Google announces UCP: What exactly is it?
According to Google, UCP is an AI integration into Google's browser in the form of an extension that can be used to shop through artificial intelligence for you.
For example, if the user struggles to find a good mouse for his son, he can suggest this problem to the AI agent, and he can find the best product based on the user's knowledge, preferences, budget and needs – data that has been taken from user searches and his behavior with all Google services.
All this can only be done if you are subscribed to their Google AI Pro or Ultra service for US users.
From my perspective, this "friendship" with knowing information about us is subjective. Because, yes, it is ok and useful to find a product much faster based on the "user profile" created by Google, but at the same time it is also a little strange. This means that we would have to track all our activity much more in order to be able to obtain this data, which can upset or disturb quite a few users, especially since through this "protocol" it can also have access to our wallet.
For users of Google services it is a double-edged sword, but it depends a lot on your way of being. I mean, if you're a person who's very careful with data about them on the internet, that's a creepy and disturbing thing. But for many people it will also be a help, but also a habit, because once you use the Internet you automatically give your "agreement" that anything you do on the Internet can be collected in one way or another.
But a big question that I still can't find an answer to is: how does AI decide which product is good and what isn't? I mean, with this, all I see is the decline of those who sell products and are new to the market. It will be much more difficult to buy their products when the AI recommends the more popular and "good" version, because it already has a large number of buyers and can consider it much more "safe" in front of recently launched products. The latter may even be better than the popular ones, but in a way for nothing, because they will no longer be seen as such by those who use this extension.
This article is just my opinion on this new feature and I look at it neutrally because I see both good parts and less good parts.