An arsenal of new agents: this is how Google is riding the wave of agent commerce

Google has unveiled a vast array of solutions that are especially focused on agent trading.

Agent commerce, still in its infancy, promises to become ubiquitous in the coming months. Google knows this, and that’s why, during the National Retail Federation (NRF) trade show taking place this week overseas, the Mountain View company unveiled a vast array of solutions directly related to agent commerce.

«We want to move beyond simple digital interactions and more or less passive tools to focus on AI agents capable of autonomously executing complex, multi-step actions across all customer touchpoints,» explains Carrie Tharp, VP of Global Solutions & Industries at Google Cloud.

The first of Google’s new tools focused on the increasingly dynamic area of ​​agent commerce is Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (CX), which aims to merge shopping and customer service into a single agent solution. This new solution offers pre-configured agents and also gives retailers the ability to configure custom agents.

Google wants to help retailers maximize the potential of agent commerce.

Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (CX) is a tool specifically designed for businesses, retailers, and restaurants, which can implement this solution in just a few days. The tool is designed to provide user support throughout the entire purchasing process, from product selection to after-sales service.

«By bridging the gap between sales and customer service, companies can delight customers with first-class, personalized experiences that extend from initial product discovery to after-sales service,» says Darshan Kantak, Vice President of Applied AI at Google Cloud. «This increases customer satisfaction and promotes long-term loyalty and value,» he adds.

Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (CX) houses several AI agents. This includes, for example, a shopping agent specifically trained to understand user queries and present them with product suggestions perfectly aligned with their budget. The agent can process text, images, video, and voice. And if the user wishes, the agent can also add products to the shopping cart and purchase them directly.

US retailers Kroger and Lowe’s, as well as the Australian supermarket chain Woolworths, are already experimenting with Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (CX).

Google’s new solution also incorporates agents specifically designed to take orders in restaurants and make additional suggestions to diners based on context. These agents also provide restaurants with performance data that they can later use to optimize their offerings. The US pizza chain Papa John’s is already using these types of agents.

Google’s New Agents Also Offer Customer Service Solutions

Another agent commerce solution that Google unveiled at the NRF trade show is Customer Experience Agent Studio, which allows retailers to develop, test, and deploy multimodal support agents. Among other things, these agents are trained to resolve issues and provide, for example, ad hoc discounts to customers to address their complaints (and potentially quell their frustration). Google’s new customer service agents can hold conversations in more than 40 different languages ​​via landline, mobile, or web.

Google has also developed the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard whose ultimate goal is to cover the entire purchasing process from an agent communication perspective. UCP establishes a common language for agents so they can work seamlessly across different interfaces. Furthermore, to make things even easier, the new protocol developed by Google is compatible with existing protocols such as Agent2Agent (A2A), Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), and Model Context Protocol (MCP). UCP will also enable the integration of a new checkout feature in Google AI Mode. Initially, users will be able to pay with Google Pay through this new feature, and later, PayPal will also be available.

Google has also unveiled the new Business Agent, which will bring new opportunities for brands to interact with their customers. This agent will be able to answer customer questions about company products in a completely professional manner and will also give retailers the opportunity to intervene at particularly critical moments in the buying process.

The internet giant has also introduced a new advertising format in Google AI Mode. Retailers will be able to send exclusive offers to users who have already begun the purchase process through the Direct Offers feature, with the ultimate goal of convincing them to complete the purchase as quickly as possible by offering a sufficiently attractive deal.

This isn’t the first time Google has ventured into agentive commerce. Last year, the company launched several agentive commerce solutions in Google AI Mode, and in September, it also introduced a protocol, AP2, to enable AI agents to process payments securely. Just a month later, in October, Google introduced a new agent, the Conversational Commerce Agent, designed to guide users through the search, selection, and ultimately, purchase of products.

Source: www.marketingdirecto.com