The Universal Commerce Protocol is emerging as a foundational standard for the future of AI-driven shopping, and Ant International has now joined Google in advancing this vision. The global payments and fintech leader is collaborating on the launch of Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard designed to support agentic commerce across the entire shopping journey, from discovery to checkout and post-purchase support.
This partnership signals a major step toward making AI-powered commerce scalable and interoperable. Instead of fragmented, one-off integrations between AI agents, merchants, and payment providers, the Universal Commerce Protocol establishes a shared language that allows all participants to work together seamlessly. For merchants and platforms alike, this promises faster deployment, lower integration costs, and a more consistent user experience.
At its core, the Universal Commerce Protocol is built to remove complexity. Traditional digital commerce requires businesses to build and maintain separate connections for each platform or surface.
UCP replaces this with a single, standardized integration that works across consumer interfaces, businesses, and payment providers. It is designed to function across multiple verticals and remains compatible with existing industry standards such as Agent2Agent (A2A), Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), and the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Google views this alignment as critical for the growth of agentic commerce. According to Ashish Gupta, VP and GM of Merchant Shopping at Google, scaling AI-led shopping requires the industry to agree on common standards. By endorsing the Universal Commerce Protocol, Ant International strengthens the ecosystem needed to make AI-native shopping experiences viable at a global level.
Powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol, AI interfaces such as the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search are evolving rapidly. Soon, users will be able to complete purchases directly within a chat interface.
When a user expresses shopping intent, the AI can understand context, recommend relevant products, and enable checkout without redirecting the user to external sites. With a single tap on “Pay with GPay,” the transaction can be completed entirely within the conversation.
For Ant International, this collaboration goes beyond simple payment processing. The company is positioning itself as a key enabler of agentic commerce by offering merchants three critical capabilities.
The first is control over algorithmic engagement. As AI agents increasingly mediate shopping decisions, Ant International allows merchants to define how their brand, offers, loyalty programs, and memberships are represented and executed by AI systems. This ensures that automation does not come at the expense of brand identity.
The second capability is delivering a seamless, agent-native experience. Ant International leverages its strength in alternative payment methods and its close relationships with global digital wallets to support AI-native payments. Through solutions like Antom EasySafePay, users can complete purchases without leaving the AI interface, reducing friction and improving conversion rates across the shopping journey.
Trust is the third and perhaps most important pillar. In agentic commerce, users delegate purchasing authority to AI systems, making security and accountability essential. Ant International focuses on verifiable user intent, traceable transactions, and clear responsibility across the payment lifecycle.
EasySafePay uses Multi-Party Computation-based AI risk management and mobile device security to detect and block fraud, while also offering a money-back guarantee for partners in cases of account takeover fraud.
The scale of Ant International’s operations highlights the potential impact of this partnership. The company’s payment and fintech services span more than 200 markets, connecting 1.8 billion user accounts and 150 million merchants. Its strong presence in emerging markets across Asia Pacific positions it well to accelerate adoption of the Universal Commerce Protocol in regions where mobile-first and AI-driven commerce is growing fastest.
Beyond this collaboration, Ant International continues to invest in the broader agentic commerce ecosystem. The company is actively co-developing new protocols with industry partners, including ongoing work with Google’s Agent Payments Protocol. It is also piloting card-based transaction capabilities for AI agents in collaboration with global card networks, further expanding the scope of AI-enabled payments.
The partnership between Ant International and Google around the Universal Commerce Protocol reflects a broader shift in digital commerce. Shopping is moving from static websites to conversational, AI-driven experiences where discovery, decision-making, and payment happen in one continuous flow. Open standards like UCP are essential to make this transition secure, scalable, and inclusive.
As agentic commerce gains momentum, collaborations like this will shape how businesses, platforms, and consumers interact in the AI era. The Universal Commerce Protocol is not just a technical framework; it is a blueprint for how commerce will operate when AI becomes the primary interface between buyers and sellers.
For more insights on AI partnerships, emerging protocols, and the future of digital commerce, stay updated with the latest stories at ainewstoday.org, your daily source for AI news that matters.
