Remember Google’s “Buy on Google” feature? It was cool and pretty innovative, but it had its flaws, which is why it struggled and ended up shutting down.
If you don’t remember, the feature enabled online merchants to sell products directly from a SERP rather than requiring users to navigate to their site. It never became very popular, mostly because the drawbacks outweighed the advantages. Amazon, for instance, makes a killing off recommending products to users on its site, so, naturally, it wants users to be on its site. The incentive just wasn’t there.
Of course, Google didn’t stop adapting. When support for Buy on Google ended in October 2023, Search Engine Experience and eventually AI Overviews took the limelight. But what does shopping on Google look like now?
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From the Ground Up
Google’s point-of-sale aspirations haven’t gone away completely. They’ve been hard at work behind the scenes building a brand new Google Shopping experience enhanced by AI, of course.
In an October 2024 announcement, the VP/GM of Consumer Shopping at Google, Sean Scott, said “We’ve been using our advances in AI to make shopping on Google even easier, and today, we’re introducing a transformed Google Shopping — rebuilt from the ground up with AI.”
The new shopping experience promises to show users the most relevant products to both speed up and simplify their searches.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test out one of the more interesting new features, since these updates are supposedly only available in the United States – and for the time being, I’m hunkered down in Canada. Nevertheless, Google Shopping now generates AI briefs based on your query to help inform you about products based exactly on what you’re looking for.
The gist of it is this: Say I searched “Pillows for side sleepers” in Google Shopping. The built-in AI would provide a brief of some essential information, maybe ideal materials or firmness for side sleepers to help inform my purchase decision. Then, under each product thumbnail, another short AI-generated blurb would describe the product itself and why it’s suitable for me based on my needs (being a side sleeper).
I really wish I could’ve tested this out for myself, so if you’re reading this and are in the U.S., give it a go!
Becoming the Internet’s New Point of Sale
Google is exploring how it can use AI to make itself more influential in direct purchasing behavior. It’s a question they’ve had a hard time answering: “How do we become the internet’s new point of sale?” And while the death of Buy on Google seemed like a pullback from that lofty goal, this new Google Shopping overhaul and reveal seems aimed at getting its hooks more directly into consumers. I say this not to sound conspiratorial, but more as a Google nerd and observer.
But just when businesses thought they could be in for a break from chasing Google’s constantly changing ways, think again! I feel like I’m always giving you guys tips and tricks on how to stay prepared for impending updates that never stop coming. I supposed that’s the name of the game in this world, though, isn’t it?
With all these new Google Shopping features and AI functionalities, what’s your best course of action?
New Google Shopping, New Optimization Strategies
We already know about Google serving ads in AI Overviews, but this newly optimized, dedicated shopping experience is different, which means it requires new strategies to come out on top.
Optimize Your Product Data Feed
Things are about to get even more personal in this new Google Shopping experience. With a new personalized feed based on user preferences, it allows shoppers to explore products over days or weeks and pick up wherever they left off — since we rarely make purchases right away. That said, it’s important to capture attention quickly.
When optimizing your product data feed for this new shopping experience, try:
- Using high-quality images to capture attention.
- Clear and concise titles that say exactly what the product is.
- Detailed descriptions that highlight key features and benefits.
- Including all relevant attributes (e.g., size, color, material).
The more accurate your product data, the more likely it is to be approved.
Be Competitive in Your Pricing
One of the other big points Sean Scott drove home in the announcement was that shoppers are always, always, always looking for the lowest prices. As such, new deal-finding tools are right at home on this new Shopping interface that helps users more easily compare prices, track prices and more.
This means it’s likely the easiest it’s ever been for users to find the right products at the prices they feel comfortable paying — and it also means that if you sell those products, it’s increasingly important to have competitive pricing strategies.
This new experience makes it so easy for shoppers to compare tons of similar items, and anything outside their budget likely won’t get as much as a second glance.
Use the AI Buying Briefs to Your Advantage
Whatever kinds of products you sell, do a little experiment where you go to Google Shopping and search for them as if you’re a customer. See what the AI-generated briefs tend to say and pick up patterns. Afterward, with a better understanding of how they work for your products, try tailoring your ad campaigns to the specific needs and preferences highlighted in the briefs.
It’s certainly not necessary to dedicate massive amounts of time to this quite yet as the feature is still in an experimental phase, but it never hurts to be on the ball.
Track and Analyze Performance
As always, tracking and analyzing performance is always a good idea — especially in the wake of major updates like this one.
Folks are still figuring out the best ways to go about the new Google Shopping experience from a marketing perspective and one of the best ways to know if what you’re doing is working or not is to look at the data. So, make sure you’re tracking key metrics like click-through rates, conversion rates and return on investment. Then, identify areas for improvement and make those data-driven decisions. You know the drill.
The New Google Shopping
Here’s your TL;DR:
This is gonna be one to watch. Google’s still vying for a place at the point of sale. While previous attempts left something to be desired and this most recent update doesn’t allow users to make purchases directly on SERPs (as far as I know), I think this is their way of getting back into the game.
Note: This article was originally published on contentmarketing.ai.
