Star fly-half Carter missed the All Blacks' successful Rugby Championship as he recovers from a broken leg sustained in August.
But international rugby union's leading points scorer will return to the national fold, having been selected in a 34-man squad for Tests against United States, England, Scotland and Wales.
Carter replaces Colin Slade, who kicked the dramatic match-winning conversion against trans-Tasman rivals Australia in the Bledisloe Cup in Brisbane on Saturday.
"He's been training without being able to play because he's had a bit of nerve damage to the leg he broke," Hansen said.
"He's getting better and better all the time and he's extremely confident of being able to play. He knows his body better than anybody and if he's confident, I'm confident."
Though, Slade will remain on standby should Carter fall short during the week.
"We've spoken to Sladey about the DC [Carter] situation," Hansen added. "We'll monitor DC this week and get an idea of where he's likely to be.
"If DC can't make this trip because of his leg then Colin Slade will come back in."
Williams is set to make his first appearance in an All Black shirt since 2012.
The 29-year-old spent the past two seasons playing Rugby League for NRL side the Sydney Roosters in Australia.
But after signing deals with New Zealand Rugby and the Chiefs, Williams - part of the country's triumphant Rugby World Cup campaign in 2011 - is back in the All Blacks mix.
Williams returned to New Zealand with ITM Cup provincial side Counties Manukau earlier in October.
Lock Luke Romano was surprisingly included by Hansen, having not featured for five months due to a broken leg.
"Luke hasn't played a lot of rugby due to injury over the last 18 months, so we thought it would be good to get him back into the All Black way," Hansen added.
The All Blacks play USA in Chicago on November 1, before travelling to the United Kingdom where they will face England (November 8), Scotland (November 15) and Wales (November 22).
New Zealand squad:
Backs: Israel Dagg, Ben Smith, Charles Piutau, Cory Jane, Julian Savea, Malakai Fekitoa, Conrad Smith, Sonny Bill Williams, Ryan Crotty, Dan Carter, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Cruden, Aaron Smith, TJ Perenara, Augustine Pulu.
Forwards: Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (captain), Sam Cane, Jerome Kaino, Liam Messam, Victor Vito, Patrick Tuipulotu, Brodie Retallick, Jeremy Thrush, Luke Romano, Sam