Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4vcJe2e

Episode summary:

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, Nathan Isaacs sits down with Matt Howland, president and chief product/engineering officer at Cordial and chair of the working group behind the Shopper Context Protocol (SCP), to unpack what's really at stake as AI agents start shopping on our behalf.

Drawing on his years on both the vendor and retailer sides of martech, Matt explains why SCP was created to keep brands from being cut out of the customer relationship as agent commerce protocols like ACP and UCP take hold.

Matt walks through why "context-less transactions" are a problem for both shoppers and brands, why he believes standards like SCP need to preserve loyalty and intent rather than flatten every purchase into a generic transaction, and why he's optimistic that customer behavior—not platform incentives—will ultimately steer where these protocols land. The conversation also covers what Cordial is building as a customer context engine for brands like Levi's and Abercrombie, and closes with practical advice for leaders who want to start experimenting with AI internally before standards like SCP fully take shape.

You'll learn:

What the Shopper Context Protocol is and why Matt's working group built it

Why "context-less transactions" break the shopping experience for both brands and customers

How SCP relates to competing agent commerce protocols like ACP and UCP

What's at risk for retailers and loyalty programs if they don't engage with emerging standards

How Cordial uses AI to turn unstructured customer data into a "fiber uplink" of intent

One practical step leaders can take today to prepare their organizations for agentic commerce

Resources & links

Matt Howland on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mhowland/)

Cordial (https://cordial.com/)

Shopper Context Protocol website (https://shoppercontextprotocol.io/)

Nathan Isaacs on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanisaacs/)

Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast