Follow Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) to increase your sales

Ecommerce is undergoing a new transformation with the arrival of Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). What does it involve? It is an open standard designed to convert Artificial Intelligence interactions into direct purchases.

Its objective is clear and focuses on removing friction from the purchasing process to improve the user experience. With UCP, we enter fully into the era of agentic commerce, where conversational AI assistants such as Gemini or Google’s AI Mode no longer simply recommend products, but execute the entire transaction, from initial intent through to purchase confirmation.

We examine what UCP is, how it works, its advantages and what ecommerce businesses must do to prepare for and benefit from this new AI-driven purchasing model.

What is Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)?

According to Google, the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) is an open standard designed for the future of ecommerce and has been developed in collaboration with companies such as Shopify, Etsy and Walmart.

The platform states that it has been created to enable direct and instant purchases. Where is it available? Currently, it can be accessed through AI Mode in Google Search and via the Gemini web application. Compatibility with the Gemini mobile app and other platforms is still in development.

How does this translate into practice? The UCP covers the entire purchasing journey and enables a single AI agent to manage the complete user experience. This includes everything from product discovery and basket creation to payment processing and post purchase support. As a result, UCP removes the need to develop multiple bespoke integrations to achieve this.

In addition, it is an interoperable protocol that works with key industry standards, including the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), Agent to Agent (A2A) and the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

What makes UCP unique

Unlike other protocols that focus solely on the payment stage, UCP is built on Google’s Shopping Graph to support the entire sales funnel. As outlined in Google’s official UCP guide, the protocol is based on the following pillars:

• Modular and extensible. It is designed to adapt and scale, enabling richer commerce experiences through a range of capabilities and extensions.
• Built in security. It supports tokenised payments, allowing you to use the payment gateways already integrated into your ecommerce platform.
• Fast and easy to implement. UCP allows merchants to select which capabilities and extensions to enable, as well as the communication channel that best suits their technical requirements, whether via API, MCP or A2A.

Benefits of Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)

Google’s UCP reduces friction throughout the purchasing process, increasing the likelihood of conversion and helping your business generate more sales. Google also highlights several additional advantages:

As a result, a purchasing process that previously took minutes can now be completed in just seconds.. 

Do you need to update Google Merchant Center for Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)?

Google makes it clear that “Google Merchant Center will continue to be the central hub for preparing product data and displaying ads and listings across Google platforms”.

Therefore, the best way to prepare your ecommerce business is to ensure your data is as complete, accurate and up to date as possible. Without this, your brand will remain invisible to AI agents.

Additional recommendation: Google outlines several steps to prepare your Merchant Center account. It is advisable to review your product feeds, brand assets, return policies, real time inventory and ensure product listings are fully optimised. Our team of digital commerce specialists can also support you in preparing and optimising your Google Merchant Center setup.

When will UCP be available in Europe?

Google will roll out the Universal Commerce Protocol progressively. It will be launched in phases, with the United States as the first market where it is already active. However, it is important to prepare your infrastructure in advance to gain a competitive advantage as the protocol expands globally.

How can you distinguish UCP traffic from other channels?

According to Google, UCP exchanges payment lifecycle, order and transaction events through the API contracts defined in its specifications. This enables merchants to clearly identify and distinguish traffic and payments generated through Google’s AI platforms from those originating from their own website or application.

How to integrate Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) into your ecommerce business

Integrating Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) is a critical step in making your ecommerce business readable by AI agents and enabling native purchases through Gemini or Google Search, without requiring users to navigate your website.

UCP integration goes beyond technical implementation. It involves preparing your entire digital ecosystem for an environment where visibility and conversion increasingly depend on the quality, structure and consistency of the data consumed by Google’s AI systems.

At Redegal, our multidisciplinary team works to position your brand within the digital ecosystem and ensure it is visible to the right user at the right moment. We help you to:

• Optimise your product catalogue for Google Merchant Center
• Align your SEO strategy to increase visibility in AI driven search experiences
• Develop and optimise your ecommerce platform to deliver a robust, conversion focused user experience

Do you have questions about the Universal Commerce Protocol? Whether you want to confirm payment gateway compatibility or explore how it applies to your business, our team can analyse your project and design a tailored solution to ensure you are fully prepared and positioned to succeed across AI powered platforms. Shall we talk?