Google augments AI shopping with conversational search, agentic checkout and an AI that calls stores for you (techcrunch.com)

Google this week unveiled a package of AI-driven shopping features timed for the holiday season: conversational shopping in its AI Mode, richer shopping responses in the Gemini app, agentic checkout that can buy items for you, and an AI that calls local stores to check inventory. The aim is to reduce tedious steps in discovery and purchase—letting users chat in natural language, see images or comparison tables, track prices and even authorize Google to complete purchases via Google Pay—while preserving browsing and serendipitous discovery. Google says these tools are powered by its Shopping Graph (over 50 billion product listings, with ~2 billion updates hourly) so inventory and pricing should be timely; initial rollouts are U.S.-focused and include partners like Wayfair, Chewy, Quince and select Shopify merchants. Key technical pieces and implications: AI Mode leverages the Shopping Graph to surface tailored results (photos, prices, reviews, comparison tables), Gemini will return “fleshed-out” shopping ideas, and agentic checkout automates buy-on-price-drop workflows but always asks permission and confirmation of shipping/payment. The store-calling feature builds on Duplex plus Google’s Shopping and payments infra to place scripted, opt-in calls for categories like toys, health & beauty and electronics; Google will disclose the AI caller, limit call frequency and allow retailers to opt out. Sponsored listings will appear in AI Mode experimentally (not yet in Gemini). Together these moves accelerate agentic e‑commerce, raise merchant interaction patterns, and highlight regulatory/UX questions around automated purchasing and AI-driven phone interactions.