Google has just unveiled AI Mode, a powerful new chatbot to power the search giant’s core products with generative AI capabilities. This new tool promises to deliver more personalised and complex searches, elevating the user (search and shopping) experience.

I was particularly intrigued by the new shopping features that Google announced as part of AI Mode. Let’s say you’re looking for a travel bag. AI Mode will show you a panel of travel bags to browse, based on your personal tastes. you can then refine the results directly within the chat interface.

For example, if you’re planning a trip to Madrid in July and need a bag suitable for the occasion, AI mode starts with performing a “query fan-out,” running multiple simultaneous searches to determine the ideal characteristics of a bag for hot summer weather and city trips. Using these criteria, it suggests the most relevant products to meet your specific needs.

But the enhanced product search capabilities are only the beginning. If you’ve found the travel bag that you want to buy, Google’s new agentic checkout will help users buy the product at the right price.

Once you’ve identified a product that you’re interested in, you can tap “track price” on any product listing and set your product preferences (colour, size, etc.) and the amount that you want to spend on the product.

You’ll then get a notification if the price of the product has dropped. If you’re ready to buy the product, you tap “buy for me” and the purchase will be completed for you. Google’s agents will add the item to your cart on the merchant’s website and uses your Google Pay details to complete the checkout on your behalf.

This agentic checkout system is poised to fundamentally change the way consumers shop and pay online. With Google handling the checkout flow, the traditional checkout page on merchant websites and apps is likely to become less critical. Moreover, as agents make payments on behalf of customers, this shift presents both challenges and opportunities for the payments industry (as Simon Taylor – author of Fintech Brainfood – describes here).

Main learning point: Google’s AI Mode (and the data that it has access to) will have a significant impact on our online shopping behaviours. Google incorporating checkout in its search products will force eCommerce and payment providers to rethink their customer journeys and business models and transform how consumers discover, purchase, and pay for products online.

Related links for further learning:

1. https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-ai-mode-update/#ai-mode-search
2. https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-ai-mode-lets-you-virtually-try-clothes-on-by-uploading-a-single-photo-174820693.html
3. https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-io-2025-recap-ai-updates-android-xr-google-beam-and-everything-else-announced-at-the-annual-keynote-175900229.html
4. https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/20/google-adds-ai-powered-shopping-features-for-discovery-and-easy-check-out/
5. https://www.theverge.com/news/671514/google-ai-mode-overviews-ads-expansion