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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.
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.
