Stripe and Google Launch AI Shopping Protocols for Ecommerce
Stripe and Google have introduced new protocols to facilitate AI-driven shopping and payments. Stripe's Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) and Google's Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) aim to make AI shopping agents, similar to chatgpt, a viable ecommerce news channel.
ACP enables merchants to present product, pricing, and checkout information in a format usable by AI agents. It relies on trust and consent, similar to permission marketing, with merchants needing to prove reliability, value, and transparency.
The intense competition created by AI shopping agents could lead to platform pressure. Merchants may need to be present on multiple channels to access AI shopping portals. Success in agentic commerce may depend more on clean data, fair pricing, and reliable fulfillment than on having an attractive storefront.
AI shopping agents can identify latent demand by scouring multiple merchant sites and feeds for products that consumers might have otherwise missed. This could open up new sales opportunities for merchants.
ACP uses Shared Payment Tokens to pass payment details from AI agents to merchants without exposing shopper credentials. AP2, on the other hand, uses tamper-proof, cryptographically-signed digital mandates with verifiable credentials to prove shopper intent.
Companies like Jotform have announced AI-assisted payment and shopping tools, offering integrated payment processing within forms supporting platforms such as PayPal, Apple Pay, and Venmo. Banks and institutions like the Swiss National Bank, Monetary Authority of Singapore, and South African Reserve Bank are also developing AI and blockchain-based payment solutions including real-time clearing and digital central bank currencies.
The introduction of ACP and AP2 signals a significant shift in ecommerce, opening up new avenues for merchants to reach customers through AI shopping agents. As AI shopping agents become more prevalent, merchants will need to adapt their strategies to succeed in this new landscape. The focus will shift towards clean data, fair pricing, and reliable fulfillment, rather than just having an appealing storefront.
