Google Launches Shop with AI Mode 🤖

Plus: Google Ads adds device targeting to PMax Campaigns 📲, while Amazon expands AI-powered ads on Prime Video 🛒!

May 21, 2025

Ever thought about what happens when AI agents start nabbing Black Friday deals faster than you can blink? Why stay up hunting discounts when your digital assistant can do the job while you sleep 😴?

Hi there, and welcome to another issue of The Ecom Press 🗞️!

This week, Google dropped two big updates: users can now shop inside AI Mode, and advertisers can now target specific devices with their campaigns. Meanwhile, Amazon’s taking pause ads to the next level by making them context-aware and shoppable 📺.

Let’s unpack it already, shall we 😌?

In a rush? Here's the juice🤭:

🤖 Google launches Shop with AI Mode.

📲 Google Ads adds device targeting to PMax Campaigns.

🛒 Amazon expands AI-powered ads on Prime Video.

🧰 Tool Spotlight: 5 AI Tools Powering Smarter Ecommerce

⚡️Worthy Mentions

Source: Google

Google has officially introduced AI Mode, a major expansion of its AI-powered shopping capabilities announced during Google I/O 2025. The experience combines real-time visual inspiration, AI search refinement, virtual try-ons, and agentic checkout, enabling shoppers to complete purchases with minimal manual steps.

Here are the features ⚙️

🔍 Smart Discovery with Shopping Graph: Google’s AI Mode taps into its 50+ billion product listings via the Shopping Graph. Users can search for products in natural language (e.g., “travel bag for Portland in May”), and the AI launches a “query fan-out,” running multiple simultaneous searches to pinpoint relevant options. 

The right-hand panel dynamically updates with product visuals, helping users refine their decisions in real time.

 💸 Agentic Checkout with Price Tracking: Soon, shoppers can hit “track price” on any product and set preferences like size, color, and max budget. Once the item hits the right price, Google notifies the user. 

Then, with a single “buy for me” tap, Google completes the transaction on the merchant’s site via Google Pay, without users having to navigate checkout themselves.

👗 Try Clothes on Yourself Virtually: Previously limited to showing apparel on various models, Google’s virtual try-on now lets users upload a full-body photo and see how shirts, dresses, pants, or skirts would look on them. 

The AI accounts for how fabric folds, drapes, and stretches on different body types, all powered by a custom image generation model built for fashion. This feature is live in the U.S. via Search Labs.

Why it matters 🤔

Frankly, it’s not news anymore how agentic AI is reshaping ecommerce. But considering Shop with AI Mode combines real-time search, dynamic visuals, personalized try-ons, and autonomous checkout, it puts serious pressure on brands to optimize their listings and readiness for AI-assisted transactions. 

Source: JarTee | Shutterstock

Google Ads has finally introduced device targeting for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns, a long-awaited update giving advertisers more control over where their ads appear. Previously, PMax was known for its “black box” automation, making it difficult for users to tailor ad strategies to device-specific behaviors.

Here’s the lowdown ⬇️:

With the new update, advertisers can now choose to target or exclude specific devices across four categories:

  • Computers: Laptops and desktops (screens >7")

  • Mobile Phones: For targeting on-the-go users

  • Tablets: For casual browsers or hybrid use

  • TV Screens: Includes smart TVs, consoles, Chromecast (only for Display and Video)

This means if you’re running a B2B lead gen campaign, you can now exclude TV screens, or double down on mobile-only campaigns if your funnel is mobile-first.

Before this change, PMax offered minimal control, often leading to wasted spend on irrelevant devices or untested segments. Now, you can shape your ad delivery based on where your best conversions are happening.

Why it matters 🤷‍♂️

This update removes a major blind spot in PMax, and that’s big. Tailoring your campaigns by device means you can finally match audience intent with user behavior, whether that’s mobile impulse buys or desktop research journeys. For ecommerce teams watching every dollar, this is a clear path to smarter spend and tighter funnel optimization.

Source: msn

Amazon is rolling out a new wave of AI-driven ad formats on Prime Video, offering advertisers tools to reach audiences in smarter, more contextual ways. From scene-aware pause ads to real-time shoppable overlays, these updates aim to enhance viewer engagement without disrupting the experience.

Here’s the scoop 🍨:

⏸️ AI-Powered Pause Ads: Viewers will now see pause ads that reflect the content on screen. Using AI, Amazon analyzes the paused scene and instantly generates a contextually relevant ad, so if you're watching a travel drama, you might see an ad for weekend getaways or luggage. 

These ads are designed to blend in visually and tonally with what’s happening in the show, making them feel less intrusive.

✨ Expanded Shoppable Ad Formats: Unlike Shop the Show, which we previously covered as Amazon’s second-screen experience that lets you shop merchandise related to what you're watching, this new rollout focuses on interactive overlays directly within the stream. 

These shoppable ads now pull in live product info from the Amazon store, including pricing, reviews, Prime shipping, and inventory availability, enabling viewers to shop instantly using just their remote.

🧰 Ad Tools for Off-Amazon Brands: For brands not selling directly on Amazon, the company is rolling out additional interactive ad formats. These include CTAs like “get a quote,” “book an appointment,” and “subscribe now,” along with mobile-based lead generation and location-specific messaging. 

These tools are designed to let customers take quick action without disrupting the viewing experience.

Why it matters 🤨

These innovations seem to shorten the path between intent and conversion, as they continue to tap into key engagement moments. Perhaps we're inching closer to a future for ecommerce brands where content, ads, and checkout all live within the same frame. 

🛎️ The Ecom Press Insider

Source: ChatGPT Image Generator

Ecom Fact: Did you know TikTok Live is now the most-watched live shopping platform in the U.S.? 29% of American adults have turned to TikTok Live for shopping, beating out traditional giants like QVC and HSN. Live shopping overall is booming, with 86 million Americans making purchases through these shows, and the market is expected to hit $68 billion by 2026 (Source: Savings.com).

🧰 Tool Spotlight: 5 AI Tools Powering Smarter Ecommerce

There’s no shortage of AI tools out there, but which ones are actually worth your time? This week, we’re shining the spotlight on five platforms that help ecommerce brands run faster, sell smarter, and engage better.

🧩 Dynamic Yield: This tool lets ecommerce brands tailor experiences across web, mobile, and email, from content layouts to product suggestions. The platform uses customer behavior to fuel product recommendations, predict purchases, and trigger the right messages at just the right time.

🔍 Algolia: Shoppers can’t buy what they can’t find. Algolia supercharges your store’s search with predictive AI that understands what customers mean, not just what they type. From smarter collection pages to AI-powered suggestions, it helps uncover hidden gems and boost conversions.

💬 Intercom: As an AI-powered retail assistant, it helps customers get answers fast through AI agents that speak your brand’s language. With features like Fin AI and real-time reporting, it also makes life easier for your human support team, boosting efficiency while enhancing CX across all touchpoints.

🧠 Hypotenuse AI: For brands juggling thousands of SKUs, Hypotenuse AI brings structure to the chaos. It helps you auto-generate product descriptions, enrich messy data, enhance images, and optimize for SEO, all while keeping your brand voice intact.

📣 Blueshift: Blueshift takes customer engagement beyond the inbox. This AI platform helps you orchestrate personalized campaigns across email, SMS, in-app, and more. It’s built for retention, triggering timely nudges, up-sell offers, and post-visit engagement that keeps customers coming back.

⚡️Worthy Mentions

Wrapping up…

Another week of AI buzz, huh? Makes you wonder: just how much of the buyer’s journey can we hand off to these AI agents 🤔? Feels wild now, but give it a few years… who knows?

One thing’s clear: the pace of change is relentless, and each update pushes ecommerce into new territory. Well, staying plugged in isn’t optional 🔌.

We’ll catch you next week, same time, same inbox. And hey, don’t forget to hit that subscribe button like it owes you money 💥.