# Cordial joins the Shopper Context Protocol to help brands bridge the Intent Divide

_New open standard bridges discovery, context, and transaction — making AI commerce personal._

**SAN DIEGO — October 23, 2025 —** [Cordial](/content/?utm_source=pr+newswire&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=always+on+public+relations&utm_content=press+release/index.html), the leader in messaging for enterprise marketing teams, today announced that it has joined the **Shopper Context Protocol (SCP)** — an open, discoverable standard that lets brands and AI systems preserve shopper context and intent across agentic ecosystems.

The release coincides with Cordial’s new thought leadership report, [**The Intent Divide**](/content/resources/the-intent-divide/index.html), which finds that **40% of marketers lose revenue when intent is misread**, and nearly half of consumers lose trust when brands get it wrong. The study reveals a widening gap between _what brands measure_ and _what customers mean_ — and signals an urgent need for change.

Learn more about the Shopper Context Protocol and download _The Intent Divide_ report at cordial.com/intent-divide.

### **The missing layer between attention and transaction**

When OpenAI, Stripe, and Shopify launched the [**Agentic Commerce Protocol**](https://developers.openai.com/commerce/) **(ACP)** earlier this month, they gave AI assistants the ability to complete purchases autonomously.

ACP defines _how_ an agent transacts, but it doesn’t understand _who_ the shopper is, _what_ their history is with your brand, or _why_ they’re buying in the first place.

The **context doesn’t carry across future sessions and channels.**

That missing layer is **context** — and SCP makes it portable.

SCP lets shopper preferences, loyalty, and behavioral intent travel safely across agents, channels, and retail platforms. Built as an **open standard**, it ensures personalization doesn’t vanish in the shift to agentic commerce.

“Marketers don’t just need to reach people. They need to _recognize_ them,” said **Matt Howland**, President of Cordial. “SCP gives AI the context to do that safely, so brands can show up inside agent environments with the same empathy and relevance they’ve earned elsewhere.”

### **AI has collapsed curiosity into conversion. Most brands aren’t ready.**

Cordial’s _Intent Divide_ study of CMOs, CDOs, and marketing SVPs shows how quickly the ground is shifting:

- Meanwhile, **one in three consumers already use AI-powered agents** to research or shop.
- **64% of marketers** say their data is used only for campaign planning, not in real time.
- **47%** have no strategy for how their brand will show up inside personal AI agents like ChatGPT or Perplexity.
- **43%** say misreading intent causes lost trust — long before revenue impact appears.

The funnel isn’t shrinking; it’s collapsing. Brands that can’t carry context into these new agentic environments will lose visibility at the moment that matters most — the moment of intent.

“The funnel isn’t shrinking — it’s collapsing,” said **Jeremy Swift**, CEO of Cordial. “Brands that can’t carry context into these new agentic environments will lose visibility at the moment that matters most: the moment of intent.”

### **A protocol, not a platform**

SCP is an open standard that preserves privacy and is persistent across agentic and owned ecosystems.

- **Discovery layer (ACP/Product Feed):** AI searches for products
- **Context layer (SCP):** shopper history, preferences, loyalty, and intent
- **Transaction layer (ACP/AP2):** checkout and payment processing

Retailers can publish SCP support via DNS records (similar to MX), allowing AI assistants to query shopper context securely through OAuth-like permissions. Implementation takes **2–4 days**, requires no fees, and works across any AI environment.

### **Built for open collaboration**

SCP reflects Cordial’s long-standing view that the future of marketing isn’t about sending more messages — it’s about earning more meaning. By turning shopper context into a shared language between brands and AI systems, SCP ensures personalization, privacy, and performance can coexist.

Cordial invites retailers, partners, and developers to review and contribute to the specification at [shoppercontextprotocol.io](https://shoppercontextprotocol.io/).

### **Availability**

- **Shopper Context Protocol (SCP):** Public specification available now at [https://shoppercontextprotocol.io/](https://shoppercontextprotocol.io/) and on GitHub ( [https://github.com/shopper-context-protocol](https://github.com/shopper-context-protocol))
- **Partner Working Group:** Open to retailers and technology providers
- [**Download the full Intent Divide report**](/content/resources/the-intent-divide/?utm_source=pr+newswire&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=always+on+public+relations&utm_content=press+release/index.html) to explore the data, insights, and next steps for marketers navigating the AI era of commerce.