Google announces Universal Cart for shopping across Search and Gemini

In short: Google says a new Universal Cart will let people collect items from different online stores inside Google, then track prices and buy in one place.

What happened

Google introduced “Universal Cart” at its I/O 2026 event. The idea is simple, it is one shopping cart that follows you across Google services, like Search and Gemini (Google’s AI chatbot). Google says it will later expand to YouTube and Gmail.

With Universal Cart, a person could search for products, talk to Gemini about what to buy, add items from different retailers, and then check out through Google. Google said the cart will work with retailers including Sephora, Target, Wayfair, and Walmart.

Google says the cart will do extra helpful tasks in the background. It can alert you when a price drops, show price history, tell you when something comes back in stock, and warn about possible problems. Google gave an example where the cart might spot that two computer parts you picked will not work together (like buying the wrong charger for your phone).

Google also described tools that could let an AI agent buy items for you if you set clear rules, like a specific product and a maximum price. Those purchases would use Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), which Google describes as a way to keep a record of what the AI did and what you approved.

Why it matters

If Universal Cart catches on, shopping could start to happen more inside Google instead of on each store’s website. That could be convenient for people, but it also raises trust questions, like who helps when something goes wrong and how much control shoppers will want to hand over.

Source: The Verge AI