Walmart, Wayfair and Others Are Accepting AI as the New Checkout Counter

Retailers are beginning to accept a future in which the moment of purchase no longer happens solely on their own websites and apps. Google just said its new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) will soon power a checkout feature inside AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app, allowing shoppers to complete purchases from eligible U.S. retailers without leaving Google’s interfaces.

This changes how shopping journeys start. Product discovery and comparison are increasingly handled inside AI-powered search and conversational tools, compressing what were once multiple steps into a single interface.

Google described UCP as an open standard for agentic commerce that allows AI agents to interact with merchants’ product catalogs, pricing, and checkout systems using a shared protocol rather than bespoke integrations. The company said UCP was co-developed with retailers and commerce platforms including Walmart, Wayfair, Target, Etsy, and Shopify, alongside payments and infrastructure providers.

Retailers weigh reach against control

For Walmart, the integration represents a response to where online demand is forming. At the National Retail Federation conference in January, Walmart said it is integrating its shopping experience into Google’s Gemini assistant, enabling customers to search for products, build carts, and complete purchases directly within Gemini and AI Mode.

Under the arrangement, Walmart retains control over pricing, inventory, fulfillment, and customer service. The transaction itself, however, may be initiated and completed inside Google’s AI products rather than on Walmart’s own digital properties.

Wayfair’s participation reflects similar pressures shaped by a business model that relies heavily on online discovery. According to reports around the UCP announcement, Wayfair worked with Google and other partners on the protocol, positioning its involvement as part of supporting commerce across surfaces where customers choose to shop.

As conversational interfaces condense research, comparison, and recommendation into a single flow, retailers dependent on search visibility face the risk that shoppers may complete purchases without visiting a traditional product page.

An open protocol moves AI shopping toward broader rollout

Google has tested elements of agentic checkout before. During the 2025 holiday season, the company said it enabled purchases through AI Mode and the Gemini app for select U.S. merchants, including Wayfair, Chewy, Quince, and a limited number of Shopify sellers.

Those deployments were described as early experiences rather than a general launch.

The Universal Commerce Protocol formalizes those efforts. According to Google’s developer documentation, UCP supports agent-led journeys spanning discovery, checkout, and order management, while working with existing retail infrastructure and payment systems such as Google Pay. Retailers integrating with UCP remain the merchant of record and continue to handle fulfillment, returns, and customer service.

In practice, conversational interfaces like AI Mode and Gemini become distribution channels where checkout can occur without redirecting users to a retailer’s own site. This shifts commerce from referral-based traffic toward transactions completed directly within platform-controlled environments.

The pressure on retailers is not coming from Google alone. Microsoft and PayPal recently announced Copilot Checkout, which allows users to make purchases directly inside Microsoft’s AI assistant. The feature is live in the U.S. with partner retailers including Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Etsy.

OpenAI has also expanded shopping capabilities inside ChatGPT. In late 2025, the company said users could discover products and complete purchases in conversations with merchants including Etsy sellers and Shopify-based retailers.

Commerce platforms are positioning themselves as intermediaries in this shift. Shopify said it co-developed UCP with Google to create a standard that allows merchants to declare capabilities, such as cart building and checkout—that AI agents can invoke. Shopify’s engineering documentation describes UCP as modeling the entire shopping journey while preserving merchant-specific logic.

For smaller retailers, participation is more likely to come through platforms than through direct integrations. UCP adoption as a way to reach high-intent shoppers interacting with AI surfaces while maintaining control over pricing and post-purchase relationships.

Google has emphasized continuity in payments and trust mechanisms. AI-mediated checkout relies on existing payment rails, including Google Pay and, over time, other wallet providers. Retailers remain responsible for disputes, refunds, and returns, mirroring current e-commerce practices.

Retailers are now evaluating how these interfaces perform. Conversion rates, incremental demand, and user behavior inside AI-driven checkout flows will determine whether participation expands or remains limited. Regulatory scrutiny of systems that combine search, recommendation, and transaction into a single layer may also shape deployment.