AI-Powered Ecommerce: Understanding Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)

AI is finding its way into every sector, every business, and even our everyday lives. Ecommerce is no different. Slowly, AI tools are becoming a key part of the customer journey, with McKinsey & Company reporting that around 40% - 55% of consumers now use AI assistants like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to help them make purchasing decisions.

Soon, many shoppers won’t even need to leave their AI app to make purchases. Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard designed to streamline interactions between AI and merchants, is aiming to make that a reality. Backed by industry leaders such as Shopify, Google hopes to help shape the future of ecommerce as it moves into an era of agentic commerce.

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What is ‘Agentic Commerce’?

Agentic commerce is shopping powered by AI agents. It starts with product discovery but is quickly expanding to cover the entire buying journey, all the way to payment.

For example, a shopper could ask an AI agent:
"Find the best small, lightweight suitcase under £60 and have it delivered by next week."

The AI would then search for products, compare options, choose shipping, and even complete the purchase, all with minimal human input.

While perhaps a concept that is equal parts frightening and useful, Agentic Commerce is expected to affect the future of ecommerce. And to make it practical at scale, a standard system is needed – that’s where Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol comes in.

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What is the Universal Commerce Protocol? 

Co-developed with Shopify, Google unveiled the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) at the National Retail Federation’s annual show in early 2026. Think of UCP as a common language for AI and online stores – a system that helps AI understand and interact with your store across the entire shopping journey, from product discovery to checkout and post-purchase support.

UCP makes it easier for AI to:

• Show your products to the right customers
• Handle checkout, payments, and delivery options correctly
• Support discounts, loyalty points, subscriptions, and more

It’s also flexible, meaning it can work for all types of businesses, from one-person shops to large retailers, without forcing everyone to operate the same way.

Soon, UCP will power a new checkout feature in Google’s AI Mode and Gemini App, allowing shoppers to buy directly through AI assistants. Google also hopes that UCP will become an industry standard, helping retailers use AI for tasks like product discovery, purchasing, and post-purchase support.

What Does the Universal Commerce Protocol Mean for Ecommerce Brands? FAQs

If you run an ecommerce brand, you might be wondering what UCP and agentic commerce actually mean for your business – they’re new concepts, and it’s not always clear how, or if, they’ll affect day-to-day selling. 

Still, it’s worth understanding what it could mean over time:

• Will I lose control of my brand or customer experience?
  Ecommerce brands remain in full control of pricing, branding, policies, and customer relationships. AI doesn’t replace your online store – it simply becomes another way customers might discover and buy from you.
• Could UCP help my products reach new customers?
  Potentially, yes. If AI-assisted shopping becomes more common, it could surface your products to customers who wouldn’t have found your site through traditional search or paid advertising.
• Do the basics still matter in an AI-driven world?
  Absolutely. Clear product information, delivery options, pricing, and promotions are essential today – and they become even more important if AI tools start interacting more directly with online stores.
• Do I need to take action now?
  There’s no pressure to change anything yet. However, keeping your operations accurate, flexible, and well-organised puts you in a strong position to adopt new tools or technologies in the future, if and when it makes sense for your business.

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How Can I Ship Orders Placed Through AI?

While AI-driven shopping isn’t widespread yet, keeping your operations running smoothly now makes it easier to adopt new tools or features in the future if you choose. That means making sure product descriptions, pricing, stock, and shipping information are accurate, and offering multiple payment and delivery options to make shopping seamless for any customer.

Of course, even the best AI can’t deliver a great customer experience if fulfilment can’t keep up. As AI-assisted shopping develops, the real challenge for ecommerce brands won’t just be taking orders through new channels, it will be turning those orders into shipped deliveries quickly and accurately.

That’s where Zenstores comes in. Orders placed through your ecommerce store, whether by a customer browsing directly or via an AI assistant, are automatically imported into Zenstores, ready to be picked, packed, and dispatched without manual effort. This means AI-placed orders are treated no differently from any other, flowing straight into your existing fulfilment process.

With Zenstores, teams can ship orders faster, reduce errors during busy periods, and handle spikes in demand without adding complexity. Fulfilment workflows are streamlined end to end, from the shipping options shown at checkout to how orders are dispatched, giving you the confidence to scale as new shopping channels emerge.

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Stay Ahead with Efficient Operations and Fulfilment

AI-driven shopping and agentic commerce are still in the early stages, but they’re already shaping the way customers discover and buy products. 

For ecommerce brands, the most important step today is keeping operations tight and reliable – accurate product information, smooth checkout options, and efficient fulfilment. By doing this, you not only deliver a better experience for your current customers but also make it easier to adopt AI-powered tools when the time comes.

Ready to streamline your fulfilment and get your ecommerce brand prepared for whatever comes next? 

Zenstores makes shipping faster, easier, and more scalable, helping you turn orders into shipments quickly, automate workflows, and handle growth with confidence.

Join thousands of brands switching to Zenstores. Get started today.