Google Search Launches Universal Cart, Expands UCP and AP2
▼ Summary
– Google announced the Universal Cart, allowing users to add items from multiple retailers into a single cart and check out with Google Wallet across Search, Gemini, YouTube, and Gmail.
– The Shopping Graph now contains 60 billion product listings, up from 50 billion earlier this year.
– Universal Cart will proactively flag product incompatibilities and suggest alternatives, and leverage Google Wallet data for payment perks and loyalty offers.
– Participating merchants include Nike, Sephora, Target, Walmart, Wayfair, and Shopify merchants; availability starts in the U.S. this summer on Search and Gemini.
– Google expanded Universal Commerce Protocol to Canada and Australia, and introduced Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) for secure, criteria-based agent payments, launching first with Gemini Spark.
Google has unveiled a suite of agentic commerce capabilities for Google Search, headlined by the new Universal Cart feature, alongside expanded availability for the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2). These updates aim to streamline the online shopping experience by letting users collect and purchase items from multiple retailers in one seamless checkout flow.
The Shopping Graph, Google’s product database, now holds 60 billion listings, up from 50 billion earlier this year, according to Vidhya Srinivasan, VP and GM of Ads & Commerce at Google.
The Universal Cart allows shoppers to add products from various retailers directly into a single cart while browsing Google Search. Instead of navigating to each merchant’s site, users can simply add items to their cart across Google’s ecosystem, including Google Search, Gemini, YouTube, and Gmail. The cart maintains the list across these interfaces, and checkout is handled with one click using Google Wallet.
A screenshot provided by Google shows the Universal Cart aggregating items from multiple retailers. The system also surfaces the best prices, deals, and stock availability, helping users choose the most suitable merchant for each item.
Beyond aggregation, Google says the Universal Cart will anticipate user needs and solve problems proactively. For example, if you’re building a custom PC and add parts from several retailers, the cart can flag product incompatibilities and suggest alternatives. Because the cart is built on Google Wallet, it understands your payment method perks, loyalty information, and merchant offers, allowing you to uncover hidden savings or points without having to remember them.
Merchants already supporting the Universal Cart include Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Wayfair, and Shopify merchants such as Fenty and Steve Madden. The feature will roll out in Google Search and the Gemini app in the U. S. starting this summer, with YouTube and Gmail support coming later.
In parallel, Google is expanding the Universal Commerce Protocol to Canada and Australia in the coming months, with the U. K. to follow. UCP will also extend to YouTube and other Google verticals, including hotel booking and local food delivery.
The Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) enables AI agents to make payments on your behalf, with security and accountability built in. “Just tell your agent the specific brands and products you want and how much it can spend, and the agent only makes the purchase when your criteria are met,” Google explained. AP2 will launch across Google products in the coming months, starting with Gemini Spark.
(Source: Search Engine Land)
