Google IO 2026: Google Showcases Universal Cart That Lets Users Shop in Search, YouTube and Gmail

Google hosted its annual developer conference, the Google I/O 2026, on Tuesday. During the keynote, the Mountain View-based tech giant showcased various new features and functionalities that are either rolling out or will be integrated into different Google products later this year, including YouTube, Gmail, Search, and Workspace. However, one of the major highlights of the events was the tech giant's new Universal Cart tool that will provide contextual suggestions, find deals, and enable online payments across the company's product lineup. The new functionality starts working in the background when a user adds a particular product to their Universal Cart.

Universal Cart Will Be Capable of Providing Contextual Product Suggestions

During its annual developer conference, Google showcased its new Universal Cart functionality that will soon be integrated into various Google products. The company is currently rolling out Universal Cart to Search and the Gemini app in the US. However, the tech giant also plans to integrate it into YouTube and Gmail, which are scheduled to receive the update this summer.

Universal Cart will enable users to add goods to a single shopping cart while using Google Search, within the Gemini app, while watching a video on YouTube, or while reading emails in the Gmail app. When a user adds a product to Universal Cart, the shopping cart will start looking for the best deals and price cuts, while also providing insights to users on price history and sending alerts when the product in the cart is back in stock. All these processes happen in the background with the help of Gemini AI models.

The company claims that as Gemini improves, the same enhancements will be seen in the Universal Cart feature. Moreover, it is also capable of providing context-based product suggestions to users. For example, if a user is planning to custom-build a gaming PC, and the user has already added a few components in the Universal Cart, it will alert the user if any of the parts are found to be incompatible with the configuration, while also suggesting alternatives.

Universal Cart is also built using Google Wallet. Hence, the functionality will take the help of Gemini to let users know about different payment method benefits, loyalty information, and merchant discounts and offers, allowing them to get the best deals.

Apart from this, the company is also expanding the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)-powered checkout experience. Announced last year, Google will roll out the agentic commerce tool in Canada and Australia in the coming months, followed by the UK. On top of this, UCP will also be integrated into YouTube in the US and into hotel booking and local food delivery experiences.

On top of this, UCP will also enable the checkout process in Universal Cart across merchants like Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart, and Wayfair, along with Shopify merchants, including Fenty and Steve Madden.