Google has unveiled a new tool, Universal Cart, designed to streamline online shopping experiences. The feature allows users to save items across search and the Gemini app, ensuring that shopping progress is preserved. According to Google, this tool not only helps in managing multiple purchases but also offers notifications for price drops or restockings, making the shopping process more efficient. Furthermore, Universal Cart integrates with Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), facilitating a more seamless interaction between AI and retailers. This move is part of Google’s broader strategy to enhance AI’s role in e-commerce, alongside other features such as conversational discovery in Search’s AI Mode and the ‘Let Google Call’ tool. As AI increasingly handles our shopping needs, the question remains: how much of our consumer journey will it take over?