Google has launched new AI shopping tools in the U.S. to help people find and buy products. The update ntroduces a virtual try-on feature. Shoppers can upload their own photo to see how clothes might look on them.
Google also improved its price alerts. Users can now track items by a specific size, color, and target price. This fall, a new “AI Mode” will arrive in Search. It will create shoppable images for style and room ideas, further blending AI into the online shopping process.
This move signals Google’s deepening investment in AI-driven e-commerce. The goal is to make online shopping more personal and interactive. The features rely on Google’s massive Shopping Graph, a database of billions of product listings.
From Virtual Closets to Smart Alerts
The flagship feature is the nationwide rollout of the virtual try-on tool. First tested in Search Labs in May, it is now available across Google Search, Shopping, and Images. Users can upload a full-length photo to visualize apparel on their own body.
Alongside this, Google is deploying smarter price alerts. Shoppers can now set highly specific criteria for products they are watching. Danielle Buckley, Google’s Director of Product for Consumer Shopping, explained the benefit: “The Shopping Graph has products and prices from all across the web — so we’ll let you know when there’s an offer that meets your criteria.”
AI as Stylist: A Preview of Generative Shopping
Looking ahead to the fall, Google plans to launch a more advanced generative AI tool within Search’s AI Mode. This feature will act as a digital stylist for both fashion and home decor. Users can enter a descriptive query to get AI-generated visual concepts.
The system uses “vision match” technology to create these images. It then scours its 50-billion-item Shopping Graph to find real products that look like the AI’s suggestions. This bridges the gap between abstract ideas and actual, purchasable items.
However, this approach has potential drawbacks. As some have noted, “the initial images that Google AI Mode will generate are still fake, however, which may cause some disappointment for users who can’t find an exact match.”
New Tools Launch Amid Publisher Backlash Over AI
These new shopping tools arrive at a tense moment for Google. The company faces a growing global backlash from news publishers over its use of AI in Search. A recent Pew Research study confirmed that AI Overviews are gutting web traffic to original content creators.
Publishers argue that Google is unfairly using their content to train AI and populate summaries, which keeps users on Google’s platform. This breaks the long-standing value exchange where search engines sent traffic in return for content.
The frustration is palpable. Danielle Coffey, CEO of the News/Media Alliance, captured the sentiment, stating, “links were the last redeeming quality of search that gave publishers traffic and revenue. Now Google just takes content by force and uses it with no return.”
The fight includes legal, financial, and technical actions. Advocacy group Foxglove filed a major EU antitrust complaint, with Director Rosa Curling stating, “Independent news faces an existential threat: Google’s AI Overviews.” In Germany, a media group is demanding over a billion euros, while Cloudflare has launched tools to let sites charge AI crawlers.
