Google Is Weaving Generative AI Into Online Shopping Features

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Google is bringing generative AI technology to shopping, aiming to get a jump on e-commerce sites like Amazon.com Inc.

The Alphabet Inc.-owned company announced features Wednesday aimed at helping people understand how apparel will fit on them, no matter their body size, and added capabilities for finding products using its search and image-recognition technology. Additionally, Google introduced new ways to research travel destinations and map routes using generative AI — technology that can craft text, images or even video from simple prompts.

“We want to make Google the place for consumers to come shop, as well as the place for merchants to connect with consumers,” Maria Renz, Google's vice president of commerce, said in an interview ahead of the announcement. “We've always been committed to an open ecosystem and a healthy web, and this is one way where we're bringing this technology to bear across merchants.”

Google is the world's dominant search engine, but 46% of respondents in a survey of US shoppers conducted last year said they still started their product searches and research on Amazon, according to the research firm CivicScience. TikTok, too, is making inroads, CivicScience's research found — 18% of Gen Z online shoppers turn to the platform first. Google is taking note, with some of its new, AI-powered shopping exploration features aimed at capturing younger audiences.

A new virtual “try-on” feature, launching on Wednesday, will let people see how clothes fit across a range of body types, from XXS to 4XL sizes. Apparel will be overlaid on top of images of diverse models that the company photographed while developing the capability.

Google said it was able to launch such a service because of a new image-based AI