Google Shopping Revamp: Leveraging AI to Remain ‘Essential to People’s Shopping Journeys’ – Retail TouchPoints

Just in time for the peak holiday shopping period, Google has rebuilt its Shopping experience “from the ground up with AI,” bringing together its collection of 45 billion product listings and Gemini AI models to “transform the online shopping experience,” according to a company blog post.

The update marks the “biggest step change we’ve introduced in Google Shopping to date,” said Lilian Rincon, Google Shopping’s VP of Product at a press briefing attended by Retail TouchPoints. “We’re really excited about this bold transformation of the shopping experience on Google,” she added. “We think there’s a ton of opportunity to incorporate generative AI and personalization to really transform the shopping experience, and we’re focused on doing it right and in a way that is rooted in solving real shopper pain points.”

Importantly, these updates don’t represent any change in the role Google wants to play in the world of retail: “Our mission is to be essential to people’s shopping journeys,” explained Rincon. “We’re not a marketplace, we’re not a retailer, we’re an ecosystem and we want to be essential for every part of that journey, whether it’s the inspiration [moment] or looking for the best deal. We also want to be the best place for you to start those shopping journeys.”

With people shopping across Google more than 1 billion times every day, using tools like Search, Shopping, Lens and AR try-on, the platform is well-positioned to accomplish that goal. The new experience on the Shopping tab in Google will begin rolling out today on mobile and desktop in the U.S.; it includes:

• An AI-powered search summary at the top of Shopping results pages that intelligently shows the most relevant products;
• A more personalized shopping feed to driver shopper inspiration; and
• A personalized deals page to help shoppers find the lowest prices on items they care about.

AI-Powered Shopping Summaries

Google is bringing its AI search summaries to the shopping feed, similar to what it has done in general search. Shopping searches will now feature an AI-generated brief at the top highlighting important things to consider for that particular product, followed by a list of recommended products. Importantly, these recommended products will not be ads, but rather a selection of top products based on organic factors such as customer reviews and price range.

For example, if a customer is searching for a new winter jacket that will be perfect for their climate searches for “Men’s winter jacket for Seattle,” search results will now feature an AI brief with the most important things to know before investing in a new coat for that climate. Then the customer will see a carousel of products recommended by sources from across the web, along with an explanation of why they fit the bill.

Customers can then drill down by categories (in this case types of jackets) or other filters, such as size or products available nearby. In categories where AR try-on via Google also is available, that functionality will be placed front and center to help customers shop more confidently.

“We know that there are endless options out there, which can complicate the decision-making process for shoppers,” said Rincon. “In fact, 60% of U.S. consumers say making the right purchase decision requires more effort than it used to. We saw an opportunity to make shopping research more assistive and much less burdensome, so the new Google Shopping uses AI to simplify shopping research and intelligently show you the right product, so you can be more confident and make a decision faster.”

When Google first introduced its AI search, there were a few mishaps, so at the moment the AI-generated briefs in Google Shopping will feature an “experimental” label. Shoppers are encouraged to provide feedback through the three-dot menu on the brief.

A More Personalized Google Shopping Feed

The new Google Shopping home page also now features a more personalized feed of shoppable products and videos based on each user’s preferences, previous search activity and larger shopping trends. Additionally, customers can now pick up their product research right where they left off, with recent searches and results highlighted at the top of the Shopping home page. And customers can give results a thumbs up or thumbs down to help Google further personalize their shopping results. Users concerned about privacy have the option to update or turn off personalized results any time.

“We want you to imagine a store that’s always tailored to your current interests,” said Rincon.

Finding the Best Prices from the Best Places

Google Shopping already featured a range of deal-finding tools, but those have now been enhanced even further by allowing shoppers to do price comparisons, view detailed price insights and set up price tracking alerts. The Google Shopping section now also features a dedicated Deals area where shoppers can view deals from across the web, personalized to their shopping preferences and history.

“Prices are constantly changing, and so a big part of our job is to try to make sure that the user is seeing the most accurate and up-to-date price,” said Rincon. “We want this to be an unbiased, general way for a consumer to see the best deals out there, and hopefully for [shopping moments like] Black Friday, this can be seen as a great place to start their shopping.”

“Shopping has drastically changed over the last two decades,” Rincon explained. “At one point, online shopping was the last resort when you couldn’t find what you needed in-store. But about a decade ago, we launched into an era of more convenient shopping with the shift from desktop to mobile, and it’s hard not to draw comparisons from that moment in time to now, because we’re witnessing a very similar shift now with AI.

“As retailers began bringing their businesses online, Google was building tools to help shoppers with making sense of it all, and now people shop on Google more than 1 billion times a day,” Rincon added. “We’re still here helping you find the best products at the best prices from the best places.”