Google Universal Cart aims to take over the entire shopping journey
Google Universal Cart is central to a push unveiled at Google I/O that moves AI search beyond answering queries, into helping users decide and pay, all inside a single interface, Google said during its developer keynote.
At the center of the announcement are two new tools: AI search that uses conversational, generative interfaces, and a Universal Cart that collects items users find across Search, YouTube, Gmail, and other Google surfaces.
Google described the AI search upgrade as a combination of conversational information agents and a generative user interface. According to Googles product blog, the company will use Gemini 3.5 Flash to parse natural-language requests and assemble a tailored results screen that can be a long-form answer, a comparison table, an interactive graphic, or a persistent dashboard.
Those information agents, Google said, can run in the background to monitor topics the user chooses; when there is new inventory, a price drop, or fresh reviews, the agent will summarize the changes and notify the user.
How Google Universal Cart works
The Universal Cart is designed to gather product choices from multiple Google surfaces into one persistent basket, Googles product blog said. Users can add an item from Search results, a YouTube review, or a promotional email in Gmail, and the cart will track price history, restocks, and seller offers in the background.
Google said the cart builds on two technical standards: the Universal Commerce Protocol, or UCP, and the Agent Payments Protocol, AP2. The company said UCP gives agents a common language for product, inventory, and checkout information, while AP2 defines boundaries and permissions for agents that place orders on a users behalf.
Google also announced partnerships intended to lower integration friction: according to the company, UCP and AP2 work with platforms and payments partners including Shopify, Visa, Stripe, and PayPal so more merchants can connect without building custom integrations.
TechCrunch described the move as an attempt to shift Googles role from a tool that finds answers, into a platform that makes buying decisions and can complete purchases for users.
A boost for small merchants that get the basics right
Googles open-standard approach may create opportunities for smaller online stores, particularly those already on platforms such as Shopify. Google said it is working with major commerce and payments partners so merchants can integrate through their existing platform tools.
Industry analysts and some merchants told the reporter that the new AI search experience reduces the upfront content work retailers once needed. Instead of writing long buyer guides to educate shoppers, merchants can focus on clean, machine-readable product data so agents can evaluate and include their products in recommendations.
For merchants with strong price and logistics advantages, Universal Cart could amplify those strengths, because the agent compares total landed cost, shipping, discounts, credit-card rewards, and loyalty benefits when proposing the best combination to a shopper.
Real risks when agents can see everything
Several small online retailers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss partnerships, said their main concern is a drop in referral traffic. If the AI results page both compares products and completes checkout inside Googles interface, users have fewer reasons to visit individual merchant websites.
The merchants warned that brand recognition could erode if buyers remember Google as the place that found the cheapest option, rather than the specific small store that supplied it. In that scenario, an individual seller may become a nameless supplier listed inside Googles cart.
There is also a technical resource gap. Agents assess more than price: they look at product feed structure, API response times, inventory stability, and review data. Large retailers and marketplaces typically have teams to optimize those signals; small shops with one or two staff members may struggle to match those standards.
Universal Carts focus on the best overall deal will likely raise price sensitivity across categories. That could disadvantage merchants who currently justify higher prices via brand story, service, or bespoke experiences, unless those differentiators are made explicit and machine readable.
Who wins, who loses in the new shopping ecosystem
Large platforms and chain retailers are the most likely short-term beneficiaries, because Google said they will be the first partners and demonstration customers for UCP, AP2, and Universal Cart. Mid-size vertical merchants with strong technical capabilities may also adapt and be included in agent recommendations.
Small and one-person shops face the greatest risk if their model depends on low-price advertising and minimal product data. But merchants that can present clear brand identity, unique categories, personalized services, or local exclusives, and that organize product data into formats machines understand, may still be considered by agents.
From the customer perspective, Googles changes are appealing: a single interface that summarizes options and automates monitoring cuts friction. From the merchant perspective, the same changes accelerate a new phase of platformization, where more of the shopping experience happens inside a single companys interface.
What small merchants should do next
For most merchants with some technical and data resources, the new environment suggests a targeted investment: improve product feeds, add clear specifications and use cases, and ensure API and inventory responses are reliable, Google recommended in its blog post.
For smaller sellers still operating on basic template sites, the writers reporting and interviews with merchants suggest a practical first step: make product data complete and machine readable, and document return and shipping policies clearly. Those steps improve the chance an AI agent will identify your product as a good match.
Googles Universal Cart and AI search do not instantly decide which shops live or die, but they redraw the competitive line: one side embraces data and machine integration, the other relies on an older model that assumes traffic will flow without technical investment.
How each merchant prepares will affect whether agents include them in recommendations. As Google rolls out these tools, the choices merchants make now will influence their visibility in the agent-driven shopping experience.
Sources: Google product blog, Google I/O keynote, TechCrunch reporting, and interviews with small online merchants conducted for this story.
