{
  "id": 7803122,
  "title": "Google Debuts Agentic Tools to Prep Retailers for Holidays",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/google-debuts-agentic-tools-to-prep-retailers-for-holidays",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-16T14:00:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PYMNTS",
    "slug": "pymnts",
    "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/google/2026/google-debuts-agentic-tools-to-prep-retailers-for-holidays/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Google is introducing new AI-powered tools designed to assist retailers as they prepare for the upcoming holiday shopping season. In a press release, the company stated that consumers are increasingly relying on AI to find products, compare options, and make purchasing decisions. To meet this demand, Google has integrated AI \"performance insights\" into its Merchant Center, which is now available to merchants in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and the United States. This feature enables businesses to gain a better understanding of how their brand and products are being discovered online by comparing their share of voice with competitors and taking action to increase visibility.\n\nIn addition to the performance insights, Google is also enhancing its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) integration hub within the Merchant Center. Currently, the UCP enables direct checkout for hundreds of thousands of brands and retailers across Google. With the new updates, merchants who utilize the UCP hub for checkout will also be able to enable features such as cart transfer to their own website and enhanced checkout flow testing. These capabilities are being rolled out gradually in the U.S., with Australia and Canada following early in 2027.\n\nThese new AI-driven tools are part of Google's strategy to help merchants succeed in the evolving landscape of e-commerce. According to PYMNTS Intelligence, a significant number of consumers are already utilizing AI in their shopping habits. In the United States, 39 million adults, or 15% of the adult population, have shifted from traditional channels to AI-driven product discovery. Moreover, 139 million Americans have made a retail purchase with the assistance of artificial intelligence. Notably, nearly a quarter of consumers (24%) would allow an AI agent to shop and make purchases on their behalf, while 14% would permit an AI app to hold their credit card information.",
  "summary": "Google is unveiling agentic artificial intelligence commerce updates for merchants ahead of this year’s holiday shopping season. “Finding the perfect holiday gift has always taken thought and research, and today’s shoppers are increasingly turning to AI to discover products, compare options, and make buying decisions,” the company said in a news release Wednesday (Sept. 16). “To succeed in […]…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}