Google’s Latest Generative AI Tools Help Shoppers Find Exactly What They’re Searching For

As the holiday shopping season is at its peak, Google has given retailers new generative AI tools to help advertise their products online. 

The company recently announced it was adding three new features that will help improve product visibility and help shoppers make informed purchases. These features are:

New Shopping Subcategories For Gifts

Shoppers can more easily explore products and brainstorm what to get their loved ones for gifts using AI-generated curated subcategories for highly specific gift ideas.

The announcement gives an example: 

“Let’s say you’re looking for a present for the budding chef in your life and don’t know where to start. Search “great gifts for home cooks”, and you’ll now see a wide variety of subcategories to explore — like specialty tools, artisanal ingredients, culinary subscriptions and even experiences like cooking classes — with options from brands large and small. Just tap into a category to browse shoppable gift options and select a product to buy.”

AI-generated Shopping Images

Online shoppers often begin with a very specific image of what they are looking for in their mind, but it isn’t always easy to translate that into search terms. 

To help shoppers find exactly what they’re searching for, Google has introduced image generation technology that will create photorealistic images to match your search terms and allow you to search products based on these images. 

“Let’s say you want a new winter coat — a colorful, patterned puffer jacket — but you haven’t found quite what you’re looking for. With generative AI in Search, just look for that style and tap “Generate images” to see photorealistic images that match your vision. And if you want to make an adjustment, like if you’d prefer a colorful metallic jacket instead of a patterned one, just enter that refinement in the text box to see a new set of images. Once you’ve found one you like, scroll down to see similar shoppable products.”

Expanding Virtual Try-On To Men’s Tops

After seeing increased engagement and interactions with women’s tops after the launch of virtual try-on features for those products, Google has expanded the feature to product searches for men’s tops. 

The feature allows shoppers to visualize how clothes will look by showing the products on a variety of real models, including diverse skin tones, body shapes, heights, and sizes. 

These new features are available to all US users now. For more, you can read the full announcement here.