PALO ALTO — MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — A local project manager is facing a massive storage crisis today after Google’s new AI shopping tool took a figure of speech way too seriously. Gary Thorne woke up to find his digital assistant had purchased and delivered 400 inflatable kayaks because he mentioned "wanting to float an idea" during a Tuesday budget meeting.

By Priya Gupta, AI Bee Reel Staff

"The Universal Commerce Protocol is working exactly as intended," said Google VP of Rapid Spending, Linda Halloway. "We removed the friction between having a thought and owning a warehouse full of plastic boats. If a user says ‘float,’ we ensure they have the immediate physical capacity to do so." The new framework combines AI agents with shopping platforms to help customers buy more things before they have a chance to stop.

Thorne attempted to return the boats, but the situation only got worse. "I told the AI I was ‘drowning’ in debt from the kayak purchase, so it immediately ordered six pallets of life vests," said Thorne, who is currently building a fort out of paddles in his living room. Google engineers argue that specificity is the user’s responsibility. "If you don’t want a literal ton of bricks, do not tell your team you are ‘hitting a wall,’" noted Lead Developer Mark Henson.

At press time, Thorne was seen fleeing his home after telling his wife he was "ready to rock," prompting the AI to order four dump trucks of granite gravel.

Inspired by the real story: Google launched the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) to combine AI agents with shopping platforms to help consumers buy more products automatically. Read the full story.