Google is accelerating its push into AI-powered shopping by transforming Gemini into a transactional platform and introducing a new open-source commerce standard designed to streamline purchases directly within AI search experiences.
Google announced a major expansion of its AI commerce strategy this weekend, unveiling plans to integrate buy buttons into Gemini and roll out a new industry-wide framework aimed at standardizing how artificial intelligence interacts with retail systems. The move positions Google to compete more aggressively in the rapidly evolving AI-powered shopping ecosystem, where technology giants are racing to redefine how consumers discover and purchase products online.
Speaking at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference, Google confirmed partnerships with leading retailers and platforms including Shopify, Walmart, Target, Wayfair, and Etsy to co-develop the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)—an open-source standard intended to become the foundation for shopping with AI agents.
According to Google, the Universal Commerce Protocol will establish a common language between AI agents and retailers’ commerce systems, enabling seamless communication across the entire shopping journey. This includes product discovery, price comparison, checkout, payment processing, and post-purchase customer support.
Vidhya Srinivasan, Google’s Vice President of Ads and Commerce, explained that UCP is designed to remove friction from AI-driven purchasing by allowing autonomous AI tools to act on behalf of users while maintaining compatibility with existing retail infrastructure.
Buy Buttons Coming to Gemini and AI Search
Central to Google’s announcement is a forthcoming checkout feature for Gemini and Google’s AI Mode in Search, which will allow users to complete purchases directly within the AI interface. The feature effectively turns Gemini into a merchant intermediary, reducing the need for consumers to switch between apps or websites during the buying process.
The introduction of Google Gemini buy buttons aligns Google’s AI search capabilities with competitors such as Microsoft Copilot and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, both of which introduced AI-assisted purchasing features in 2024. However, Google’s emphasis on an open, retailer-backed protocol could give it an edge in driving broader adoption across the commerce industry.
Intensifying Competition in AI Commerce
The announcement comes amid intensifying competition among major technology companies—including Amazon, OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft—to dominate the future of AI commerce. As consumers increasingly rely on AI-powered tools to streamline purchasing decisions, control over transactional AI experiences is emerging as a critical battleground.
By combining AI search shopping, native checkout functionality, and an open-source commerce standard, Google is signaling its intent to play a central role in shaping how AI-driven retail operates at scale.
With Gemini evolving beyond search and assistance into direct purchasing, Google’s latest move underscores a broader shift: AI is no longer just helping users shop—it is becoming the place where shopping happens.