Google AI Mode Shows Same Products 21.6% Pricier Than Traditional Search, Study Reveals

Shop Around: Study Finds Google AI Mode Shows Higher Prices Than Search

(Credit: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) If you use Google AI Mode to shop, you may want to double-check prices before you hit checkout. A new report claims that AI Mode often shows higher prices than traditional Google Shopping tools. The researchers at Product Rise ran tests on the US and UK versions of each method, finding that products matching traditional search listings cost an average of 21.6% more when bought through the recommended retailer within AI Mode. There's no difference between these products, only the recommended retailer, meaning buying through Google Shopping would save you money with no downsides. The report shows an example of a bidet attachment recommended at $119.07 on Home Depot in a typical Google search, but at $149.99 through Walmart when in AI Mode. Brodie Clark, an SEO consultant specializing in Google's tools, told Product Rise, "While the higher price might be displayed within the grid result in AI Mode (making the top-level comparison less accurate), what we tend to see is that the retailer with the lowest price gets the click in the end." Clark believes this research shows AI Mode may not focus on a product's price as much as many users would expect. Speaking to Futurism, a spokesperson for Google said, "While we haven't verified the accuracy of the claims in this report, all shopping results on Google Search, including AI Mode and the search results page, are powered by the same data source: our Shopping Graph. Shoppers can easily click into a product listing to compare prices for that product across retailers and choose the best option for them." The report also found that the two tools disagree on product pricing 38.1% of the time, with AI Mode being the more expensive tool in two-thirds of those cases. Beyond matched products, the research found AI Mode recommendations were typically 49% higher than those first shown in Google Search or Shopping. As with many AI tools, be sure to verify its results. When shopping in AI Mode, you can expand the available retailers to check if there are any lower prices, or use another search engine as an alternative tool to ensure you're getting the lowest price.

Google's AI Mode Is Ripping Shoppers Off With Vastly Higher Prices, Study Claims

More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Last month, Google updated its home page to replace its iconic "Search" button with various AI features. The move was the latest sign of the tech giant succumbing to the draw of AI that remains deeply flawed -- and the staggering amount of misinformation that comes along with it. Even the experience of shopping online is starting to look dramatically different, and consumers may be paying the price. According to a recent experiment by e-commerce SEO company Productrise, the same exact products are showing up as 21.6 percent more expensive on average in Google AI Mode compared to a traditional search. It's a thorny topic as lawmakers ponder whether to intervene as companies are increasingly using AI tools to analyze consumers' personal data to tailor price tags in real time, a controversial practice called "surveillance pricing." While Productrise's experiment doesn't necessarily prove that Google is discriminating on price by using the wealth of data it has on users, the discrepancy raises plenty of questions over how AI Mode arrives at its recommendations -- and why prices appear to differ compared to regular search. "While we haven't verified the accuracy of the claims in this report, all shopping results on Google Search, including AI Mode and the search results page, are powered by the same data source: our Shopping Graph," Google told us. "Shoppers can easily click into a product listing to compare prices for that product across retailers and choose the best option for them." Beyond showing a higher price for the same exact product, the study also found that AI Mode listings are far more visible to users, sitting "49 percent higher than traditional search listings." The primary vendor for the same exact product differed just under 50 percent of the time between the two modes, suggesting AI Mode is prioritizing a strikingly different -- and less budget-oriented -- group of sellers. "This is a fascinating study that reveals more about Google's Shopping Graph and the inconsistencies between classic search and AI Mode for free listing placements," said independent SEO consultant Brodie Clark in a statement shared by Productrise. However, whether consumers are actually willing to pay those higher prices is a different matter. Many, the research found, are clicking past the AI feature to find the actual best value. "While the higher price might be displayed within the grid result in AI Mode (making the top-level comparison less accurate), what we tend to see is that the retailer with the lowest price gets the click in the end," Clark explained. The findings suggest a given product's price may not be given "as much weighting as we would have expected," he argued, when AI Mode is recommending what to buy. When searching for products using prompts like "metal bidet attachment" or "manual grinder stainless steel," Productrise found that recommendations inside AI Mode for the same product listed in traditional Google searches were consistently more expensive. In addition, only 1.28 percent of products the company analyzed appeared in both traditional search and AI mode "for the same search on the same day," indicating that it's relatively rare for recommendations to overlap. And when they did overlap, the actual seller differed 49.6 percent of the time, Productrise found. Nonetheless, the higher prices undermine claims that AI is meant to "make shopping easier," as Google put in an April press release. Much like the journalism injury, which is suffering from Google discouraging users from clicking on links with its AI Overview feature, advertisers are struggling to control the shopping experience and how products are being featured inside AI Mode. "AI search was supposed to eliminate the friction of comparing prices across five different tabs, but if it only serves pricier inventory by default, it hasn't saved us any work," said senior SEO strategist Katelyn Geary in the statement.

Google's AI Mode shows the same products at higher prices than regular Search, study finds

New study claims that the same product costs 21.6% more in AI Mode on average. If you've been letting Google's AI Mode handle your shopping research, you might want to double-check those prices. Researchers at Product Rise found that when the same product appeared in both AI Mode and traditional Google Search, the AI-powered experience showed a price that was 21.6% higher on average. The study compared AI Mode against traditional Google Search The team ran the same shopping searches through both versions at the same time, across the US and UK. They found that the 21.6% gap is only the headline. If you look at every product on both sides, not just the matching ones, AI Mode's typical price sits about 49% higher. That's a median of $149 compared to $100 in regular search. Prices didn't match on 38% of the products they tracked, and when they didn't, AI Mode was the more expensive one about two thirds of the time. Recommended Videos Here's the other odd part. Only 1.28% of the products in regular search also turned up in AI Mode for the same query. So most of the time, you're seeing a completely different lineup. The main seller was different nearly half the time too, which suggests AI Mode isn't just reshuffling the same offers. It's picking different ones. What Google says about the findings Google pushed back when Futurism reached out for comments on this study. The company said it hasn't verified the study's accuracy, and that every shopping result on Google Search, AI Mode and the standard results page alike, pulls from the same underlying Shopping Graph data. "Shoppers can easily click into a product listing to compare prices for that product across retailers and choose the best option for them," the company said. That's technically true, but it puts the work right back on you. I am sure there are many unsuspecting shoppers who assume the price they see first is the best one available, and AI Mode's entire pitch is saving you the hassle of comparing. If you still have to click through and check every listing yourself, it's fair to ask why AI Mode is being sold as the smarter way to shop.