So, how can Google help me with my holiday shopping?
We all know that holiday shopping can be a very stress-inducing time. You’ve got 15 tabs open, you’re tracking prices, and you’re just trying to find a “stylish faux leather jacket.” Google knows this is a mess, and in a new announcement, it just detailed a slew of AI-powered updates to try and solve it.
For starters, they’re making shopping in Search (in AI Mode) more conversational. The idea is you can ask for vague things just like you would a friend, and it will serve up shoppable images and even side-by-side comparison tables for things like moisturizers. This is also coming directly to the Gemini app, pulling info from Google’s massive Shopping Graph.
The new AI “agents”
From everything that was announced, these were the two updates that really stood out to me:
- Let Google call: If you find a product and want it locally, Google will offer to call stores near you to check for stock, price, and promos. It uses their Duplex tech (now with a Gemini upgrade) to do the work.
The shopping agent can now call the store for you to find out availability and more. | Image credit — Google
- Agentic checkout: You can track an item’s price, set a budget, and when it hits that price, you can let Google buy it for you on the merchant’s site using Google Pay.
The shopping agent can also buy a tracked item for you. | Image credit — Google
Why this is helpful
Shopping using AI Mode in Search. | Images credit — Google
This isn’t just about better search results. This is Google’s biggest swing yet at taking on Amazon’s e-commerce dominance. For years, Amazon has tried to own the entire shopping journey, especially with “Shop with Alexa.” But let’s be real, that’s mostly just been good for re-ordering paper towels.
Google is trying to leapfrog that model. Instead of just being a product database, it wants to be your personal shopping assistant. The “Let Google Call” feature is something Amazon simply can’t compete with right now. It bridges the gap between online search and the real-world headache of local inventory. Google is connecting its Search, AI (Gemini), and local (Duplex) advantages into one cohesive package.
Honestly, I’m here for some of this
My first reaction? The “agentic checkout” feature sounds a little… intense. Do I trust an AI to automatically buy something the second it hits a price? Maybe not for a sofa. But for a specific, hard-to-find Lego set or a video game? Okay, I’m listening.
The real magic, for me, is the “Let Google Call” feature. The amount of time I’ve wasted calling stores just to get a “uh, I think we have it?” is ridiculous. Having an AI agent do that grunt work is a genuinely useful, futuristic-feeling feature. It’s the kind of thing that actually saves me time and frustration.
This update moves Google from a “search tool” to a “do-it-for-me tool.” I’m skeptical about how smoothly it will all work, especially the auto-buy part, but letting Google handle customer service hold music? Sign me up.
