A consumer watchdog issued a warning about Google's AI agent shopping protocol -- Google says she's wrong
TechCrunch • • business
Key Points:
- Consumer watchdog Lindsay Owens raised concerns about Google’s new Universal Commerce Protocol for AI shopping agents, warning it could enable "personalized upselling" by analyzing chat data to potentially overcharge consumers.
- Owens highlighted features in Google's roadmap that support upselling and price adjustments based on loyalty or new-member discounts, which Google CEO Sundar Pichai mentioned at the National Retail Federation conference.
- Google refuted these claims, stating merchants cannot display higher prices on Google than on their own sites, and that upselling refers to offering premium product options without forcing purchases; their "Direct Offers" pilot only allows for lower-priced deals or added services.
- Google also clarified that its Business Agent cannot alter retailer pricing based on individual user data, and
