Google: Shopping more beautifully with AI

At first glance, you wouldn't necessarily expect an AI to help you with your shopping. Google combines several AI tools for this purpose and thinks of it like this: First, you tell the shopping assistant what you are looking for – for example, a sweater. You can use natural language to specify which color, style or fabric you want.

As soon as the AI has found a suitable sweater, the question arises as to whether it would suit you at all. In future, the virtual fitting room will answer this question. You upload a full-body photo of yourself to the app, which then generates a picture of you wearing the desired item of clothing. According to Google, the underlying AI model has not only been trained to generate the image, but also takes into account individual body shapes and the properties of different fabrics, such as how tight or loose they fall and their drape.

Once you have decided on a product, it is often worth resisting the initial buying reflex, as the next discount is sure to come. In future, there will be a price alert for this. Using a slider, you can set a price range within which you would like to buy. From then on, the price development will be monitored automatically. As soon as the price falls below the limit, the smartphone notifies you. If desired, you can then buy the product by tapping a button in the notification.

According to Google, the purchase should then also take place in the background without you having to actively visit the store's website, place the item in the shopping cart and then go to the virtual checkout. The automated purchase is paid for using the payment method stored in Google Wallet. The AI shopping search and purchase option is set to be released in the USA in the coming months. The virtual fitting room is now available there in Search Labs. (spo)