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The Speed of Commerce: OODA, Agents, and the Universal Commerce Protocol

Authors
  • avatar
    Name
    Winston Brown
    Twitter
Agentic Commerce OODA Loop

The way we buy things online is currently undergoing its most significant shift since the invention of the digital shopping cart. We are moving from a world of Search (where you type queries and sift through pages of blue links or product grids) to a world of Agentic Commerce (where you tell an AI what you need, and it finds, negotiates, and arranges it for you).

For developers and executives navigating this shift, the complexity can be overwhelming. However, there is a strategic framework from the mid-20th century that perfectly models this new reality: the OODA Loop.

Originally developed by military strategist John Boyd for air combat, the OODA Loop—Observe, Orient, Decide, Act—describes the cycle of decision-making in high-stakes, fast-paced environments. Today, it describes exactly how an AI Agent shops for a user, and reveals why adopting the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) is critical for retailers who want to be seen by these agents.

Understanding the OODA Loop

At its core, the OODA Loop is a recurring cycle of four distinct phases:

The OODA Loop Cycle
  1. Observe: Gathering raw data from the environment.
  2. Orient: Analyzing that data in the context of current reality, culture, and constraints.
  3. Decide: Formulating a hypothesis or choosing a course of action.
  4. Act: Executing the decision.

In a dogfight, the pilot who cycles through this loop faster than their opponent wins. In commerce, the agent that cycles through this loop most accurately and efficiently wins the customer's loyalty.

Applying OODA to Agentic AI

Let's look at how this applies to the emerging field of Agentic Shopping.

Current "Chat to Shop" experiences often fail because they break the loop at the Observe phase. Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-4 or Gemini are often looking at outdated training data or scraping messy HTML, leading to "hallucinations" about price or inventory.

This is where UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol) enters the picture. UCP provides a standardized, machine-readable language for products, inventory, and logistics. It allows agents to "Observe" with perfect clarity.

The Agentic Workflow

Let's break down the prompt:

"I'm searching for a new pair of shoes: 1. close to San Francisco downtown, 2. red, 3. under $100, 4. Women's size 6.5 US."

Here is the OODA Loop in action for that query:

1. Observe (The Data Intake)

The Agent scans the digital horizon.

  • Without UCP: The agent scrapes websites, hits outdated APIs, or relies on data from 2023. It sees "red shoes" but doesn't know if they are in stock now in San Francisco.
  • With UCP: The agent subscribes to a UCP feed. It instantly "sees" thousands of SKUs from certified retailers, with real-time metadata: location: San Francisco, color: red, price: <100, stock_level: >0.

2. Orient (The Context)

The Agent filters this data through the user's specific context.

  • The agent knows "Close to downtown" implies a specific geofence.
  • It understands that "Women's 6.5 US" maps to specific inventory IDs.
  • It orients the need (wedding, cocktail party, casual) against the brand identity of the products it found.

3. Decide (The Match)

The Agent ranks the options.

  • It filters out the $150 shoes.
  • It prioritizes the store that is open now over the one opening tomorrow.
  • It selects the "Urban Elegance" Crimson Pump because the UCP data confirms it is in stock at the Market Street location.

4. Act (The Transaction)

The Agent presents the solution to the user, or if authorized, executes the hold/purchase.

  • "I found the Urban Elegance Crimson Pump in size 6.5 at their Market St location for $89. Would you like me to reserve it?"

Real-World Example: 'Urban Elegance' & The UCP Advantage

Let's visualize this with a fictional mid-level clothing brand, Urban Elegance.

Urban Elegance has great products but a limited marketing budget compared to global giants. In the old "SEO" world, they struggled to rank on the first page of Google for "Red Shoes."

However, Urban Elegance recently adopted UCP. They publish their catalog in a standardized format accessible to Agentic AI systems.

Retail Agent Flow Chart

When the user prompts their AI assistant:

  1. The Agent Observes: It pings the UCP network. Because Urban Elegance's data is structured and accessible, the Agent "sees" their inventory immediately, alongside the giants.
  2. The Level Playing Field: The Agent doesn't care about SEO keywords or backlink authority. It cares about data fidelity. Does the product match the user's specific request? Yes.
  3. The Result: Urban Elegance wins the sale not because they bought an ad, but because their data was available for the Agent's Observe phase.

The Strategic Takeaway for Executives

If you are a retailer or a developer building commerce infrastructure, the lesson is clear: You must optimize for the Machine Customer.

Humans use eyes; Agents use data protocols. If your inventory is hidden behind a messy HTML storefront, you are invisible to the next generation of shoppers. The OODA Loop shows us that the quality of the Decision and Action is entirely dependent on the quality of the Observation.

By adopting UCP, you ensure that when an Agent looks at the market, it sees you clearly.

Conclusion

The OODA Loop isn't just military history; it's the blueprint for the future of automation. As we transition to an Agentic web, the winners will be those who make their data easiest to Observe, allowing Agents to Orient, Decide, and Act in their favor.

I'm currently helping businesses navigate this transition to Universal Commerce Protocol. If you're interested in future-proofing your retail infrastructure for the Agentic age, let's connect.

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