Google Expands AI-Powered Virtual Try-On to Shoes, Enhancing Online Shopping Experience

Google's virtual try-on shopping tool expands to more countries, now lets you try on shoes | TechCrunch

Google announced on Wednesday that its AI feature that lets users virtually try on clothes is expanding to Australia, Canada, and Japan. The tech giant also announced that the feature now lets users virtually try on shoes. The feature works by asking users to upload a photo to see how real clothes might look on them. Now, users can visualize how different pairs of shoes would look on them. To virtually try on a pair of shoes, users need to tap on any product listing on Google, select the "Try It On" button, and then add a full-length photo of themselves. After a few seconds, they will see the shoes from the listing on a digital version of themselves. Users have the option to save or share the image with others. The launch comes two months after Google introduced the ability for users to virtually try on clothes using AI. While Google had already offered virtual try-on technology before, the earlier features focused on showing items on a diverse range of models' bodies. With the new AI feature, the company started allowing users to try clothes on a virtual version of their own body. Google has been investing in the virtual try-on space in other ways as well. In June, the tech giant launched an experimental app called Doppl that uses AI to visualize how different outfits might look on you. While both the virtual try-on feature, which now includes shoes, and Doppl are powered by the same generative AI technology, Doppl is designed to let shoppers dive even deeper into virtual try-on, helping them curate their personal style. Plus, Doppl can create AI-generated videos so users can get a better sense of how the outfit would look on them in real life.

Google's AI try-on imagines your feet in new shoes

Google will now use AI to help you "try on" shoes while sitting at home. Now, when you browse through shoes on Google Shopping, you can hit the "try it on" button on the new heels, sneakers, or sandals you're looking at to see how they might look on you. In case you're wondering, you won't need to send Google your feet pics in order for this feature to work. An example shared by the company shows someone uploading a full-length picture of themselves, while Google's AI transforms the white sneakers they're wearing into a number of different shoes, including a pair of black heels with exposed toes. When I tried Google's Doppl app, which similarly serves up AI-generated clips of yourself wearing a new outfit, the company made it clear that it can generate a pair of feet all on its own. Google first started testing its AI-powered clothing try-on feature with shirts, pants, dresses, and skirts in May before rolling it out to all users in the US in July. Along with support for shoes, Google announced that it's expanding AI try-on for other apparel in Australia, Canada, and Japan "in the coming weeks."

Google wants to see your feet (for virtual shopping purposes)

Google started letting you try on clothes from the comfort of your home by uploading a photo and letting AI take care of the rest -- and if you're in the US, you can now do the same thing with shoes. Fortunately, the isn't nearly as creepy as Google needing a close-up of your bare feet. Rather, when you're browsing shoes, you tap the pair you want to try on and upload a full-length photo of yourself in any old outfit. Google will then swap out whatever shoes you're wearing in the original photo for the ones you're interested in buying, so you can see how they look with a particular outfit. For the best results, it that you stick to solo photos in which you're standing upright, with good lighting and a background that isn't too busy. Your clothing shouldn't be too baggy either. And naturally, Google warns to only use photos of yourself or those you have permission to use from someone else. It won't accept photos of children, either. Google points out that the image it generates is designed to help you see how an item might look, but doesn't guarantee that it'll actually fit you in real life. It's an approximation, then, rather than an image that perfectly takes into account your body shape and personal features. This is probably more of a catch when you're for clothes than shoes, though. Just don't walk into a store and blame Google when the sneakers you tried on virtually aren't manufactured in your real-world size. Google says that no biometric data from the photo you upload is collected or stored, nor will it use the image for training purposes. It won't share it with other Google apps or third parties either, but you can delete both the original photo and any generated images if you'd rather not let it hang onto them. Google has been gradually the capabilities of its AI as a virtual shopping assistant. When you use AI Mode to help you find a particular item now, such as a pair of jeans, you can make more specific queries about their style and ask follow-up questions to the chatbot to narrow down the visual results further.

Google's AI now lets you try on shoes without leaving home, or putting on socks

Hey Google, show me how those white sneakers will pair with my grey jeans! Online shopping is massive, but it's also a hit-or-miss experience. What looks good on a flashy product page may not necessarily look good once you receive the real product. To ease the dilemma, Google recently rolled out an AI-powered virtual try-on tool in Search. After garments, it's finally ready for footwear, too. Hey, this is pretty cool So far, the AI-powered try-on experience has been limited to top and bottom wear. Now, Google will let you upload any full-body picture and see yourself wearing any shoe appearing in the Search results. "Within moments, you'll see what you might look like in those heels or sneakers," says Google. The virtual footwear try-on system is now rolling out for users in the US. And here's the best part. The AI-fueled virtual try-on system will soon expand to other markets, as well, including Australia, Canada, and Japan. Recommended Videos On a related note, the Shopping tab recently added an AI-powered tool that lets you generate an image of a dress based on natural language descriptions. Once the image is generated, Google will find products that are similar, listed across various online shopping platforms. Think of it as hunting for your dream dress, and then finding its likeness in the real world. It's quite easy, too In order to virtually try a shoe, make sure that you have a full-body shot ready to pick from the gallery. Next, look for the desired shoe styles on Google Search, tap on the item that catches your fancy, and select the pill-shaped "try it on" button at the bottom. On the next page, select a full-body shot saved locally on your phone, and wait a few seconds for the AI to do its magic. Once the virtual try-on overlay is ready, you will see a carousel at the bottom showing different other footwear options that also appeared in the Search. In a nutshell, you won't have to go through a repetitive back-and-forth of creating a virtual avatar. Once the AI creates your digital likeness, you can just scroll through different footwear options and decide if they would look good on you.