Online shopping is about to become even more enticing. Google is advancing its e-commerce capabilities with a new AI-driven feature called Universal Cart, designed to help shoppers discover the best products at the lowest prices across multiple platforms.
What is Universal Cart?
Google describes Universal Cart as an 'intelligent shopping cart' that allows users to add items while using Google Search, chatting with the Gemini AI assistant, watching YouTube videos, or even reading emails in Gmail. When a product is added, the AI automatically finds deals and alerts users to price drops, providing detailed price history and notifying them of out-of-stock items.
Checkout is streamlined with Apple Pay support, making the entire process quick and efficient. The feature will first launch on Google Search and the Gemini app in the United States this summer, with YouTube and Gmail integration arriving shortly thereafter.
How It Differs from the Old System
Previously, Google Shopping aggregated product data from retailers via the Merchant Center, where businesses uploaded titles, prices, images, availability, and shipping details. Listings appeared based on relevance and quality, with some being paid placements through Google Ads. Universal Cart now centralises this experience with AI, offering a more intuitive and proactive shopping assistant.
Market Impact and Reactions
This innovation could intensify competition among retailers as price comparison becomes more transparent. Following the announcement, social media buzzed with mixed reactions. One X user noted, 'Universal Cart could quietly blow up e-commerce,' calling it both 'exciting' and 'a little terrifying' from a privacy standpoint, adding that 'Google is rebuilding the internet around AI agents that act for you - the biggest shift since the smartphone.'
Another user suggested integrating thrifting and resale platforms like Poshmark, eBay, and Mercari to expand price comparison opportunities, remarking that 'more room for price drops to motivate purchases... saves the earth, too!' However, some expressed concerns: 'Cool, but kind of a monopoly if one company controls the entire shopping experience, isn’t it?'
Expert Perspective
Ravi Sawhney, founder and CEO of RKS Design and innovator behind PA-AI, views this as a natural progression. 'Search, advertising, shopping and AI were always going to merge together eventually,' he told the Daily Mail. 'The experience will likely become much more conversational over time, starting to feel less like a traditional search engine and more like interacting with a highly informed assistant.'
Sawhney acknowledged that skepticism is understandable but emphasised that AI is 'quietly shaping' preferences and behaviour. He believes successful companies will be those that make users feel 'supported rather than manipulated.' He added, 'We’re moving into a phase where platforms are trying to predict intent before consumers fully express it themselves. That changes the relationship between people, brands, and technology pretty significantly because shopping becomes less reactive and much more guided.'
Broader Context
Google's Gemini remains a leading AI assistant alongside Claude and OpenAI's ChatGPT. Meanwhile, OpenAI is reportedly working with major Wall Street banks on plans for a potential stock market listing in the coming months.
