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Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)

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This page is about the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), the open standard that Google and Shopify co-developed and announced on 2026-01-11, through which a business publishes the commerce capabilities it supports (checkout, cart, orders, identity linking) for AI agents and other platforms to use [1][2][3]. It is not the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), a separate checkout specification whose README says "The specification is maintained by OpenAI and Stripe and is currently in beta." [22]. It is not the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), the payment-authorisation protocol that UCP can carry through its optional AP2 Mandates extension [18][19]. It is not Universal Cart, the Google shopping cart whose checkout Google says is powered by UCP [24]. It is also not older technologies abbreviated UCP: the Universal Computer Protocol, used to pass SMS messages to and from an SMS centre [35], or Oracle's Universal Connection Pool for database connections [34].

Overview

UCP is an open specification that lets a business describe, in one JSON profile at a well-known address, which commerce functions it offers, such as checkout, cart, order updates and account linking, so that AI agents and other platforms can find and call them [12][13]. Google and Shopify co-developed it and announced it in January 2026; Google first used it for checkout inside AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app, and from 2026-10-15 for its Universal Cart [1][23][24]. The business remains the seller of record, and a platform can reach it over REST, MCP, A2A or an embedded checkout window [13][12][16]. Payment details travel through named payment handlers, and an optional extension adds AP2 mandates, signed proofs of what the user approved [13][18].

Who uses it

Sellers that check out through UCP, and the payment providers that settle those payments. Dated statements are the company's own.

Who reads it

AI surfaces, credential providers and toolkits that read UCP profiles and act on them for a shopper.

Recent coverage

See also

References

  1. Vidhya Srinivasan, Google, New tech and tools for retailers to succeed in an agentic shopping era, The Keyword, 2026-01-11, checked 2026-10-28: "UCP is built to work across verticals and is compatible with existing industry protocols like Agent2Agent (A2A), Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) and Model Context Protocol (MCP)." "UCP was co-developed with industry leaders including Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target and Walmart" — https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/agentic-commerce-ai-tools-protocol-retailers-platforms/
  2. Shopify, The agentic commerce platform: Shopify connects any merchant to every AI conversation, 2026-01-11, checked 2026-10-28: "is an open standard for AI agents to connect and transact with any merchant." — https://www.shopify.com/news/ai-commerce-at-scale
  3. Ilya Grigorik, Shopify Engineering, Building the Universal Commerce Protocol, 2026-01-11, checked 2026-10-28: "We co-developed UCP with Google to create an open standard for AI agents to connect and transact with any merchant." — https://shopify.engineering/ucp
  4. Amit Handa and Ashish Gupta, Google Developers Blog, Under the Hood: Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), 2026-01-11, checked 2026-10-28: "The Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) is an open-source standard designed to power the next generation of agentic commerce." — https://developers.googleblog.com/en/under-the-hood-universal-commerce-protocol-ucp/
  5. Universal-Commerce-Protocol/ucp GitHub repository (created 2025-12-31, licence Apache-2.0, homepage https://ucp.dev; values from the GitHub API record), checked 2026-10-28: ""created_at": "2025-12-31T02:17:21Z"" ""spdx_id": "Apache-2.0"" ""homepage": "https://ucp.dev"" — https://github.com/Universal-Commerce-Protocol/ucp
  6. Universal-Commerce-Protocol/ucp, README.md on main (text checked at the raw.githubusercontent.com copy), checked 2026-10-28: "An open standard enabling interoperability between various commerce entities to facilitate seamless commerce integrations." "Transport Agnostic: The protocol is designed to work across various transports. Businesses can offer Capabilities via REST APIs, MCP (Model Context Protocol), or A2A, depending on their infrastructure." "Payment Token Exchange: Protocols for PSPs and Credential Providers to securely exchange payment tokens and credentials." "UCP is an open-source project under the Apache License 2.0" — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Universal-Commerce-Protocol/ucp/main/README.md
  7. Universal-Commerce-Protocol/.github, GOVERNANCE.md on main, checked 2026-10-28: "GC serves as the ultimate owner of all UCP assets. Google acts as the custodian of the UCP.dev domain, holding and managing it to foster adoption of UCP." "Includes 1 permanent member from each founding organization (Google & Shopify) each having 1 vote (total 2 votes)." "Google holds proxy vote for all open seats until Dec 2028 to facilitate rapid early stage growth & adoption of the protocol." "May choose to review and veto a DTC decision or recommendation." — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Universal-Commerce-Protocol/.github/main/GOVERNANCE.md
  8. Universal-Commerce-Protocol/.github, MAINTAINERS.md on main (Governance Council: Amit Handa, Google; Ilya Grigorik, Shopify; Twum Djin, Stripe; two seats "to be elected"), checked 2026-10-28: "The Governance Council is responsible for the overall adoption and health of the protocol." "Amit Handa Google Ilya Grigorik Shopify Twum Djin Stripe Open to be elected" — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Universal-Commerce-Protocol/.github/main/MAINTAINERS.md
  9. UCP, Announcements, checked 2026-10-29: "Stripe has joined the UCP Governing Council as a new member, joining existing permanent members Google and Shopify." "Initial members include Block (Square), DoorDash, Google, Toast, and Uber Eats." "We are excited to welcome inaugural members Amadeus, Booking.com, Expedia, Google, Hilton, Marriott, and Trip.com to the Lodging TC." "This release introduces major protocol enhancements, key structural refactorings to support multi-vertical expansion, payments security improvements (3DS2), structured request constraints, independent capability versioning, grocery shopping readiness and many more." "We are excited to announce that the initial draft version of the Lodging Booking capability (dev.ucp.lodging.booking) has been merged into the Universal Commerce Protocol repository, marking the formal expansion of UCP into the Lodging domain." "We are excited to welcome inaugural members Adyen NV, Ant International, Coinbase, Global Payments, Google, PayPal, Shopify, and Stripe to the Payments TC." — https://ucp.dev/documentation/announcements/
  10. Universal-Commerce-Protocol/ucp, GitHub releases (publication dates from the GitHub API), checked 2026-10-28: ""tag_name": "v2026-08-25"" ""published_at": "2026-08-25T13:53:03Z"" ""tag_name": "v2026-04-08"" ""published_at": "2026-04-09T01:48:20Z"" ""tag_name": "v2026-01-23"" ""tag_name": "v2026-01-11"" — https://github.com/Universal-Commerce-Protocol/ucp/releases
  11. UCP, versions.json (2026-08-25 carries the alias "latest"), checked 2026-10-28: ""version": "2026-08-25"" ""latest"" — https://ucp.dev/versions.json
  12. UCP, Overview, specification version 2026-08-25 ("latest"), checked 2026-10-28: "UCP supports multiple transport protocols. Platforms and businesses effectively negotiate the transport via services on their profiles." "UCP supports MCP protocol, which operates over JSON-RPC." "A business MAY expose an A2A agent that supports UCP as an A2A Extension, allowing integration with platforms over structured UCP data types." "Businesses publish their profile at /.well-known/ucp; platforms publish their profile at the URI advertised in UCP-Agent." "UCP supports HTTP/1.1 (or higher) using RESTful patterns." — https://ucp.dev/latest/specification/overview/
  13. UCP, Core Concepts, checked 2026-10-28: "In transactional contexts, the business typically acts as the Merchant of Record (MoR), retaining financial liability and ownership of the transaction" "Capabilities are declared in the Business's UCP profile at /.well-known/ucp, negotiated by exact version, and confirmed in every response so that the Platform always knows the active feature set for a given interaction." — https://ucp.dev/documentation/core-concepts/
  14. UCP, MCP binding for the Checkout capability, checked 2026-10-28: "Businesses advertise MCP transport availability through their UCP profile at /.well-known/ucp." — https://ucp.dev/latest/specification/shopping/checkout/mcp/
  15. UCP, A2A binding for the Checkout capability, checked 2026-10-28: "Businesses supporting UCP must advertise the extension and any optional capabilities in their A2A Agent Card to allow platforms to activate the extension." — https://ucp.dev/latest/specification/shopping/checkout/a2a/
  16. UCP, Embedded protocol, checked 2026-10-28: "The Embedded Protocol (EP) is a UCP transport binding that enables a host to embed a business's interface in an iframe or webview and exchange structured messages over that channel." — https://ucp.dev/latest/specification/embedded-protocol/
  17. UCP, Signatures, checked 2026-10-28: "This specification defines how to sign and verify UCP messages using RFC 9421 HTTP Message Signatures." "EdDSA is an additive option that unlocks Web Bot Auth (WBA) interop." — https://ucp.dev/latest/specification/signatures/
  18. UCP, AP2 Mandates Extension, checked 2026-10-28: "The AP2 Mandates extension enables the secure exchange of user intents and authorizations using Verifiable Digital Credentials." "Neither party may revert to a standard (unprotected) checkout flow." — https://ucp.dev/latest/specification/payment/extensions/ap2-mandates/
  19. UCP, UCP and AP2, checked 2026-10-28: "UCP is fully compatible with Agent Payments Protocol (AP2)." — https://ucp.dev/documentation/ucp-and-ap2/
  20. UCP, Lodging Booking capability, draft specification, checked 2026-10-28: "Capability Name: dev.ucp.lodging.booking" — https://ucp.dev/draft/specification/lodging/booking/
  21. Google, Agentic Payment Protocol (v0.2), AP2 docs/ap2/specification.md on main, checked 2026-10-28: "AP2 operates as a security feature within a Commerce Protocol." "AP2 is designed explicitly to be compatible with the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and integrates seamlessly." — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google-agentic-commerce/AP2/main/docs/ap2/specification.md
  22. agentic-commerce-protocol/agentic-commerce-protocol, README.md on main, checked 2026-10-28: "The specification is maintained by OpenAI and Stripe and is currently in beta." — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agentic-commerce-protocol/agentic-commerce-protocol/main/README.md
  23. Vidhya Srinivasan, Google, What to expect in digital advertising and commerce in 2026, The Keyword, 2026-02-11, checked 2026-10-28: "UCP-powered checkout is rolling out now, letting US shoppers buy items from Etsy and Wayfair, right in AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app (with Shopify, Target, and Walmart coming soon)." — https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/digital-advertising-commerce-2026/
  24. Suresh Ganapathy, Google, Google’s new Universal Cart launches today in the U.S., The Keyword, 2026-10-15, checked 2026-10-28: "Today, Universal Cart is rolling out in the U.S. across Google Search and in the Gemini app." "Try these simplified checkout experiences with merchants like Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Wayfair, and many Shopify merchants." — https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/shopping/universal-cart-launch/
  25. Shopify, Millions of merchants can sell in AI chats, 2026-03-24, checked 2026-10-28: "On Google, select brands have started selling in AI Mode in Google Search and the Gemini app, powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) —the open standard we co-developed with Google that's becoming the foundation for how AI agents transact with merchants." — https://www.shopify.com/news/agentic-commerce-momentum
  26. Target, fact sheet How Target is Shaping Shopping Experiences in Conversational AI, updated 2026-06-18, checked 2026-10-28: "Shoppers can now browse product listings and buy items directly from Target in Google Search, including AI Mode, and the Gemini app." "The capability comes thanks to the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard for agentic commerce built by leaders across the industry like Google and Target, and more." — https://corporate.target.com/press/fact-sheet/2026/06/conversational-ai
  27. Google for Developers, Google Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) Guide (undated), checked 2026-10-28: "UCP is fully compatible with protocols such as AP2, A2A, and MCP. It supports transport REST API and MCP binding." — https://developers.google.com/merchant/ucp
  28. Stripe, Universal Commerce Protocol | Stripe Documentation (undated), checked 2026-10-28: "The Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) is an open standard that lets different participants in commerce transactions interoperate, with support for checkout, identity linking, order tracking, and secure payment token exchange (Stripe is a member of the UCP Tech Council)." — https://docs.stripe.com/agentic-commerce/protocols/ucp
  29. PayPal Developer, Universal Commerce Protocol integration with PayPal, last updated 2026-10-13, checked 2026-10-28: "Use this guide to integrate the Google Pay payment handler for Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) with PayPal as your payment provider." — https://developer.paypal.com/agent-ready/universal-commerce-protocol-with-paypal
  30. Adyen, AI agent API integration with UCP | Adyen Docs (undated), checked 2026-10-29: "Session operations also require UCP HTTP Message Signatures (RFC 9421) for request integrity and origin verification." "Integrate with the Adyen Agentic API to enable your AI agent platform to make transactions with Adyen merchants using the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)." — https://docs.adyen.com/online-payments/agentic-commerce/agent-platform/ai-agent-integration-ucp
  31. Brian Warmoth, Digital Commerce 360, Newegg adds Google UCP checkout integration, 2026-10-12, checked 2026-10-28: "Newegg Commerce Inc. expanded its participation in agentic commerce channels, announcing that it has integrated Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) for online checkout." "Newegg remains the merchant of record while providing Google with product catalog data used in AI-powered shopping experiences." — https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2026/10/12/newegg-adds-google-ucp-checkout-integration/
  32. Luis Rijo, PPC Land, Google's Universal Cart reaches US Search and Gemini, but not YouTube, 2026-10-15, checked 2026-10-28: "Today's announcement contains no figures on how many merchants support in-cart checkout or cart transfer, no rollout percentage, and no measure of usage since the I/O preview." — https://ppc.land/googles-universal-cart-reaches-us-search-and-gemini-but-not-youtube/
  33. Matt G. Southern, Search Engine Journal, UCP Releases Spec Update With Schema Changes, 2026-08-31, checked 2026-10-28: "The Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) project has released an updated specification. This new version includes features specifically designed for grocery shopping and paves the way for further development in food and lodging commerce, complementing retail." "This update includes breaking changes that require updates for affected schemas." — https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ucp-releases-spec-update-with-schema-changes/587590/
  34. Oracle, Introduction to UCP (Universal Connection Pool developer's guide, Oracle Database 26), checked 2026-10-28: "A connection pool is a cache of database connection objects." — https://docs.oracle.com/en/database/oracle/oracle-database/26/jjucp/intro.html
  35. Wireshark Wiki, UCP, checked 2026-10-28: "This protocol is specifically targeted at transferring Short Messages between a Short Message Service Centre (SMSC) and an application using transport like TCP or X.25." — https://wiki.wireshark.org/UCP
  36. www.ikea.com, UCP profile at /.well-known/ucp (JSON, ucp.version 2026-08-25), checked 2026-10-28: ""version": "2026-08-25"" ""dev.ucp.shopping"" — https://www.ikea.com/.well-known/ucp
  37. www.allbirds.com, UCP profile at /.well-known/ucp (JSON, ucp.version 2026-08-25), checked 2026-10-28: ""version":"2026-08-25"" "myshopify.com" — https://www.allbirds.com/.well-known/ucp
  38. www.glossier.com, UCP profile at /.well-known/ucp (JSON, ucp.version 2026-08-25), checked 2026-10-28: ""version":"2026-08-25"" "myshopify.com" — https://www.glossier.com/.well-known/ucp
  39. www.monos.com, UCP profile at /.well-known/ucp (JSON, ucp.version 2026-08-25), checked 2026-10-28: ""version":"2026-08-25"" "myshopify.com" — https://www.monos.com/.well-known/ucp
  40. www.stevemadden.com, UCP profile at /.well-known/ucp (JSON, ucp.version 2026-08-25), checked 2026-10-28: ""version":"2026-08-25"" "myshopify.com" — https://www.stevemadden.com/.well-known/ucp
  41. fentybeauty.com, UCP profile at /.well-known/ucp (JSON, ucp.version 2026-08-25), checked 2026-10-28: ""version":"2026-08-25"" "myshopify.com" — https://fentybeauty.com/.well-known/ucp
  42. Google for Developers, UCP Guide, FAQ (undated), checked 2026-10-29: "At launch, your UCP integration will power experiences on AI Mode in Google Search, as well as both the Gemini web application and the Gemini mobile app." — https://developers.google.com/merchant/ucp/faq
  43. Google for Developers, UCP Guide, Create a UCP profile (undated), checked 2026-10-29: "Publish your UCP profile at /.well-known/ucp, as shown in the following example:" — https://developers.google.com/merchant/ucp/implementation/2026-04-08/publish-profile
  44. Google for Developers, Google Pay payment handler for UCP (undated), checked 2026-10-29: "Google Pay payment handler for Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) enables users and merchants to use Google Pay as a credential provider on Google AI surfaces like Gemini and AI Mode." — https://developers.google.com/pay/api/universal-commerce-protocol/google-pay-payment-handler
  45. GitHub API, Universal-Commerce-Protocol organisation repositories (UTC), checked 2026-10-29: "The official Python SDK for UCP" "The official JavaScript SDK for UCP" "Conformance Tests for UCP" — https://api.github.com/orgs/Universal-Commerce-Protocol/repos?per_page=100

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