Shopify said on Sunday it has teamed up with Google on a new “Universal Commerce Protocol” meant to let AI agents complete checkouts inside chat-style tools, a shift that could reshape how its merchants reach buyers. The e-commerce software firm said the protocol is designed to handle steps such as discount codes and loyalty credentials, and that Shopify merchants will be able to sell directly inside Google Search’s AI Mode and the Gemini app. “We have taken everything we’ve seen over the decades to make UCP a robust commerce standard that can scale,” Vanessa Lee, a Shopify vice president, said.