New Delhi, Jan. 12 -- Google announces Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard that lets Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools help retailers reach shoppers who are ready to purchase, at the National Retail Federation held recently.

It has partnered with enterprises like Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart, allowing AI agents and commerce systems to speak a shared language, from product discovery and checkout to payments and post-purchase support. It allows AI agents to support customers across the full shopping process.

Instead of businesses having to build and maintain separate integrations for every new agent or platform, UCP provides a single, interoperable framework that works across consumer apps, merchants, an...