At Google I/O 2025 last week, the tech giant didn’t just unveil updates - it rewrote the rulebook for online retail. This wasn’t just another keynote presentation. It was a seismic shift towards AI-led, frictionless, and highly visual consumer journeys. At the heart of this evolution are three innovations: conversational shopping, agentic checkout, and a fundamental rethinking of SEO. I wanted to take a brief look at each calling out the key impacts and opportunities.

TLDR:

• Conversational AI is now central to product discovery - natural language replaces keywords.

• Agentic checkout reduces cart friction to nearly zero, shifting value to backend integration.

• Traditional SEO is being displaced by structured, citable content in AI-generated product cards.

• It’s time to overhaul product data and checkout systems for AI compatibility.

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1. Conversational Shopping: The End of Keyword-Driven Discovery

Google’s new “AI Mode” allows shoppers to describe their needs in natural language - layered, personal, and contextual. Think: “A breathable summer dress for a beach wedding in Ibiza.” Google’s AI parses this through query fan-out, running simultaneous searches across its shopping graph, now indexing 50+ billion product listings. This isn’t voice search 2.0 - it’s the beginning of intent-driven visual commerce. Product discovery now happens in an evolving visual panel that updates in real time, tailored to nuances like weather, occasion, and local inventory.

What’s the impact?

Brands must rethink product listings. Tags like colour and size are no longer enough. Contextual data - weather suitability, style references, occasion use - must be structured and AI-readable. Fashion retailers with rich, nuanced metadata will win the algorithmic race to visibility.

2. Agentic Checkout: One-Tap Transactions, Zero Friction

“Buy for me.” That’s the only thing the user has to say. Google’s Agentic Checkout system takes it from there: tracking preferences, managing stock alerts, and finalising the purchase with Google Pay.

For fashion and retail, this could be the death of the abandoned cart. 70% of carts are abandoned, mostly due to friction. By automating every step post-decision, Google is removing that friction entirely.

What’s the impact?

Backend compatibility with Google’s agentic systems: product feeds, payment gateways, and customer data frameworks need to support instant AI-led transactions. Failure to integrate could mean being invisible at the moment of purchase intent.

3. SEO is Dead, Long Live AI Visibility

With AI Overviews, Google is retiring the traditional blue link as the dominant search currency. Instead, AI-generated cards, summaries, and panels are the new storefronts. This means authority and structure beat keyword stuffing.

What’s the impact?

SEO strategies must evolve. Optimising for AI visibility now means having citable content, structured product data, and seamless integration into Google’s ecosystem. Paid search, too, will shift: new ad placements will emerge within conversational flows, making intent-based targeting more crucial than ever.

AI is the Front Door

Google has turned itself into a shopping concierge, and its AI is the new front door to the fashion marketplace. This is both a wake-up call and an opportunity. Those who develop & enrich their product & shopper data - ensure its curated, tagged, and contextually rich - will thrive. They will win and pull in more customers through enhanced discovery and purchase.  The brands that act now won’t just keep up - they’ll lead the next generation of digital retail.