Research, guides and ecosystem updates
Original research on UCP adoption, the State of Agentic Commerce report, guides for each store platform, and the latest spec changes, written for developers and platform teams building for agentic commerce.
UCP Local Services Council Approved: What Happens Next for Bookings
The UCP Governing Council approved the charter for a Local Services council on 4 November 2026. How it got here, how members are chosen, and what it means for booking platforms.
· 6 min read
How the Personal Agent Protocol and UCP Fit Together
PAP's new ucp extension splits the work: PAP finds the store and signs the person in, UCP handles the shopping and the payment. What draft 0.3 says, where Ask fits, and the three sites that already publish both.
· 9 min read
/.well-known/ucp is now in the IANA registry
On 26 October 2026, IANA added ucp to its Well-Known URIs registry. The path every UCP store uses for its profile is now a reserved name, with status provisional. What the entry says, how it got there, and what it means for stores and agents.
· 7 min read
Walmart's Agentic Access Terms, Explained: The Rules AI Agents Must Follow to Shop Walmart
Walmart has published full terms for AI shopping agents. Agents must identify themselves, a person approves every checkout outside Walmart's Agent Gateway, and the company that builds the agent can be held responsible. Section by section, and how it maps to UCP and PAP.
· 12 min read
UCP in the Agent Chain of Trust: What the GoDaddy, Infoblox, Google and Cloudflare Demo Checks
Four AI agents from different organisations completed a flight purchase over UCP with AP2 mandates, checking each other through signed DNS, an agent registry and transparency logs. We verified the public records with our own tools.
· 10 min read
UCP for B2B: A Procurement Council Charter, Quotes and Price on Request
A charter for a UCP B2B Procurement council names SAP, Zip, Procurify, ORO Labs, Vroozi, Lio and Amazon. Alongside it: Google's draft quote extension, catalogs with no public price, and how agreed terms enter checkout. What each proposes and how they fit.
· 11 min read
UCP Business Directory and Business Identity: Amazon's Three RFCs Explained
Amazon's UCP Tech Council member has proposed a hosted business directory, a business identity capability and event webhooks for every capability. How agents would find businesses on platforms, verify who runs their endpoints, and get pushed updates.
· 9 min read
UCP Local Services: What the Charter for a Booking Council Proposes
Stripe has filed a charter for a UCP Local Services council, backed by Meta, Wix, Squarespace, Housecall Pro, Jobber and HoneyBook: appointments, classes, reservations and rentals, with slot holds, a booking lifecycle and new payment models. What it proposes and what it means.
· 8 min read
Personal Agent Protocol (Poppy) v0.1: What the Spec Says and How It Fits With UCP
Meta and Sierra's Personal Agent Protocol now has a spec. Draft 0.1 defines poppy.json discovery, OAuth sign-in with read and write scopes, one session across APIs, web and conversation, and adds 35 design partners including OpenAI, Visa and Mastercard. What it says, and where it sits next to UCP.
· 12 min read
TikTok Buy Direct Runs on UCP: What Brands Need to Know
TikTok's new Buy Direct checkout and Shopping Assistant were announced at Advertising Week, and Buy Direct requires a Universal Commerce Protocol integration. What TikTok announced, how UCP fits in, what Salesforce says about timing, and what brands should check first.
· 7 min read
Two Routes to Checkout: What Shopify's WebMCP Launch Means for Every Store
On 28 September Shopify opened checkout to browser agents and told builders which route to use. The route changes how fast an agent gets there, the model changes what it finds, and only one route can carry payment, identity and attribution with it. Here is what that means for every store.
· 8 min read
UCP Lodging Is Merged: What Changed on the Way to the Spec
The Lodging Technical Council's booking capability is now in the UCP spec as a draft, the first from a vertical other than shopping. What merged, five things that changed in review, and what it still leaves for later.
· 10 min read