Google's AI-powered Universal Cart threatens to pull discovery and checkout away from marketplaces
Unveiled at I/O, Google's Universal Cart stitches persistent shopping across Search, Gemini, YouTube and Gmail. Indian D2C founders and analysts warn the commerce layer could reroute product discovery and transactions away from Amazon and Flipkart, reshaping how brands acquire and convert online shoppers.
What happened
Google's AI-powered Universal Cart, unveiled at I/O, integrates persistent shopping across Search, Gemini, YouTube and Gmail. Indian D2C founders and analysts
Why this matters
Scout acquisition targets in product feed optimization, AI shopping infrastructure, and conversational commerce tooling that position portfolio brands ahead of a Google-led checkout shift.