Google's Universal Cart shopping tool launches in the US

Google has launched its Universal Cart shopping tool in the United States, according to TechCrunch, and the new tool is available across Google Search and the Gemini app. The report frames the update in a single line: the shopping tool now works on both surfaces for users in the U.S.

The name Universal Cart points to a shared cart rather than a standalone shopping app. Because it appears inside both Google Search and the Gemini app, users can add items while they browse results or talk to the AI assistant, instead of juggling carts across separate retailer sites.

The more notable detail is that Gemini is one of the launch surfaces. Google is moving shopping, a high-frequency use case, deeper into two properties it controls, rather than leaving users to shuttle between search results and third-party stores.

For Google, shopping is among the most commercially valuable parts of its search business, tied closely to advertising and product recommendations. Putting a cart inside Search and its AI assistant keeps the path from product discovery to checkout inside Google's own interfaces.

Public detail remains thin: the report confirms the tool's name, the U.S. launch market, and the two available surfaces, Google Search and the Gemini app. It does not provide a list of retail partners, pricing, or a timeline for expansion beyond the United States.

Three things are worth watching next: whether Universal Cart expands outside the U.S., how many retailers will plug into it, and whether users will hand shopping decisions to a search box and an AI assistant. The answers will decide whether this is an entry-point upgrade or another experimental feature.