Holiday shopping gets easier: Google Search can now call stores and even buy items for you

Google is exploring all the ways it can integrate AI into its products. From using AI to give you virtual tryouts, to organizing your notifications, and even creating TV ads featuring you, the company is pulling no punches in finding the best ways to utilize AI to make your life easier. Google is now integrating AI into more of its shopping experiences, allowing AI to do all the heavy work for your holiday shopping, including calling shops for you and buying items on your behalf.

Google Search’s AI Mode is now getting a shopping upgrade in the US. When you ask AI Mode a shopping-related question, you’ll get an organized response that brings together all the details you need, like price, reviews, photos, and inventory info, to make a buying decision.

AI Mode responses will be tailored and formatted to provide the best answer to your question. Depending on their query, users can see shoppable images, or they can see a more text-heavy response. Users can also compare products by simply selecting the products and asking for a comparison.

Google mentioned in a briefing that there will be sponsored listings in AI Mode, but it will feel “very natural.” The company is still experimenting, so the experience can change in the future.

The Gemini app is also getting shopping experiences in the US, starting today. That means Gemini responses can now include product listings, comparison tables, prices from across the web, as well as information on where to buy.

Unlike AI Mode, Google says there will be no ads in the Gemini app’s shopping experiences.

Many people find themselves in situations where they need to make several calls to nearby stores (and be put on hold) to confirm availability for a product. It’s a rather unenjoyable experience, one that people would rather avoid. If you are one of those people, then your prayers are answered, as Google can now call stores on your behalf to check for product availability.

In the US, when users search for certain products “near me,” they will now see a new option to “Let Google Call.” When they click on it, Google will ask a few questions to better understand their product needs, and then proceed to call nearby stores to check if they have the product in stock, what the cost would be, and if there are any special promotions. Google will put all the information and answers it collects, along with inventory information from other nearby stores, and send you an email or text, as you choose.

This experience is rolling out today in Google Search across categories such as toys, health and beauty, and electronics.

Google says that it will ensure the agentic AI does not call the same place too many times. Merchants should ensure that their phone numbers are up to date, and their business hours listed on Google are accurate. Merchants will also hear that they are getting a call from AI, and they can opt out entirely from this program if they choose.

We’ve all had instances where we are price tracking a hot product for a while, only to find that it dropped in price and sold out before we could react. Google is tackling this issue with Agentic AI, letting users empower the service to purchase products when the price drops.

To use this feature, users in the US must first track an item’s price using Google Search’s price-tracking feature. Users can tell Google what item they want to track, along with details like the specific size, color, and amount they want to
spend on it. Google will send a notification when the price falls enough to fit in your budget. Users will now have the option to have Google purchase the product for them on the merchant’s site using Google Pay.

Google has clarified that this agentic shopping experience will always ask for your permission first and only make a purchase after you’ve confirmed the purchase and shipping details.

Agentic checkout is starting to roll out now on Google Search, including in AI Mode, from eligible merchants in the US, like Wayfair, Chewy, Quince, and select Shopify merchants, with many more to follow soon.