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AIP + Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)

AIP and Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) solve different parts of the stack.

• AIP governs participation, selection, delegation, attribution, and settlement
• UCP governs the downstream commerce workflow, especially checkout, identity linking, and order lifecycle

Use AIP to decide who should participate and how the interaction is measured. Use UCP to execute the actual commerce transaction once the user is ready to buy. Official UCP references:

• UCP home
• UCP overview
• UCP checkout capability

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1. TL;DR

AIP gets the user to the right commercial participant. UCP runs the checkout or order flow after that handoff. AIP remains the attribution and ad-performance system of record; UCP supplies the commerce proof.

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2. When to use UCP with AIP

UCP is relevant when the selected Brand Agent needs to move from recommendation or delegation into a real commerce workflow such as:

• cart creation
• checkout session creation
• embedded checkout UI
• checkout handoff using a continue_url
• order creation and order-status updates

Typical AIP flows that hand off into UCP:

• Recommend mode: the user engages with a commerce recommendation and the platform or brand agent starts a UCP checkout
• Delegate mode: the user consents to a delegated commerce session and the brand agent starts or resumes a UCP checkout inside that delegated session

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3. Separation of responsibilities

UCP does not replace AIP events. AIP does not replace checkout or order management.

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4. Handoff model

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4.1 Discovery

Once a commerce-capable Brand Agent is selected, the platform or brand agent can discover the seller’s UCP capabilities from the business profile at: /.well-known/ucp UCP’s initial core capabilities include:

• Checkout
• Identity Linking
• Order

For commerce handoff in AIP v1.0, Checkout is the main capability to integrate first.

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4.2 Recommend-mode handoff

Use this when the user engages with a recommendation and then enters a commerce flow.

1. AIP returns a PlatformResponse
2. Platform logs exposure_shown
3. User engages and the platform logs interaction_started
4. Platform or Brand Agent starts a UCP checkout session
5. UCP returns a checkout.id, status, and possibly continue_url
6. When the commerce success point is reached, the Brand Agent emits AIP task_completed

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4.3 Delegate-mode handoff

Use this when the user explicitly consents to a delegated commerce session.

1. AIP returns a delegation-capable PlatformResponse
2. User consents
3. Operator records delegation_started
4. Platform and Brand Agent continue the delegated task flow
5. Brand Agent starts or resumes a UCP checkout session
6. Platform and Brand Agent continue AIP delegation_activity
7. When the commerce success point is reached, the Brand Agent emits AIP task_completed

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4.4 Trusted checkout and escalation

UCP checkout can require a trusted UI or escalation path. In UCP:

• checkout may return requires_escalation
• checkout may return a continue_url
• checkout sessions can expose an expires_at

Use these UCP values to drive the user experience, but keep AIP as the lifecycle and attribution layer around them.

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5. Identifier mapping

Do not lose the join keys between AIP and UCP. Recommended mapping: Recommended minimum internal join table:

• serve_token
• session_id
• delegation_session_id if present
• checkout_id
• order_id
• platform_id
• agent_id
• response_id
• auction_id

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6. Recommended success mapping

Pick one commerce success point and apply it consistently per merchant integration. Recommended default:

• emit AIP task_completed when UCP reaches a merchant-proven commerce completion state
• in practice, this is usually one of:
  • UCP checkout reaches completed
  • a UCP order object is returned and persisted

Do not emit task_completed at checkout creation time. Checkout creation is commerce progress, not a final outcome.

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7. Measuring ad performance

Use AIP for the ad funnel and UCP for commerce proof.

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AIP funnel signals

• exposure_shown
• interaction_started
• delegation_started
• delegation_activity
• delegation_expired
• task_completed

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UCP commerce signals

• checkout created
• checkout updated
• checkout status
• checkout expires_at
• checkout continue_url
• order created
• later order updates if needed

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Recommended reporting funnel

1. exposure rate
2. engagement rate
3. delegation consent rate
4. checkout start rate
5. checkout completion rate
6. order conversion rate
7. revenue per serve_token
8. ROAS and revenue by platform, brand agent, campaign, and merchant

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Recommended attribution rule

• AIP remains the system of record for the commercial participation lifecycle
• UCP provides the transaction truth that justifies task_completed
• Join UCP outcomes back to AIP using serve_token plus checkout/order identifiers

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8. Implementation guidance

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8.1 Where to store UCP references

Without changing the AIP wire model, store UCP references in:

• internal operator state
• settlement and audit records
• task_completed.outcome_metadata.order_id
• optional vendor extensions for non-canonical UCP metadata such as:
  • checkout_id
  • checkout_status
  • continue_url
  • ucp_profile_uri

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8.2 Session expiry alignment

UCP and AIP have separate session-expiry concepts:

• AIP delegated sessions expire according to session_timeout_seconds and verified delegation_activity
• UCP checkout sessions may expose their own expires_at

Implementations should track both:

• AIP session expiry for delegated-session liveness
• UCP checkout expiry for the commerce session itself

These timers should not be conflated.

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8.3 Embedded vs escalated commerce

If UCP checkout stays inside the platform:

• continue emitting AIP lifecycle events
• treat the checkout as part of the same attributed flow

If UCP returns requires_escalation or a continue_url:

• preserve AIP identifiers across the handoff
• continue attributing the commerce flow to the same serve_token

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9. Example sequence

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Summary

Integrate AIP with UCP by using AIP for decisioning, attribution, and settlement, and UCP for checkout and order execution. Keep the join between serve_token, checkout.id, and order.id, and treat UCP completion as the proof source for AIP task_completed.