The DAC Blog

We are moving past the era in which AI only recommends products. From this point on, we’re living in a world in which AI can actually buy products for you. Enter the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard designed to solve the biggest headache in automated shopping: interoperability. Rather than building custom code for every single storefront, UCP creates a unified way for AI agents, payment services, and retailers to communicate. Backed by heavy hitters like Google, Shopify, Walmart, Stripe, and Mastercard, this protocol allows an AI assistant to handle everything from discovery to checkout without needing to learn a new system for every merchant it visits. It layers over existing infrastructure, meaning brands don’t have to rip out and replace their current tech; they simply need to ensure it communicates effectively. How do I get started with UCP? First, get your house in order before touching any code because your foundation needs to be solid. This means ensuring your Merchant Center account is fully configured, specifically your shipping settings, return policies, and product feeds. If users can’t discover or understand your product terms, the AI can’t buy them. Once that is ready, you will need to join the waitlist and get explicit approval from Google to go live on their AI surfaces. At its core, UCP is about predictability. It gives AI agents and merchants a standard playbook for the entire shopping journey: discovery, inventory checks, cart management, and checkout. Here is how that interaction looks in practice: 1. The menu (merchant capability publication) First, the merchant puts their cards on the table. They publish a capability profile that effectively says, “Here is what I can do.” This lists their ability to handle product search, pricing, fulfillment rules, and payment methods. It’s a green light telling AI agents exactly which actions are available. 2. The handshake (agent discovery and negotiation) Before trying to buy anything, the AI assistant reads that profile. It compares the store’s rules with its own capabilities and negotiates a path forward. They might agree on a specific payment wallet or determine which parts of the checkout the agent will handle versus what the store needs to process. 3. The heavy lifting (action execution) Once they agree, the AI gets to work. It searches for the product, verifies it’s in stock, applies a discount code, and builds the cart. If the AI hits a wall, like missing information, UCP provides a structured way to pause and ask the human user for help before resuming. 4. The tap on the shoulder (handling human input) AI can’t decide everything. Sometimes you need to pick a delivery slot or confirm the shipping address. UCP allows the system to escalate these specific choices back to the customer. Once the human answers, the AI takes the baton back and finishes the workflow. 5. Secure closing (payments and security) Finally, the transaction needs to clear. UCP manages a secure negotiation to decide which wallet or payment method to use. Crucially, payments are tokenized and backed by verified consent, ensuring that while the AI is facilitating the sale, the security is as robust as a traditional bank transaction. Why does UCP matter for SEO? For marketers, UCP signals a massive shift. Search is evolving from a place where people click links to a transaction layer where AI completes the task for them. Click-throughs are becoming “buy-throughs”: The goal is no longer just getting a user to your website—it’s about making your product discoverable and actionable inside an AI interface. Data structure is your new storefront: If an AI agent can’t read your pricing, inventory, or shipping data because it’s unstructured, you are invisible. Brands with clean, machine-readable data will be the ones surfaced by AI for high-intent queries. Optimization for intent and personalization: It is no longer just about ranking for keywords; it is about answering complex, personal needs. A user might ask, “Best running shoes for flat feet under $150 that can arrive by Friday.” To win that sale, your commerce feed must be rich enough to handle this level of personalization, instantly matching inventory not just to “shoes,” but to that user’s unique constraints on price, suitability (e.g., specific arch support), and real-time fulfillment speed. The new SEO checklist: SEO teams can no longer stop at keywords and backlinks. The new mandate is technical readiness: real-time inventory status, clear product attributes, and queryable commerce capabilities. The bottom line UCP isn’t just a technical spec; it’s the foundation for the next generation of ecommerce. It allows AI to act as a true concierge, smoothing out the friction between “I want this” and “order confirmed”. For brands, the message is clear: visibility is shifting. It’s not just about ranking pages anymore but making your data accessible enough that an AI agent can buy your product before the customer even visits your site. If you want to ensure your brand is ready for this shift, reach out to DAC. We’re already helping clients lay the foundations for a seamless transition into the UCP era.