Google has announced some new AI-powered shopping tools for the holiday season, including AI Mode in Google Shopping, local availability checking on your behalf, sales monitoring, and more.

First off, Google’s announced its “biggest upgrade” to shopping in AI Mode in Search, which will make it easier to find products based on conversational queries.

As you can see in this example sequence, the updated shopping experience will enable you to scour many sites and product listings, in order to find the best match for your specific needs.

As explained by Google:  

“When you ask AI Mode a shopping question, you’ll get an intelligently organized response that brings together rich visuals and all the details you need (like price, reviews and inventory info), helping you quickly and confidently decide what to buy.”

Google says that AI Mode shopping listings will also be tailored to your specific needs based on your query.

“For example, if you’re looking for visual inspiration, like ‘cozy sweaters for happy hour in warm autumn colors,’ you’ll see shoppable images. Or, if you’re deciding between a few options - like moisturizers suited to your skin type - you’ll see a comparison table with a side-by-side view of considerations specific to that product, including insights from reviews (like how a moisturizer feels on skin) to help you quickly understand the differences.”

So, more specific product info, based on conversational queries, which could make it easier to find exactly what you’re after.

Google’s also bringing its shopping features to the Gemini AI chatbot app, linking your shopping queries in Gemini to Google’s Shopping Graph, which includes over 50 billion products.

So now, you’ll be able to find product listings in Google’s own ChatGPT-like tool, which could make it easier to go from discovery to purchase.

Google says that shopping in Gemini is available to users in the U.S. starting today.

You’ll also be able to ask Google to call stores on your behalf in order to find locally stocked items and info.

Google actually added this capacity back in July, with its “agentic capability” able to undertake actions on your behalf, eliminating some of the more mundane tasks from your shopping process.

“When you search for certain products ‘near me’ on Search, you’ll see the option to ‘Let Google Call.’ Tap ‘get started’ and we’ll prompt you with a few questions, tailored to what you’re shopping for.”

So a local business will get a robo-call, which will transcribe the necessary info, then present that to you, assisting in your search. Google will then send you an email or text with the answers, “along with local inventory information from other nearby stores from our Shopping Graph.”

Google’s also rolling out a new Pinterest-style display of images tailored to your interests, which could help you find more relevant products in the app.

Google’s new image feed isn’t product-specific, but it will help users find products and other inspiration in visual form, which will link back to Google’s shopping tools.

“Simply tap the new ‘Images’ icon at the bottom of the app screen to see new images each day, tailored to your interests. You can browse, save to your collections or search for even more inspo based on what you find. It’s a seamless way to organize your creative ideas, from your first spark to your next project, all in one place.”

So again, like Pinterest, and not shopping-focused as such, but it will help people find more relevant item matches, based on their tastes.

This feature will be rolling out over the next few weeks in the Google app for Android and iOS in the U.S.

Finally, Google’s also announced an AI-powered addition to its price tracking tools, which will now be able to buy an item for you when it goes on sale.

Price tracking was announced earlier this year, enabling users to set a price point that they want alerts for, which Google will then track and provide alerts for, if there’s a relevant price change.

And now, it will also be able to make a purchase on your behalf, so you don’t miss out.

“Tell us what item you want to track, and you’ll get a notification when the price falls within your budget. If the merchant is eligible, we'll now give you the option to have Google buy it for you on the merchant's site using Google Pay. We’ll always ask for your permission first, and only buy after you’ve confirmed the purchase and shipping details.”

So more agentic options coming to Google Shopping, which could help you automate some of the more tedious elements, and ensure that you don’t miss out on products at the right prices.

Like all AI tools, you’ll want to double-check these to some degree, to ensure that you are indeed getting the best deals and options. But using Google’s expanding Google Shopping graph, these could be valuable, helpful tools to assist with your holiday shopping efforts.  

And for retailers, it might be worth re-checking your Google Shopping feed to make sure that your listings are in tune with what people will find via these options.