Gemini AI shopping: Google adds in-chat checkout

Google is expanding shopping inside its Gemini AI chatbot by teaming up with major retailers including Walmart, Shopify, and Wayfair, aiming to let users discover products and complete purchases without leaving the chat. The updates were unveiled as the National Retail Federation’s annual convention opened in New York, where retailers and tech companies are spotlighting AI’s growing role in e-commerce.

The new experience is designed to make Gemini act like a virtual merchant and assistant, returning product suggestions from participating retailers based on a shopper’s request. Google and Walmart say an instant checkout feature will let customers buy from some businesses through a range of payment providers without leaving the Gemini chat where they found the product. Google says the AI-assisted shopping features inside Gemini will be available to U.S. users first, with international expansion planned in the coming months.

How shopping in Gemini will work

Google describes a flow where a user can ask Gemini what to buy for a specific need—such as gear for a winter ski trip—and Gemini returns items drawn from participating retailers’ inventories. For Walmart, the companies say shoppers who link their Walmart and Google accounts can receive recommendations informed by past purchases. Walmart and Google also say items selected through Gemini can be combined with a customer’s existing Walmart or Sam’s Club online cart.

Google says payments will initially be limited to cards linked to a user’s Google account, and the company says PayPal will be added as a payment option soon. The broader goal, as described in the coverage, is to reduce “friction” by letting shoppers move from browsing to buying within the same AI experience instead of switching to a retailer’s website.

Retail partnerships and the NRF launch

The partnerships announced include Walmart, Shopify, and Wayfair, with Google positioning the Gemini app as a place where users can shop through retailer connections. The announcement was made on the first day of the National Retail Federation’s annual convention in New York, an event expected to draw 40,000 attendees from retail and technology companies. The convention is expected to focus heavily on artificial intelligence in e-commerce and how it may influence consumer behavior.

Walmart’s incoming president and CEO, John Furner, called the shift from traditional web or app search to agent-led commerce “the next great evolution in retail,” in a joint statement with Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Furner also said Walmart is trying to “close the gap between I want it and I have it” with the help of AI.

Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise for CX

Alongside consumer shopping features, Google introduced Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (CX), describing it as a professional Gemini AI suite aimed at online retail that supports a smoother path from product search to customer service. Google says Gemini Enterprise for CX uses “complex reasoning” to understand intent and carry out multi-step tasks on a customer’s behalf while factoring in preferences and consent. Google also says it enables shopping and customer service interactions without leaving the Google application.

Google Cloud describes Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience as a platform that brings shopping and customer service into a single interface and uses multiple AI agents across the customer journey. Google Cloud says it is built for retailers and restaurants, with prebuilt and configurable agents based on Google’s Gemini models, and that businesses can deploy the agents in days. Google Cloud also says the system can keep context as a customer moves between channels such as a website, mobile app, and phone support, addressing what it describes as the problem of customers repeating information across separate bots and systems.

Agents, ordering, and early adopters

Google Cloud says Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience includes a Shopping agent that links front-end chat and voice experiences to back-end tools, and that it can handle more complex tasks than a conventional chatbot. Google Cloud says the Shopping agent can interpret requests and narrow product options, accept inputs such as images, video, and voice, and take actions—like adding items to a basket and moving toward checkout—after a customer gives consent. Google Cloud says Kroger, Lowe’s, and Woolworths plan to use these features across shopping journeys.

Google Cloud also introduced Customer Experience Agent Studio as part of Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, saying it enables businesses to build, test, and deploy multimodal support agents and connects with the Shopping agent while using historical context from earlier interactions. MediaPost reports the broader suite solves problems in real time through multimodal interactions across phone, mobile, and the web in more than 40 languages.

In restaurants, Google Cloud says Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience includes an updated Food Ordering agent that supports ordering across mobile apps, websites, telephone, kiosks, and in-car systems. Google Cloud identifies Papa Johns as the first customer for the omnichannel ordering features and says the agent can take orders, suggest add-ons using menu context, and search for deals for the customer. MediaPost also reports Papa Johns became the first to deploy Google Cloud’s omnichannel “Food Ordering agent,” describing it as part of Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience.

Universal Commerce Protocol and “Direct Offers”

MediaPost reports Google is launching the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), describing it as a new open standard for agentic commerce that works across the shopping journey—from discovery and buying to post-purchase support—and noting it was co-developed with Shopify. MediaPost reports UCP is meant to create a common language so agents and systems can operate across consumer surfaces, businesses, and payment providers, reducing the need for unique connections for each agent. MediaPost reports Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart also helped develop the protocol, and that it has been endorsed by more than 20 merchants and brands including companies such as Adyen, American Express, Best Buy, Flipkart, Macy’s, Mastercard, Stripe, The Home Depot, Visa, and Zalando.

GKToday describes UCP as an open standard designed for AI-driven commerce across discovery, purchase, and post-transaction support, and says it is intended to help retailers connect with consumers using AI tools for product discovery and purchasing decisions. GKToday also says Google is introducing a checkout capability for eligible product listings shown in AI Mode on Search and within the Gemini app, allowing shoppers to complete purchases from selected retailers while researching products on Google. Both MediaPost and GKToday describe a “Direct Offers” pilot—MediaPost says it gives advertisers the ability to serve exclusive offers to shoppers ready to buy in AI Mode, while GKToday says the pilot focuses on discounts with plans to expand to other value attributes.