Google's AI Mode hotel booking moves onto the UCP standard

Google says it will adopt the Universal Commerce Protocol’s newly published Lodging Booking draft specification to power hotel booking in AI Mode “over the coming months,” per Search Engine Journal. UCP — an open standard whose Lodging Technical Council includes Amadeus, Booking.com, Expedia, Hilton, Marriott and Trip.com alongside Google — published the draft to GitHub on September 25. Google’s own FAQ says the integration won’t affect property rankings, that hotels remain merchant of record, and that the first milestone covers one room per booking; it gives no launch date and does not mention fees.