The Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) is an open standard (open source) developed by Google that aims to standardize digital commerce across different platforms and AI interfaces. It serves as a technical "language" that enables seamless communication between online merchants, payment providers and AI agents.
Agentic commerce: UCP forms the basis for AI agents (such as the Google Gemini app or the AI mode of Google Search) to carry out complex purchasing processes autonomously - from product search to final checkout.
Standardization: It replaces proprietary interfaces with a uniform data model for products, inventories and transactions, which reduces technical fragmentation in e-commerce.
Direct purchase (seamless checkout): Users can make purchases directly within an AI interface without having to leave the original platform. The merchant remains the "merchant of record".
Security: The use of tokenization and cryptographic proof of user consent ensures a high level of data security.
With the introduction of the UCP, Google is responding to the shift towards "Agentic Commerce". Retailers who implement this protocol increase their visibility in AI-supported search environments and minimize friction losses in the purchasing process, which leads to higher conversion rates.
Sources:
Google for Developers: Getting started with Universal Commerce Protocol on Google
Google Blog: Under the Hood: Universal Commerce Protocol
Smarketer Glossary: Google Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)
Burgdigital: Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) - Google Standard for Agentic Commerce