Particle.news
Download on the App Store
9 ARTICLES
·
2h ago

Google and Walmart Bring Checkout to Gemini as Open UCP Debuts

The move underscores Walmart’s bet on open partnerships over Amazon’s closed approach.

Earlier this week, Google rolled out new commerce features for Google Search's AI Mode and its Gemini chatbot. Brands increasingly want to monitor and control how they show up to AI agents and in AI-mediated queries. But experts warn that not all queries are the same and that AI models present risks when it comes to queries related to a company's finances or governance standards, which could influence major procurement decisions.
Image
Image
Image

Overview

  • Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol at NRF and activated native checkout in Search’s AI Mode and the Gemini app, with Walmart and Sam’s Club as early implementations for an initial U.S. rollout lacking a firm date.
  • Gemini users can discover Walmart products, assemble baskets, and pay inside the chat using Google Pay, link Walmart and Gemini accounts for tailored suggestions and cart merging, and select same‑day or 3‑hour delivery options.
  • Google named more than two dozen UCP collaborators, including Shopify, Target and Etsy, while Amazon was not listed among partners.
  • Walmart is pursuing an open‑partnerships AI strategy across Google, OpenAI and its own agents, contrasting with Amazon’s in‑house features such as Buy For Me, Auto Buy and chatbot Rufus, which the company says increases purchase completion rates.
  • Analysts highlight early risks for agentic commerce, noting AIVO Standard’s findings that leading models are unreliable on financial and certification queries and recalling Google’s prior Buy on Google shutdown as a monetization caution.