Google and Shopify update AI shopping rules for food and payments

There is a shared rulebook for online shopping called the Universal Commerce Protocol, or UCP. Google and Shopify back it, and anyone can use it. It lets AI helpers look at products, buy them and pay for them for a shopper. UCP has just had its biggest update since April. The release is called v2026-08-25. The project announced it on its own site, and Search Engine Journal wrote about it on 31 August.

The update splits the rulebook into three parts: Shopping, Payment and Common. It adds features for food shopping. It also adds several payment options that shops had said were missing.

On payments, the update supports 3D Secure 2. That is the extra check your bank asks for to make sure it is really you. Shops can now use it with any payment company, not just one. A shopper can also split a single purchase across several cards or accounts. Payments can be spread out, as a deposit, as instalments or as a charge that comes later. The rulebook now treats a real card number and a network token as two different things. A network token is a stand-in number used in place of the real card number.

Food shopping gets its own tools. An AI helper can search for nearby shops by address, read opening hours in the right time zone, and order goods sold by weight. So it can order 1.2 kilos of apples instead of one packet.

Some of the changes break older set-ups. The delivery part of the rulebook was rebuilt. The way a shopper gives consent changed. The signing keys for a shop profile were merged into one set. Payment add-ons moved from the shopping part of the rulebook to the common part.

UCP now runs AI shopping in Google AI Mode and Shopify checkout

UCP is becoming the machinery behind AI shopping in Google’s AI Mode and in Shopify’s checkout. More companies joined during 2026. Stripe joined the governing council next to Google and Shopify. The technical committee grew to 16 seats and now includes Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Salesforce. Two more groups formed in July and August. One covers food, with Block, DoorDash, Toast and Uber Eats. The other covers hotels, with Amadeus, Booking.com, Expedia, Hilton, Marriott and Trip.com.

For shops the message is simple. AI checkout is no longer a small trial with a fixed set-up. It is a living standard, and every few months a new release can break what you built. Budgets for this work should allow for that.

UCP prepares food ordering with tips, and hotel search

The project says this release prepares the ground for full food ordering, including picking from a menu and adding a tip. It also prepares the ground for hotel search and booking. No dates were given. Shops on Shopify will get most of the changes from the platform itself. Brands that run their own shop or marketplace should read the migration notes. They may need the new set-up before the next Google or Stripe AI shopping service asks for it.