Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP): The Open Standard for Instant, Agentic Shopping Artwork

Intellectually Curious

Intellectually Curious is a podcast by Mike Breault featuring over 1,600 AI-powered explorations across science, mathematics, philosophy, and personal growth. Each short-form episode is generated, refined, and published with the help of large language models—turning curiosity into an ongoing audio encyclopedia. Designed for anyone who loves learning, it offers quick dives into everything from combinatorics and cryptography to systems thinking and psychology.

Inspiration for this podcast:

"Muad'Dib learned rapidly because his first training was in how to learn. And the first lesson of all was the basic trust that he could learn. It's shocking to find how many people do not believe they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult. Muad'Dib knew that every experience carries its lesson."

― Frank Herbert, Dune

Note: These podcasts were made with NotebookLM. AI can make mistakes. Please double-check any critical information.

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Intellectually Curious

Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP): The Open Standard for Instant, Agentic Shopping

January 14, 2026 • Mike Breault

An in-depth look at the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)—an open standard that lets AI assistants shop directly within chat by talking to retailer backends. We break down agentic commerce, merchant-of-record retention, and the modular capability design (identity linking, checkout, discounts, order tracking), all transport-agnostic and co-designed by major players. Through a practical example with Amano's suitcase and a look at future verticals, we discuss what instant, frictionless buying means for brands, data ownership, and the next era of commerce.

Note: This podcast was AI-generated, and sometimes AI can make mistakes. Please double-check any critical information.