GoKawiilAt I/O on Tuesday, Google introduced Universal Cart, its so-called agentic hub for managing shopping in one place. The tech giant also announced updates to its Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) and teased that it would bring the technology to Google products in the coming months, enabling users to authorize agents to make payments on their behalf.
The announcements signal Google’s push to turn AI assistants from passive recommendation tools into active participants in online commerce. By launching a centralized shopping system and building infrastructure that lets software agents complete purchases autonomously, the company is positioning itself to control more of the entire shopping journey, and potentially the relationship between consumers and the merchants competing for their attention.
With Universal Cart, users can add products they’re considering from anywhere on Google — while browsing Search, chatting with Gemini, watching YouTube, or reading Gmail. Once items are added, Universal Cart tracks deals, monitors price drops, surfaces price history insights, and alerts users when items are back in stock.
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The feature is built around something Google knows well, which is that most people shop across multiple devices, multiple retailers, and over the course of many days.
The cart also uses AI to help shoppers make better decisions. For example, if you’re building your first custom PC, you can add parts from multiple merchants into a single cart, and Google may flag compatibility issues, such as a processor that doesn’t work with the motherboard you selected — and suggest an alternative.
For frequent travelers or rewards maximizers, the feature can also surface hidden savings and help stretch your points further because it’s built on Google Wallet.
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Thanks to Google’s open-standard Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), users can check out directly through Google with participating merchants, or transfer their items to the merchant site and complete the purchase there.
Universal Cart is rolling out in the U.S. today and coming to the Gemini app this summer, with YouTube and Gmail to follow, Google says.
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