The Battleship Arrives: Google's Agentic Commerce Play

Just Last Thursday, we argued that Google is starting to win in AI. Yesterday at the National Retail Federation, they brought more ammunition to the fight.

The company unveiled the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard designed for agentic commerce that works across the entire shopping journey. But more important than the protocol itself is the list of companies behind it: Shopify, Stripe, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Adyen, Target, Walmart, Wayfair, Best Buy, Home Depot, and over a dozen more. An impressive list, indeed. Much longer and much more substantial than any competitor’s.

OpenAI is a speedboat—fast, nimble, grabbing headlines. Google is a battleship. Slow to maneuver and painful to turn in the right direction, but when it arrives, it does it with force. OpenAI grabbed headlines with Instant Checkout last fall. Google just responded with an open protocol, a coalition of the industry's biggest players, and deep integration across search, ads, and cloud.

The most important immediate implication is native checkout coming to AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app. You'll be able to buy directly from eligible retailers without leaving the conversation with PayPal integration "coming soon." Retailers stay the merchant of record, meaning they keep the customer relationship—addressing one of the biggest concerns brands had about handing over the transaction layer to an AI intermediary. Google also launched Business Agent, essentially a white-labeled AI shopping assistant that lives on Search and speaks in your brand's voice. Lowe's, Michael's, Poshmark, and Reebok are already live.

There's also a new ad format to experiment with. Direct Offers is a pilot that lets retailers present exclusive discounts directly in AI Mode when a shopper is close to buying. Imagine someone searching for noise-canceling headphones, getting recommendations, and then seeing a "Sponsored deal: 20% off" from Sony right in the conversation. It's early—currently limited to discounts, with bundles and free shipping coming later—and not every retailer will want to play the discount game. But it signals where agentic advertising is heading: interventions not just during discovery but also at the moment of decision.

The last big announcement came from Google Cloud, introducing Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (yes, Google is still terrible at branding things.) It is a platform that merges shopping and service into one agentic layer. Papa Johns is using a new food ordering agent across mobile, kiosks, and in-car systems. Home Depot expanded its Magic Apron agent with store-level localization and voice support. And Authentic Brands Group (Reebok, Juicy Couture, Nautica) reported that AI-enhanced ad creatives delivered up to 60% higher ROAS in early testing.

So now that Google has finally arrived, what should you do?

If you're a US retailer, check Merchant Center—Business Agent activation is already available for eligible accounts.

Start documenting the questions customers actually ask about your products. Map out what goes with what. Build the context layer now, so when the feed spec drops, you're not starting from scratch.

— Torsten & Peter

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