Google launches Universal Cart, its cross-retailer AI shopping tool, in the US

What Universal Cart does

Google has launched Universal Cart, a tool that lets shoppers save products from multiple retailers in a single, unified space. The cart works across Google platforms, meaning items found and added through the Gemini app or Google Search AI Mode all end up saved in the same place. Google says the feature is designed to make online shopping easier to organize and cheaper, with the rollout timed ahead of Black Friday and the holiday season.

Price alerts, promo codes, and payment perks

Google will send notifications about price drops and restocks for items saved in the cart, sparing users from checking each retailer's website individually. The tool can also surface promotional codes it finds next to saved products. Shoppers can pay through Google Wallet or transfer items to the merchant's own cart to check out directly with the retailer. Combined with Google Wallet, Universal Cart can analyze the perks offered by each saved credit card and help pick the best payment method for a purchase.

More Google apps coming later

Universal Cart was first previewed at Google's I/O event in May. The US rollout now covers the Gemini app and Google Search. Google says it plans to integrate the cart with Gmail and YouTube as well, but has not announced a timeline for those expansions.

The AI shopping race

The launch comes as competition in AI assisted shopping heats up. Rivals including OpenAI and Meta have launched agentic AI assistants that can shop online on behalf of users. Shopify has also announced it is opening its platform to allow more AI agents to browse and purchase from Shopify listings. Big Tech players are entering the race on the bet that the future of online shopping involves having an automated agent do most of the work.

Sources: The Verge