I have been tracking Google’s AI announcements closely this year, and the ones from January and May 2026 are genuinely significant. Not just for online retailers. For anyone who relies on Google to bring in customers.
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What actually changed
In January 2026, Google announced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a shared standard that lets AI agents move through the entire shopping journey on a customer’s behalf. Finding a product, checking stock, building a basket, completing checkout, all without the customer visiting your website. It was co-developed with Shopify, Walmart, Etsy and others, and backed by Visa, Mastercard, Stripe and more than 20 other major names.
Then at Google I/O in May, they launched the Universal Cart: an AI-powered shopping basket that works across Search, Gemini, YouTube and Gmail. It monitors price drops, tracks availability and completes purchases with Google Pay, all in the background. The retailer stays as the merchant of record throughout, which is an important detail Google has been deliberate about.
This is not a future scenario. UCP-powered checkout is live in the US now. Search Engine Journal confirmed that Canada and Australia are next, with the UK to follow. The preparation window is open.
| Google is not building another shopping feature. It is building the infrastructure that every other AI platform will eventually use to complete purchases on your behalf. |
If you sell products: your platform matters more than you think
Shopify was a founding co-developer of UCP and an official launch partner. All Shopify merchants are automatically positioned for Universal Cart eligibility. No custom development needed. If your Merchant Center feed is in good shape, you are pretty much there.
WooCommerce however, was not part of the launch. As Seresa.io documented, WooCommerce merchants do not have native agentic checkout without a plugin like UCP Connect. The good news is WooCommerce v7 (April 2026) lays the groundwork via the Model Context Protocol, and AI integration is arriving through extensions.
| SHOPIFY Ready by default Shopify co-developed UCP. All Shopify merchants are automatically eligible for Universal Cart. Focus on feed quality and adding the new native_commerce attribute. Check your Merchant Center feed is clean and complete. | WORDPRESS AND WOOCOMMERCE Action required WooCommerce was not a UCP launch partner. You need a plugin like UCP Connect to expose the right endpoints. WooCommerce v7 (April 2026) lays the foundations via MCP. Install a UCP plugin and verify your agent endpoints are live. |
Whatever platform you are on, Google Merchant Center is where your eligibility is determined. Your feed quality, accurate inventory, and the new native_commerce attribute are what get your products into AI-driven discovery. An incomplete or poorly managed feed isn’t just a missed opportunity, but it can mean the agent move straight past you.
If you sell services: this matters just as much
The shopping announcements got most of the headlines, but the ones that actually kept me up at night were the ones aimed at service businesses and lead generation.
At Google Marketing Live on 20 May, Google announced Business Agent for Leads. Instead of a static contact form, your ad inside AI Mode gets a Chat button. A user clicks it, asks a question, and Gemini answers using your website content. Meaning no form and no friction. The quality of your website content is now directly determining the quality of your lead conversations before anyone speaks to a human.
Business Agent for Leads is currently in open beta in the US for automotive, education and real estate. Right now it only works with AI Max for Search or Performance Max campaigns, and the rollout is limited to a handful of sectors.
| Your website is no longer just where people go after they click. It is the raw material that Google’s AI uses to represent your business before the click happens at all. |
There is also something more immediate that local and service businesses need to know. Google’s I/O announcement confirmed that for categories including home repair, beauty and pet care, Google can now call businesses on a customer’s behalf to check availability and pricing. Not the customer. Google. Rolling out across the US this summer, and if the UCP timeline is anything to go by, the UK should expect to see this land sometime in 2027..
That is a big shift. A potential customer will not ring around three plumbers anymore for quotes. They will ask Google, and Google will do it for them. If your Google Business Profile is incomplete, your pricing is nowhere online, and nobody answers the phone, that enquiry goes to someone else.
For any service business, Google Business Profile is now the primary data source AI systems draw on when answering local intent queries across Google, Gemini, ChatGPT and Perplexity. Research found that 48% of local-intent searches led to a Business Profile interaction within 24 hours. Businesses with photos saw 45% more direction requests.
What to do about it
The practical list is shorter than you might expect.
- Sort your Google Merchant Center feed
Resolve every error. Accurate prices, live stock levels, and the new native_commerce attribute. This is the foundation everything else builds on.
- Check your platform readiness
Shopify merchants: verify your Google Shopping integration is active. WooCommerce merchants: get a UCP plugin installed. Do not leave this for later in the year. Solve can support with these plugin installations.
- Treat your Google Business Profile as a live asset
Every field filled in. Name, address and phone number consistent across every directory. Weekly posts. Updated photos. Products and services section fully populated. This is what AI systems read when someone searches for what you do.
- Make your website answer real questions
AI Mode favours detailed, specific searches. If your service pages are vague and your FAQs are thin, Business Agent and AI Overviews will reflect that. Clear, specific, honest content about what you do, where you work and what it costs.
- Look at Performance Max and AI Max for Search
Business Agent for Leads is gated behind these campaign types. If you are still running purely manual Search campaigns, now is a good time to understand what the migration looks like.
The honest version
Most UK businesses are not set up for this yet. The ones that will feel it hardest are often the smaller ones with less resources to adapt once it is already happening. The work involved is not complicated. It is just consistent, and most businesses are not doing it.
If you want to understand where you actually stand, we are happy to take a look. That is what we are here for.
