2026 marks a significant shift in search experience with Google's AI agentic features. Vietnamese businesses face new challenges as customers are recommended and complete transactions directly within search platforms, not just visiting websites. Google's Universal Cart and agentic booking introduce an open commerce system, reshaping customer engagement. This article analyzes the trend, challenges, and how businesses can prepare to adapt.
New challenges in the 2026 AI search market landscape
The biggest challenge for businesses in 2026 is shifting from competing for website traffic to competing for AI recommendations within the new search experience. Most Vietnamese e-commerce and local service businesses report declining direct visits while facing AI automatically adding products to carts or booking services without website interaction. Google’s Universal Cart and agentic booking create an open standard for agentic commerce, forcing businesses to redesign visibility and operational strategies on this platform. This is not just a single tool but a multi-layer integrated system, requiring continuous updates and long-term partnership to stay competitive. Businesses must also adapt to new measurement and optimization methods, preparing for deeper transformation discussed in the next section.
Google's AI agentic technology and Universal Commerce Protocol
Google introduced Universal Cart and agentic booking as advances in agentic commerce, letting customers add products to a unified cart and complete orders without leaving the search platform. Since late 2025, the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) infrastructure has been developed, creating an open standard for agents and commerce systems to connect efficiently without unique integrations per partner. This major step allows AI to manage the purchase journey seamlessly, from search to checkout. Businesses must understand this technology to custom-design systems, avoid platform lock-in, and ensure continuous updates under new standards. Long-term partnership with this evolving technology will be key to success amid rapid AI agentic growth.
Key features of the new AI commerce model
Google’s new AI commerce model focuses on keeping businesses as transaction owners while separating ownership of purchase intent and product discovery data. Businesses still receive transactions via Google Pay or their own websites, but critical customer behavior data resides with Google’s AI. This creates major challenges in measurement and optimization because traditional metrics based on visits and clicks no longer fully capture customer journeys due to agentic booking and Universal Cart involvement. Businesses need to build internal systems and operational workflows accordingly, continuously updating to maintain presence and results in this new AI commerce environment.
Practical outcomes and application examples in Vietnam
Many Vietnamese e-commerce businesses have seen clear changes in customer behavior with widespread adoption of Universal Cart and agentic booking. Website visits decline while direct conversions via AI increase significantly. Local service businesses must improve readiness to answer and handle bookings quickly, as AI can call on behalf of customers without staff interaction. This reality requires businesses to custom-design operational workflows and integrate technology systems, not just a single tool. Continuous partnership and technology updates help maintain results and growth in a globally competitive environment.
Getting started and preparing for MADIAD's AI agentic trend
To adapt to the AI agentic trend, businesses need clear strategies based on new customer journey analysis and custom operational system design. Using open technologies and avoiding platform lock-in allows flexibility for testing and continuous updates. Training and long-term operational partnership are essential to sustain effective results. Preparation includes reevaluating measurement metrics, integrating customer search systems, and multi-channel AI chatbot to optimize customer reach and interaction across multiple sources. MADIAD encourages businesses to proactively learn and prepare to avoid falling behind in this transition phase.
Conclusion
Google is changing how consumers engage in online commerce with AI agentic, creating new challenges in visibility and performance measurement for businesses. The Universal Cart and agentic booking model require businesses to redesign strategies and operational systems to maintain market position. Traditional metrics no longer suffice to assess customer journeys as AI deeply integrates into purchasing processes. Follow MADIAD Lab to stay updated on AI trends and new management insights for Vietnamese SMEs. Source: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/googles-i-o-demos-reveal-the-new-business-visibility-problem/576217/