Google has launched Universal Cart in AI Mode, with Target becoming the first major retailer live on Google Checkout powered by the Universal Cart Platform (Retailgentic). The Universal Cart feature appears as a persistent cart icon in the user's Google account and allows shoppers to add items from multiple retailers—including Target, Etsy, and Walmart—into a single cart for checkout (Retailgentic).
The rollout represents a significant milestone in agentic commerce. Google announced Universal Cart was coming in Summer 2026 in May, and it now appears live across multiple accounts (Retailgentic). Users can choose to either complete purchases directly through Google's unified checkout or use cart injection to proceed to individual retailer checkouts like Target. For commerce practitioners, this consolidation of the shopping experience within Google's AI Mode could fundamentally alter customer acquisition and conversion patterns, as retailers now compete within a shared digital shelf managed by Google's AI assistant.
Walmart has also reportedly flipped on to the platform as of the same date (Retailgentic), suggesting rapid retailer adoption. This cross-retailer cart functionality had been considered unlikely by skeptics until the live demonstration, positioning it as a potential game-changer for holiday shopping behavior.