Google partners Walmart, Shopify to enable AI-powered shopping in Gemini chatbot

Google is expanding the shopping capabilities of its Gemini AI chatbot by partnering with major retailers including Walmart, Shopify and Wayfair, allowing users to browse, personalise and purchase products directly within the chat.

The new features, unveiled at the National Retail Federation’s annual convention in New York, include an instant checkout function that lets users complete purchases without leaving Gemini. Payments initially will be limited to cards linked to Google accounts, with PayPal integration planned soon.

Customers linking their retailer accounts can receive personalized recommendations based on past purchases . Items bought via Gemini can also be added directly to existing online shopping carts at Walmart or Sam’s Club, streamlining the path from discovery to purchase.

“The transition from traditional web or app search to agent-led commerce represents the next great evolution in retail,” said Walmart’s incoming president and CEO John Furner, in a joint statement with Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.

For example, a user planning a ski trip could ask Gemini for gear recommendations, and the chatbot would pull items from partner retailers’ inventories. The AI-assisted shopping experience aims to function like a virtual personal shopper , helping consumers refine choices and discover products suited to their needs and budgets.

The move reflects growing competition among tech companies to integrate AI into e-commerce. OpenAI and Walmart launched a similar instant checkout feature in ChatGPT last October, and Amazon, Google and OpenAI are all racing to make shopping faster, more personalised, and fully in-app. Salesforce estimates that AI influenced around $272 billion , or 20% of global retail sales, during the recent holiday season.

In addition to AI shopping, Walmart and Alphabet announced plans to expand drone delivery with Wing to 150 more stores, bringing the total to 270 US locations by 2027, potentially linking AI recommendations with faster delivery.

Google said Gemini’s AI shopping features will initially be available only in the US , with international expansion planned in the coming months.