Google's new Universal Cart wants to follow you across the entire internet | TechCrunch

Universal Cart provides a centralized shopping hub that lets users add products from across Google services such as Search, Gemini, YouTube, and Gmail. It tracks deals, monitors price drops, shows price history insights, and alerts users when items return to stock. AI support helps shoppers make compatible selections, such as flagging processor and motherboard mismatches when building a custom PC and suggesting alternatives. The system can surface hidden savings and extend rewards by leveraging Google Wallet. Using the Universal Commerce Protocol, users can check out directly through Google with participating merchants or transfer items to merchant sites to complete purchases. Updates to Agent Payments Protocol enable users to authorize agents to make payments on their behalf.

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

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