A consumer economics watchdog has raised concerns about Google’s new Universal Commerce Protocol for AI-powered shopping agents. Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative, expressed worries about potential overcharging through personalized upselling based on chat data analysis. Google, however, refuted these claims, stating that they prohibit merchants from displaying higher prices on Google than on their own sites. The company clarified that ‘upselling’ refers to offering premium product options, with users retaining the final decision on purchases. Google also highlighted a pilot program, ‘Direct Offers,’ which enables merchants to provide lower prices or additional services like free shipping. The tech giant emphasized that their Business Agent does not have the capability to modify prices as alleged.
Source: TechCrunch