Just in time for the holiday rush, Google is rolling out a suite of AI-powered shopping tools aimed at modernizing the e-commerce experience. The update introduces conversational shopping in Google Search, Gemini app shopping features, agentic checkout, and even an AI calling tool that can contact local stores to check product availability.
“Shopping shouldn’t feel tedious — it should be natural, easy, and even fun,” said Vidhya Srinivasan, VP and GM of Ads and Commerce at Google. “We want to hold onto the discovery and browsing aspects, but skip the hard parts.”
With the new update, users can type or speak natural-language queries directly into AI Mode in Search — for instance, “Show me cozy sweaters in fall colors” or “Compare budget skincare brands.” Google’s Shopping Graph, which tracks 50 billion products (2 billion updated hourly), powers these responses, surfacing accurate prices, images, and reviews.
Gemini Becomes a Shopping Assistant
The Gemini app now supports richer, visual responses to shopping-related prompts, turning a simple question like “What’s a good budget home office setup?” into a visual shopping list with product suggestions.
For now, this enhancement is exclusive to U.S. users.
Google confirmed that sponsored listings appear within AI Mode in Search, but not yet in the Gemini mobile app while the feature remains experimental.
Agentic Checkout Comes to Google Search
Google’s agentic checkout is another step toward fully automated shopping. It lets users buy products directly through Google Search, handling everything from item selection to payment.
Currently, this feature is rolling out in the U.S. with partners like Wayfair, Chewy, Quince, and select Shopify stores.
AI That Calls Stores for You
One of the most futuristic updates is a Duplex-powered AI tool that can call local stores to check whether a product is in stock, its price, and any ongoing promotions.
Built on Google’s Duplex, Shopping Graph, and payments infrastructure, the tool operates like a personal assistant: you search for a product “near me,” tap “Let Google Call,” and the AI handles the rest.
It’s currently live in the U.S., starting with categories like toys, health & beauty, and electronics. Retailers can opt outof these calls, and Google ensures the assistant clearly identifies itself as AI before proceeding.
Behind the Scenes: Cloud and AI Infrastructure
These new consumer-facing AI capabilities rely heavily on Google’s Private AI Compute infrastructure, announced earlier this month.
The same Titanium Intelligence Enclaves (TIE) and TPU-based systems that power Gemini models enable secure, real-time personalization and privacy-protected computation — a clear example of Google fusing cloud infrastructure with AI commerce.
This shopping‑upgrade announcement builds on Google’s broader shift toward conversational and agentic AI across its ecosystem, including the rollout of Gemini for TV—which replaces the former Assistant experience on Google TV platforms and brings more natural, dialogue‑based interactions. Likewise, the introduction of Gemini for Home brings the next‑generation assistant to Nest speakers and smart displays, underpinning the shopping tools with deeper contextual understanding and voice‑based automation.
