Searching for a product on Google used to mean ten blue links and a row of ads. In India, that is changing. Google now answers many shopping questions itself, with products, prices and comparisons inside the answer.
What Google has launched in India
On 7 April 2026, Google announced what it called its biggest upgrade to shopping in AI Mode in Search in India, along with shopping features in the Gemini app:
- AI Mode in Search gives conversational answers to shopping questions, showing price, reviews and inventory details, shoppable images and comparison tables. It is available in English for now, with Hindi said to be coming soon.
- The Gemini app can show shoppable product listings, comparison tables, prices from across the web and places to buy, in English and Hindi.
- Circle to Search on recent Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones lets people circle an outfit to find each item and similar products.
The same week, a Google and Deloitte report projected that India’s e-commerce market will grow from $90 billion today to $250 billion by 2030, and that creators will bring 60 million first-time online buyers from Tier 2+ markets. That is a forecast from a company with a stake in the outcome, so treat it as a direction, not a guarantee.
What changes for a small store
When someone asks “silver anklets under 2000 for daily wear”, Google is no longer only ranking pages. It is building an answer out of product information: price, reviews, stock, images. Your store can only be part of that answer if Google can read those details clearly.
A beautiful home page does not help here. Clear, complete product information does.
What to do now
- Set up Google Merchant Center and submit your products. Free listings do not need an ad budget.
- Match your feed to your store. Price and stock in the feed must be the same as on the product page.
- Write product pages that answer questions. Who is it for, what is it made of, how big is it, how do you care for it.
- Collect real reviews. Ask every customer after delivery. Never write your own.
- Use your own clear photos. Plain background, true colour, more than one angle.
- Keep the store fast on mobile. Most of your buyers are on a phone.
We cannot tell you how much traffic AI Mode will send to small Indian stores. We have not seen reliable numbers yet, and anyone quoting exact figures is guessing. What we can say is that everything on this list also helps normal search and your ads.