Google introduces new Universal Commerce Protocol features
Google is attempting to make it easier for retailers to conduct commerce using its open source agentic artificial intelligence protocol.
At its Google I/O 2026 conference in Mountain View, Calif., the tech giant introduced several new features and solutions for its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard for agentic AI-based commerce intended to cover the entire shopping journey from discovery and buying to post-purchase support.
Google first announced UCP on the first day of the National Retail Federation’s annual Big Show at the Jacob Javits center in New York City and following initial updates in March 2026 has been adding new tools for retailers and consumers.
One soon-to-launch solution will enable brands that have integrated UCP to show exclusive promotions or run shoppable ads on YouTube with product feeds on Demand Gen campaigns, enabled with the new flexible payment options from Affirm and Klarna embedded directly into Google Pay.
In addition, a performance insights tool in Merchant Center designed to provide a view into how brands are performing by share of voice compared to similar brands on AI surfaces such as AI Mode and Google Gemini is rolling out in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the U.S. in the coming months.
Another upcoming feature will enable retailers globally to use conversational attributes to update their product descriptions in an effort to reflect the more conversational way people search. Google is also building agentic capabilities into its tools for retailers such as Ask Advisor, a soon-to-be-released feature which will share insights tailored to a retailer’s specific business goals, complete tasks and connect across Google Ads and Google Analytics, for streamlined listing and campaign management.
In addition, UCP-enabled checkout, already available in the U.S., will roll out across Canada and Australia in the coming months, and later to the U.K. Google is also moving ahead with previously announced efforts to bring the protocol to entirely new categories, including hotel booking and local food delivery.
In the coming months, customers will be able to book a hotel right from AI Mode in Search, or order food delivery from a conversation in Google Maps.
[READ MORE: Google expands capabilities of Agentic commerce standard]
“We believe in building an agentic commerce future where both shoppers and businesses can thrive,” Google said in a corporate blog post. “Our role has always been to connect shoppers directly with businesses — and that’s guiding us in the agentic era, too.”
