UCP product catalogue connection
Use an existing UCP connection to search a business's catalogue and retrieve its product details and filters.
What it is
UCP Connection lets INSIDE use catalogue capabilities advertised by a connected business. Products and filters appear through the same commerce search and product cards used by other providers. Available operations depend on that business's connection.
Who uses it and why
Administrators with Settings or Developer select the connection and its commerce operations. Operators browse its catalogue when it supplies Products. Powerfront manages the underlying connection setup.
Where to find it
Select UCP Connection as Provider type in Settings › Commerce › Commerce Providers, then choose UCP Connection in the connection field.
Settings › AI › Connections is Powerfront-managed. Ask Powerfront to create or change the underlying connection, authentication or capability discovery.
How it works
INSIDE offers only the catalogue operations the connected business advertises. These can include Product search, Product facets and Product lookup. Calls use the connection's supported MCP or REST transport and configured authentication.
INSIDE maps returned products into shared product information, including supplied options, variants, prices, availability and actions. Missing information remains unknown. An exact product lookup may reuse a trusted earlier catalogue result when it already contains the requested product.
Configure it
- Ask Powerfront to prepare the website's UCP connection and discover its catalogue capabilities.
- With Settings and the relevant AI access, or Developer, create a Commerce Provider.
- Choose UCP Connection and select the prepared connection.
- Select supported operations under Use for, set Availability, save and use test.
- To use the catalogue in Products, enable Replace the standard Products panel. Choose Product filters if facets are available.
Fields
| Field | Where | Required | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCP Connection | Settings › Commerce › Commerce Providers | Yes | Selects an existing UCP connection belonging to this website and its advertised catalogue operations. |
Permissions
| Permission | Lets you |
|---|---|
| Settings | Select an existing UCP connection in Commerce Providers, subject to AI access and View Only. |
| AI | Allows commerce administration for a restricted Settings role. |
| Developer | Configure the commerce provider using an existing UCP connection. |
Limits and good to know
- Catalogue search accepts text, supplied filters or both, with up to 50 products requested per page.
- Facet requests are bounded to 1,000 requested values and up to 50 normalised facets. The connection can return less.
- The UCP commerce provider supplies catalogue operations. It does not advertise native private customer or order operations.
- A connected business that supports search does not necessarily support product lookup or facets.
- Product cards cannot invent missing options, stock or actions. Basket behaviour needs separate supported integration.
Depends on and works with
View all connections as a list
This feature uses
- Roles and permissionsConfigured by
Roles control selection and administration of the commerce provider.
- Shared AI service connectionsRequires
An existing registered UCP connection supplies the business capabilities and connection settings.
- Commerce provider setup and selectionRequires
The connection must be selected in an enabled Commerce Provider with the required operations.
- Product search and filtersEnhances
UCP catalogue search and facets appear through shared product search.
- Product options and variant selectionEnhances
Product lookup supplies available option and variant details.
- Store product selection for chatEnhances
A UCP catalogue can supply the operator Products panel.
Used by
- Shared AI service connectionsEnhances
UCP connections discover commerce services and their supported capabilities.
- MCP tool connections for AIEnhances
Compatible UCP connections can supply tools through MCP.
- Commerce provider setup and selectionEnhances
Supplies the UCP Connection provider option.
- Product search and filtersEnhances
A UCP connection can supply advertised catalogue search and facets.
- Product options and variant selectionEnhances
UCP can supply advertised product details and variants.
FAQ and troubleshooting
Why is the connection list empty?
Ask Powerfront to register a UCP connection for this website. Connections for another website cannot be selected here.
Why can I select search but not product details?
The connected business must advertise Product lookup. Ask Powerfront to check its discovered capabilities.
Why are there no product filters?
Check that the connection supports Product facets, that the provider enables it, and that Product filters has a selection. An empty selection intentionally gives operators a search-only panel.
Can this connection read customer orders?
This provider exposes catalogue operations. Use a commerce integration with supported customer and order operations for private records.