Ant International, a prominent global payment and financial technology provider, has announced a collaboration with Google to launch the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). This new open standard aims to streamline agentic commerce across the entire shopping journey, from discovery to post-purchase support. The partnership seeks to establish a common language for agents and systems, enabling seamless interaction across consumer surfaces, businesses, and payment providers.
UCP is designed to work across various sectors and is compatible with existing industry protocols such as Agent2Agent (A2A) and Agent Payments Protocol (AP2). Ashish Gupta, VP/GM of Merchant Shopping at Google, emphasised the importance of aligning on a common set of standards for agentic commerce to scale, stating, “We are proud to have Ant International endorse the Universal Commerce Protocol as the foundation for that future.”
The protocol will power AI surfaces like the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search, allowing users to complete purchases directly within chat interfaces. This development promises a faster, simpler, and more frictionless shopping experience. Jiang-Ming Yang, Chief Innovation Officer at Ant International, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, highlighting the creation of unique agentic commerce solutions that deliver seamless user experiences and drive business growth.
Ant International’s solutions focus on three key areas: control over algorithmic engagement, a seamless agent-native experience, and trust throughout the shopping journey. The company leverages its expertise in alternative payment methods and digital wallets to support these initiatives. With operations in over 200 markets, Ant International continues to invest in developing new agentic protocols to ensure secure and automated transactions among intelligent agents.
