Google has just announced a new update to its Google Shopping portal that comes with an infusion of artificial intelligence (AI). Slightly worryingly for our bank balance, Google says this will help to make buying products online easier than before.
In a company blog post, Google explained that one of the key ways it will do this is by using AI to “intelligently show the most relevant products, helping to speed up and simplify your research.”
This includes a new AI brief that sums up the most applicable things to consider in your search (such as tips for what to look out for and what to avoid), plus recommended products. Results are divided into categories that are relevant to whatever you’re looking for – search for winter coats and you might see groupings for fleece-lined jackets, insulated coats, and so on.
As well as that, the brief includes links to helpful articles and videos on your topic, giving you more context around the subject. You can filter the results to home in on the best outcome, and there’s a virtual try-on feature that uses augmented reality to help you better understand whether the item is right for you.
And if you shop over the course of several days or even weeks, Google Shopping will also now let you pick up from where you left off.
Savings vs privacy
A key part of the new Google Shopping experience is its promise to help you save money. It includes tools for price comparison, price insights and price tracking, plus a personalized deals page with discounts for products you might be interested in buying.
And Google Shopping is changing in other ways. Google says it’s making the shopping experience better tailored to you by adding a personalized feed of products based on your likes and preferences.
Google says you can change or disable these personalized results, and that’s something to consider if you’re not a fan of Google’s all-seeing eye following you around the web and learning all your shopping habits.
As well as that, Google cautions that its new AI tools are “experimental” (you’ll see a warning to that effect on the AI briefs) and that they can get things wrong. The company says that the new Google Shopping will start rolling out across the U.S. over the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for it – there's no news yet on an international launch.
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