Shopify Introduces Universal Commerce Protocol in Partnership with Google

Shopify has introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard that will enable the scaling of AI-powered “agentic” shopping. Developed in collaboration with Google, this protocol allows AI agents to connect with any merchant and facilitate transactions. Through UCP, Shopify sellers will be able to make direct sales on Google Search and the Gemini app.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and Shopify accelerated their efforts to facilitate AI-based “agentic” shopping significantly at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference on Sunday. At NRF 2026, Shopify and Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol, a new open standard for AI agents to connect and transact with any merchant. With Universal Commerce Protocol, AI agents can complete payment transactions on behalf of a customer.

“Potential Benefit for Google and Shopify”

Analyst Justin Patterson anticipates potential benefits from the UPC standard for both Google and Shopify: “For Google, this announcement reinforces its historical strength with retailers and the momentum in AI. Google has a long history of helping retailers navigate technological change. Google’s Shopping Graph, introduced in 2021, lists over 50 billion products, providing a rich set of data that can be discovered via the core Search experience and the Gemini app. For Shopify, UCP extends agentic partnerships and offers more ways to engage with merchants.”

In September, Google announced a new Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) developed with 60 industry partners. AP2 is also designed to address authorization, authentication, and accountability in agentic payments. To provide secure commerce for AI agents, it is supported by cryptographically signed digital contracts.

Building Agentic Shopping Ecosystems

At NRF 2026, Google also introduced new retail tools for deploying AI agents that help shoppers locate items and provide customer support. Google named these agentic AI tools “Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience.” These tools are offered through Google’s cloud computing platform and are used by retailers such as Lowe’s, Kroger, and Papa Johns.

Additionally, Shop ify announced new agentic AI initiatives. In October, AI pioneer OpenAI revealed that its ChatGPT app would enable direct purchases from Shop ify, Etsy, and other online sellers. In a similar deal, Shopify stated that its merchants would be able to sell directly in Google Search’s “AI Mode” and the Gemini app. Furthermore, Shopify announced plans to work with Microsoft on agentic AI online payment features. Last week, Microsoft, in collaboration with partners such as PayPal Holdings (PYPL) and Stripe, introduced a series of AI-powered agentic commerce tools.

As part of its strategy, the software company will open its Shop ify Catalog and infrastructure to brands on other platforms. This will allow brands that do not use Shop ify for their online stores to list their products on Shopify Catalog and present them to AI channels.

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