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At the National Retail Federation 2026 in New York, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, said that artificial intelligence agents will become a central pillar of how consumers shop. This announcement is part of Google's global strategy to integrate generative and conversational AI into the heart of daily uses, in particular via Gemini and new search methods assisted by artificial intelligence.
According to Google, AI agents are called upon to go beyond the simple role of assistant. They will be able to analyze consumer intentions, compare products, recommend personalized options, and interact directly with merchant systems. This evolution marks a break with the classic e-commerce navigation model, by reducing friction and shortening the journey between research and purchase.
To make this vision operational, Google announced the launch of the Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard developed in collaboration with major retail and e-commerce players such as Shopify, Walmart, Target, Target, Etsy and Wayfair. This protocol aims to allow AI agents to communicate in a standardized way with merchant platforms, facilitating access to product catalogs, prices, availability and payment systems, without specific technical integrations for each actor.
While the stated ambition is to cover the entire purchasing process, Google specifies that the deployment will be gradual, with initial implementations focused on certain markets and partners. This gradual approach confirms that this is a long-term structural transformation rather than a mere announcement. Elon Musk's reaction, describing this evolution as interesting on the X network, illustrates the attention paid by the entire tech ecosystem to this transformation in digital commerce.
For brands and digital marketing professionals, this announcement involves a major strategic adaptation. Visibility will no longer depend solely on referencing or advertising, but also on the ability of products to be understood and selected by AI agents. The quality of data, the structuring of catalogs and the consistency of information are becoming essential levers in an environment where artificial intelligence acts as a new intermediary between supply and demand.
