Google’s AI shopping play: Smarter search, virtual try-ons, and AR upsell

The news: Google is releasing various AI features embedded directly into Google Shopping this week as a jumping-off point for online product advertising and ecommerce. It’s also integrating augmented-reality (AR) functionality to offer online retailers a wider canvas to engage online shoppers.

For brands, the AR and AI shopping tools could reduce friction in the consideration phase and help drive higher-quality traffic to product pages.