内容来源：https://aibusiness.com/agentic-ai/google-s-universal-commerce-protocol

内容总结：

谷歌推出通用商业协议 引领AI购物新生态

在生成式AI与智能体技术重塑搜索与购物模式的浪潮中，科技巨头谷歌于1月11日在纽约全美零售联合会展会上宣布，联合Shopify、沃尔玛、Etsy等电商平台共同推出“通用商业协议”（UCP）。这一开放标准旨在为AI智能体提供支持，打造无缝的AI驱动购物体验。

随着消费者日益习惯使用Gemini、OpenAI的GPT及Perplexity等AI搜索引擎直接寻找商品，而非访问零售商网站，商业生态正经历深刻变革。UCP应运而生，其核心是将谷歌的商品信息直接接入AI界面（如谷歌AI模式及Gemini应用），并允许AI智能体基于这些信息自主完成购买。其中，“AI直接结账”功能使用户无需跳转至零售商网站即可完成交易。

分析师指出，UCP的本质是帮助AI智能体更准确、更顺畅地与零售商交互，其潜力在于未来智能体能否获得足够自主权进行比价、选品等复杂任务。谷歌表示，UCP与其此前发布的“代理支付协议”（AP2）及其他生成式AI标准协同工作，已与万事达卡、PayPal等支付机构及多家电商平台建立合作。

然而，竞争已然展开。去年9月，OpenAI已与支付服务商Stripe合作推出类似的“智能体商业协议”，允许用户在ChatGPT内直接向合作商户购物。分析认为，谷歌凭借其深厚的商业基础设施经验占据优势，但商户需警惕过度依赖单一平台的风险。

商户面临双重挑战：优化可见性与平衡风险

对于商户和广告主而言，新协议意味着新的流量入口，也提出了更高要求。分析师强调，商户不仅需要利用多协议布局以避免掉队，更需确保其网站内容能被大型语言模型直接抓取和理解。这意味着企业必须制定“答案引擎优化”战略，针对AI搜索可能提出的问题生成相应内容。

除UCP外，谷歌同期推出了“商业智能体”（支持消费者在搜索中与品牌直接对话）和“直接优惠”（向AI模式中的潜在买家提供专属折扣）等工具。这些创新在带来增长机遇的同时，也暗藏风险。

信任基石：体验、准确性与责任的平衡

分析师警告，若通过AI模式购买的商品不符合预期，可能迅速削弱用户对整个AI购物生态的信任。“消费者已多次表明，他们无法容忍智能体或机器驱动解决方案的一次失败。”这意味着，谷歌、商户及合作伙伴必须精准拿捏智能体行为自由度、数据准确性与购物体验质量之间的平衡。

过度自主的智能体可能导致意外采购或过度消费；商品信息错误将直接导致交易失败；而过度推荐或广告泛滥则会损害用户体验，导致用户放弃谷歌设计的购物流程。在AI代理购物的新时代，构建可靠、透明且以用户为中心的体验，已成为各方共同的核心课题。

中文翻译：

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该协议旨在帮助商家及时适应搜索领域的变化，同时要求商家在沃尔玛、Shopify等平台保持可访问性，并确保信息准确无误。

2026年1月12日
在智能体与生成式AI时代搜索技术和购物方式快速演进之际，谷歌为零售商和广告商推出了新协议与工具。
1月11日，在纽约举行的全美零售联合会展会上，这家AI技术巨头宣布已与Shopify、沃尔玛、Etsy等电商平台合作开发通用商业协议（UCP）。这一开放标准旨在支持基于AI智能体的购物体验。

新协议诞生的背景是线上购物模式的转变：消费者正日益通过Gemini、OpenAI的GPT、Perplexity等AI搜索引擎寻找所需商品，而非直接访问零售商网站。
"现实情况是消费者已在利用AI发现商品，"星座研究公司分析师莉兹·米勒指出，"企业若不想落后，就必须跟随客户信任的流向。"
不仅消费者在使用AI工具，AI工具本身也日益融入搜索体验的核心。这意味着商家与广告商必须设法在搜索引擎内部展现自身，以避免业务受到冲击。

通用商业协议
弗雷斯特研究公司分析师威廉·麦基翁-怀特解释，该协议将谷歌现有商品列表信息导入供应商的AI模式或Gemini模型，同时赋予AI智能体从这些列表中自主采购的权限。
"该协议似乎专注于帮助智能体与零售商交互，"他表示，"这相当于为智能体提供精准购物及接入正确集成方案所需的工具。"
他补充说，观察智能体在比价、筛选低价选项等任务中获得多大自主权将十分有趣。

UCP的一项特性是谷歌AI模式及Gemini应用内的"直接AI结账"功能，用户无需跳转至零售商网站即可完成购买。
据谷歌介绍，UCP可与Anthropic的模型上下文协议、谷歌代理支付协议（AP2）等其他生成式AI标准协同工作。AP2于去年9月推出，支持AI智能体代表消费者和商家进行交易。通过AP2，谷歌正与万事达卡、PayPal等支付服务商合作；而通过UCP，谷歌与电商网站对接，用户无需离开AI模式或Gemini即可完成购物。
"UCP标准的价值在于为所有商家提供了在谷歌生态中被发现的途径，"米勒强调。

谷歌并非唯一提供此类服务的厂商。去年9月，OpenAI与电商支付服务商Stripe合作发布了自主的智能体商业协议，该协议同样支持用户在ChatGPT内向合作商户直接购物。

商家与广告商
米勒指出，尽管多家AI厂商为商家提供了在生成式AI系统中被发现的多元路径，但谷歌凭借其构建商业基础设施的经验占据优势。
对商家而言，挑战在于确保渠道多元化，避免过度依赖谷歌或OpenAI的单一协议。
"商家还需确保网站内容能被大语言模型直接发现，这意味着企业必须制定答案引擎优化与生成式答案优化策略，"米勒补充道。这类策略需针对AI搜索引擎可能提出的问题生成相应内容。

其他工具
除UCP外，谷歌还推出了其他工具。其一是"商业智能体"，支持消费者在搜索中与品牌直接对话，目前已在劳氏、米开朗基罗手工艺店、Poshmark、锐步等零售商中投入使用。
另一工具是"定向优惠"，允许广告商向准备在AI模式购物的消费者提供专属折扣。

米勒认为，新工具在为谷歌、广告商和商家带来利益的同时也伴随风险。
"商家必须权衡是否承担得起不参与此模式的代价，正如他们需要权衡是否承受得起不投放赞助结果的损失，"她解释道。
对谷歌而言，若AI模式下购买的商品未达预期，可能削弱用户对大语言模型的信任，这或是更严峻的风险。"消费者已多次表明，他们会在一次失败后放弃智能体或机器驱动的解决方案，"米勒说，"这实质上意味着当交易涉及真人时，人们会给予更多包容与谅解。"

麦基翁-怀特指出，这意味着必须实现智能体行为、数据准确性与购物体验质量的有效平衡。
"若赋予智能体过多自主权，可能导致意外结果、过度促销或错误购买；若商品信息有误，将更快影响购买决策；若因过度推荐或广告泛滥导致体验恶化，客户可能会放弃谷歌设计的这套体验体系。"

英文来源：

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The protocol is designed to help merchants stay up to date with changes in search, but it also requires merchants to be accessible within sites like Walmart and Shopify and for the information to be accurate.
January 12, 2026
Amid the recent rapid evolution of search and new shopping methods in the age of agentic and generative AI, Google introduced new protocols and tools for retailers and advertisers.
On Jan. 11 at the National Retail Federation show in New York, the AI technology giant revealed that it has partnered with e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Walmart, and Etsy to develop the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). The open standard supports the shopping experience using AI agents.
The new protocol emerges amid a shift in online shopping, in which consumers are increasingly turning to AI search engines such as Gemini, GPT from OpenAI, and Perplexity to find what they need, rather than visiting retailers directly.
"The reality is that consumers are already leveraging AI to discover products," said Liz Miller, an analyst at Constellation Research. "Businesses will need to follow customer trust if they don't want to be left behind."
Not only are consumers using AI tools, but AI tools are also becoming an increasingly integral part of the search experience. This means that merchants and advertisers must find a way to appear within the search engine themselves, so their businesses are not negatively affected.
Universal Commerce Protocol
The protocol presents what Google already has in its listings and places it in the vendor's AI Mode or Gemini model, while providing autonomy to AI agents to make purchases from those listings, said William McKeon-White, an analyst at Forrester.
"This protocol seems exclusively focused on helping agents interact with retailers," he said. "This looks like it's just giving agents the tools they need to shop accurately and access the right integrations."
He added that it will be interesting to see how much independence agents will get to perform tasks such as finding lower-priced options or comparing retailers.
One feature of UCP is Direct AI Checkout within Google AI Mode and the Gemini app. This allows users to make purchases without being directed to a retailer's website.
According to Google, UCP works in conjunction with other generative AI standards, such as Anthropic's Model Context Protocol and Google's Agent Payments Protocol (AP2). Google launched AP2 last September; it allows AI agents to make purchases on behalf of both consumers and merchants. With AP2, Google is working with payment vendors like Mastercard and PayPal, while with UCP, it works with e-commerce websites and users can make purchases from the sites without leaving AI Mode or Gemini.
"The promise of the UCP standard is that it offers any merchant a means to be discovered on a Google surface," Miller said.
Google is not the only vendor to provide such promises. Last September, OpenAI released its own Agentic Commerce Protocol, in partnership with e-commerce payments vendor Stripe. The OpenAI protocol also enables buyers to make purchases in ChatGPT from participating merchants.
Merchants and Advertisers
Even though many AI vendors are offering diverse ways for merchants to be discovered within generative AI systems, Google has the edge due to its experience in building a commerce backbone, Miller said.
For merchants, the challenge is ensuring they diversify and are not relying solely on protocols from Google or OpenAI, she said.
"They will also need to ensure that content on their site can be discovered by the LLMs themselves, meaning businesses and brands will need an answer engine optimization and generative answer optimization strategy in place," Miller added. These approaches create content based on questions that might be asked in an AI search engine.
Other Tools
Aside from the UCP, Google introduced other tools. One is Business Agent, which lets shoppers chat with brands in Search. The agent is live with retailers such as Lowe's, Michaels, Poshmark, and Reebok.
Another tool is Direct Offers. It enables advertisers to present exclusive deals to shoppers who are ready to buy a product in AI Mode.
The new tools present benefits but also risks for Google, advertisers and merchants, Miller said.
"The merchant has to weigh if they can afford to stay out of this model, similar to how merchants and advertisers need to weigh if they can afford not to be in the sponsored results," she said.
Google also faces a perhaps even greater risk if a product purchased in AI Mode does not meet expectations, it could erode trust in the LLM." Consumers have already said, time and again, that they will walk away from an agentic/machine-driven solution after one failure," Miller said. "What they are really saying is there is more room for empathy or forgiveness when a human is involved."
This means that there must be an effective mix of agent behavior, data accuracy, and the quality of the shopping experience, McKeon-White said.
"If too much agent behavior is enabled, it may result in unexpected outcomes, excess deals, or unexpected and incorrect product purchasing," he said. "If the listing information is incorrect, that impacts a purchase faster. If the experience is bad or degraded from over-suggestion or too many ads, it may be that customers abandon the experience Google is designing."