Google's AI knows which jacket you need to buy

If you want to find a product with Google's help in future, you can enter more information in the search mask to help you find the right thing. So instead of simply entering the keyword "winter jacket", you should write: "Winter jacket for men in Seattle" – This is the example given by Sean Scott, who is responsible for the shopping function at Google. Google's AI knows that it often rains in Seattle. The winter jacket must therefore also be able to repel rain. This information is displayed above the actual search results, very similar to the AI Overviews, i.e. the AI answers in Google Search.

Like the AI Overviews, the AI answer in the Shopping function is initially only available in the USA. Google justifies the – as well as Meta and Apple – mostly with unclear regulation that AI functions are not coming to the EU. At the same time, it can be assumed that this is intended to put pressure on regulators on the backs of consumers. It is questionable whether functions such as AI shopping are really missed by people in the EU.

In order to offer AI shopping, Google has linked 45 billion products from its own shopping graph with Gemini models , according to the blog post. Gemini is Google's family of large-length models. In addition to explaining what else you should consider when shopping, Google also displays the most relevant products from its point of view. This corresponds to the previous shopping results, which are divided into paid advertising and results that Google ranks particularly well. Additional filters can be set in a left-hand column, such as a price range, color, size and more.

AI try-on and private shopping feed

If available, some items of clothing can also be tried on virtually. Google introduced this function a few months ago, but its use is also very limited. Google cooperates with some brands and uses a diffusion-based AI model. This works in a similar way to an image generator and transfers a piece of clothing to the image of another body.

Another new feature is a personalized shopping overview. This can also be found at – in Germany – at shopping.google.com. Google suggests products that might interest you, but also remembers what you have searched for, what you are interested in and what you have shortlisted. So far, however, it does not seem to be available to tell Google certain preferences manually.

Google itself also offers a price comparison. This could be problematic, as the European Court of Justice only confirmed a fine that Google had to pay in September because it had exploited its own dominant market position to compare prices in the shopping results.

In addition to Google, traditional social media platforms are also currently investing in the shopping sector. First and foremost, Tiktok offers direct shopping opportunities for brands and users. Tiktok Shop is the name of the social commerce function. With it, it is no longer necessary to laboriously search for products advertised by creators elsewhere in order to buy them - you can buy them directly in the app. Meta also offers shopping options for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. In the hype surrounding AI, this division has recently been pushed a little into the background, although Mark Zuckerberg proudly reported back in 2021 how the integrated AI would find more gray T-shirts for him. Apparently, this permanent look was too boring even for the AI, and Zuckerberg now also wears other clothes.

(emw)