gap We are partnering with Google Gemini will allow shoppers to checkout directly within its AI platform, making Gemini the first major fashion company to work directly with a technology company to power agent commerce, CNBC exclusively reported.
The partnership comes as more and more shoppers shift from traditional search to artificial intelligence platforms for product discovery, forcing retailers to rethink their approach to marketing to stay competitive and avoid missing out on customer demand.
“It’s no longer just a keyword search. It’s a conversation and it needs to be relevant,” Gap Chief Technology Officer Sven Gargets said in an interview with CNBC. “Does that mean, ‘I’m thinking about what I’m going to do for my wedding, what should I focus on?'” or, “I have a job interview, is there a style I should wear?” are all things we need to relate to. ”
If a shopper is looking for a new pair of jeans or the perfect oversized hoodie on Gemini, and the platform determines that some of Gap’s products might be a good fit, the customer will be able to purchase Gap’s branded products directly within the platform, without being redirected to the brand’s website.
The information shoppers see about products is not crawled from Gap’s website, but is detailed information that retailers provide to Gemini upfront, allowing them to control accuracy, continue collecting customer data, and better manage the customer experience.
When a shopper decides to purchase an item, they check out via Google Pay and Gap handles shipping and other logistics.
Gargetts said Gap is still testing the service’s features but plans to roll it out to customers “soon.”
Shoppers walk past the GAP fashion retailer on Oxford Street in London, England, on October 30, 2025.
John Keeble | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Additionally, Gap plans to integrate a new AI-powered sizing tool called Bold Metrics to help customers find the right size when shopping online, which will also be available to shoppers soon.
Gap’s partnership with Gemini and advancements in customer-facing AI tools give Gap a competitive advantage at a time when winning in specialty retail is more difficult than ever. The overall fashion market is becoming increasingly fragmented and competitive.
As long as a retailer’s website has data that the AI platform can read, if the platform determines that the company’s products match a shopper’s query, they may appear in the chat results. However, there is a lot of work retailers need to do to ensure they are properly displayed.
For example, if a shopper is looking for a sundress on an AI platform and a company offers related products, but LLM cannot read that data, brands could miss out on a sale.
Most major companies use and implement AI in different ways, but so far none of Gap’s main competitors have announced similar partnerships with Gemini.
Gargetts said Gap’s approach to agent commerce is the first iteration and is expected to evolve over time.
For now, he said, customers cannot link loyalty accounts or use points for transactions. That could create some friction for patrons, but Gargetts said the option could be added in the future.
“We continue to evolve the experience and advance what our customers want. That’s definitely the roadmap and the future,” Gerjets said. “I think this is a very first experience in the journey that we are all on to really understand what agent commerce is for our customers.”
AI wars in retail
The partnership between Gap and Gemini comes after OpenAI made similar deals with companies such as: walmart and Etsy Just go back to your plans to offer checkout directly within your app.
Although the number of people using AI platforms for product discovery is growing, it is still a small portion of the total shopper population, and the number of customers who are comfortable checking out directly within LLM remains unclear.
While some shoppers may not feel comfortable entering their credit card information into a platform, others may prefer to shop directly within the retailer’s app where their store credit card and loyalty points are stored.
Given how long shoppers have been interacting with Google and the fact that customer payment information is already stored within Google’s systems, some shoppers may feel more comfortable using Gemini for checkout than newer AI platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
In some ways, Gemini’s platform is also more advanced. Google recently released a new update. This gives users access to real-time product data and helps prevent issues like out-of-stocks and mispricing. Shoppers can also add multiple items to their cart and, in some cases, connect loyalty memberships. These two features are yet to be fully understood by OpenAI.
Gerjets said that OpenAI and Gemini also have two different protocols for agent commerce. The Universal Commerce Protocol that Gap uses with Gemini is designed to give merchants better control over the entire shopping experience, while OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol is designed more for discovery, Gerjets said.
“This space is moving so fast… We’re all evolving and learning together, and no one knows what this space will look like in five years, who will be the winners, or how fragmented the space will be,” Gergets said. “For us, it’s important to work with all of our customers, because we really want to meet them where they want to be.”
Correction: This article has been updated to correct that Gap plans to integrate an AI-powered sizing tool called Bold Metrics. Previous versions incorrectly stated the relationship between Gap and tools.
