Google Cloud is launching an AI recommendation engine for online retailers

Google Cloud Logo
(Image credit: Google Cloud)

Google Cloud has announced the launch of a new suite of solutions designed to help retailers worldwide enhance their ecommerce capabilities and deliver personalized consumer experiences.

The cloud computing service's Product Discovery Solutions for Retail will allow retailers to implement search and recommendation capabilities that enhance customer engagement and improve conversions across their digital properties.

The retail industry has struggled with the shift to online shopping for a decade but it is now facing one of the most unpredictable periods to date as a result of the pandemic. As more consumers turn to online shopping, retailers are facing pressure to prioritize ecommerce improvements that enhance the entire consumer shopping journey while also improving their bottom line.

VP of retail and consumer at Google Cloud, Carrie Tharp explained in a press release how more personalized shopping experiences will help retailers better compete online, saying:

“As the shift to online continues, smarter and more personalized shopping experiences will be even more critical for retailers to rise above their competition. Retailers are in dire need of agile operating models powered by cloud infrastructure and technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to meet today’s industry demands. We’re proud to partner with retailers around the world, and bring forward our Product Discovery offerings to help them succeed.”

Product Discovery Solutions for Retail

To develop its new Product Discovery Solutions for Retail, Google leveraged its own semantic understanding of online search and user intent but the company also collaborated with some of the world's leading retailers. The new suite of solutions brings together state-of-the-art AI algorithms with the highly scalable infrastructure of Google Cloud.

Recommendations AI, which is now generally available, enables retailers to deliver highly personalized product recommendations at scale and across all channels. It also uses Google Cloud's latest machine learning architectures so that retailers can dynamically adapt to real-time user behavior and changes.

Vision API Product Search is another component of Google Cloud's Product Discovery Solutions for Retail which will allow shoppers to search for products with an image and receive a ranked list of visually and semantically similar items. The solution is now generally available to all companies.

Finally Google Cloud Search for Retail is available in public preview and it pulls from Google's deep understanding of user intent and context to provide retailers with high-quality product search functionality that can be embedded into their sites and mobile apps.

Online shopping has been growing in popularity for years now but the pandemic helped accelerate its adoption further. Now with Google Cloud's Product Discovery Solutions for Retail, retailers will be able to gain an edge on their competition when it comes to ecommerce.

Anthony Spadafora

After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.