Google Search expands agentic capabilities with information agents and Universal Cart
Google announced new agentic capabilities coming to Search — including information agents that monitor the web on a user's behalf and Universal Cart that aggregates products from multiple retailers and services in one place.
Google made these announcements during Google I/O 2026. Information agents roll out to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers this summer. And Universal Cart launches on Google Search and Gemini in the U.S. this summer, with YouTube and Gmail support coming later.
Information agents continuously scan the web after a user's initial query and send back what Elizabeth Reid, VP of Search at Google, called "an intelligent, synthesized update, with the ability to take action."
Robby Stein, VP of Product at Google Search, posted on X about this specific update:
Universal Cart promises to be a central hub for shopping on Google. Transactions complete on merchants’ sites, but Google handles price comparison and deal-finding.
Universal Cart will soon be available for merchants like Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Wayfair, and Shopify.
A few related updates are also in motion:
- Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) allows users to set guardrails related to things like budget and brand preferences for agentic transactions
- Agentic booking is expanding to cover local experiences and services
- Checkout experiences powered by Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) are expanding to Canada and Australia, with the U.K. to follow
What the expanded agentic capabilities mean for marketers
Information agents may reduce website traffic given the agents are doing a lot of the work for users, but the traffic that does come through is likely to be higher intent.
Basically, users who arrive at a website after an agent has already filtered and synthesized results are further along in their decision-making process and may be ready to purchase.
That makes conversion readiness as important as visibility. Priority pages need to be optimized to receive high-intent traffic and move it forward in the buyer’s journey.
For ecommerce brands preparing for agentic commerce, UCP readiness is the immediate priority.
Universal Cart uses UCP to complete transactions. As Universal Cart expands, you need to have a UCP-enabled store to make it into carts among users shopping across Google. Our UCP guide covers details about how to become eligible.
How to prepare for agentic commerce
Before anything else, get the fundamentals of agentic search right. Start by optimizing for entity clarity, topical authority, and clear structure. And measure your results to see if you’re improving your AI visibility.
Use the AI Visibility Toolkit to track citation frequency and visibility trends across AI platforms like ChatGPT and Google AI Mode. And to understand which of your URLs are being cited and the queries that trigger those citations.
For larger and more complex organizations, Semrush Enterprise AIO offers a holistic solution for measuring and optimizing your AI visibility.
Prepare for agentic commerce
with the Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit
Alex is a managing editor with 10+ years of experience leading content and SEO teams across SaaS, tech, ecommerce, and digital publishing. He specializes in building editorial systems that balance human judgment with AI-assisted workflows, helping teams produce original, high-impact content as search and discovery evolve. His work spans SEO strategy, content quality frameworks, and adapting content operations for AI-driven search.
Alex Lindley
Alex is a managing editor with 10+ years of experience leading content and SEO teams. He focuses on building AI-aware editorial systems that help teams produce original, high-impact content as search evolves.
Tells Google to show you more from Semrush in AI, Search, and Discover.