentic AI, retailers can now provide information and serve up the products that consumers need in the language of consumers."

""We think that UCP puts Google ahead of the curve," said Jeremy Hull, chief solutions officer, at Brainlabs. "This is an example of a rising tide lifting all boats. It will benefit folks other than Google, which has several other pieces of the puzzle already moving. It's one element that's in lockstep with everything they're trying to do around AI. It takes all of the other things and makes them work a little better.""

Universal Commerce Protocol creates a standard infrastructure enabling AI-powered shopping features such as Native Checkout across AI surfaces, Business Agent in Search, and a Direct Offers pilot. The protocol positions AI as the integration layer between consumers, retailers, and payment systems to streamline e-commerce transactions. Early agentic commerce leverages richer search queries to deliver highly personalized shopping experiences and autonomously influence purchasing decisions. AI shopping agents can communicate product information in consumers' language and surface relevant offers. Industry partners like Brainlabs view the protocol as broadly usable by AI solutions and ChatGPT and expect it to improve how AI impacts shopping.

Read at Forbes