Elizabeth Warren demands Google explain how Gemini checkout will handle user privacy

Sen. Warren wants to know what Google Gemini's built-in checkout means for user privacy

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is pressing Google for more information about its plans to build a checkout feature into its Gemini AI chatbot. In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Warren expresses concerns that the integration could allow Google and retailers "to exploit sensitive user data" or "manipulate consumers into spending more and paying higher prices." Last month, Google announced that it will soon allow users to buy products directly within Gemini through the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a standard it developed in partnership with Shopify, Target, Walmart, Wayfair, and Etsy. The UCP is supposed to make it easier for AI agents to communicate with retailers, but Warren wants to know just how much user information -- and what kinds -- Google plans on providing to retailers through this pipeline. "Google already possesses unprecedented troves of user search and AI chat data, and such intimate data could be merged with both user data from other Google services and third-party retailer data to drive consumer behavior in an exploitative manner," Warren writes, while also questioning whether Google will prioritize shopping results from retail partners over competitors. Warren adds that the company has already admitted that it will use "sensitive data to help retailers upsell consumers into buying a more 'premium' product." The letter cites a reply from Google on X in which it clarified that retailers will be able to "show additional premium product options that people might be interested in." In addition to a series of questions about user privacy, Warren is asking Google for information about how user data will affect pricing, as well as whether it will inform users when Gemini suggests a product "based on upselling objectives, advertising incentives, or sensitive user data." Google has until February 17th to respond.

US senator presses Google on Gemini's upcoming checkout tool potentially manipulating shoppers

Warren is also concerned that Google could prioritize shopping results from retail partners over competitors. In mid-January, Google announced it collaborated with companies like Shopify, Walmart, Target, Etsy, and Wayfair to create a protocol called the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). This protocol would make it easier for AI agents to communicate with retailers for purchases. Along with this protocol, Google also revealed that it would integrate a checkout feature into Gemini, allowing you to make online purchases with the AI. This move has now attracted the attention of one US senator, and for good reason.