How to Integrate Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) with AI Agents?

Agentic looking is rapidly changing into mainstream.

Individuals don’t simply need AI brokers to analysis merchandise anymore. They need brokers to really purchase issues for them: evaluate choices, place orders, deal with funds, and full your complete transaction.

That’s the place issues began to interrupt.

Right this moment’s commerce stack is fragmented. Each service provider, platform, and cost supplier makes use of proprietary integrations. So even when an agent is wise sufficient to make selections, it struggles to behave at scale as a result of it has no frequent strategy to discuss to those methods.

That is precisely the hole Google’s Common Commerce Protocol (UCP) is designed to repair.

UCP creates a standardized, safe method for AI brokers, retailers, platforms, and cost suppliers to speak. As a substitute of constructing customized integrations for each retailer or service, brokers can work together with commerce methods via a shared protocol, making agent-driven buying lastly sensible, interoperable, and scalable.

What Is the Common Commerce Protocol (UCP)? 

The Common Commerce Protocol is an open commerce commonplace that connects digital brokers with commerce methods. It gives a typical framework for locating merchandise, managing carts, executing funds, and dealing with post-purchase duties. UCP doesn’t change current e-commerce platforms or cost methods. As a substitute, it acts as a shared language that enables AI brokers, purposes, retailers, and cost suppliers to work together easily.

The Core Concept Behind UCP

UCP is an answer primarily to an integration problem. Prior to now, every AI assistant or platform needed to depend on distinctive integrations with each service provider or commerce system. This technique was not scalable.

• A uniform commerce actions set
• Unambiguous position definitions for brokers, retailers, and cost processors
• Versatile schemas relevant throughout sectors
• This technique of working reduces the necessity for engineering dramatically and on the identical time permits faster innovation

Why UCP Issues?

Right this moment’s e-commerce ecosystem is extremely fragmented. Every procuring channel reminiscent of web sites, cellular apps, and third occasion platforms requires customized integrations with each service provider. In consequence, a retailer promoting throughout a number of channels should handle many complicated integrations. This problem grows as AI procuring brokers change into a typical method for individuals to buy.

UCP solves this by introducing a single commonplace protocol that covers your complete procuring journey, from product discovery to checkout and order administration. This simplifies integrations and permits the ecosystem to unlock a number of vital advantages.

• Unified integration: Reduces complicated N×N commerce integrations to a single integration level for AI brokers and interfaces.
• Shared language: Defines frequent schemas and APIs so all commerce methods can talk constantly finish to finish.
• Extensible, modular design: Makes use of modular parts that may evolve with out breaking current integrations.
• Safety-first strategy: Ensures safe, tokenized funds with verified person consent for each transaction.

For patrons, this implies smoother interactions and fewer deserted carts. Consumers can transfer rapidly from looking or chatting to finishing a purchase order, typically with out re-entering particulars. As Google explains, UCP is designed so customers can confidently pay utilizing Google Pay, with cost and delivery info already saved in Google Pockets.

Additionally Learn: Prime 10 Agentic AI Chrome Extensions

Why Google Launched UCP?

The commerce has slowly however absolutely migrated into the realm of chat and robots. Right this moment the customers demand AI methods to behave as an alternative of merely informing. Google rolled out UCP to spearhead this transformation whereas nonetheless maintaining the doorways open and the ecosystem steady. Agentic commerce is the time period used for AI methods which can be able to independently doing business work. Such brokers are capable of: 

• Search for and consider merchandise 
• Regulate the choice in accordance with the person’s style 
• Execute purchases in a protected method 
• Deal with returns, give refunds, and provide assist 

How Common Commerce Protocol (UCP) Works?

UCP works by breaking the commerce journey into a transparent sequence of actions that AI brokers can comply with. Every step represents a selected interplay, from discovering a product to finishing the transaction and dealing with what comes subsequent. Collectively, these steps outline how an agent strikes via a purchase order in a managed and predictable method. Let’s break this down and have a look at every step individually:

Step 1: Arrange the enterprise server and add pattern merchandise to your retailer

With the intention to make it simpler for companies to stand up and working, Google has arrange a pattern repository. The repository comprises a Python server that’s prepared for use for internet hosting Enterprise APIs, together with a UCP SDK that gives pattern product knowledge and reference implementations. These parts work collectively to assist the person visualize and perceive how a UCP-compliant enterprise server could be configured and examined.

Configuring the enterprise server:

mkdir sdk
git clone  sdk/python
pushd sdk/python
uv sync
popd
git clone  
cd samples/relaxation/python/server
uv sync

Utilizing a flower store for instance, Google performs the position of the enterprise for demonstration functions. As well as, we offer a easy product database primarily based on SQLite that comprises the catalog knowledge for the demo setting which is similar because the pattern knowledge. This configuration permits the builders to make use of reasonable product info for testing UCP workflows with out the necessity for an entire manufacturing database.

Step2: Put together your corporation server to simply accept requests from brokers

Subsequent, begin the enterprise server that hosts the Enterprise APIs on port 8182 and connects to the demo product database. The server runs within the background so shopper purposes and AI brokers can join with out interruption. Run the command under to launch the enterprise server:

uv run server.py  
--products_db_path=/tmp/ucp_test/merchandise.db  
--transactions_db_path=/tmp/ucp_test/transactions.db  
--port=8182 & 
SERVER_PID=$! 

Step 3: Uncover enterprise capabilities along with your agent

Companies expose a JSON manifest at /.well-known/ucp that lists their accessible companies and capabilities. This enables AI brokers to find options, endpoints, and cost configurations dynamically, with out counting on hard-coded integrations.

Now run the next command to let your agent uncover the enterprise companies and capabilities:

export SERVER_URL=
export RESPONSE=$(curl -s -X GET $SERVER_URL/.well-known/ucp) 
echo $RESPONSE 
Response:  
{ 
"ucp": { 
"model": "2026-01-11", 
"companies": { "dev.ucp.procuring": { "model": "2026-01-11", "spec": "https://ucp.dev/specs/shopping", "relaxation": { "schema": "https://ucp.dev/services/shopping/openapi.json", "endpoint": "http://localhost:8182/" } } }, 
"capabilities": [ 
{ "name": "dev.ucp.shopping.checkout", "version": "2026-01-11", "spec": "https://ucp.dev/specs/shopping/checkout", "schema": "https://ucp.dev/schemas/shopping/checkout.json" }, 
{ "name": "dev.ucp.shopping.discount", "version": "2026-01-11", "spec": "https://ucp.dev/specs/shopping/discount", "schema": "https://ucp.dev/schemas/shopping/discount.json", "extends": "dev.ucp.shopping.checkout" }, 
{ "name": "dev.ucp.shopping.fulfillment", "version": "2026-01-11", "spec": "https://ucp.dev/specs/shopping/fulfillment", "schema": "https://ucp.dev/schemas/shopping/fulfillment.json", "extends": "dev.ucp.shopping.checkout" } 
] 
}, 
"cost": { 
"handlers": [ 
{ "id": "shop_pay", "name": "com.shopify.shop_pay", "version": "2026-01-11", "spec": "https://shopify.dev/ucp/handlers/shop_pay", "config_schema": "https://shopify.dev/ucp/handlers/shop_pay/config.json", "instrument_schemas": [ "https://shopify.dev/ucp/handlers/shop_pay/instrument.json" ], "config": { "shop_id": "d124d01c-3386-4c58-bc58-671b705e19ff" } }, 
{ "id": "google_pay", "title": "google.pay", "model": "2026-01-11", "spec": "https://example.com/spec", "config_schema": "https://example.com/schema", "instrument_schemas": [ "https://ucp.dev/schemas/shopping/types/gpay_card_payment_instrument.json" 
], "config": { "api_version": 2, "api_version_minor": 0, "merchant_info": { "merchant_name": "Flower Store", "merchant_id": "TEST", "merchant_origin": "localhost" }, "allowed_payment_methods": [ { "type": "CARD", "parameters": { "allowedAuthMethods": [ "PAN_ONLY", "CRYPTOGRAM_3DS" ], "allowedCardNetworks": [ "VISA", "MASTERCARD" ] }, "tokenization_specification": [ { "type": "PAYMENT_GATEWAY", "parameters": [ { "gateway": "example", "gatewayMerchantId": "exampleGatewayMerchantId" } ] } ] } ] } }, 
{ "id": "mock_payment_handler", "title": "dev.ucp.mock_payment", "model": "2026-01-11", "spec": "https://ucp.dev/specs/mock", "config_schema": "https://ucp.dev/schemas/mock.json", "instrument_schemas": [ "https://ucp.dev/schemas/shopping/types/card_payment_instrument.json" ], "config": { "supported_tokens": [ "success_token", "fail_token" ] } } 
] 
} 
} 

Step 4: Invoke a checkout functionality along with your agent

Run this command in your agent to create a checkout session with the pattern merchandise:

export RESPONSE=$(curl -s -X POST "$SERVER_URL/checkout-sessions" -H 'Content material-Sort: software/json' -H 'UCP-Agent: profile=" take a look at' -H 'idempotency-key: 0b50cc6b-19b2-42cd-afee-6a98e71eea87' -H 'request-id: 6d08ae4b-e7ea-44f4-846f-d7381919d4f2' -d '{"line_items":[{"item":{"id":"bouquet_roses","title":"Red Rose"},"quantity":1}],"purchaser":{"full_name":"John Doe","e mail":"[email protected]"},"forex":"USD","cost":{"devices":[],"handlers":[{"id":"shop_pay","name":"com.shopify.shop_pay","version":"2026-01-11","spec":"https://shopify.dev/ucp/handlers/shop_pay","config_schema":"https://shopify.dev/ucp/handlers/shop_pay/config.json","instrument_schemas":["https://shopify.dev/ucp/handlers/shop_pay/instrument.json"],"config":{"shop_id":"d124d01c-3386-4c58-bc58-671b705e19ff"}},{"id":"google_pay","title":"google.pay","model":"2026-01-11","spec":"https://instance.com/spec","config_schema":"https://instance.com/schema","instrument_schemas":["https://ucp.dev/schemas/shopping/types/gpay_card_payment_instrument.json"],"config":{"api_version":2,"api_version_minor":0,"merchant_info":{"merchant_name":"Flower Store","merchant_id":"TEST","merchant_origin":"localhost"},"allowed_payment_methods":[{"type":"CARD","parameters":{"allowedAuthMethods":["PAN_ONLY","CRYPTOGRAM_3DS"],"allowedCardNetworks":["VISA","MASTERCARD"]},"tokenization_specification":[{"type":"PAYMENT_GATEWAY","parameters":[{"gateway":"example","gatewayMerchantId":"exampleGatewayMerchantId"}]}]}]}},{"id":"mock_payment_handler","title":"dev.ucp.mock_payment","model":"2026-01-11","spec":"https://ucp.dev/specs/mock","config_schema":"https://ucp.dev/schemas/mock.json","instrument_schemas":["https://ucp.dev/schemas/shopping/types/card_payment_instrument.json"],"config":{"supported_tokens":["success_token","fail_token"]}}]}}') && echo $RESPONSE 

As quickly because the checkout session is created, your agent will achieve entry to a checkout id issued by the server that may additional be used for making updates to the checkout session:

RESPONSE: 
{ 
"ucp": { "model": "2026-01-11", "capabilities": [ { "name": "dev.ucp.shopping.checkout", "version": "2026-01-11" } ] }, 
"id": "cb9c0fc5-3e81-427c-ae54-83578294daf3", 
"line_items": [ { 
"id": "2e86d63a-a6b8-4b4d-8f41-559f4c6991ea", 
"item": { "id": "bouquet_roses", "title": "Bouquet of Red Roses", "price": 3500 }, 
"quantity": 1, 
"totals": [ { "type": "subtotal", "amount": 3500 }, { "type": "total", "amount": 3500 } ] 
} ], 
"purchaser": { "full_name": "John Doe", "e mail": "[email protected]" }, 
"standing": "ready_for_complete", 
"forex": "USD", 
"totals": [ { "type": "subtotal", "amount": 3500 }, { "type": "total", "amount": 3500 } ], 
"hyperlinks": [], 
"cost": { "handlers": [], "devices": [] }, 
"reductions": {} 
} 

Step 5: Apply reductions to the checkout request along with your agent

Run this command to allow your agent to use reductions to the checkout session, utilizing the checkout id from the earlier step:

export CHECKOUT_ID=$(echo $RESPONSE | jq -r '.id') && export LINE_ITEM_1_ID=$(echo $RESPONSE | jq -r '.line_items[0].id') && export RESPONSE=$(curl -s -X PUT "$SERVER_URL/checkout-sessions/$CHECKOUT_ID" -H 'Content material-Sort: software/json' -H 'UCP-Agent: profile=" take a look at' -H 'idempotency-key: b9ecd4b3-0d23-4842-8535-0d55e76e2bad' -H 'request-id: 28e70993-e328-4071-91de-91644dc75221' -d "{"id":"$CHECKOUT_ID","line_items":[{"id":"$LINE_ITEM_1_ID","item":{"id":"bouquet_roses","title":"Red Rose"},"quantity":1}],"forex":"USD","cost":{"devices":[],"handlers":[]},"reductions":{"codes":["10OFF"]}}") && echo $RESPONSE | jq 

Your agent will obtain the next response with the low cost utilized:

RESPONSE:  
{ 
"ucp": { "model": "2026-01-11", "capabilities": [ { "name": "dev.ucp.shopping.checkout", "version": "2026-01-11" } ] }, 
"id": "cb9c0fc5-3e81-427c-ae54-83578294daf3", 
"line_items": [ { 
"id": "2e86d63a-a6b8-4b4d-8f41-559f4c6991ea", 
"item": { "id": "bouquet_roses", "title": "Bouquet of Red Roses", "price": 3500 }, 
"quantity": 1, 
"totals": [ { "type": "subtotal", "amount": 3500 }, { "type": "total", "amount": 3500 } ] } ], 
"purchaser": { "full_name": "John Doe", "e mail": "[email protected]" }, 
"standing": "ready_for_complete", 
"forex": "USD", 
"totals": [ { "type": "subtotal", "amount": 3500 }, { "type": "discount", "amount": 350 }, { "type": "total", "amount": 3150 } ], 
"hyperlinks": [], 
"cost": { "handlers": [], "devices": [] }, 
"reductions": { 
"codes": [ "10OFF" ], 
"utilized": [ { "code": "10OFF", "title": "10% Off", "amount": 350, "automatic": false, "allocations": [ { "path": "subtotal", "amount": 350 } ] } ] 
} 
} 

Key Elements of the Common Commerce Protocol

A UCP server, which is commonly the service provider backend, reveals a number of companies. Each service corresponds to particular capabilities that may be distinguished among the many purposeful areas reminiscent of product discovery or checkout. Frequent examples embrace ucp.procuring.catalog, ucp.procuring.checkout, and ucp.procuring.orders. Retailers go for the capabilities they require, whereas the AI brokers will talk with the retailers as per the enabled capabilities.

Capabilities an Core Service

Extensions: Capabilities additionally allow the usage of extensions to supply specialised features. Extensions give retailers the possibility so as to add options like coupon reductions or subtle success strategies with out having to alter the first schemas.

Discovery

Every UCP enabled enterprise gives a manifest at https:///.well-known/ucp. This gives a listing of the companies accessible, capabilities which can be supported, API endpoints, attainable variations, extensions, and particulars concerning the cost handlers.

Transports

UCP just isn’t restricted to a selected transport. The identical functionality payloads can transfer over REST, JSON RPC, or agent native protocols like Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP) and Agent2Agent (A2A) and even non-native ones.

Funds

UCP is built-in with varied cost suppliers via its pluggable cost handlers which embrace Stripe, Google Pay, and Store Pay. The cost tokens are encrypted and routed throughout checkout.

Collectively, these elements empower UCP to transform AI procuring dialogues into precise transactions. The conventional transaction is as follows:

1. The agent will get the service provider’s UCP manifest
2. It determines the related capabilities (as an example, checkout)
3. It calls these APIs together with the patron’s order particulars and chooses a cost handler
4. UCP takes care of every little thing else (counting any reductions or success choices that have been mentioned)

Advantages for the Commerce Ecosystem 

• Retailers and Retailers: UCP lets retailers promote throughout AI-driven procuring surfaces with out shedding management over branding, knowledge, or checkout. They continue to be the Service provider of File whereas reaching customers via Google Search AI Mode, chatbots, and voice assistants utilizing a single integration.
• AI Platforms and Brokers: AI platforms like Google AI Mode, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot can provide commerce options with out constructing customized integrations for every retailer. A unified API hurries up service provider onboarding and permits scalable agent-driven commerce.
• Builders: UCP is open supply and developer pleasant, with clear documentation, SDKs, and reference implementations. Builders can construct utilizing acquainted instruments like REST and JSON and undertake solely the capabilities they want.
• Cost Suppliers: Cost suppliers can combine as soon as and work throughout many retailers utilizing UCP’s modular, tokenized cost circulate. This removes the necessity for platform-specific integrations.
• Shoppers: UCP permits customers to browse and purchase straight via AI assistants with out switching between apps or web sites, making a sooner and extra seamless procuring expertise.

Conclusion

The Common Commerce Protocol may reshape digital commerce within the AI period. It brings AI brokers, retailers, and funds collectively beneath one commonplace whereas preserving service provider management and enabling seamless procuring throughout chat, search, and voice. As AI assistants affect extra buy selections, UCP goals to maintain commerce open, safe, and scalable.

What’s your tackle agent-driven procuring? Share your ideas within the feedback under.