By Belle Lin
Google unveiled a set of tools for retailers that helps them roll out AI agents, aiming to make it easier for brands to reach their customers who are shopping with the technology.
The new retail AI agents, which help shoppers find their desired items, provide customer support and let people order food at restaurants, are part of what Alphabet-owned Google calls Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience.
Major retailers, including home improvement giant Lowe's, the grocer Kroger and pizza chain Papa Johns say they are already using Google's tools to help prepare for the incoming wave of AI-assisted shopping and ordering.
Cincinnati-based Kroger is testing Google's shopping agent, which helps customers compare grocery items, personalizes their shopping experience and can handle purchasing, according to Yael Cosset, the company's chief digital officer and executive vice president. "Things are moving at a pace that if you're not already deep into [AI agents], you're probably creating a competitive barrier or disadvantage," Cosset said.
The shopping agent, which is available through Kroger's mobile app, is capable of understanding context and intent, such as a shopper's time constraints and meal plans, and combines that with customer data Kroger already has, including price sensitivity, flavor and brand affinity, Cosset added.
Google's new artificial-intelligence tools mark the company's first foray into AI-agent based shopping for retailers, and comes as the nascent agentic commerce market takes shape.
AI agents, which are the independent bots that can take action on behalf of humans, are becoming a growing medium by which shoppers are beginning to cede control over what and how they buy online. People are starting to turn to AI chatbots and services to act as personal shopping assistants, or even asking AI agents to do their purchasing for them -- though agent-based shopping isn't yet the dominant form of purchasing.
Kicking off the race among tech giants to get ahead of this shift, OpenAI released its Instant Checkout feature last fall, which lets users buy stuff directly through its chatbot ChatGPT. In January, Microsoft announced a similar checkout feature for its Copilot chatbot.
Soon after OpenAI's release last year, Walmart said it would partner with OpenAI to let shoppers buy its products within ChatGPT.
But for any retailer, making its products directly shoppable within AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Copilot or Google's Gemini risks hurting customer loyalty and could take away add-on sale opportunities. It could also dent ad revenue.
In contrast, developing their own AI agents and shopping channels gives retailers more control over how their products are being shown and delivered with AI.
"There's a market shift across the spectrum of retailers who are investing in their own capabilities rather than just relying on third-parties," said Lauren Wiener, a global leader of marketing and customer growth at Boston Consulting Group.
Google's new tools are meant to help address the challenges retailers might face in building their own AI agents, said Ed Anderson, a tech analyst at market research and consulting firm Gartner. "The real challenge here is application of the technologies," he said. "These announcements take a step forward so that retailers don't have to start from ground zero."
Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe's is using Google's shopping agent as the back-end technology for its own virtual shopping assistant, called Mylow, said Seemantini Godbole, the company's chief digital and information officer. When shoppers engage with Mylow online, it more than doubles the company's conversation rate, Lowe's said.
But the technology behind AI agents is moving so quickly that the tech Lowe's builds can become outdated in a matter of two weeks, according to Godbole. That is partly why the company is betting on a number of vendors to support its AI agents, including OpenAI, she said.
Kroger is taking a similar tack and working with several tech vendors, including OpenAI and Instacart, said Cosset, its chief digital officer. "[AI agents] are not just top of mind, it's a priority for us," he said. "It's going at a remarkable pace."
Papa Johns doesn't build its own AI models or its own AI agents, said Chief Digital and Technology Officer Kevin Vasconi. That is why the pizza chain is testing Google's food ordering agent, which can perform tasks like automatically detecting how many pizzas a group might need based on a user-uploaded photo, Vasconi said. Customers will be able to use the agent through the phone, the Papa Johns website and its app.
"I don't want to be an AI expert in terms of building the agents," Vasconi said, "I want to be an AI expert in terms of, 'How do I use the agents?'"
Still, while AI agent-based commerce is evolving at a breakneck pace, there is reason for retailers to pause and take a beat.
"I don't think [AI agents] are going to totally change the industry," Vasconi said. "People still call our stores on the phone to order pizza in this day and age."
Kroger, Lowe's and Papa Johns declined to say specifically how Google's retail agents have so far made an impact on their business.
Write to Belle Lin at belle.lin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 11, 2026 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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