Under the backdrop of the rapid popularization of artificial intelligence technology, AI agents are evolving from simple information retrieval to complex commercial transactions. Recently, Ant International announced a collaboration with Google to jointly promote a new open standard called "Universal Commerce Protocol" (UCP). The protocol aims to address the fragmentation in the field of agentic commerce, establishing a standardized "dialogue language" for AI assistants, consumers, merchants, and payment institutions.
For a long time, due to the lack of unified interfaces between different commercial systems, AI agents have been limited to performing single tasks. The emergence of the UCP protocol will break down this barrier. It enables AI agents to complete the entire process flow, from product browsing, intent recognition, placing orders, to after-sales service, without leaving the conversation interface. This means developers no longer need to develop complex connectors for each agent individually. By following the UCP standard, cross-platform seamless interoperability can be achieved.
According to technical details, the UCP protocol has strong compatibility and can work collaboratively with existing agent-to-agent protocols (A2A), agent payment protocols (AP2), and model context protocols (MCP). In practical application scenarios, when users express shopping needs in a chat interface, the AI assistant can accurately understand their intent and directly present matching products.
In addition, the protocol is deeply integrated with payment functions. After confirming an order, users can simply click options like "Pay via GPay" to complete payment verification and settlement within the current conversation window, completely eliminating experience interruptions caused by switching between applications. The collaboration between Ant International and Google is seen as an important step in building a new AI commerce ecosystem, which will significantly improve the efficiency of global digital trade.
Key Points:
🛒 Full Process Coverage: The UCP protocol connects the entire chain of AI shopping, from browsing, intent recognition, payment, to after-sales service, achieving true "one-stop" conversational shopping.
🌐 Universal Standard Interoperability: As an open standard, UCP establishes a common language between agents and commercial systems, eliminating the need for repeated development of dedicated connections, and offering cross-industry compatibility.
💳 Native Payment Integration: Supports direct use of payment tools like GPay within the chat interface, allowing users to complete the transaction loop without leaving the app.
