AI continues to colonize Google properties. After lots of AI-driven automation on the back end (e.g., generating page meta descriptions in AdWords), it started to have a larger presence on the front end. That inflected with AI overviews that now sit atop a large share of SERPs, and even have ads.
The latest domino to fall is Shopping. Google announced this week that AI will now be infused in the Shopping tab – the filter Google offers in SERPs to display shoppable results. It will now include more intelligent shopping suggestions as well as a new personalized scrollable feed of products.
Starting with the latter, Google Shopping will start to look more like TikTok. The social app has validated demand for shopping via scrolling feeds. Google’s version of that will be recommended products, followed by a feed of complimentary items and YouTube Shorts about the product or category.
Stay Dry
That last part is a theme throughout this latest update. Similar to TikTok, Instagram Stories, and other social formats, it wants to provide viral clips of influencers talking about products. And that includes informational resources related to a given product like “things to look for when buying winter boots.”
In addition to the short video format, Google is bringing AI-driven reference info about products. In other words, it wants to make Google Shopping a research tool in addition to its traditional role as a basic list of products that match a search query. This is a logical step for Google, given its core DNA.
For instance, Google Shopping will get its own flavor of AI overviews. Just like in regular web search, it will start to surface short descriptions of products or buying advice atop the results. Google provides the example of searching for a “men’s winter jacket for Seattle.” The overview might read something like…
“When choosing a winter jacket for Seattle, prioritize good water resistance or waterproofing to stay dry in the frequent rain. While temperatures rarely dip below freezing, consider a jacket with insulation like down for milder weather or synthetic materials for wetter conditions.”
Wisdom of the Crowds
You get the point… it brings more of a shopping assistant to Google Shopping, and does so through a similar vessel as its core AI overviews. So far, the latter seems to be performing well as a more functional replacement for the longstanding knowledge panel. The question is how it translates to shopping.
That can only be answered in time, and by the wisdom of the crowds. Meanwhile, Google is pulling this off by paring Gemini models with the 45 billion products it holds in its Shopping Graph. And U.S. users can start to see the new format materialize in the next few weeks. Happy shopping.
