Google is offering a new clothing and accessories search experience to its American users on browser and mobile application. It adds a new section dedicated to style recommendations.
“I’m a bit of a decorator, a bit of a stylist“, Google might sing, at least to the ears of American users, although they may not know Charles Aznavour. Google is launching a new section across the Atlantic called “style recommendations» on its application and on its search engine. At the moment this is experimental and seeks to help users find accessories and clothing.
A new search experience to find clothes on Google like Tinder
Finding a glove that fits you like a glove is Google’s new goal. Its new experience is intended for American users who have opted for the Search Generative Experience (SGE) on Search Labs, which allows them to preview Google features. Much like a dating app like Tinder, users are asked to rate via thumbs up or thumbs down on clothing. So Google learns what you want as your next favorite shirt by marking you by the pants. By swiping to one side, you can access personalized results.
The idea is that Google remembers your preferences for future searches. The next time, the search engine will remember your preferences to offer even more personalized results. For even more precision, you can tell Google the brands you like, which gives them priority in the results.
Finding clothes using generative AI: Google’s promise
Google also adds in this section an option to generate images of the ideal garment you are looking for. From the description given, four photorealistic images are generated by artificial intelligence. By clicking on one of them, you can access products that resemble it. Which is not surprising, since Google’s image generation model was most likely trained on clothing images found… on Google.
This is not a revolutionary tool, since Google already allows you to find clothes based on a description given to it. This is even the essence of the search engine. What this new functionality allows is simply to guide the search through another step. After finding the item of clothing that interests us, Google offers a virtual try-on tool, already present since last year, but still reserved for American users. In fact, it allows clothes to be adapted to a variety of virtual models (men and women), for all sizes, from XXS to 4XL.