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 Location Validator: test whether an agent can find your shops
Stores are already declaring UCP location search. Our new Location Validator calls a store's location search and lookup and checks the answers against 32 rules from the spec. Here's what it tests and what the first runs found.
· 7 min read
UCP Return Policy Extension, Explained: Return Windows, Fees and Final Sale for AI Agents
UCP now has a standard way for stores to tell AI agents their return policy. The Return Policy Extension, merged on 23 October, gives return windows, refunds, channels and fees a fixed shape from search to order. Field by field, with the spec's own examples.
· 15 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
Product video and 3D in UCP, step by step: the backport, a test store and a real agent
UCP's media variants were backported to 2026-04-08 and 2026-08-25 on 22 October. We added product video and a 3D model to a test store, validated them against both releases and sent an agent to shop.
· 13 min read
WebMCP runs in UCP Playground: watch an agent shop a store's website
A website run sends an AI agent to a store's web page instead of its UCP endpoint. The run page shows the chat, every WebMCP call and the agent's browser side by side.
· 8 min read
UCP Playground 0.24: Runs, Inspect and History in one app
UCP Playground 0.24 brings Runs, Inspect and History into one app, follows the UCP checkout lifecycle in every run, and now works without an account.
· 12 min read
How UCP works: a real agent buys flowers, step by step
We sent a real AI agent to buy roses from a UCP store and recorded every call: discovery, negotiation, the checkout states, payment, a declined card and account linking, on UCP 2026-08-25.
· 10 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