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Gap is working with Google to integrate its shopping experience into Google Gemini. With this move, the retailer can enable its customers to discover and purchase items directly within the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.
The feature, currently in testing, is expected to roll out soon and will enable users to complete purchases without being redirected to Gap’s website.Speaking about the shift in an interview with CNBC, Gap CTO Sven Gerjets said, “It's not just keyword search anymore, right? It's conversations, and so we need to be relevant to that. Is it, you know, 'I'm trying to figure out what to do for a wedding, what are the things I should be looking at?' Or, 'I've got a job interview, are there some styles I should wear?' All of those things we need to become relevant to.”Under the partnership, users browsing Gemini for items such as clothing recommendations may see Gap products and complete purchases within the platform itself, without being redirected to the retailer’s website.
Product information will be provided directly by Gap to ensure accuracy and maintain control over the customer experience, while transactions will be processed through Google Pay, with Gap handling fulfillment. The company said it is currently testing the feature and expects to make it available to customers “imminently,” as retailers adapt to changing shopping behaviour driven by AI platforms.
GAP working with Google to bring AI sizing tool to Gemini
Apart from the Gemini shopping experience, Gap is also preparing to introduce an AI-powered sizing tool called Bold Metrics to help customers choose the right size when shopping online.
The partnership with Google Gemini, along with Gap’s use of customer-facing AI tools, comes at a time when competition in the fashion retail market is increasing and the landscape is becoming more fragmented.Retailers are also adapting to how AI platforms surface products. If a company’s data is accessible and readable by AI systems, its products are more likely to appear in chat-based search results. However, if product data is not structured in a way that AI models can interpret, brands risk missing potential sales opportunities.While many companies are adopting AI in different ways, Gap’s collaboration with Gemini is among the early examples of this type of integration. Gerjets said the company views this as an initial step that will continue to develop.For now, features such as linking loyalty accounts or redeeming points are not supported, which could create some limitations for existing customers. However, Gerjets indicated that these features may be added later."We'll continue to evolve the experience and bring the things forward that the customers want, so that is definitely the roadmap and the future. It's a very first experience in, I think, a journey that we're all on to really nail what agentic commerce is for the customers,” he said.Alongside Google, ChatGPT maker OpenAI has also explored similar partnerships with companies like Walmart and Etsy, but later stepped back from enabling in-app checkout.
While more users are turning to AI platforms for product discovery, this share remains small overall, and it remains unclear how many customers are comfortable completing purchases directly on these platforms.Some users may hesitate to enter payment details into AI systems, while others may prefer shopping through retailer apps where their loyalty points and stored payment methods are already available. However, since Google already stores payment data for many users, some may find it easier to complete purchases through Gemini than on newer platforms like ChatGPT.Gemini also offers features such as real-time product data, support for adding multiple items to a cart, and, in some cases, integration with loyalty programmes, capabilities that are still evolving on other platforms. Gerjets noted that Gemini’s “Universal Commerce Protocol” is designed to give merchants more control over the shopping experience, while OpenAI’s “Agentic Commerce Protocol” focuses more on discovery.“This space is moving so quickly ... We're all evolving and learning together, and who knows what the space will look like in five years, who will be crowned the victor, or how fragmented the space will be? For us, it's important that we work with all of them, because we really want to meet our customers where they want to be,” he added.
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