Google Is Using AI to Help People 'Try On' Clothes While Shopping Online

The AI era is fully upon us, and its reach in the apparel world is becoming greater.

The Google Shopping platform is rolling out a new AI program that allows shoppers to see articles of clothing on varieties of real-life models in different poses so they can see how they fit not only bodies that look more similar to their own, but while they do things other than strike a camera-ready pose.

According to TechCrunch, the virtual try-on feature is powered by an in-house diffusion-based model that Google created. Already, shoppers can virtually "try on" women's tops from brands like Anthropologie, Everlane, H&M, and Loft. Men's tops will be part of the program later in the year.

Google just dropped a new AI-powered try-on feature, which uses generative AI to adapt clothing to different models.

Available to US shoppers since yesterday. pic.twitter.com/WMYTuf0lrc

— Product Hunt 😸 (@ProductHunt) June 15, 2023

"When you try on clothes in a store, you can immediately tell if they're right for you," Lilian Rincon, senior director of consumer shopping product at Google, said, according to TechCrunch. "You should feel just as confident shopping for clothes online."

Rincon also reportedly cited a survey that showed 42% of online shoppers don't feel represented by the models sporting the merchandise, and 59% feel dissatisfied with an item they bought online because it looked different on them than they expected.

Levi's is another big apparel name using AI to more accurately depict how clothing fits, using AI-generated models entirely to show how pieces fit on different bodies.

The way Google's differs is that rather than AI-generated people, it's a real, diverse group of models meant to depict sizing from XXS-4XL, representing different ethnicities, body types, skin tones, and hair styles.

Bring the fitting room to your home with our new virtual try-on feature, powered by generative AI, and new filters to find exactly what you’re looking for. Learn more. https://t.co/2ptiJKQ6qK

— Google (@Google) June 14, 2023

AI isn't new. We use AI for all kinds of things already, but it's certainly having a newsworthy moment as platforms like ChatGPT and Dall-E become more household names.

Within the apparel world, as technology develops and becomes more common, it's safe to assume that other apparel suppliers will start using AI in some way to more accurately show what products look like, or depict how a decoration looks in the preview stage on more than just a two-dimensional mock-up of the front of a T-shirt.