Google has unveiled an AI shopping tool called Universal Cart that brings multiple retailers into a single experience centered on Search and Gemini. Items found through search or chat can be saved to a Google cart and taken through checkout. The feature supports price tracking, price history and restock alerts, and can warn about incompatible purchases. Google Pay can link memberships and cards and suggest ways to save, while purchases can also be completed on retailers’ sites. Google is expanding AI-driven direct purchasing with approval and records.

As AI agents spread, software designed for use by AI rather than people is expanding. Companies are moving toward headless software that lets agents access core functions through APIs and MCP without a user interface. Approaches differ, with Salesforce and ServiceNow opening platforms to third-party agents while SAP focuses on its own. The shift is emerging as a variable in enterprise software competition, alongside growing demand for forward-deployed engineers supporting AI adoption.