Google Expands UCP Checkout with Cart Transfer Option for Merchants

Google has expanded its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) integration hub in Merchant Center to include cart transfer, allowing merchants to pass shoppers' carts from Google to their own sites for completion. This change aims to give retailers more flexibility and control over the checkout process.

The UCP integration hub is where merchants set up checkout through Google's Universal Commerce Protocol, which enables direct buying in Search, AI Mode, and the Gemini app. With cart transfer, a shopper can build a cart on Google and then be passed to the merchant's own site to complete the purchase.

This move matters to retailers who want to appear in AI shopping answers without handing over the final step of the sale. By keeping checkout on their own sites, they maintain control over their designs, upsells, account sign-ups, and first-party data.

Google has also added enhanced checkout flow testing to the UCP integration hub, allowing merchants to test how agentic checkout performs before relying on it during peak periods. The company promises analytics will be available soon, which will provide merchants with more detailed insights into their sales performance.