Google Tests Generative AI for New Shopping Search Experience

Google is testing a new search experience using generative artificial intelligence (AI) and will be using its shopping vertical as a key testing ground. The Search Generative Experience (SGE) will respond to specific queries by providing users with an overview of main information, next steps and conversational questions. Regular search results will still appear on the page. Google is hoping that the feature will make it easier for users to learn about and compare products on its site. SGE will also offer capabilities based on Google’s shopping graph, its extensive data set of over 35 billion product listings.

SGE could potentially become a key part of how shoppers find fashion on Google, according to Lilian Rincon, Google’s senior director of product for consumer shopping. The feature is aimed at offering quick comparisons between similar products and providing trending items based on Google’s shopping graph. The system will recommend products based on information, rather than having shoppers read through search results to draw their own conclusions, potentially making Google even more central to product search for consumers. Companies that rely on Google Shopping will not have to change anything on their end to ensure they keep showing up, Rincon said. There will be no new search optimisation requirements, and SGE will still display ads clearly labelled as sponsored.

Google’s shopping vertical is already a major channel for brands and retailers to get their items in front of shoppers. The new features could make it even more vital, Rincon said, as the company aims to transform online shopping. Rincon said search works well when users know what they are looking for, and often when they do not. SGE would be a complement to conventional search, not a replacement for it, and would be useful when shoppers are trying to research products where there are a variety of factors to consider.

Google has been adding generative AI into more of its consumer products after Microsoft and OpenAI announced a new extension of their partnership earlier this year. Microsoft revealed in February it would incorporate ChatGPT directly into its Bing search engine. About six weeks later, Google debuted its own chatbot, Bard.

As of now, there is no concrete plan to make SGE the default in Google search, Rincon said. It is still an experiment, but if it goes well, it could be the future of fashion search on Google. Companies should pay close attention to Google’s new generative AI search experience to ensure that their products continue to show up in search results.