Google Rolls Out New AI Shopping Agents: What Does It Mean for Retailers?

- Google announced its new AI shopping agent tools on January 11. - The new tech has major retailers such as Kroger, Lowe’s, and Papa John's on board. - Google's Agentic commerce tech is ready to compete with OpenAI and Microsoft (new shopping features in ChatGPT and Copilot).

Adepu Bindu

12 Jan 2026 — 4 min read

Google Rolls Out New AI Shopping Agents: What Does It Mean for Retailers?

According to Honeywell’s report, about 85% of retail companies have embraced AI-based solutions, and about 60% are expanding their use. Google has sought to capitalise on the opportunity and is offering AI-powered shopping assistants. Retailers will now have more options than being forced to sell only through third-party chatbots like ChatGPT or Copilot. Major retailers like Kroger, Lowe’s, and Papa John's are already on board with Google's AI-assisted shopping. So, what exactly is Google doing? What is an agentic commerce? How do Google’s tools help retailers? And will AI replace people in retail as well? For all that, learn more.

Google Launched Agentic Tech For Retailers

Google’s AI Agentic Shopping Tools for Retailers

Agentic commerce is the new market (in trend). Big names like Microsoft and OpenAI have already entered the trend. Now joins Google. On January 11, Google announced the launch of new AI tools for retailers to help them build AI agents. The move is Google's first serious step into AI agent–based shopping, specifically for retailers. The software is part of Google's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience. Th tool can:

Help the customers find products easily. No more clicking through different websites. Google AI will do it for you: compare options, choose products, and complete the purchase.
Answer questions (customer support).
It takes action for you. Place orders (even if it's ordering food at your favourite restaurants).

How Are Retailers Using Google’s AI Shopping Assistant Agent?

Retailer	How They Use Google’s AI	What the AI Does	Where Customers Use It	Key Benefit/Insight
Kroger	Testing Google’s shopping agent inside its mobile app	Compares grocery items, personalises shopping, and understands context (like the time limits, meal plans, and so on). It also handles purchasing using customer data (price sensitivity, flavour, and brand preferences).	Kroger mobile app	Helps customers shop faster and more personally. The company believes that not adopting AI agents creates a competitive disadvantage.
Lowe’s	Uses Google’s shopping agent as the backend for its virtual assistant “Mylow”	Answers shopping questions and assists with purchases.	Lowe’s website (online assistant)	More than doubles conversion rates; Google helps keep AI tools up to date as technology changes rapidly.
Papa Johns	Testing Google’s food-ordering AI agent instead of building its own	Automatically estimates pizza quantities from user-uploaded photos and handles ordering.	Phone, website, and Papa John's app	The tool lets the company focus on using AI rather than building it. The tool improves overall ordering convenience.

OpenAI launched Agentic Commerce Protocol tool on September 29, 2025

Who Else Is in the AI Shopping Game (Alongside Google)?

On September 29, 2025, OpenAI launched Instant Checkout in ChatGPT (buy directly inside ChatGPT).
On January 8, Microsoft added a similar checkout feature to Copilot.
On October 14, 2025, Walmart partnered with OpenAI so customers could purchase Walmart products via ChatGPT.

Why Retailers Are Nervous About Selling Inside ChatGPT or Copilot?

More than ever, shoppers are more willing to let AI assistants help, even decide on what to buy. That's when the retailer started selling inside the third-party chatbots. However, there are fewer opportunities to sell additional items via chatbots. There is less control over how products are shown. Retailers will have to share their customer data. And more importantly, bear potential losses from advertising revenue. Google saw this gap as an opportunity. It's now developing technology that lets retailers build their own AI assistants, with complete control.

Final Thoughts...

Kroger, Lowe’s, and Papa John's being on board is promising. However, they didn't reveal the exact business. So, there are no measurements of the full impact of Google’s AI agents. And it's clear that traditional shopping isn’t disappearing any time soon. For a bigger picture, we'll have to wait a little longer. In the meantime, keep in touch for more updates.