The AI revolution shows no signs of slowing down, and today Google is announcing some new features that, only a few short years ago, would have sounded like Sci-Fi.
First, Google’s agentic AI can now call stores on your behalf to ask what’s in stock. This is available when you search for certain products near you in Google Search. When you see the “Let Google call” option, tap “get started” and you’ll get a few questions tailored to what you’re shopping for.
Google’s AI then calls stores nearby to see if they have what you’re looking for in stock, how much it costs, and if there are any special offers. You’ll receive an email or text with the answers, and local inventory from other nearby stores. This is now rolling out to Search categories like toys, health and beauty, and electronics, in the US.
Google’s AI can now also buy things for you thanks to agentic checkout. If you track an item’s price in Google Search, you can select the exact item you want, including size, color, and amount you want to spend, and you’ll get a notification when the price reaches your budget. Then you can have Google buy the item for you using Google Pay.
This only works with eligible merchants and Google will ask your permission first, and will only buy after you’ve confirmed that you want the purchase to be made. Agentic checkout is now rolling out in Search, including in AI Mode, in the US.
Speaking of AI Mode, this now lets you “describe what you’re looking for just as you’d say it to a friend” and then gives you an intelligently organized response with rich visuals and important details like price, reviews, and inventory info. AI Mode responses are “tailored to your specific question and formatted for your needs”, Google says.
Finally, you can now use shopping features in the Gemini app in the US. Gemini will help you with ideas for holiday shopping, offering “helpful shopping ideas”, “shoppable product listings, comparison tables, prices from across the web and places to buy”, all inside the Gemini app.
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