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I don't normally do this but it was a massive week for Google and, in turn, a massive week for ecommerce. I’m leading with three Google stories, and surprise, there's a little bit of AI in there too. Remember when Google Trends was the coolest thing that Google could do?
Cheers
Bushy
P.S. We are partnering with the Claude Community to host the very first (in the world!) Claude Community Meetup for Ecommerce. It’s happening in Brisbane because we deserve cool stuff too. We’ve got the early registration here - it’ll go out to the rest of the world next week. Get in quick.
This week’s ecommerce news you should know
1. Google just built a cart that follows you everywhere 🛒
The biggest news of the week, if not the biggest release of the year so far, has to go to Google for their Universal Cart. Using the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), customers can now add items to a cart across the entire Google ecosystem, including Search, Gemini, YouTube, and Gmail, and check out with Google Pay or have items transferred straight to the merchant site. The cart saves between sessions and gets smarter as you go, flagging items that are duplicates, out of stock, about to go on sale, or just don't work well together based on what Gemini knows about you.
Additionally, the new Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) lets agents make purchases on your behalf within parameters you set, such as a set price range or specific brand limits.
This is the most credible competitor to Amazon we have seen, albeit in a completely different form. Shopify's product catalogue and Google Merchant Centre will play a key role here. Launch partners include Nike, Sephora, Walmart, Wayfair and a stack of Shopify merchants. Where it gets interesting is the plan to expand and blend into services and experiences like hotel bookings and local food delivery. Universal Cart is live in the US, and it was specifically called out that Australia is coming in the next couple of months.
2. The biggest change to the search box in 25 years. 🔍
Google has upgraded Search with Gemini 3.5 Flash, putting all those AI tools directly inside the search box. And in a move that will surprise absolutely no one, AI Mode can now be sponsored with ads in Google Search. The ads will be conversational, with Google's AI making recommendations on your behalf. Not only that, Google has taken it upon itself to add its own AI-generated text and descriptions to your Google Shopping listings based on what it sees. They've added Ask Advisor across Ads, Analytics and Merchant Centre for recommendations, upgraded Asset Studio for creative, and dropped Gemini Omni for intelligent video generation inside Asset Studio. AI Mode has already hit one billion monthly users globally, with queries more than doubling every quarter.
BRB going to delete those posts I wrote two years ago saying Google was too slow on AI.
3. Google's message to SEOs: be cool. 😎
Last bit of Google… for a bit. They updated their developer guide for optimising for generative AI in Google Search Central and - good news - basically said not much has changed. AI search needs many of the same things SEO has always needed. Make sure you have a unique point of view, non-commodity content, organised content for readers, and high-quality images and video. More importantly, they were very clear about what you don't need to do. No need for llms.txt files, chunking content for AI, rewriting everything for AI systems, and over-focusing on structured data. They've got it covered. Don't stress it. It was basically a way of saying “be cool”.
They also released some research on how US users are actually using AI Mode (PDF). The average AI Mode query is triple the length of a traditional search. One in six searches is now multimodal, meaning voice or image. Words like find, information, identify, explain and summarise are the new "near me." And, interestingly, repairing a car was one of the top reasons people used AI Mode. You reckon the bots are coming for our combustion engines?
4. ASOS puts a video stylist inside ChatGPT 🎥
I'm still a bit hesitant about building apps for specific engines like ChatGPT. They kind of feel like projects that got enthusiastically greenlit by an excited millennial marketer 12 months ago and are only now coming to life in an environment that's already moved on. That said, ASOS Stylist is pretty cool. It launched in the UK and the US this week. Customers can ask for fashion or makeup tips and get served videos from ASOS's library inside ChatGPT, not just text and product recommendations, before completing their shopping journey on ASOS.com.
It's powered by the video commerce platform Bambuser, which is working to get your shop into ChatGPT with video. Bambuser is a Swedish platform used by Lego, L'Oreal, Decathlon and Sonos across live shopping, shoppable video and live chat. Their Intelligence Layer converts a brand's video catalogue into structured data that AI can process and return in real time as shoppable video. I don't think they've got a presence in Australia yet, but if you're sitting on a rich video library, this is worth watching. Shoppable video inside AI search is a different proposition from shoppable video on a PDP nobody visits.
Elite Supps improved conversion without reaching for discounts. Listen to how Behamics made that possible.
5. The Winding World of Glass Tech 🕶️
For those following along at home, you’ll know this tickles me. I was happy to see Google and Samsung announce their Android XR Intelligent Eyewear, built with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, at I/O. Audio glasses launching fall 2026, with display glasses to follow. Gemini built in. Navigation, contextual answers, photos, translation. From a functionality perspective it doesn't look a world away from what Meta already has. From a data perspective, Google already has all my data anyway, so I'm a bit more comfortable with them having this one. I’ll be creeping on you in no time.
But I've saved the best for last. While we're getting ahead of ourselves, looking at smart glasses and AI agents, what about the technology we've left behind? Val Morgan Cinema announced Glasses Free 3D ads this week. No glasses required. Red Bull is the launch partner, running alongside The Mandalorian and Grogu in cinemas right now. Sad news for everyone holding onto those 3D glasses from that futuristic TV they bought fifteen years ago. Great news for Avatar fans. I think we've had the biggest breakthrough of the year.
SPONSORED CONTENT
Download Shopify’s GEO Playbook
If you missed my send on Wednesday, Shopify's GEO Playbook is worth downloading this weekend. It covers the six steps to make your products visible to AI, plus a four-stage maturity model to show you exactly where your business sits today. Get your free copy here.
If you work in ecommerce, you don’t have to figure it out alone. Inside the Add To Cart Community, you’ll find like-minded professionals, expert insights and live webinars. All for free.
This week’s discussions include:
🎹 K:SYD 2026. Sergey wants to know what you got from Klaviyo Sydney.
📈 Shopify Trending in April 26. Satellite phones up 1036%. Someone explain.
🤖 Exceptional AI Prompts. Rainer shares a cheat sheet he came across.
🐳 Do you still need Elevar if you're moving to Triple Whale? The attribution stack question doing the rounds.
Not in the Add To Cart community?
How to Calculate Your Breakeven Number
Breakeven is one of those calculations that tends to live on the to-do list. But it’s not that hard.
There's always something more urgent. The campaign that needs approval. The stock order needs a decision. It doesn't feel like it's going anywhere. The problem is that without it, the revenue target you're chasing doesn't actually have a foundation. You don't know if the number is right. You don't know whether a smaller number would yield the same outcome. And you definitely can't know whether hitting it makes the business healthier or just busier.
"Revenue is actually the last figure you should look at."
Matt Byrne runs Day One Advisory, an accounting and bookkeeping firm working specifically with Shopify brands on Xero. He's the outsourced finance function for ecommerce businesses across Australia, which means he sees the numbers most founders would rather not look at. His argument is simple: most businesses are chasing revenue targets with no maths behind them, because nobody has sat down and calculated the one number that gives a revenue target its actual job.
Examples from this Playbook
💰 Matt from Day One Advisory walks through the sequence: gross profit first (50% is the floor, better performers sit at 60–65%), then contribution margin (what's left after ads and fulfilment), then breakeven.
📦 Anaita from Hero Packaging built one of Australia's most recognised sustainable packaging brands. Then she brought in an external CFO and found out the business was so cash poor it was close to voluntary administration.
🧮 Jason from SBO Financial observes that it's almost always a sobering experience for founders. Not because the maths is hard, but because most of them had simply never done it before sitting down with him.
🏊 Tom and Natalie from Mr Pool Man were growing… until they weren’t. When they rebuilt, contribution margin and breakeven became the anchor for every stock and trading decision.
