Tracking prices, deals, Google’s AI-powered ‘Universal Cart’ will reshape how you shop online

Google’s choice to embed an AI-powered, persistent procuring cart throughout Search, Gemini, YouTube and Gmail marks its most aggressive try but to reclaim the product discovery layer it misplaced to marketplaces over the previous decade. Business executives say the implications for India’s e-commerce stack may very well be important.

a number of sellers

The function, unveiled at Google I/O, permits customers so as to add merchandise from a number of sellers right into a single Google-managed cart, with real-time value monitoring, deal comparability and inventory alerts in-built. The structure is intentionally transactional. Google is now not positioning itself as a search referral engine that fingers shoppers off to platforms, however because the commerce layer itself.

For marketplaces, the menace is structural. Deep Bajaj, Re-Founder and CEO of Sirona Hygiene, mentioned the chance cuts to the core of what platforms have spent years constructing. “The battle could shift from who has stock to who owns client intent and information,” he mentioned. “If checkout and transaction transfer to a Google layer, marketplaces could more and more develop into fulfilment and logistics infrastructure whereas dropping direct relationships, repeat behaviour and loyalty loops.”

Satish Meena, advisor at Datum Intelligence, supplied the historic context. “Over the past six to seven years, product discovery shifted from Google to marketplaces as a result of shoppers began counting on critiques, pricing and fulfilment ecosystems,” he mentioned. “Now, Google desires to reclaim that discovery layer by combining AI, value intelligence and personalised suggestions.” The open query, he added, is behavioural — whether or not Indian shoppers will lengthen transactional belief to an AI-led checkout movement, provided that service provider reliability stays a reside buy consideration out there.

For D2C manufacturers, the calculus is extra nuanced. Rishav Jain, Managing Director and Co-Lead of the Client and Client Tech observe at Alvarez & Marsal India, flagged each a chance and a focus danger. “Product discovery and choice might doubtlessly develop into considerably simpler, time environment friendly and much more democratic,” he mentioned. “Relying on the intuitive accuracy of the platform, this might doubtlessly present a fillip to conversational commerce in India. Manufacturers would wish to reinforce their online playbook proper throughout product itemizing, visibility and availability,” he added, cautioning that digital advertising and marketing spends for D2C manufacturers might develop into extra concentrated as discovery more and more shifts towards AI-led interfaces.

Mohit Jain, Founder and CEO of D2C way of life model Miraggio, mentioned the aggressive benefit on this atmosphere would now not relaxation totally on distribution. “Discoverability will more and more depend upon robust model id, differentiated merchandise and how successfully manufacturers talk relevance in AI-led environments,” he mentioned, including that first-party client relationships and retention would develop into important levers.

Archana Jahagirdar, Founder and Managing Companion at Rukam Capital, learn the announcement as a structural validation of D2C’s maturation. “An organization of Google’s scale now sees worth in constructing a unified commerce layer round them,” she mentioned. She cautioned, nevertheless, that execution — throughout retailers, classes and client segments — could be significantly tougher than the structure suggests, and that conversational and voice-led interfaces would seemingly develop into the dominant client entry level because the mannequin matures.

Revealed on Could 20, 2026