Google's Universal Cart Launches in the US
Google has launched 'Universal Cart' in the US, a new AI-powered shopping tool available in Google Search and the Gemini app, with future plans for Gmail and YouTube. It aggregates products from multiple retailers into a centralized cart, allowing users to track price drops and receive availability notifications, powered by Google's Shopping Graph with over 60 billion product listings. The tool integrates with Google Wallet to offer discounts and card benefits, and checkout can be completed via Google Pay or redirected to a retailer's site. Launch partners include Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Wayfair, and many Shopify-based merchants. The technical foundation is the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard for AI agents and retailers, first previewed at Google I/O in May. This launch, timed ahead of the holiday season, represents Google's ongoing investment in agentic commerce, with no plans announced for Europe yet. Competitors like Amazon and OpenAI are also advancing similar technologies.
