Google AI Mode adds visual search for smarter, conversational shopping
The rollout is expected to take several days to reach all users.
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Google has upgraded its AI Mode search to include conversational visual search, allowing users to shop using natural language and reference images rather than relying on traditional filters. The update, rolling out this week to US users in English, enables shoppers to describe products “like the way you'd talk to a friend,” according to Robby Stein, vice president of product for Google Search.
Users can now search with vague descriptions such as “barrel jeans that aren’t too baggy” and refine results with follow-ups like “show me acid-washed denim” or “I want more ankle length.” Searches can be initiated using uploaded reference images, photos taken on the spot, or a combination of images and text.
The new capability uses Google’s “visual search fan-out” technique, which runs multiple background queries to identify subtle details and secondary objects in images. Powered by Gemini 2.5’s multimodal capabilities and Google’s Shopping Graph of over 50 billion product listings, AI Mode delivers more relevant, shoppable results, including direct links to retailers, reviews, deals, and availability. Google refreshes more than two billion product listings hourly to maintain accuracy.
Beyond shopping, the visual search feature can be used for broader exploration, including interior design inspiration. Mobile users can query specific elements within images and receive conversational follow-ups about what they see. Stein admitted that AI Mode’s previous text-heavy responses to image searches could be “silly,” prompting this more visually intuitive approach, which builds on Google Lens and Image search technologies.
The rollout is expected to take several days to reach all users, marking the latest enhancement since AI Mode became broadly available in the US in March.
